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Classifieds Rules, October 28, 2013


Admin

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Classifieds Terms and Conditions

 

 

1. The Classifieds section

 

The Classifieds Section is intended to be a place for members to sell their own pens and related items to other FPN members. It is NOT intended to attract members whose sole participation on the Fountain Pen Network is to list ads. Members conducting business this way will have their access to the Classifieds section revoked. In order to be able to post an advert in Classifieds, a member has to be a Gold member. In order to become a Gold member, a member must be registered for at least 30 days and have at least 30 posts in all discussion forums but Chatter. 30+ days of being registered will result in a Bronze to Silver membership promotion and having posted 30+ posts in addition will result in a Silver to Gold membership promotion . Only Gold members can post sales in Classifieds. IOW, if a member hasn't reached Gold membership status yet, a member does not qualify to create a Classified, and will not be able to do so.

 

In addition to Gold Members, Premium Account Holders may post in Classifieds as well, with fewer restrictions. They may be considered Gold+ members.

 

 

2. Seller Rules applying to Gold Members and Premium Account Holders:

 

2.a. Gold Members:

Hobbyists selling in order to change their own private collection must use the Gold category in Classifieds, and these Gold Members are limited to a maximum of 3 classifieds per week, and a maximum of 24 classifieds per year, with a maximum of three (3) pens per classified counting as as many classifieds as pens offered, with a single, total (cumulative), realistic price, per listing (or classified). Individual pen prices may be listed in the advert itself. If a Gold Member has the need to sell more often than 24 times a year, and/or more than 3 pen or pen lot, and/or at multiple price points per listing, said Member should consider a Premium Account, with significant additional benefits. Furthermore, if a Gold Member sells large volumes of pens or large quantities on a regular basis, or of considerable value, the Member will be considered to be a trader and will be required to purchase a Premium Account. This decision is made solely at the discretion of the Administrator and Moderator Team.

 

2.b. Ruby Traders:

A Ruby Premium Account Holder, a (semi-) professional from the world of fountain pens, MUST post their classifieds in the Ruby category. A Ruby Account Holder is allowed to post a maximum of 20 Classifieds per month with a maximum of 5 pens per advert, counting as as many adverts as pens offered, and has several other benefits, in the Classifieds section and other parts of the board. The rule of a single, cumulative total price per advert with individual pen prices in the advert itself still applies.

 

2.c. Emerald Traders:

An Emerald Premium Account Holder, a (semi-) professional from the world of fountain pens, MUST post their classifieds in the Emerald category. An Emerald Account Holder is allowed to post a maximum of 60 Classifieds per month with a maximum of 5 pens per advert, counting as as many pens as offered, and has quite a few other benefits, in the Classifieds section and other parts of the board. The rule of a single, cumulative total price per advert with individual pen prices in the advert itself still applies.

 

2.d. Diamond Traders:

A Diamond Premium Account Holder, a (semi-) professional from the world of fountain pens, MUST post their classifieds in the Diamond category. A Diamond Account Holder is allowed to post a maximum of 120 Classifieds per month with a maximum of 5 pens per advert, counting as as many adverts as pens offered, and has many other benefits, in the Classifieds section and other parts of the board. The rule of a single, cumulative total price per advert with individual pen prices in the advert itself still applies.

 

Note that classifieds will be removed if they are found to be in the wrong category, with the additional risk of earning demerits, or having their permissions in Classifieds revoked, see further below.

 

 

3. Professional pen sellers and/or businesses (Premium Account Holders)

 

Premium Account Holders may post in the Classifieds section, but the content must be presented on the Fountain Pen Network and may not simply be a link to an external website or an advertisement of a sale (which would belong in the Mall forum).

 

 

4. Classifieds are for the explicit sale or trade of an item or items, and have to conform to the following:

 

4.a. Brand/Model requirement:

If, as a seller, you don't know what you are selling, how can you price it reasonably? This is a pen related site, and if you cannot find the information to identify what you are selling, then ask. There are very knowledgeable people here. Classifieds helps you in so far that you actually have to make a few choices in this regard.

 

4.b. LE/serial number requirement:

A LE pen can be valuable. And counterfeited. If the serial number is declared, someone else can check their own one and see if it's duplicated. This helps reduce counterfeiting. Some people are also interested in collecting certain serial numbers - so declaring the number can increase the number of people wanting the pen. Again, Classifieds helps you in remembering to add the actual LE number by means of a checklist.

 

4.c. Photograph requirement:

A seller supplied UPLOADED image is REQUIRED to display the actual item(s) being sold, and must not be a copyrighted and/or a 3rd party image. Please follow the Fountain Pen Network guidelines on posting images, which is within 1000x1000 pixels and not greater than 500 KB. Clear, detailed, and revealing of useful details (nib, filling system, etc) is of course appreciated and will help the sale.

 

You may also attach images if you have sufficient space or use an external image hosting website for your images (such as Picasa, Photobucket, Flickr, etc), as long as you display them in the post (a link alone is insufficient).

 

A photograph is mandatory for ink too. The photo confirms that the object exists, the ink level is as described, the vintage & condition is as described.

 

Do note that Classifieds requires for a seller or trader to upload (attach) at least 1 photograph of the item offered from the seller's hard disk. It is possible to upload 1 or more photographs, upload just one, or upload one and supply other images in a different way, as described above. Upload of at least one image is mandatory, however. This image also serves as a thumbnail for the listing.

