fiestaturbo.com

[andymac]

Buying and Selling Guidelines
Last Updated 9th January, 2012

GENERAL

A lot of buying and selling through forums is about common sense. There are rules, but they are simple to follow and ultimately, for everyones benefit.

Important things to bear in mind though :

• Never agree to a sale or purchase through PM. Aside from annoying people who may be posting on a "for sale" thread, IP addresses are not logged in the PM system, making it difficult to impossible to trace the person buying / selling.
  
• Always get a postal address up front. Verify this if at all possible. If someone wants to pay by PayPal then that’s great as they’ll have a verified address on file. If not then query it, genuine people generally aren’t offended by these questions.
  
• If selling, make sure you have the money FIRST. Don’t rely on a promise of funds, ensure it’s there, in the account first. If they’re paying by cheque then bank it and wait for it to clear.
  
• Don’t post on peoples for sale threads without good reason. If someone wants to sell rubbing strips for £150 then that’s their bag - you shouldn’t post in their thread

If you have any queries regarding the content of this posting, please PM a member of the moderation team for clarification. We won't bite (probably).

SELLING

This is a car related forum. If your sale isn’t car related or not in the interests of the board then your thread may be locked or deleted. Depending on what you were selling or request (see below) you may receive a warning or ban.

There are certain things you can’t sell through the forums. This includes ANYTHING that’s subject to copyright, including autodata discs, music or films unless it’s original product. If you’re selling items of this nature then you MUST POST IMAGES OF THE ACTUAL ITEMS or your thread will be deleted and a warning issued. Stealing a photo from ebay or google image search is a sure-fire way of getting perma-banned - we will check them and if it looks suspect then your thread will be pulled. Remember that the forum admin can he held responsible for the content of the forums in certain contexts and trying to flog pirate or counterfeit items is likely to land him in hot water.

You MUST POST A PRICE along with the item for sale. Any “offers” threads will be deleted and a warning issued. Remember, the forums are not an auction house, please don’t start open bidding threads on here. Instead, start an Ebay (or similar) auction and link to it. You can say you’re open to offers but they must be made through Ebay.

There are guidelines for buyers as well as sellers. Where a prospective purchaser registers by PM alone (or leaves it a long time between PMing and posting publicly) bear in mind that if they win the item then this may be seen as being "unfair" by other interested parties. This is always a subjective matter but it is suggested (though not the rule) that people registering interest publicly are doing so in order to follow forum guidelines (see below) and that should deserve a degree of consideration and respect on the part of the seller. It's up to you what you do in that situation but remember that karma's a Bic™.

Don’t start “What’s this [insert item here] worth?” threads, as an effort to advertise your sale through the general forums in this way will result in the thread being deleted and a warning or ban issued.

If you are a trader and are regularly selling to make a profit then you should register as a trader with the forums. This gets you a custom status and prospective purchasers are likely to take more notice of your sales. If you’re apparently a trader (this doesn’t mean you’re a business, but if you, for example, regularly break cars for profit) then you should register as a trader. It’s only £10 as a starter so really won’t break the bank. Applications for trader status should be made to AdrianFRST by PM.

If your item is sold then update your thread.

If your purchaser pays by PalPal then ensure that the delivery address is correct and that if at all possible, they have a credit card on file. Items sold through forums such as this are often not eligible for seller protection under PayPal rules. Once you have received fund, click on My Account -> History then “details” at the side of the transaction to see if you are eligible for seller protection or not.

You should dispatch your goods in a timely manner and advertise the type of delivery service available as part of the advert - ideally this will be using a tracked delivery service such as a courier or royal mail recorded. It is in your own interest to refuse to send goods by regular mail, even at the request of the buyer. If the buyer is insistent that you send by regular mail then it may be wise to be suspicious.

While it’s not the role of the moderation team to adjudicate disputes between buyers and sellers, we will attempt to aid both buyers and sellers where there is a dispute by trying to ascertain what the facts of the matter are and ask for an explanation from the relevant party and if at all possible, to expedite a resolution.

Following on from the previous point, if the moderation team feel they have received a significant number of complaints about a given seller then, trader or not, they will temporarily ban the seller from posting on the forum until such time as they provide adequate explanation for their behaviour.

No bumping. It’s annoying and unnecessary. If you bump your thread expect a warning and your thread to be deleted.

If you are selling a car and then subsequently decide to break it instead, please update your original thread and PM one of the moderation team to have to topic moved to "Parts for Sale".

MULTI-POSTING

If you are selling several small or linked items (e.g. are having a garage / loft clearout or are breaking a vehicle) then please keep all the items for sale in a single thread (remember, you can go back and edit your first post as many times as you need to). Don't start cluttering up the forum with lots of threads, it makes it hard to follow and pushes other peoples threads onto the second page. While that may not sound too bad, it's going to cause people to bump their threads (and consequently warnings issued) if the forum gets busy.

If you're selling high value items (e.g., refurbished box with quaife LSD, ECU with loom) then by all means create separate threads; just try to be sensible. If discussion among mods suggests that you've created too many threads for a single lot then we may merge your threads or the contents of the threads.

Here's a good example of a thread advertising multiple items and is the sort of thing we are aiming for.



BUYING

Register your interest by posting on the original thread, not by PM. This at least guarantees interest on a “first come, first served” basis. It also means that, if something goes wrong, the moderation team (and seller) have at least some tracking information. If it’s an “ONO” sale then post your offer too, there’s no shame in trying to blag it. If you make an offer by PM alone then that might be seen as "underhand" or "unfair" - bear in mind your reputation may (will!) suffer as a result.

Your method of payment is up to you, but it’s generally accepted that cash-on-collect or PayPal are the most secure methods of payment. Of course, if paying in person then you get the opportunity to check the goods are as described.

Do not respond to “Offers” threads by PM or by posting on the thread. Please report the thread to the moderation team instead.

Do not make offers where a price is clearly stated and offers not invited (unless a part exchange is available). These posts may be deleted if inappropriate and a warning issued.

You should pay in a timely manner. Up to three working days is considered acceptable. If you pay by cheque be aware that the clearing time for cheques is up to five working days and that your seller may not dispatch the goods until your cheque has cleared. This means, if you take your time about sending payment, you couldwait for up to a fortnight before you receive your goods.

Don’t pay by gifting through PayPal. You won’t get any buyer protection, you’ve been warned.

If goods are received and are not as described, or simply don’t arrive at all then your first recourse is to the seller. Ask them for proof of postage and failing that, your money back. Remember though, that the Royal Mail is not infallible and even first class post can take a few days to arrive. If you don’t have any joy from the seller or courier, then please contact a member of the moderation team to look into the issue. If you have used an escrow such as PayPal and are confident that all avenues to resolution are exhausted then you should contact them to start trying to get your money back. Remember there’s little point in arguing someone over the Internet, it’s like slapping yourself in the face; take a deep breath, send the messages and wait for a response. As mentioned further up this post, the moderation team are not in a position to adjudicate over whether or not someone is in the wrong or has mis-sold an item. All we can and will do is freeze the for sale threads as evidence for the buyer and request that the seller sort out the issues promptly.

WANTED

In principle :

• You should not request information or links to illegally hosted or shared materials. This means music, videos, films, autodata etc.
  
• Use the forum for its intended purpose. Do not use it to link to items you have for sale.
  
• Don't bump your threads. It annoys everyone and will get your thread locked or deleted. Repeated incidents of annoying behaviour may result in temporary bans.

[andymac]

Amended title to reflect that guidelines also include the wanted forums.

[andymac]

Amended to reflect addition of advice regarding multi-posters