Classified Ads

All Icon garage sale ads are free -
we even put you on our garage sale map!

The Icon loves garage sales. Here's what you need to know:
• Email your garage sale ad to: info@blufftonicon.com
• All garage sale posts are free
• There is no word length limit (no novels, please)
• There is no deadline - garage sales are posted the day received (99% of the time)
• All garage sales are posted on both Bluffton and Ada Icons
• You will find garage sales on the Icons' Classified Ad Page under "Garage Sales" (to the right of this story)
• All garage sales posted are automatically listed on the Icon Garage Sale Map - it's printer-friendly. Click here to look at the map
• We post all garage sales the week they are scheduled - we will not post garages sales two weeks in advance
• When we receive you garage sale, we will automatically reply with a "Thanks, got it." If you don't receive our reply, please resend it.

Advertising Info

Looking for information on advertising? Email us for a rate card at: info@blufftonicon.com. Or call us at: 419-889-3065.

The Bluffton Icon is where Bluffton gets its information. The Icon is the center of information and commerce for Bluffton, Ohio. We promote Bluffton through advertising, the printed word, photographs and other tools of technology.

Bluffton Icon is a member of:
Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce
Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs
Better Business Bureau
Ohio News Media Association

Also: please check our sister publication: The Ada Icon

Interested in advertising? Contact us at: info@blufftonicon.com. We have very competitive rates.

Classified ads:
This is our classified ad page and all classified ads are on the right column. We only charge for:
• Properties for sale or for rent
• Vehicles for sale

Our rates for those are only $10 for the first 10 days and $1 for each following day. We charge for those ads because we have realtors and auto dealers who are paying customers.

All other classified ads are free. We post garage sales the week that they are held. There is no deadline or maximum word count. We also provide a garage sale map. During garage sale season we post a link to the map on the top of the garage sale ads.

Sign up for the Icon's free daily e-mail
Sign up to receive a daily e-mail that lists every story posted on Bluffton Icon on the previous day. It arrives first thing every morning. The e-mail includes the headline, photo, the opening paragraph of each story posted plus a link to the story if you wish to read the entire story. The service is free. Send a note to: info@blufftonicon.com. In the subject line type: E-mail news request. If you ever want to remove yourself the the mailing service, there's an option to click "remove me."

Civic Organizations, Churches, More Community Contacts
The Icon lists these groups on the Classified Page as a community service. The Icon asks these groups to inform us when an update needed is needed on your listing. Send information to: info@blufftonicon.com.

Welcome to the Bluffton Icon. Here's what we are all about

Welcome to the Bluffton Icon. For first-viewers, here's helpful answers to your questions.

Q: What is the Icon?
A: Think of the Icon as a daily newspaper on the web.

Q: When did it first appear on the web?
A: Sept. 23, 2009.

How much do I pay to view the Icon?
A: Nothing. It's free to view. Unlike other newspaper websites, there is no limit to the number of stories you may read. And, you may access all of our archived material.

Q: How does the Icon make money?
A: Through very affordable local advertising. We have over 75 local advertisers.

Q: What might we expect to find in The Icon?
A: All sorts of things. Our primary coverage area is the Bluffton school district. According to Google Analytics, 90 percent of our viewers live winthin 25 miles of Bluffton. That takes in Lima and Findlay. We also have a loyal following of viewers who grew up here and moved away, or who lived here for a time, but no longer do.

Q: How many viewers do you have?
A: Bluffton Icon experiences about 15,000 viewers in a 30-day period.

Q: Where do you obtain stories for the Icon?
A: Viewers send us news items. We also post all Bluffton University, Blanchard Valley Health System (Bluffton hospital), Bluffton Family Recreation and Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio news stories. We post agendas and cover Bluffton council and Bluffton school board meetings.

We provide extensive sports coverage of Bluffton High School and Bluffton University. Our Bluffton High School sports coverage is provided by www.blufftonpirates.com. That's a website devoted entirely to Bluffton High School athletics. It offers immediate sports coverage of athletic events and excellent photographs. The Bluffton University sports information director posts all Beaver sports stories on the same day that the games are played.

We post all obituaries provided by area funeral homes. We post obituaries of former residents when their family members provide us with information.

Q: Are there other Icons? Do you have other products in addition to your website?
A: In March of 2012 we launched Ada Icon (www.adaicon.com). It is in a community the same size as Bluffton and the two school districts touch.There are many commonalities between the two communities, even though they are in different counties. For example, Ada is home of Ohio Northern University, as Bluffton is home of Bluffton University. Ada Icon covers the Ada school district and ONU in the same way that Bluffton Icon covers Bluffton.

The Icon also has a special focus on local history. We've published two books:
• "Bluffton: A Great Place To Miss," which includes stories about the community from 1900 to 1975. (It's currently out of print)
• "The Bluffton We Never Knew: Photographs from our first half century, 1861 -1911." It is available from us at $19.95.

Additional books focusing on the history of the community are in the planning stages.

This year the Icon is developing two series of Bluffton post cards. One series is a reprint of colorized historic Bluffton post cards. The second series is a set of post cards showing scenes of the community today. 

Here are some Bluffton Icon viewer statistics from Google Analytics for 2018:

• In 2018, the highest number of viewers in a single day in 2018: March 28, 3,330 viewers

Most viewed pages
1 – Home page
2 – Obituaries
3  - News
4 – Classified ads
5 – Photo gallery
6 – News in Bluffton
7 – Calendar
8 – Ad index
9 – Restaurant menus
10 – Police log

The Icon has:
3,584 Facebook followers
740 Twitter followers (our You Tube videos go on Twitter)
740 Instagram followers
497 YouTube followers

The top, all-time watched videos on the Icon follow:

• 488,178 views of VBS spin the bottle posted July 25, 2012 click here to view it

• 33,802 views of first graders in the Bluffton fire station posted Oct. 12, 2011

   click here to view it

• 21,836 views of jumping rope 100 times at elementary field day May 11, 2016

   click here to view it

• 16,429 views of Bryan Lloyd painting a curb, Sept. 5, 2013 click here to view it

• 9,547 views of Mike Edmiston explaining the solar eclipse posted Aug. 21, 2017 click here to view it

Top 9 countries of Icon viewers, with viewers from 170 countries in 2018:
1 – U.S.
2 – Australia
3 – Norway
4 – Canada
5 – India
6 – Peru
7 – Philippines
8 – United Kingdom
9 – France

Top 10 states of Icon viewers, with all 50 represented in 2018:
1 – Ohio
2 – Kansas
3 – Massachusetts
4 – Illinois
5 – Michigan
7 – Florida
8 – California
9 – Texas
10 – Virginia

Top 10 villages and cities with Icon viewers, with 564 Ohio villages and cities represented in 2018:
1 – Bluffton
2 – Lima
3 – Findlay
4 – Ottawa
5 – Ada
6 – Kenton
7 – Columbus Grove
8 – Wapakoneta
9 – Kalida
10 – Rawson

Top 7 browsers used to view The Icon:
1 – Internet Explorer
2 – Chrome
3 – Safari
4 – Safari (in-app)
5 – Android Webview
6 – Edge
7 - Firefox

Top 5 web providers used to view The Icon:
1 – Microsoft
2 – Time Warner
3 – Verizon
4 – Quest
5 – Fairpoint

Q: What are the most popular two hours of the week when viewers read Bluffton Icon?
A: Wednesday evenings between 9 and 11 p.m.