FOR SALE advert. guidelines.. **AMENDED** 13-November-2015

[BillMorrow]

This the FOR SALE AD guide..... no rules are hard and fast and all rules are subject to change at the whim or will of the moderators and admins...... these are GUIDELINES.

1. ANY For Sale ad may be removed once the item has been sold or is no longer available for sale. It is preferred that the original author do this but any admin or moderator also has that power.

2. An asking price must be posted in each ad.

3. In the case of used Thinkpads the model and type number should be included in the ad.

4. No brand new Thinkpads may be offered for sale without the consent of the Senior Admin.

5. The For Sale ads are not limited to Thinkpads, so go ahead and offer your powerbook or h/p omnibook or the like.

6. In the case of any who are in need of an escrow holder, I will do that for a fee of $50 + any postage or other costs.

7. No photos for anything unless you put a warning in the subject line. And then, A FEW SMALL photos. This will be allowed until someone abuses this rule.

8. Excessive bumping will cause that for sale post to be deleted. If you MUST bump your FS post, a 3 day limit seems to be fair. Bump it more often and it will be bye-bye.

There is a long-standing forum rule that is particularly important in the Marketplace: That rule is the 72-hour waiting period between bumping any kind of thread whether it's FS, FT, WTB, etc. The reason for the rule is to give everyone a fair chance at getting their thread noticed. Bumping before the 72 hours is up will get your thread locked. A bumping feature is one of the new functions that has been implemented in the new forum. Looking at the image below, you'll see a new circled link called "Bump topic" just above the dark blue border. That feature has been set to 3 days (72 hours), and if it does not appear in the original message to your thread, do not bump your thread as the 72 hours is not up. Once that feature does appear, just click on the link to bump the thread and start the next 72 hour waiting period. Thanks for your cooperation.



9. In general, price negotiation should be done through direct communication (PM or email etc) between buyer and seller, not in posted messages.

10. PRICES: If you don't agree with an item's price or know where the same item is being sold for less, do NOT interfere or post your opinion/prices on the thread in question. The seller may not know the current market price of what's being sold. Instead, negotiate with the seller directly via PM or purchase from another seller. Any posts suggesting or negotiating prices in public will be removed without notice.
(Updated 24-September-2015)

11. Warning, buyer beware on laptop sales; Unless the installed OS (or add on software) was the originally supplied version from the factory, then the laptop should be assumed to have no valid OS or add on software.

12. ALL sales offered in the marketplace SHOULD offer accepting PayPal as a method of payment. ALL potential buyers are warned that ANYONE restricting payment to Western Union moneygram (or the like) should be viewed with GREAT CAUTION as that person selling is most likely, attempting to, or engaging in fraud and that the buyer in such a transaction is MOST likely going to lose his money. (Rule added 28-aug-2010)

13. No seller may have more than five (5) active FS/FT/WTB threads at a time.

14. CURRENCIES. If you are NOT located in USA (or your location is unclear), please specify the exact currency, such as USD/US$ or CAD/CA$, for all prices mentioned.
(Updated 13-November-2015)


More guidelines may appear as they are suggested to me..

[underclocker]

All very fair rules and simple to follow.

In practice, with regard to rule #1, many people change their listing title from a "For Sale" or "Looking For" or "Wanted to Buy" ad to a "SOLD" or "FOUND" in the title at the appropriate time.

I think this is the best practice since 1) it let's people know the item is gone (or found), and 2) it leaves item description, forum member comments and historical pricing intact, which is very helpful information.

[pianowizard]

I also think locking sold threads is better than removing them, because that can give the buyer some form of protection. If a problem arises in the transaction (e.g. the specs don't match), having access to the original thread would be very helpful.

[dorronto]

I also think locking sold threads is better than removing them, because that can give the buyer some form of protection. If a problem arises in the transaction (e.g. the specs don't match), having access to the original thread would be very helpful.

I definitely agree with this. Possibly put a max time window like 6 months, and after the fact it will be deleted.

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

Important to all:
New Rule 14. CURRENCIES. added in the above "FOR SALE advert. guidelines".

14. CURRENCIES. If you are NOT located in USA (or your location is unclear), please specify the exact currency, such as USD/US$ or CAD/CA$, for all prices mentioned.