[AaronT]

APC Policy on posting items for sale or trade

Aquatic Plant Central (APC) is primarily a forum for discussion and exchange of information about aquatic plants. While APC encourages its members to buy and sell from each other and facilitates that endeavor by providing a forum (For Sale or Trade) for that purpose, APC is not the place for people who join primarily for the purpose of selling or trading. eBay or AquaBid are the appropriate places for people who are primarily interested in doing business. Commercial or Retail businessmen may make special arrangements to have a forum on APC (See Rule #2). Failure to heed this policy may lead to sanctions from suspension of privileges to an outright ban for life.

This is the most up-to-date version of the rules. Ignore other versions, drafts, etc on other pages of this thread or on other stickeys on this sub-forum.

1. Members need to have a minimum of 25 posts before being allowed to post on the For Sale or Trade forums. A substantial number of the first 25 posts should be in line with the discussion and exchange of information purpose of APC. "Post padding"---producing a lot of quick, short posts with little content primarily to reach the 25 post requirement and get on the For sale or Trade forum---is not allowed.

2. Any items posted for sale or trade are subject to the discretion of the APC staff. By posting items for sale or trade you agree to these restrictions. The WTB/WTS forum at APC exists to facilitate the exchange of plants, fish, and equipment between our participating members. These are users deemed to be active participants in the exchange and discussion of information on this forum pertaining to our hobby. If you plan on placing items for sale, be aware you are expected to be a participating member first!. If the staff feel a particular post or user does not follow the rules or the spirit of that forum, we reserve the right to edit or remove the thread and/or take action against the offender, who will get a private message explaining why. Additionally, the buying of goods outside of APC for the express purpose of reselling them here, or the assembly of items for sale here is not appropriate. We do not want to have "store front" sellers running a continuous business. We encourage our members to use more appropriate Internet sites for such activity. Retail endeavors of any size also may not post in the sale/trade forum. This includes any commercial businesses, large and small. We do offer low cost sponsorship opportunities that include a dedicated forum where you are free to post items for sale. Please contact us for more information.

3. All items offered for sale must be aquarium related. This includes cameras.

4. All items should have a high-quality photo and/or positive identification of the item, preferably both. Posts with poor quality photos and/or lacking identification of the item may be removed.

5. Descriptions should be as complete as possible. For example, include the number of stems per bunch, the volume of moss, or the size of the plant. Descriptions of growing conditions for sensitive or rare plants are always appreciated.

6. Dry goods and hardware should be described as completely as possible. Age, condition, and known defects should be noted. For lighting, list the approximate number of hours the bulbs and ballasts have been used.

7. Pricing and terms, including shipping method, should be clearly spelled out. Values are assumed to be in US currency unless clearly noted. Auctions and bids are not allowed.

8. The sale of any items illegally collected from nature is not allowed. Ads must clearly state the source of all items for sale collected directly from the environment. Plants listed on either the Federal Noxious Weed list or the noxious weed list of your state should not be put up for sale on APC. This link provides access to both federal and state noxious weed lists.

9. Want ads are encouraged; it's a great way to ask for desired plants. However, please offer a trade or agree to at least cover the cost of shipping. Wanton begging will lead to deleted posts. It is impolite and has no place in this forum. Moderator's discretion is final when identifying begging-type posts.

10. The use of the iTrader system is encouraged. This is an excellent tool for all to determine the reputation of others.

11. Communicate, communicate, communicate! By simply keeping the other party to the transaction updated on timing and shipping method (i.e., tracking number) most of the problems experienced in transactions could be avoided.

12. While APC facilitates sales between members, we DO NOT endorse either the buyer or the seller. All disputes must be handled by the parties to the transaction. APC and its staff will not be held liable for anything related to the transaction. APC WILL NOT mediate on behalf of any party to the transaction.

13. International Purchases - APC is a global community with members form all over the world. Currently there are sponsors from North America, Asia and Europe. APC recommends that members check local and/or national laws and regulations concerning the importation of goods and/or livestock before placing an order with a vendor outside of their home country. APC does not condone the improper importation of goods and/or livestock and will not be held responsible in any transactions between members and/or between members and sponsors that are not deemed legal in the purchasers' country of residence. APC strongly recommends that purchases be conducted in a lawful manner at all times.

