I know I haven't been around for very long, but intend to hang about.

But my suggestion for the site is that I think that traders should have some visible "trader" tag in their profile in the Buses for Sale section.

Traders masquerading as collectors and enthusiasts with "bus must go to a good home" jargon.

I will also know that he has added a few grand to his buying price which inflates its true value.

As a buyer I will also be able tell the difference between advice and a sales pitch.

What's the definition of a trader when it comes to bus sales?

There's loads of owners that flip parts and buses on a regular basis, but they probably don't consider themselves traders.

.....anyone selling anything is a trader


some trade more than others

A dealer isn't a restorer or an owner.

Dealers in my experience of other 'hobbies' is someone who is only interested in selling for profit and not for any love for the product. Some will hide their true motives for buying the bus. It just makes things a little more transparent when negotiating prices. I recent example on here, where the bus appeared on ebay a week later after being sold to a so called collector.

If someone is flipping parts/ buses on a regular basis for profit, then by the definition of the law they are a trader, even if they don't consider themselves to be one.

It's fine paying x amount to the restorer because he has put the work into it, the dealer did nothing but inflate the price denying a genuine buyer the opportunity to a buy the bus it's real value.

I disagree strongly

maddison wrote:I disagree strongly

To what?

What would be the problem of having "Trader" underneath a username? Most forums have the same policy after all?

Just makes things open and transparent.

Use that forum then? Most people on here are enthusiasts and sell and buy parts off each other, some have business based in splitscreens and all the other members know this as they all have websites next to there members names in the members search area. Be a member and discover all?I sell bits that I really do not need, to people who want them.this allows me to buy parts I need to keep our bus on the road.Most members try to help others as these old buses are hard to maintain as far as parts for them that are original are getting thin on the ground.That after all is the aim of the club, to keep these remarkable vehicles running. Simples

magoo wrote:

maddison wrote:I disagree strongly

To what?

What would be the problem of having "Trader" underneath a username? Most forums have the same policy after all?

Just makes things open and transparent.

I wrot e really long sentence.....but deleted it, i'll just leave it as I strongly disagree

You can usually tell a trader by the way they describe what they are selling!! and the large gold neck chain and chunky gold bracelets............. Tisk! Tisk!

I've no idea why there is so much objection? I read that a bus will be sold for x amount for club/ forum members, but will go onto ebay for xx higher amount instead. I see the same thing on guitar forums etc.

Separating the enthusiast who sells the odd spare part from someone looking to take advantage of the community for profit. Surely that's a good thing??

I'll leave it at that then.

If your after a bus look on thesamba:-)thats where a lot come from?or try you hand at the freindly Vzi forum, great opinions there and lots of cheap things for sale

magoo wrote:I've no idea why there is so much objection? I read that a bus will be sold for x amount for club/ forum members, but will go onto ebay for xx higher amount instead. I see the same thing on guitar forums etc.

Separating the enthusiast who sells the odd spare part from someone looking to take advantage of the community for profit. Surely that's a good thing??

I'll leave it at that then.

How exactly do you determine who is an authentic enthusiast and who is the woefull evil trader...what's the cut over point, 1 bus year, 3 a year,

And how does it change anything, it's still a bus for sale for a price...either buy it or don't, are you saying you would pass on the right bus at the right price but arther daly made a few quid on it along the way ?.....?

People buying and TRADING in buses, give more people access to more buses, they move round the world like postage stamps....and if dealers mark the price up....well it just makes honest joes bus at a 'realistic' price just that more appealing......surely ?

Arthur Daley posed as an enthusiast and added £4000+ onto the price a week later. Who does that help?

There is nothing to determine who is a dealer, you add it to your profile voluntarily.

It also has legal implications as you may not know if you are covered by the Sale of Goods Act.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/ ... a-problem/

It's also fair for forum members to know who you are dealing with exactly, so good for sellers and buyers when determining a price.

.....it helped the fella selling it , who was happy he got his sale and it helped get the bus to the new owner who seems to love it and who wouldnt have found it otherwise

seller happy, buyer happy, Arther happy


some people like the security (whether it real or not) of going to a nice showroom and paying a little extra
I cant really comment, I only know what I have read on here I dont actually know the facts

"who wouldnt have found it otherwise...seller happy, buyer happy, Arther happy"

Who knows what really happened we can only speculate, but dealer bargains price down, sells it on for thousands extra, the buyer did actually find the bus on here afterwards.

Arthur is probably the only one truly happy.

As I stated above, not declaring yourself as a trader denies the buyer their rights under the Sales of Goods Act. Private sellers are not bound by so many rights.

However, here are the guidelines which car traders must abide by, declaring yourself as a trader protects the buyer from a long list of bad selling practices, again private sellers are not bound by these rules.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/report ... ft1241.pdf

I found this in the above document which probably settles the discussion....

"You must not falsely claim, or create the impression, that you are acting for purposes unrelated to your business or falsely represent yourself as a private seller (banned practice 22).

For example, a second hand car dealer puts a used car on or near a road and displays a handwritten advertisement reading, ‘One careful owner. Good family runaround. £2000 or nearest offer. Call Jack on 07734 765890.’ The advertisement gives the impression that the seller is not selling as a trader, and would breach the CPRs.

I'm assuming from this that there is a legal obligation to declare yourself as a dealer on the Buses for Sale section.