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Posts Tagged ‘online shopping’

Van drivers using their computers to snap up a bargain

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

The internet is fast becoming the biggest sales market in the world, and many van drivers, in common with millions of other people, use it every day to buy goods such as groceries, electrical items and even their van insurance. It will come as a surprise to many though that online the sale of commercial vehicles is increasing at a phenomenal rate.

Professional buyers leading the way

According to figures released by used vehicle vendor British Car Auctions (BCA) almost a third of their sales may be attributed to their online bidding channel if trade continues to escalate in the same vein as present. The introduction of their online channel was seen as something as a gamble by many in the business. They thought individuals would always want to physically see and inspect a vehicle before they spent money on purchasing it and getting commercial vehicle insurance to protect it. This is not proving the case. It may well be that professional buyers are aware of the forecast scarcity of quality three year old stock coming on to the market. Due to the collapse of sales in the motor industry especially commercial vehicles in 2008, auction houses have noticed the number of models available from this era decreasing. They anticipate they will become more valuable.

Thousands registered

A spokesman for BCA said that it was indeed mainly professional buyers who used the online bidding process and specifically those looking for specialised lots, however, individual customers were also now buying online. He said that BCA now had around 6,000 customers registered with their online service.

The traffic is increasing

The online customer takes part in live auctions just as though he was actually present at the sale. He gets the same information and can find himself bidding against prospective buyers who are on the sales room floor. Of course he cannot actually sit in the cab of the van, but this is not deterring customers in the slightest. Last year online sales accounted for 1 in every 5 Light Commercial Vehicles sold by BCA, this year the figure has risen to about 1 in 4 and as reported earlier, if the increasing activity carries on unabated then by 2012 the figure may have jumped to 1 in 3.

Tags: British Car Auctions, online bidding, online shopping, Van Insurance
Posted in Van Insurance | No Comments »

Online purchases save time and money

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

At a time when cutting costs is an exercise that every van driver who uses his vehicle to earn a living must consider, the opportunity to purchase products online can prove to be a saving in more ways than one.

Whether it is purchasing commercial vehicle insurance, engine parts, tyres or communication aids such as satellite navigation systems there is a website out there looking to save you time and money.

Convenience is the name of the game

In the case of van insurance, one visit to a van insurance comparison site will save massive amounts of time and more than likely impressive amounts of money. It is so much more convenient and can be done in the comfort of your own home without taking precious time away from your working day. The same applies to the other products. A sat nav can be purchased online, with fitting arranged to suit your timetable, engine and body parts can be organised similarly.

Online tyre purchases now available

Tyres are an integral part of any vehicle, and van drivers should know just how important maintaining a good set of tyres is. What many drivers may not know is that they can purchase tyres online and save money. The first purchase may prove slightly more difficult than just driving into a garage and leaving the vehicle for half a day but it is almost guaranteed to save you time and money and the process will be easier second time around.

Website will offer guidance

The website will ask you to make sure the tyres you order are the correct ones and will give you guidance on how to check, you can either look at your manufacturers handbook or check on the tyres already fitted. This is quite easy, somewhere on the side of your tyres there will be a series of numbers and letters i.e. 225/45 R 17 W. The first set of numbers-225 refers to the width of the tyres, the second number-45 refers to the wall profile of the tyre, the first letter R- refers to the tyre type-Radial, 17 refers to the rim diameter and the last letter-W- refers to the speed rating of the tyre.

Fitted to suit you

Armed with this information you can order tyres online and arrange for them to be fitted at a time that suits you. The company will even come to your home or works depot or wherever you fancy. Tyres are always fitted in twos or fours (never mix tyres on the same axle) and often big savings can be made by purchasing four.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, online shopping, tyres, van comparison sites, van drivers
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance | 1 Comment »

Post Office takes delivery of bigger vans as demand grows

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

As the spread of the World Wide Web has altered communications across the globe, tradesmen and in particular van drivers have prospered from the growing trade internet shopping has created. There are more van drivers covered with commercial vehicle insurance today than at any other time in the nation’s history and of course many of them use the internet to compare van insurance deals.

Online shopping a big source of revenue

There is no doubt that many private delivery firms rely on trade generated by merchants such as eBay and Amazon to keep up their levels of business. A few years ago many industry insiders thought the change in operating regulations and the natural progression of private enterprise would probably see the end of the Post Office as the UK’s main deliverer of packages, parcels and even letters. It has not proved to be the case.

Northern City proves the point

Although beset by problems with union and pension issues the Post Office has refused to lie down and die and an example of that can be seen in the decisions taken in Lincoln recently by Post Office bosses.

From this week postal workers in the town are being issued with bigger vans and bigger trolleys to replace the old sack that made postmen immediately recognisable. A spokesman for the Post Office admitted that the volume of letters had dropped dramatically in recent years with both businesses and individuals corresponding via email but other trade had visibly improved.

Van drivers proud to offer businesses good service

With people buying anything from computer software to soft furnishings online in their thousands, Post Office van drivers are welcoming the larger vans their bosses are giving them. The ratio of delivery between private dwellings and businesses has also altered in the last few years and because of this, along with the new vans and trolleys, will come new delivery routes. Businesses will be getting a better service than ever before with van drivers aiming to complete their deliveries by noon.

With the Post Office including thousands of van drivers on its staff it is no surprise that delivery drivers still look upon employment by one of Britain’s major institutions as a job to be proud of.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, online shopping, trade internet shopping, Van Insurance
Posted in Van Insurance, commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »