** FOR NEW MEMBERS ** Why can't I see the FOR SALE section & sales section rules

[Punchsteve]

Hello and welcome to the airgun bbs.

A commonly asked question by new members is "Does this forum have a sales section?", closely followed by "Why can't I see the sales section?

The airgunbbs does have a thriving sales forum, but new member's aren't able to see it immediately. If you are a new member, and are having difficulty in seeing the for sale section, please have a look at this list.

1). Have I made at least 5 posts and have they appeared on the board? A new member's first few posts are moderated, meaning that they need to be read and approved by a site moderator before they appear. *Hint* One word posts that are obviously made to bump up a member's post count to gain access to sales may not appear.

2). Have I entered my nearest postal town into my profile? To use the sales section, you must have your nearest postal town entered into your profile, and not your county. No postal town, no sales.

3). Have I waited at least 24 hours after meeting the criteria above? Access to sales is granted automatically when the server updates itself and sees that a member has the required post count.

If you can answer "yes" to all of the criteria above, and still can't see the sales section, contact a site moderator and politely ask for access. You can see a list of site moderators HERE.

[Punchsteve]

1. Before posting in the sales sections:

Before you post an advert or a response to an advert on the BBS, please type the name of your nearest or postal town into your User Profile.

To do this, first, click on 'Settings' at the top right of the screen then, click on 'Edit Profile' on the list down the left hand side of your screen, and into the space provided, type the name of your town into 'Nearest town (not your county)'. Hit 'Save Changes'' at the bottom of the page and you're done.

This rule is to help protect BBS members from fraudsters and from former members who have been banned for trading irregularities, and who try to get back onto the BBS under a new identity. Knowing their location makes it easier for the mods to identify them so that they can be banned from the BBS.

The mods will try to ensure that all adverts and responses display the poster's home town, but we cannot screen every post, so please DO NOT respond to any 'sales' or 'wanted' post that does not display the poster's town, do not send monies nor goods unless the address tallies with that in the other party's User Profile - if you are asked to do so then please inform the mods and we will take action.

It is requested that, if using a picture to show the condition of an item but the picture posted is not actually of that item but a representation of a similar model, that the seller indicates this in his post. This is to ensure that the image supplied is an accurate representation of the item for sale. For legal reasons, please do not use copyrighted images.

2. NO AUCTIONS:

YOU MUST STATE A PRICE, NO OFFERS!!!
NO LINKS TO ONLINE AUCTIONS.
ZERO TOLERANCE!

3. You may NOT advertise:

ANIMALS/LIVESTOCK/BIRDS/SNAKES/REPTILES OF ANY KIND nor even insects may be sold or advertised or even given away on this board.

Copies, rips and pirates of all DVD or CD's will not be tolerated. It's illegal and Edward is responsible for all content on the BBS.

Any items by way of trade or business.

Any items banned under UK law.

Brand new items. This includes 'unused' items bought for the purpose of re-selling.

Tobacco and alcohol products are also prohibited.

It is also an offence to market knives in such a way to describe them as combat ready, or in some other way that would serve to suggest that the knife should be used anti-socially.

4. Etiquette:

When responding to an item for sale, the first unconditional commitment to buy should take precedence over statements of intent to purchase subject to a condition.

Asking for photographs etc, is not a firm commitment and the seller is under no obligation to hold the item, or sell it to that member if a statement to buy is made with a caveat attached, unless it’s by prior agreement.

We would much prefer that commitments to buy be made on the thread, to avoid any confusion or bad feeling, but ultimately it is entirely up to the seller who they chose to sell to, irrespective of whatever means is used to make that commitment. (PM email etc).

It is good manners and practice that once the item is sold, to go back to the original post and edit it to indicate this by typing SOLD into it. This saves users from trawling through pages of 'bumps' only to find that it's been sold and that they've wasted their time.

'Bumps': Every time an advertisement is 'bumped' to the top of the list by the advertiser, everyone else's advertisement scrolls down the page. Anyone who bumps an advertisement excessively will find that it disappears and they may lose access to the sales sections. Do not bump more than twice in 1 day, and no bumps are allowed after 14 days. If an item has not sold in 14 days the seller needs to consider options and may re-post the advert after a 7 day break. Note: Common sense is to be used, you don't need to post "pm replied to", the chap will get it in his inbox. Posting this is exactly the same as a bump!

The 14 day ruling as detailed does not apply to F.A.C. and/or S.G.C. items advertised for sale in the correct sections however, as selling these, by design, can take much longer than items not covered by said legislation. All other bump rules as detailed, do apply to F.A.C. and/or S.G.C. sales threads in their entirety though, and without exception.

The prices asked for any article on this section is the business of the seller and NOBODY else, anyone posting saying things such as "XYZ sells them cheaper" or makes any derogatory comments about the article will immediately lose access to this section.

Sellers: If you intend to add a percentage or offer a discount according to the payment method, could you please make this clear in the advertisement.

Paypal as a 'gift'. A number of members who have sent funds via Paypal as a 'gift' have found that if the goods are not as described, faulty, damaged in transit, or do not arrive, Paypal will not refund their money if the 'seller' refuses to make good. Because of this, the mods have taken the decision to prohibit sellers asking in their advertisements for payment via Paypal as a gift.

When advertising items for sale by a non-member, we expect the member placing the advertisement to accept responsibility for the sale, as if they had made the sale themselves. It is the responsibility of the member to verify the condition of the item, the accuracy of the description, and the reliability of the third party whose goods they are advertising.

Anyone posting 'Wanted' adverts in sales section will lose access to sales, as will anyone deemed by the Mods to be interfering in another members' sale.

Please do not chat, comment on, or bump, other people's sales threads. In short, if you are not selling or interested in buying, or answering a direct request for information, do not post on a thread. These actions simply bump the thread to the top and drop somebody else down

Multiple ads

You are not restricted to 1 advert, but you are only allowed 2 bumps per day. These may be used on 1 ad (ie bumped twice) or shared, but each person has two and only two bumps per day. Anybody bumping more will see the effected ads deleted. This is to stop one person flooding sales with multiple ads.
It has been drawn to the mod's attention that some members are circumventing the daily bumps limit by deleting previous bumps. This is very selfish and will not be tolerated. Members who do this will in future find their most recent bump deleted, and persistent offenders will lose sales access.

5. Age: The minimum legal age for buying or selling an airgun (or even receiving one as a gift) in the UK is now 18. Because not only the person aged under 18 selling an airgun, but also the other party in any subsequent transaction, would be acting illegally, we regretfully cannot allow any member under 18 to place sales or wanted advertisements for airguns.

If the mods find any member under 18 advertising an airgun for sale or wanted, they will lose access to the airgun sales and wanted sections.

All members: Before entering into a transaction, please check that the other party has stated in their user profile that they are over 18.

Younger members: On reaching your 18th birthday, PM a mod and inform them, so that they can update your user profile.