who are you?

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reflections
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Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2005 12:24 pm
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who are you?

Post by reflections »

Customers at postcard fairs are often in complete ignorance of who they're dealing with. Stands not adjacent to a wall mostly exist in a sea of anonymity! Dealers seem to think that they are well-known to everyone, but of course this is patently not true. Collectors deserve to know the identity of stallholders, but ony a few put a name ident in a prominent position. At Nottingham last Sunday (cracking fair, Grommit) we gave every standholder a laminated card with their name on, of the right size to be displayed at the back of a postcard box. We may not have found the best answer to this problem, though, so who has a better solution? Go for it! Answers to this messageboard!!!

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kevinramsdale
Posts: 156
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Location: Lincoln

Re: who are you?

Post by kevinramsdale »

reflections wrote:Customers at postcard fairs are often in complete ignorance of who they're dealing with. Stands not adjacent to a wall mostly exist in a sea of anonymity! Dealers seem to think that they are well-known to everyone, but of course this is patently not true. Collectors deserve to know the identity of stallholders, but ony a few put a name ident in a prominent position. At Nottingham last Sunday (cracking fair, Grommit) we gave every standholder a laminated card with their name on, of the right size to be displayed at the back of a postcard box. We may not have found the best answer to this problem, though, so who has a better solution? Go for it! Answers to this messageboard!!!
But how about an option to "tick the box for no publicity" (writing as one who trades from a PO Box address, and is ex-directory)

:idea:
Kevin

tonymckendrick
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:55 pm

Post by tonymckendrick »

How about a name badge?

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kevinramsdale
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Location: Lincoln

Post by kevinramsdale »

tonymckendrick wrote:How about a name badge?
Yet another threat to the quest for anonymity .......


Kevin :lol:
Kevin

norvic
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:46 am

Re: who are you?

Post by norvic »

Although I can understand that traders, especially those away from their premises, do not wish to advertise their address and the fact that they are away from those premises, nonetheless it is important that customers can identify who they are dealing with and how they can contact them in the event of any problem with what they purchased.

In fact I believe this is a legal requirement, though many fair organisers ignore it. This edited information is extracted from East Riding Trading Standards website. Although directed primarily at Boot Sale sellers, it must apply to any location.
Indicating who you are

Consumers can quite reasonably expect to know who they are dealing with and who to contact if they have a question about their purchase.

The Companies Act 2006 lays down the requirements relating to the name a business chooses to trade under and the rules preventing the use of names that could mislead the public. The business names requirements apply where you do not trade under your own name. They state you must clearly display your business name and an address to which legal documents can be sent. These requirements also apply to receipts, invoices, orders and correspondence issued in the course of your business. You may feel uneasy about providing customers with this information, but if you do not provide it you will be in breach of the legislation and liable for penalties imposed if a trading standards service takes formal action.

---8<----- your business premises (includes a trader's permanent premises as well as temporary premises, such as a market stall).
But basically, why would you not want people to know who you are? It certainly makes it easier for your postal customers to find you 'live'. And at the very least the fair organisers should include names and phone numbers in the fair programme.

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kevinramsdale
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Location: Lincoln

Re: who are you?

Post by kevinramsdale »

Wow - this an old thread :)

Anyway I attended the Nottingham postcard fair yesterday and Brian (reflections) still has identified dealers there, however the practice has not become widespread in the intervening years.
Kevin

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