14. Posting an item for sale will imply your agreement to these terms and conditions, as well as those in our user agreement.

15. The "For Sale or Trade" forum is expressly for selling and trading plants, related equipment and supplies. The APC Policy on posting items For Sale or Trade, however, applies to all forums on APC.

16. Group Buy Policy :
The group buy is a tool of hobbyists dating back many years as a way for the community to take advantage of lower costs associated with volume purchase. But how to differentiate the group buy from reselling?

Here are APC's guidelines:

In a true group buy, all original purchase information is public. The organizer will publicly inform all takers what the cost is for a given volume and must also identify the source. A link/contact information to the source must be provided for original price confirmation.

The intent of a group buy is not to make a profit, but to share the benefit of volume discount with the community. By making all original purchase information transparent, it is obvious how much is spent and whether profit is being made. Reasonable shipping costs are understandable when distributing the goods to participants, but the idea is to pass on a product without making a profit.

If it is not possible to share this information, then reselling is assumed. In a reselling effort, the upfront cost and source of the product are private. There may or may not be a profit, nobody knows. Any post suspected to be reselling will be treated as such; reselling on APC is for sponsors only. Keep in mind that APC will maintain its neutrality in all sales transactions. Buyer beware, negotiate disputes politely and effectively​

.

 

[Runawaypencil]

Thats not cool

How can a new person who is just starting out get going inless he has 25 post he cant post a wtb sheet of what he/she thinks they need to get started i was think of posting a wtb on co2 stuff but was still looking over what i would really need and how i might set it up but still you say i cant post a wtb cause i dont have the 25 post yet..... (this counts as 1) lol...

 

[Cavan Allen]

punctuation is cool

I like apples.

 

[dennis]

You can post that you want to buy(wtb) plants or equipment. A person with less than 25 posts cannot sell only, buying or trading is perfectly acceptable.

Welsome to APC!

 

[billionzz]

I recently recieved some nice plants from a couple sellers and I wanted to leave them a positve I-Trader rating, can you tell me how to go about doing this?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Cavan Allen]

Click on the number of Itrader ratings the person has and it will bring up their feedback. On the left is the button to give them some more.

 

[erijnal]

Forum question

Hey, just wondering about this rule:

7. Pricing and terms, including shipping method, should be clearly spelled out. Any pricing in non-US currency should be labeled as to the type.

I've seen a couple threads in the past that would just ask the buyer to pm the seller with the price he has in mind, and generally that seems to be acceptable. I've dealed with a plant I wanted in this manner and was actually happy with the result. However, I approached the person first, not through the For Sale forum. Doesn't the buyer, however, end up on the short end of these type of deals if they're posted here? I'm sure that's why Rule 7 was listed. The question of unfairness is of course subjective because you have to take into account how badly the buyer wants it, and the availability of the product that is being sold. Just want to know because to me personally it seems shady. But again, I want to stress that there are always people that would be willing to buy at a higher-than-normal price to get what they want, which is just capitalism at work.

Just want a yes or no question from a moderator, and also for all future sellers to be aware of the answer.

 

[gnatster]

The thought process that went into that guideline is that we don't want to turn APC into an auction site. We do try to keep on top of all the sales and request that people put in a firm price when we notice a best offer post. We thought it best that seller is upfront with pricing and shipping costs so there is nothing hidden. We thought of what we wanted to see as best practices when offering items for sale, hence we also thought a picture should accompany the post as well. We've had very few complaints about sellers since these guidelines and the iTrader were put in place. In fact one of the shadiest sellers, the person with far and away the most complaints we had, disappeared the day iTrader was introduced. I'm also proud to say there has no been abuse of the iTrader system.

 

[turbomkt]

:doh:
Guilty
:sorry:


But in my defense, James will be the first person to say I don't ask for anything unreasonable

I'll follow the rules next time.

