Classifieds Policy

[Norton]

The 50 post classifieds rule is there for a reason. Trying to circumvent it will not be tolerated. Rapid fire posts in an attempt to reach the 50 post limit will be deleted.

Ultimately, it is to provide a minimal amount of protection to our members and the owner of this forum from fraudulent or illegal activity.

The number of problems that we encounter are mercifully few and we attribute that to the simple policy of expecting that anyone wanting to make use of this valuable FREE service is going to make a minimal contribution to the community before using the classifieds.

In the past, we've had some very questionable activity and thanks to our members' alertness we've been able to head it off before it becomes a problem.

If someone tries to contact you via PM, lead you to a 3rd party classifieds site or makes a post along the lines of "I have a gun I'd like to sell, is $XX a fair price for it?", you should be concerned that there is a reason that they are trying to get around the established procedure for the classifieds.

[Norton]

Please be sure to always use the COMMIT TO BUY button when closing a deal from the classifieds ad.

This protects you and the seller from someone making an offer after you have "verbally" committed to the purchase. It effectively closes the ad until the seller signs off on, thus "reserving" the item for you pending the final transaction.

It also makes a paper trail for us if we need to investigate.

[Norton]

Please be sure to use the FEEDBACK system within the Classifieds.

It will actually last longer than any threads, either positive or negative, regarding a transaction. That feedback stays with a member throughout their time here, just like eBay.

[Norton]

Please, please, please.....

If you are a buyer, use the Commit to Buy button. Do not just PM the seller and negotiate the deal in a sidebar.

This serves several purposes:

1. In enables the feedback system.
2. It locks other buyers out of the deal, thus ensuring that multiple people are not expecting that they are purchaser.
3. It locks the ad and avoids zombie ads from floating around.
4. It tracks the transaction in the unlikely event of a dispute.

[Norton]

If you have multiple items within one ad and thus have the Commit to Buy function work for each item, it is your responsibility to close the ad (or request one of us to close it) when all items in the ad are sold.

[Norton]

Effective immediately:

In an effort to give all users the most equitable use of the classifieds section, users are requested to limit their classifieds ads to no more than 5 open ads.

The administration reserves the right to remove ads that exceed the 5 ad limit with no warning or explanation.

This policy is in effect for new ads being placed from today forward.

[zoostation]

The idea is just to be fair to everybody and give everyone a chance to keep their stuff in the limelight for at least a little while before it gets bumped. While we don't run the site for classifieds, we do realize that buying, trading, and selling is a big part of our hobby so we try to keep it as functional as possible for everyone. All that being said, we have to work within the confines of what the classified software can do as well. I think we're pretty liberal about the site's classified policies even under this new rule. If you look at some other boards, like one very popular C&R-type gun forum that a lot of us Mosin Nagant types frequent, they have a rule to combine all ads into one for either firearms or non-firearms related stuff. We don't want to be that strict here, but five seems like a happy medium to balance things between the guys who sell a lot of stuff and the guys who may only sell something very occasionally, but still want to sell it just as much as the regular users.

[Norton]

Originally Posted by putneyswope

Just out of curiousity, how do we leave feedback if we sell to more than one buyer in the same ad?

If they do not already have activity within the classified system and you didn't use the "commit to" functions, I don't think you can.

If they already have an ad or feedback, you can click on their name and get to a window with all of their classifieds activity.

You can then look over on the left near the bottom, and you'll see a link to submit feedback.

[joppaj]

All,

Please be advised that it is the policy of the board that we will follow all applicable laws. Sometimes that requires us to interpret things which may not be crystal clear and as such we will always err on the side of protecting the board and DD214 from any unnecessary legal vulnerabilities.

All that is the long way around to reminding everyone that it is MDS policy that it is not permitted to advertise magazine with a 20+ round capacity in our classifieds. Even if you offer to meet across state lines for a legal transfer, we can't have the offer of sale occurring on the board. MD law prohibits sale, transfer or offer for sale and we're going to make sure we adhere to the letter and spirit. We're going to ask anyone that may be in violation of this to take today to clean up their ads. If you need help editing a classified, let us know. DO NOT close it and re-open it, edit it please.

Thank you for your cooperation with this.

[Norton]

A reminder that it is illegal to offer for sale any magazines in excess of 20 rounds.

Any classifieds ads advertising such magazines will be deleted.

[joppaj]

Originally Posted by Norton

Effectively immediately, all for sale ads are required to have a price visible in the price column.

We're done with the E-Bay style "bid" ads.

When creating your ad, use only numbers in the price field. Do not add the dollar sign or the price field will be left blank.

The exception is for multiple items placed within the same ad. For these ads, prices must be clearly stated within the ad.

Please also post your location or where you are willing to meet within the ad so that members can weigh in the costs of travel into whether they want to purchase your item.

We allowed some latitude in recent months due to the disturbances in the market created by the election and December 14. We feel that it is now time to go back to the previous policy of requiring prices.

The staff reserves the right to close ads without notification.

This is effective for all ads and ad renewals placed from March 17, 2013 forward.

Guys, please pay attention to this. We're going to start closing ads that aren't in compliance.

[Norton]

If you bump your ad before its 3 week cycle ends, it will be closed.

If you do not put a price in the ad, it will be closed.

Repeat violators will lose their access to the classifieds.

[joppaj]

Originally Posted by Norton

If you bump your ad before its 3 week cycle ends, it will be closed.

If you do not put a price in the ad, it will be closed.

Repeat violators will lose their access to the classifieds.

Worth remembering that if you list ads for magazines in excess of 20-rounds, your ad will be closed.

[Norton]

Reminder:

Effectively immediately, all for sale ads are required to have a price visible in the price column.

We're done with the E-Bay style "bid" ads.

When creating your ad, use only numbers in the price field. Do not add the dollar sign or the price field will be left blank.

The exception is for multiple items placed within the same ad. For these ads, prices must be clearly stated within the ad.

Please also post your location or where you are willing to meet within the ad so that members can weigh in the costs of travel into whether they want to purchase your item.

We allowed some latitude in recent months due to the disturbances in the market created by the election and December 14. We feel that it is now time to go back to the previous policy of requiring prices.

The staff reserves the right to close ads without notification.

This is effective for all ads and ad renewals placed from March 17, 2013 forward.