Classified Ads Forum Policies
As of late, there have been a few transactions on this (and other sites) that have brought an abundance of attention upon them for poor results, ill will, and general bad feelings. To avoid these maladies as much as possible in the future, the moderators here offer the following suggestions:
1. Don't sell something you don't have physically in your possesion and don't offer to buy something if you don't have money in hand. A good rule of thumb is 7 days - a seller should have payment within 7 calendar days, and the buyer should have his/her goods in hands within 7 days of payment.
2. Know your buyer/seller. Its impossible to personally know everyone on here, but if you don't know the person you're dealing with, ask for references for past transactions or character references.
3. Its impossible to tweak the software to come up with buyer/seller ratings or feedback ratings, but feel free to post your thoughts about the transaction on the thread. Postive feedback is always encouraged, but watch the negatives, as it is the policy of this site to discourage truly negative interactions due to liability reasons.
4. Pay with Paypal or other outside sources that offer buyer protection whenever possible. Paypal has a good track record of offering swift refunds when a sale goes bad, and will work at collecting and/or prosecuting when necessary. If Paypal isn't possible, pay with a Postal or other national money order or cashier's check, and make copies. Never send cash in the mail.
5. Sellers - post accurate information/pictures of your items. Buyers - ask pertinent questions about items if you're not completely sure.
6. Sellers - although not required, its recommended that you ship items insured, and it doesn't hurt to have the ability to track shipment. This protects both parties.
7. Refer to #1: Don't sell something you don't have physically in your possesion and don't offer to buy something if you don't have money in hand. A good rule of thumb is 7 days - a seller should have payment within 7 calendar days, and the buyer should have his/her goods in hands within 7 days of payment
These are suggestions to help create a postive transaction for both parties. One of the best benefits of this forum is the ability to buy and sell goods, and with the rash of bad transactions lately, for us to continue to allow the buy/sell/trade threads, a little due diligence goes a long way.
A few additional notes to make all our lives easier....
A few additional notes to make all our lives easier around here:
Sellers—please check your email and private messages regularly when you have items for sale. Post to the thread when items are sold. As moderators see a complete sale, the thread will be closed, but not deleted.
The Classified Ads section is for Civil War period goods only. This means basically mid 1830's to 1865 items are to be bought, sold, or traded for. This includes reproductions, originals, or materials used to create reproduction items. We've had way too many folks trying to deal in or for Rev War, WWI and WWII goods. This is a Civil War site after all. Thank you for your cooperation.
We hope all transactions are conducted in an honest and forthright manner, with all parties acting in good faith. Should this fail to be the case, the link for proper forms to file a Mail Fraud Complaint with the U S Postal Service is here:
http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/fo...Complaint.aspx
For more than a decade, Robert Szabo's Civil War Reenactors Forum has been provided as a service to the Civil War reenacting community--to provide a venue for publicizing events, sharing research, recruiting, and enabling folks to keep in contact---------and for folks to buy and sell hobby related materials.
For more than a decade, these forums have been funded by a few private individuals as a service to the CW community. Times have changed, and the volume usage of the forum is such that funding must be shared.
If you are selling items here, we encourage you to share a part of those proceeds to help keep these forums available. There is now a Donate button located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This leads to a Paypal screen. You may send funds with your Paypal account, or you may use a credit card. These funds will be used to continue operating the CW Reenactors Forum.
As always, we value your suggestions and commentary. Please contact me with any questions.