 

4.d. Price requirement:

Your item must include a price and a payment method. Would you believe it, but in the past some sellers completely forgot to put up a price? Other sellers ask for 'Offers'. This is not permitted as it can be turned into an auction; the Fountain Pen Network has no mechanisms to prevent shill bidding and it's very open to abuse. So, NO AUCTIONS and nothing that could degenerate into an auction is acceptable. However giving a price and suggesting that offers are considered is an acceptable approach. Again, Classifieds helps here. Note that setting the price to 0 (zero) will result in a classified indicating that the item is to be had for FREE!

 

Note: do not add a currency sign to the price, it must be numeric only. Classifieds will return an error otherwise, and will force you to start all over again.

 

4.e. Item Location requirement:

If the item for sale is in a different country from the buyer, there may be customs charges which will affect how much the buyer is prepared to pay. Stating the rough location will indicate whether this is likely to happen. Note that a selection is enforced by the Classifieds posting process.

 

 

5. Payment methods accepted

 

Acceptable payment methods are entirely up to the seller. However, if PayPal is used, the following rules must be followed as mandated by the PayPal company:

 

5.a. No citing of PayPal fees added on top of the stated item price are permitted.

Prices should already include the accommodation of any fees.

 

5.b. Buyers must not use the "Personal Payment" method.

That type of payment is intended for amounts sent only to a friend or family member without a purchase. Personal Payments include, but are not limited to, sending a gift to a friend, or paying a friend back for your share of a lunch bill. Personal Payments must only be sent between two individual persons (not to or from a business). Also note that PayPal buyer protection is declined when paying for an item designated as a "gift".

 

5.c. PayPal payment type accepted (e.g. cash/bank or credit card) must be specified.

Note that the Classifieds system also helps with the above during the Classifeds creation process.

 

 

6. eBay listings are NOT allowed in the Classifieds section

 

eBay listings are only acceptable in the Market Watch forum, and only as a reference to an item of possible interest to other members, and certainly not to your own auctions! This is only allowed for Premium Account Holders in The Mall forum. A link to one's own listing on eBay or any other auction site will be removed. If you want to sell an item on or via the Fountain Pen Network, create a Classified, or purchase a Premium Account to create a listing in The Mall forum.

 

 

7. If you find a problem with what a seller has posted

 

Contact the seller or trader directly to discuss the problem. If an item is overpriced in your opinion, keep that to yourself and do not interfere. However, if you have questions about an item, you are welcome to pose a question in the Classified itself - it allows one to do so. If you suspect a fraudulent item, click on the Report button at the bottom of the ad and submit your concerns to the Admin and Moderator Team.

 

 

8. NO AUCTIONS ARE PERMITTED in Classifieds

 

Auctions are only allowed in the Charity Auction subsection, and ONLY after obtaining approval from the Admin Team.

 

 

9. All members, including sellers and buyers, must have a current contact e-mail address on the Fountain Pen Network.

 

This is used by the system for buyers to contact the sellers directly. The standard PM (Personal Message) system was not designed to cope with this. Not only is there too little space for PM storage, but frankly, it is between members to conduct a deal, and hence emails provide a record for both buyer and seller in cases of dispute.

 

Furthermore, it is mandatory to have a valid and from the Fountain Pen Network reachable email address here on the Fountain Pen Network. Note that listing an email address in the classified itself is no longer necessary, as the buyer can be reached directly by means of the contact seller button, or alternatively from the send email option in the seller's profile.

 

Do note that Premium Account Holders do have the option to use the PM system for business, but a valid and reachable email address is still required.

 

 

10. Wanted To Buy (WTB).

 

It is possible to add a listing for an item wanted. Select the appropriate radio button underneath the description of the item, set a guide price, or 0 for Offers. For a photograph/image, add a logo for the item, or create your own image, doodle or drawing, and upload that. IOW, use your imagination. You can also add WTB to the beginning of the header text of the item you are looking for.

 

 

11. Wanted To Trade (WTT).

 

Create a normal Classified, including photograph, price (value), etc., and add WTT to the beginning of the item header text. Indicate in the description of the item what you would like to trade for. This is effectively a sale, be it not necessarily for money, hence the same requirements apply as do for sales.

 

 

12. Requests for small or single parts for repairs.

 

These may be dealt with in the Repair Q&A forum. Of course listing these in Classifieds is always an option.

 

 

13. Classified renewals.

 

It is possible at the end of the period a classified runs, to renew that classified, which is an extremely simple procedure. This option exists for up to two weeks after the expiration date of the classified, and it can be renewed up to 5 times max. Do note that a re-listing of an item, either via this option or by means of creating a new Classified, requires the member in case of a re-listing of the same item to lower the prices at a reasonable amount. Only items not listed for 90+ days may be re-listed without lowering the price.

 

 

14. After the sale or potential sale.

 

For the sake of history and research, we ask that you do not delete the price from your original Classified or post after an item has been sold. Furthermore, please do use the tags SOLD and/or ON HOLD (advert type) of your Classified when an item is sold or put on hold, to make the buying and browsing experience of potential buyers more pleasant.

 

Any of the Classifieds guidelines may be subject to amendment, change or addition when or where considered appropriate by the Moderator and Admin Team.

 

Please note that any classifieds which do not meet with requirements laid down above and with the general rules and guidelines of the Fountain Pen Network will be removed from the forum, and from Classifieds, without notice, and without further discussion. Repeat offenses will generate demerits. 3 demerits will result in a two to four week suspension for the account in question, and 5 demerits in a complete suspension. Offending Gold Members may also be demoted to a Silver Membership, with no access to posting Classifieds, other than acquiring a Premium Account.

 

Thank you all for your continued support and good luck with your transactions! And lastly, remember "Caveat Emptor". Use your own good judgment on making a purchase. The Fountain Pen Network Staff is not a party in transactions between members and is unable to mediate buyer/seller disputes.

 

 

The FPN Moderator and Admin Team

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