Let's face it, most of us buy the local newspaper to find out what's going on in the area. And, of course, we'll take a look at the personal or for sale columns, too, whether accidentally or intentionally. I mean, it's human nature. We all like to know what is being sold and for how much, even if we've no intentions of ever buying. A minute or two later and the newspaper is tossed away. But just when you really need it, to find the number to call to place an ad, for example, it's nowhere to be found. Sod's law!

What to do now? The Yellow Pages - of course! Obvious. Thumb through it until you find the section 'Newspapers and Periodicals' and then carefully go through the list. There's the number. Grab a pen, note down the number and dial.

A couple of rings later and a friendly female voice asks you politely what department. You reply, "Give me the advertising department, please." Just about there now. You can almost smell the cash. Patience. A few seconds later, another equally friendly voice asks how she can be of help, too. What a friendly bunch. You explain you want to put an ad in for this week, in the 'For Sale' section.

"You mean next week's edition", she says, bluntly. "No, this week", I reply. "Sorry sir, but if you'd only called us half an hour ago you would have made this week's advertising deadline, which is midday on a Tuesday. Do you want to put it in for next week?"

The matter-of-fact explanation means I won't now have the cash as anticipated. Keep calm. Don't get uptight. Just think about it for a second. The paper comes out in three days time, at the end of the week, but I should have telephoned half an hour ago. This IS Tuesday, not Wednesday, or Thursday. I'm missing something here, right? What's the matter, you people got a problem with a little bit of give-and-take? Local newspapers, you can keep them. Time to think some more.

Then it hits me. Of course, the Internet! Is this not the age of web sites, email, instant communication and all the rest! No worries now. How many classified ad sites have you seen while surfing the web? Who knows. But maybe now is the time to look at them, not ignore them.

Open up the browser, go to Google and enter 'classified ads'. Easy, a ton of classified ad sites show up in the search results. So many to choose from.

To get serious for a minute, although the above scenario may be fictitious, it has more than the ring of truth about it. It illustrates one of the five good reasons for using free ads sites - instant advertising.

Cost is yet another exceptionally good reason. Local newspapers usually dent the budget. Classified ad sites cost nothing. Nothing to sign up and nothing to post ads either. And you can post as many freeads as you want. That's a real bonus.

Another reason to use classified ad sites is the number available. There are hundreds to choose from, if not thousands. Sign up for one, or 10 or 50, if you have the time, that is. The sign-up process is usually straightforward, and fast, perhaps only requiring a valid email address.

Good reason number four is reach. Remember the newspaper scenario above? Typically, local newspapers may have a circulation of around 10,000 or so, maybe even a few tens of thousands, all confined to the area you live in. Not so with a classified ads site. Because it is web-based, it can literally reach across the world. So someone, somewhere will probably want to buy what you want to sell. Guaranteed!

The last good reason - number five - the ability to add a picture, or two, of the item for sale. And most free ads sites allow you to do this at no cost. Don't think you'd be able to do that in your local newspaper, unless you were prepared to pay, that is. Then see what that would do to your bank balance!