10 years of Marktplaats

I am writing this article on January 15, 2025, and how grateful I am for the past ten years! During this period, I have worked in various roles at Marktplaats. Today marks exactly ten years since I sold my company, Nieuweautokopen.nl, to the eBay Classified Group, and suddenly, I was successful online. The ten years before that, I had been struggling with the concept of Nieuweautokopen.nl, which few people believed in at the time. At the moment of the acquisition by Marktplaats, we were selling between 150 and 200 new cars per month—not in the way I had originally envisioned, but still!

Reason for the Sale

The reason for selling Nieuweautokopen.nl was very simple: money. Due to the bankruptcy of my largest shareholder, Koops Furness, I was forced to buy back the remaining shares from the trustee. However, I had no money. I could borrow the amount temporarily, but I had to move forward and, of course, repay the borrowed money.

I still remember Michiel Aker from Marktplaats calling me to ask if I wanted to come to Amsterdam. During our conversation, he asked if I was interested in collaborating with Marktplaats or if I was open to an acquisition of Nieuweautokopen.nl by eBay/Marktplaats. What followed was an acquisition within just four months—a record for eBay. Hamish Stone, who was then the director of Marktplaats Automotive, became my new ‘boss,’ and even Marktplaats CEO Olivier van Duijn was present at the signing!

The First 18 Months

The first 18 months after the acquisition were tough. As an entrepreneur, I am used to moving quickly: ‘commit first, figure it out later.’ At Marktplaats, where everything operates on a much larger scale, processes are much more structured. This didn’t suit me well, and I even dreaded completing another 18 months. Then, Hadewych Corstens joined Marktplaats as the new automotive director. She said, “Paul, you’re not great internally, but you’re very strong externally. Why don’t you handle the ‘outside’—marketing and promoting Marktplaats—while I take care of the inside?”

Thus, I became Key Automotive Spokesperson, a role I was free to define myself. I still perform this role with great enthusiasm, now as an ambassador. And today marks exactly ten years. I am proud of that!

Nieuweautokopen.nl

And Nieuweautokopen.nl? The acquisition was a success. Brand dealers had never truly recognized Marktplaats as a platform they could work with. Since we at Nieuweautokopen.nl worked exclusively with dealers and were the first to run Cost Per Sale campaigns on Marktplaats, the mindset shifted. Even the technologies we developed back in 2004, such as the Messaging Center (see the example below), later reappeared in the Marktplaats Messaging App. In fact, the beta version of it was originally developed by Nieuweautokopen.nl.

How Much Longer?

To the question ‘How much longer?’ I have no answer. I sometimes receive ‘well-intended’ advice from people who suggest I should take a more neutral position. I have never taken a neutral position. In the ten years at Nieuweautokopen.nl and later at Marktplaats, I always spoke and wrote from my own truth, vision, and experience. Always honest, always straightforward, and always with the genuine intention of helping others improve in online automotive!

It is fantastic to collaborate with the Marktplaats Automotive team, now led by Michiel Aker and Alexander Prinssen. Brainstorming about platform improvements with colleagues like Melvin Ester is a pleasure. And where else can you find a partner that gives me the freedom to promote its brand while also allowing me the space to work with companies like #DCDW – Digital Car Dealer Workshop – improving online automotive, CARMEN Automotive BDC, Il Fienile, and the Ligier Store Doesburg – Experience Center?

Thanks to all the other colleagues over the past 10 years! Alexander Dumbraveanu, Michiel Oostveen, Joep van der Meer, Ralph Neijndorff, Shiri van der Horst, Steven de Fuijk, Jorn Boeijen, Nils Zuidema, Jeroen Brouwer, Nancy van Hees, Anouk Bezemer.

So how much longer? I really have no idea. Ten years ago, I never expected to write this. The fact that I am still part of this group ten years later makes me grateful. And proud. So, how much longer? If you know, feel free to say!