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 FPN is to list ads. Members conducting business this way may 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 have at least 30 posts in all discussion forums but Chatter (30+ posts will result in a Bronze to Silver membership promotion) and be registered for at least 30 days (30+ posts and being registered 30+ days will result in a Silver to Gold membership promotion, but only after Silver has been reached first) before they can post sales in Classifieds. IOW, if a member hasn't reached Gold membership status yet, a member does not qualify to create a classfied, and therefore will not be able to do so.

2. High/Low Volume Sellers Rule (applies to writing instruments only):

2.a. Low Vol.: Only hobbyists selling in order to change their own private collection are allowed to use the Low Vol. category, maximum 3 classifieds per week, maximum 100 classifieds per year.

2.b. High vol.: Anybody else, or selling for other reasons, e.g., a (semi-) professional from the world of fountain pens, or anybody advertising more than the limit of classifieds for the Low Vol. category, MUST post their classifieds in the High Vol. category!

Note that classifieds will eb removed if they are found to be in the wrong category, with the additional risk of earning demerits, see further below.

3. Professional pen sellers and/or businesses may post in the Classifieds section, but the content must be presented on FPN and may not simply be a link to an external website or an advertisement of a sale (which would belong in the Market Watch Forum).

4. Classifieds are for the explicit sale 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 knowledgable people here. Classifeds 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, Classifeds helps you in remembering to add the actual LE number by means of a checklist.

4.c. Photograph requirement: A seller supplied image is REQUIRED to display the actual item(s) being sold, and must not be a copyrighted and/or 3rd party image. Please follow the FPN guidelines on posting images, which is within 800x800 pixels and not greater than 300Kb. Clear, detailed, and revealing of useful details (nib, filling system, etc) is of course appreciated and will help the sale. You may 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). See HERE for more details. The photo is needed 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 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 suppluy 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: You 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; FPN 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, Classifeds 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!

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 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 -- they are acceptable only in Market Watch, and only as a reference to an item of possible interest to other members, and certainly not to your own auctions! 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 FPN, create a Classified.

7. If you find a problem with what a seller has posted, then contact them directly to discuss. 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 ask them in tas a question in the Classifed 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, except in the Charity Auction sub section, and ONLY after obtaining approval from the FPN Admin team.

9. All members, including sellers and buyers, must have a current contact e-mail address on FPN. This is used by the system for buyers to contact the sellers directly. The PM 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 FPN reachable email address here on FPN. Note that listing an email address in the classifed 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.

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 all requirements as for sales apply.

11. 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.

Any of the Classifieds guidelines may be subject to amendment, change or addition when or where considered appropriate by the FPN staff.

Please note that any classifieds which do not meet with requirements laid down above will be removed from the forum without notice, and without further discussion. Repeat offenses will generate demerits. 3 demerits will result in a two week suspension for the FPN account in question, and 5 demerits in a complete suspension.

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. FPN staff is unable to mediate buyer/seller disputes.

The FPN Moderator and Admin Team