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Hull North MP launches caravan tax petition

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Hull North MP launches caravan tax petitionA petition has been launched in Hull in opposition to government plans to introduce 20% VAT on the sale of static caravans.

Hull North labour MP, Diana Johnson, has begun a cross-party petition and has also said that the tax would be “unfair and destructive”.

The National Caravan Council (NCC) has already said it could cost jobs in East Yorkshire’s caravan manufacturing industry.

The government has said that the change was about fairness, however, the NCC has warned that the tax could mean that “in the first year, more than 1,000 jobs could be lost in manufacturing, plus a similar number from suppliers to the industry”.

Touring and mobile caravans currently already carry VAT and the government has said that putting tax on static caravans was about changing a loophole in the law.

Launching the petition in Hull’s Queen Victoria Square, Ms Johnson, said: “This Commons’ petition against the caravan tax is part of our cross-party campaign, using every means at our disposal, to persuade ministers to withdraw this unfair and destructive tax.

“We’re asking Hull people to get behind caravan workers and their fight for local jobs.”

Ms Johnson was joined at the launch by Lord Prescott and fellow Labour MP, Alan Johnson, who represents Hull West and Hessle.

Picture: Dick Penn 

May 4, 2012 · Tagged with , , , , ,

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Top 5 ways dealers can promote their caravans

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As a caravan dealer, to help you get the most out of Caravan Selecta we’ve put together some top tips to help you sell your caravans fast.

1. Add a dealer logo. You can boost your response with a dealer logo on all of your adverts, just send us your logo in a good quality format and we will add it to all your adverts.

2. Advertise in our e-newsletters. You can place your products in front of a potential audience of 27,300 subscribers by advertising in our customer focused e-newsletters.

3. Send us your unusual news. Send us your silly, funny or funky caravans stories and we will add them to our Facebook pages. We now have over 3,600 followers on Facebook and 1,900 followers on Twitter.

4. Use social media to engage customers. If you are a fan of Facebook and Twitter, yet don’t have the time to get the best out of social media or are not sure where to start and what will give you the best return, we can help you. We have a great new product that can take out the hard work, so you can free up your time and reap the benefits of this fast growing medium.

5. Add as many photos to your listings as possible. Our research shows that stock listings advertised with more than four photos have a response that’s 72% better than those that don’t.

May 1, 2012 · Tagged with

Caravan News, News

Upload more pictures to your stock listings on Caravan Selecta

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Caravan Selecta just keeps getting better and better. We are now offering dealers the chance to upload even more photos of their stock to their listings.

Previously you could only add up to six photos of your caravans and motorhomes, whereas now you will be able to upload 10!

But how will this benefit dealers and users?

Benefits to users
Anyone searching for caravans or motorhomes on our site will now be able to look at plenty more pictures before they make their mind up on a certain model. This is important as the more pictures you see the more of the caravan you see. It’s that simple.

When you are searching for a caravan online you will want to be able to look at the exterior, obviously, and as much of the interior as possible. And now you can.

Benefits to dealers
Dealers benefit too! If you have more pictures accompanying your ads then you are almost guaranteed a better response from users. It really is that simple. The more areas of your stock you can photograph the better.

Again, this is because the more pictures a user sees the more confident they can be that your stock is what they are after.

So there you have it, rather than having to look at a couple of picture of your desired caravan you can now see pictures of the outside, the bedroom, the washroom, the kitchen and close ups of anything in particular that the dealer sees necessary to show you. Everyone’s a winner!

Photo by dareppi

April 25, 2012 · Tagged with , , , ,

News

Caravan Selecta sees meteoric rise in traffic

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Caravan Selecta sees fantastic increase in trafficIf you’re looking to get in front of the biggest audience possible then we are most certainly the place to advertise. On 3 April 2012 we moved Caravan Selecta over to new domains called ‘Caravans for Sale’ and ‘Motorhomes for Sale’ which has resulted in a very impressive growth in traffic.

Since the migration we have seen a 64% increase in visitors which is nearly 25,000 extra visits every week, and we have also seen a whopping 110% increase in page views.

This increase in people heading to the site means that dealers who are selling with us will notice a far greater response to their ads.

This new change has meant that we are now indisputably the market leader for Caravans and Motorhomes on the web. We are number one in the Hitwise rankings, where it is clear we have moved well ahead of our competitors, and we also rank in the number one spot for the search terms ‘caravans for sale’ and ‘motorhomes for sale’ in Google, ahead of rivals such as Autotrader and Caravan Finder, which brings us thousands of extra visits to the site.

These search terms are now bringing in thousands of new visitors to the site each week, compared to the hundreds we were seeing before the site’s domains changed. In a competitive market ranking so high for these two search phrases really helps us deliver quality traffic to the dealers ads. Below is the Hitwise graph that demonstrates our position for the week ending 21 April 2012.

Caravan Selecta sees fantastic increase in traffic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** You might notice that for week ending 07/04 and the 14/04 we were in third (we were actually 1st these weeks too but our new domains weren’t being tracking properly).

 

So all of this new traffic means that more and more people are looking at dealers’ stock on Caravan Selecta than ever before!