--Mike

p.s. I also know that James is not trying to say anything bad about me, I'm just rogering up that I'm one of those who has made this mistake recently.

 

[erijnal]

Thanks for making that clear gnatster. Yeah, I really like how iTrader functions. More people are willing to accept cash through the mail with me since others have had good experiences with it . And Mike was right, I wasn't talking about him =].

 

[AaronT]

A 12th rule has been added to the for sale forum rules.

 

[erijnal]

8. The use of the iTrader system is mandatory.

Just curious, how is this rule enforced? I'd like to know because I have to pay by cash through the mail, and I'd like to have as much feedback as possible so people are more willing to accept that method of payment. I also want to avoid sending nagging reminders to those who have received payment from me or received plants from me.

 

[xcooperx]

just my Opinion, why dont we create a List of Persons that are Guarantee to pay Cash Mail or Check Mail or a Logo on their Sig that saying that this person is Guarantee to pay by mail, cause i saw some complaint from the seller that they already send the stuff and payment for that stuff is still not arriving, and then when they call the person who ordered, no response, so what im saying is this will help the seller and the buyer to trade or sell stuff without worrying, well this is only my opinion and suggestion, disregard it if this is a idiot idea,

 

[gnatster]

8. The use of the iTrader system is mandatory.

Just curious, how is this rule enforced? I'd like to know because I have to pay by cash through the mail, and I'd like to have as much feedback as possible so people are more willing to accept that method of payment. I also want to avoid sending nagging reminders to those who have received payment from me or received plants from me.

This guideline has been edited. There is no way we can require everyone to use this excellent feature. We strongly encourage everyone to use iTrader for all transactions originated from APC.

 

[gnatster]

just my Opinion, why dont we create a List of Persons that are Guarantee to pay Cash Mail or Check Mail or a Logo on their Sig that saying that this person is Guarantee to pay by mail, cause i saw some complaint from the seller that they already send the stuff and payment for that stuff is still not arriving, and then when they call the person who ordered, no response, so what im saying is this will help the seller and the buyer to trade or sell stuff without worrying, well this is only my opinion and suggestion, disregard it if this is a idiot idea,

It is never a good idea to send Cash through to mail.

That said, it is between the buyer and seller to make the arrangements needed to facilitate consummation of the sale. If the buyer needs to send a check to the seller please be sure to contact the seller to determine if the seller will accept a check as payment and if so what are the hold times. Often times plants are already trimmed and need to be sent within a day or two. Asking a seller to hold off until a check is received in the mail and clears is a potential hardship for the seller.

 

[treesmcdonald]

Click on the number of Itrader ratings the person has and it will bring up their feedback. On the left is the button to give them some more.

How would I do this for someone without previous iTrader ratings? I think iTrader is a great idea but its not all that easy to use. If you want people to use it needs to be easier. I would like to leave an iTrader rating for someone I just bought from but can't figure out how. I have left a rating for one person before but can't figure out how to do it without being "invited" to. Maybe I am just special ed or need more coffee. [smilie=d:

 

[milalic]

How would I do this for someone without previous iTrader ratings? I think iTrader is a great idea but its not all that easy to use. If you want people to use it needs to be easier. I would like to leave an iTrader rating for someone I just bought from but can't figure out how. I have left a rating for one person before but can't figure out how to do it without being "invited" to. Maybe I am just special ed or need more coffee. [smilie=d:[/QUOTE]

Under the person's name in one of his/her posts the itrader rating appears even if it has a '0'. Click that number and you will be taken to where you can leave that person rating.

-Pedro

 

[treesmcdonald]

In a BRILLIANT (that is sarcasm) flash of insight I finally figured out what was wrong. I was using APC light and there were no iTrader listings under People's names. I totally thought I was losing it. Thanx and sorry to be so slow to catch on.
-e

 

[Cavan Allen]

Bump. Please see rule 14.

 

[rich_one]

Hi... I just tried to do a WTB post, but it told me I needed to have at least 25 posts to do so... either I am doing this wrong, or you have to have 25 posts, whether you are posting to buy or sell. Is this accurate? Thanks!