Terms

The short version: Bidding takes a 20% deposit (minimum £10), refunded in full if you don’t win and deducted from the price if you do. The highest bid on a spot when the auction closes wins it, and you’ll be invoiced for the remainder afterwards. I check every logo by hand and can refuse one.

What is being sold

Sticker spots on a genuine restored 1970s open-top London Routemaster bus that I own and drive. Up to sixteen spots are available across the outside of the bus — on the side panels, the front, and the rear. Winning a spot buys you a printed die-cut vinyl sticker of your logo applied to that surface, plus a listing on this site with a link to your website. Side panels are seen clearly by pedestrians, traffic, and anyone along the route; front and rear spots are visible as the bus approaches and pulls away.

This is a personal project run by Jack Taris, trading as Advert Bus. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Transport for London or any bus operator.

How the auction works

• Placing a bid charges a deposit of 20% of your bid, minimum £10, by card. Deposits you have already paid on a spot count toward a later bid on that same spot, so reclaiming it after being outbid costs only the difference.
• Your bid is not visible and counts for nothing until the deposit is paid and the logo is approved.
• Each spot has a starting price. A new bid must beat the standing one by at least £10.
• A bid placed in the last 10 minutes pushes the closing time back by 10 minutes, so the auction cannot be won by bidding at the final second.
• The highest bid on a spot when the auction closes wins it, whether or not the overall funding goal is reached.

Paying, and what happens if you don’t

After the auction closes I email each winner a payment link. All amounts are settled in GBP.

A 20% deposit (minimum £10) is charged when you bid. If you are outbid and bid again, deposits you have already paid on that spot count toward the new one, so you only pay the difference. When the auction closes, everyone who did not win a spot is refunded in full, automatically; winners have their deposit deducted from the final invoice.

The card you pay the deposit with is kept for the balance only. If your bid wins, the remaining amount — whatever the auction settles it at, which is not known when you bid — is charged to that card when the auction closes, and you get the invoice. If it does not win, the card is never charged and the deposit comes back. Should the charge fail, I send a payment link instead.

If a winner does not pay the remainder within 7 days, the deposit is forfeited and the spot goes to the next highest bidder. No hard feelings, but the auction has to resolve.

Your logo

By uploading a logo you confirm you have the right to use it and to let me display and print it for this project.

I review every logo by hand before it appears, and I may accept or refuse any bid at my sole discretion, without having to justify the decision — the bus is mine, and I keep the final say over what it carries. If I refuse yours, your bid is cancelled and your deposit comes back in full.

What I promise, and what I don’t

I will print your sticker, apply it to the bus, and drive the published route for the full run. The bus will appear in the promo video and photos once the project wraps.

I make no promise about impressions, reach, views, clicks, or results. Nobody can honestly guarantee those for a moving bus, and I will not invent a number. You are buying presence, not performance.

A sticker is a paid placement, not an endorsement — in either direction: I do not vouch for the brands on the bus, and they do not vouch for me.

If a brand on the bus later turns out to be fraudulent, unlawful, or materially misrepresented, I may remove its sticker and refund the remaining time pro rata. The bus is mine, and I keep the final say over what it carries.

If things go wrong

If the bus is lost, stolen, replaced, or unable to complete the run for a sustained period, I will move your sticker to its replacement or refund you pro rata for the time remaining, whichever you prefer. If I cancel the auction before it closes, every deposit is refunded in full and nothing further is owed by anyone.

Who you are dealing with

This site is published and operated by Jack Taris, trading as Advert Bus, London. Contact: jack@advertbus.co.uk.

Card payments are processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. I never see or store your card details.

Sticker spots are sold as advertising space to businesses and professionals, not to consumers, and the prices shown are the amounts charged.

Questions

Email jack@advertbus.co.uk. These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.