April 25, 2012 · Tagged with , , , , ,

Caravan News

MPs oppose Chancellor’s decision to close VAT loophole on static caravans

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MPs oppose Chancellor’s decision to close VAT loophole on static caravansMPs are currently calling for the Chancellor to go back on his decision to close the VAT loophole on static caravans. If you haven’t already heard, George Osborne announced recently that from 1 October 2012, the 20% sales tax will be levied on static caravans which are currently VAT-free.

Manufacturers of caravans are worried that the decision could lead to a number of job losses and could also “damage sales”. In 2008 the caravan industry suffered over 1,500 job losses and the economic downturn was heavily blamed for this.

MPs in East Yorkshire are calling for the chancellor to reverse his decision.

The MP for Beverley and Holderness, Mr Graham Stuart, told the BBC: “We will be working cross-party and as one in telling the government to think again about the impact this VAT rise will have on East Yorkshire and the caravan industry as a whole.”

The National Caravan Council (NCC) said 95% of all UK caravans were made in the region, which could be hit hard if the changes go ahead.

MPs David Davis, Diana Johnson, Andrew Percy, Graham Stuart and Karl Turner met local caravan manufacturers and councillors to discuss the impact of the proposed VAT levy on the economy.

Labour MP Ms Johnson also spoke to the BBC saying: “In our view it is a mistake to implement this 20% on static caravans and we will fight very hard in the House of Commons to get the government to see sense and drop this proposal.”

In response to these claims a Treasury spokesperson told the BBC: “This change addresses a long-standing anomaly and brings static caravans in line with other holiday caravans.

“We have issued a consultation document with draft legislation so that if businesses wish to raise any particular technical implementation difficulties, they have an opportunity to so before 4 May.”

April 23, 2012 · Tagged with , , , , , ,

News

Highbridge Caravan Centre launches new online shop

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Highbridge Caravan Centre launches new online shopHighbridge Caravan Centre is one of the country’s largest outdoor leisure companies and has been a family run business for close to 50 years.

The company has been founded upon excellent customer service and vast amounts of experience in the industry.

They have now launched a brand new online shop where you can browse through a huge selection of products including caravan and motorhome accessories, tents, camping equipment and outdoor leisure accessories.

So here are five fantastic reasons to head on over to www.shop.highbridgecaravans.co.uk now:

1. There are 1000+ of products with 100s more being added every month

2. They have a 100% secure Sagepay Secure Checkout

3. You get free UK delivery on all orders over £100

4. Items have comprehensive info including descriptions, specifications, images and videos

5. Satisfaction guarantee – if you are not 100% satisfied then simply return the item.

And if that wasn’t good enough, they’ve extended their introductory offer so you can now enjoy up to 10% off your order until the end of April!*

Simply add the following code to your basket: HCCORDER

*Terms and Conditions Apply – See website for details

April 19, 2012 · Tagged with , , ,

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Hymer secures UK agent

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Hymer has appointed a new commercial agent for the UK.

Paul Kershaw will be responsible for several Hymer Group brands.

He aims to appoint up to six Hymer motorhome dealers over the coming weeks.

This will be the first time in Hymer’s history that there will be an independent dealer network in the UK and comes after Hymer’s sales and marketing chief, Jorg Reithmeier, confirmed the brand would stay in the UK, despite ending its sole importer agreement with Brownhills.

Read the full story on the Out & About Live website.

March 21, 2012 · Tagged with

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Traffic to Caravan Selecta surges in 2012

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We’re chuffed to announce that we received 165,000 visits to Caravan Selecta in February 2012.

We received 985,620 page views in February alone, which represents a whopping 17% year-on-year increase. Bounce rates have decreased, meaning people are engaging more with the site than they did a year ago.

This result shows that traffic has grown significantly when compared to last year and we believe it’s set to grow even more over the coming months.

We’re anticipating a seasonal lift and when combined with our acquisition and migration of content to the domains caravansforsale.co.uk and motorhomesforsale.co.uk we believe out hard work will result in us pulling a motor home’s worth of traffic.

March 21, 2012 · Tagged with

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Caravan Selecta targets new domains

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Here at Caravan Selecta HQ, we’ve been busy acquiring two new domains and will soon be moving our content over onto them. So keep your eyes peeled for our new sites: caravansforsale.co.uk and motorhomesforsale.co.uk.

Securing these two domains is a real coup for us and you should also see significant benefits. Our organic Google rankings will soar when buyers search for these popular keywords and this will help us build on our existing market strength.

Crucially, the acquisition will mean we get more visitors to our sites and in turn this will result in a better response for you – our valued dealers.

March 21, 2012 · Tagged with

Caravan News

More and more people head abroad for winter

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According to the Camping & Caravanning club, more and more Brits are heading abroad for a winter break this year. The Club has reported a massive rise in the number of holidaymakers booking up for its European Winter Sun Rallies, with almost two-thirds (61 per cent) more getting involved this winter season than last.

Rallies are held in numerous European destinations, including Spain and Portugal, and are organised by members of the Club on behalf of its Carefree Travel Service.

“Many holidaymakers decide against camping abroad generally due to their fear of the unknown, so it’s encouraging to see that so many people are now looking to enjoy new camping experiences in foreign countries,” said Richard Grimsdale, the Club’s travel services director.

He added that the Carefree Winter Sun Rallies offer caravanners the chance to holiday together while enjoying the warm European weather.

November 25, 2011 · Tagged with , ,

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