Autotrader - Not What You Think :)

[Nick M.K. 574]

1 minute ago, Mark101 said:

Cant you halve your contracted package for 2 months = same effect as Feb and March for you then.

How? Half his cars won't be displayed because if he adjusts the package after 12 October he will NOT get the double stock offer. 

[Mark101 536]

1 minute ago, Nick M.K. said:

How? Half his cars won't be displayed because if he adjusts the package after 12 October he will NOT get the double stock offer. 

I didn’t know that clause.  I just presumed you could say for December and January, I want to drop my package.

[Nick M.K. 574]

2 minutes ago, Mark101 said:

I just presumed you could say for December and January, I want to drop my package.

You absolutely can but if you say it after 12 October (this was this year's cut off date) you get excluded from the double stock offer. 

[Mark101 536]

An entry for RH Trafing’s diary for 2019 me thinks 

Edited November 16, 2018 by Mark101

[trade vet 704]

4 hours ago, RH Trading said:

I used to pay £800 for a half page (24 cars with 1 photo each) in Midlands AT 20 years ago, about a third of the cars would be sold by the time the mag came out on the Friday but still sold around 8-10 a week from it. Used the Top Marks mag as well to sell the odd classic in the day, worked really well. Now its costing around me around £4k a month but we go nationally and sell around 35 a month from it so not much has changed I guess.

I advertise every single one of my cars every week, if its not on the autotrader in my mind its not for sale, I keep a close eye on every penny I spend on my advertising and it works for me, however when double your stock comes along I don't benefit from it, so don't think that's entirely fair. Jan is always one of my best months on the autotrader, followed by March so I'll be trying to buy as much as possible when it goes quiet in Dec but no idea where I'm going to put them

£800 for a half page in Midlands AT mag ? That was a bit salty !

[AAM90 22]

22 hours ago, trade vet said:

Not many traders bought a guide back then,you just used to ‘pick them up ‘from main dealers.£5000 got you 10 descent cars to  retail.However a 20 car open pitch could cost £20k (key money) and you paid in ‘readies’.I do remember the old guys then ( a bit like me now) complaining that the trade was shot,you had to pay VAT and the authorities were clamping down on clocking da da da.

This is how my father and grandfather operated. Monday morning at the main dealers with a pile of readies to buy all the weekend p/x's. 

When I learned to drive my grandfather would take me to pick up cars when the main dealer was closed, I was always asked to wait outside the office while he paid 

Such a different game then..no VAT, zeroed mileages for 'high mileage cars' which was legal then as long as you had a disclaimer sticker

The local mayor of the town once bought a car from my grandfather. "Can you knock 40k miles off the speedo before I pick it up' was the mayor's parting words

Sorry went way off topic

The double stock helps us in Jan as long as the country not covered in snow...

[trade vet 704]

10 minutes ago, AAM90 said:

This is how my father and grandfather operated. Monday morning at the main dealers with a pile of readies to buy all the weekend p/x's. 

When I learned to drive my grandfather would take me to pick up cars when the main dealer was closed, I was always asked to wait outside the office while he paid 

Such a different game then..no VAT, zeroed mileages for 'high mileage cars' which was legal then as long as you had a disclaimer sticker

The local mayor of the town once bought a car from my grandfather. "Can you knock 40k miles off the speedo before I pick it up' was the mayor's parting words

Sorry went way off topic

The double stock helps us in Jan as long as the country not covered in snow...

Great post AA....it was definateley like that.....All the main dealer sales managers were on the ‘iron lung’.