Auction Rules: Buyers and Sellers

[REEF2REEF]

IMPORTANT: Participation in auctions is considered a privilege for R2R members in good standing. Failure to abide by the rules and guidelines below may result in the loss of the privilege of participating in our auction forum.

How to Post an Auction

1. Auctions may only be posted by members with at least 30 days membership at Reef2Reef AND 25 meaningful posts. (For more rules regarding general selling/auction posting requirements, please see "Auction Rules" section below.)
2. Post a new thread in the auction forum using the "Post Thread" button.
3. Auction posts must include the following:
   • An accurate description of the item
   • At least one picture of the item being sold (All auctions must be WYSIWYG)
   • A starting bid price (Starting bid price is the least that the seller would be willing to accept. Reserve prices are strictly prohibited.)
   • An auction end date and time (Auctions must end precisely at the stated end time, and only bids placed before that time will be honored)
   • Minimum bid increment (If no minimum bid increment is stated, then the R2R standard minimum bid increment of $1 will be assumed and applied)
   • Any additional shipping fees (Remember that any additional PayPal or selling fees are prohibited on R2R. All selling fees must be built into the selling price of the item.)
   • Preferred method(s) of payment (Remember, unless the transaction is local/in-person, all payment methods offered must include buyer protection. CLICK HERE for more details.)
   • DOA policy (if applicable)
4. "Buy it Now" prices are allowed but must be stated in the original post. However, any acceptance of a "Buy It Now" price must be placed directly in the thread buy the seller as well as the buyer. The buyer must first post in the auction thread that they want to end the listing and BUY IT NOW. (a seller should not state that a "Buy it Now" price has been accepted unless the buyer has posted the offer in the thread via a post) (Buy it Now must be conducted specifically as laid out by the seller in the thread and cannot be negotiated to circumvent the auction.)

NOTE: Posting an auction is considered binding once the first bid is placed. Refusing to sell an item for which a bid has been placed will result in loss of marketplace privileges at Reef2Reef.

How Auctions Work

1. Auctions on R2R are in a forum thread format.
2. Each auction bid is binding and considered to be a good-faith offer. Bidders cannot renegotiate bids after they have been placed.
3. Each auction bid should be placed in a single post
4. Each auction bid should be higher than the previous bid (in the event that 2 bids are offered in the same amount, the first bid placed will be honored)
5. Auction bids must increase by a minimum bid increment of at least $1. (Bids that are less than the minimal increment will be removed by R2R staff.)
6. Non-bid comments must be kept to a minimum to avoid derailing an auction. Therefore, most questions/comments about an item being sold should be directed to the seller via PM. (If the number of non-bid comments in an auction thread becomes excessive, the thread will be cleaned up by R2R staff)
7. Seller will contact the buyer directly via PM within 24 hours of the auction's end. (Winning bidder may also contact the seller directly via PM)
8. Payment must be made within 48 hours of auction's end. (Failure to make payment as agreed in a timely manner will result in loss of Reef2Reef marketplace privileges.)

Auction Rules
General Auction Forum Rules:

1. The auction forum on Reef2Reef is available to members that have been a member for 30 days and have 25 meaningful posts (A meaningful post will involve more than saying things like "nice tank" or "I agree." Something meaningful will often be sharing one's knowledge and experience with others and actively participating in hobby related discussions). Use of this forum is available immediately to R2R Supporters (Want to be a Supporter? Click here!).
2. Participation in R2R's marketplace (buying, selling or trading) is restricted to members aged 18 years or older.
3. The use of the auction forum is for members that contribute in the regular forum (To understand what we mean by "members that contribute," please see the above statement regarding meaningful posts).
4. This forum is to be used for the sale/trade of reef related items only.
5. Threads that appear to be commercial (non-sponsor vendors) will be removed. Being deemed commercial is not just for parties that have a physical store or website. There are many factors that may lead to a thread being deemed commercial. Some of them are having a constant supply of an item, large supply of an item, "made to order" goods, or buying with the intent to resell.
6. Please keep in mind that selling is a privilege. The staff reserves the right to remove any sales threads at anytime.

Seller:

1. All required auction post details must be listed in the first post of the thread (see "How to Post an Auction" section above).
2. Starting bid price should be the lowest bid a seller would be willing to sell the item for. Reserve prices are not allowed.
3. Sellers are not allowed to ask buyers to send money via unprotected methods of payment (this includes PayPal's Friends and Family option, unprotected Venmo, Western Union, or any other option that sends funds with no protection to the buyer). If you are found to be asking for payments as a gift or via unprotected payment, your sales thread will be removed and you may lose your selling privileges all together. For more on this, please read the announcement HERE.
4. Any selling fees and taxes must be included in the starting bid price. Sellers are not allowed to ask buyers to pay additionally for PayPal's transaction fees or taxes. These must be built into the price of the item.
5. Items listed for auction must be yours and in your possession. You may not sell things on behalf of someone else or list items that are yours but being kept by someone else.
6. Links to Ebay, Craig's List or other sites are not permitted
7. Posting to bump is permitted once a day, and up to (2) times within the last hour of the auction.
8. Only winning bids posted publicly in the thread may be honored (this include "Buy it Now" offers). Payment should be worked out in private via PM.
9. Staff may ask at any time to show proof of ownership or the thread will be removed.
10. Staff may ask at anytime to be added to the private message of the buyer and seller to prove that the sell is legitimate if question should arise.
11. Please be courteous to other sellers. Limit the number of threads started within close proximity to each other and consolidate where possible.
12. Purchasing multiples of an item to resell is considered flipping and is not permitted (it will be deemed commercial by our staff and selling privileges will be restricted).

Buyer:

1. All bids must be placed publicly within the thread (including "Buy it Now" bids).
2. Attempts to negotiate a selling price outside of the auction thread are prohibited (may result in loss of auction forum privileges).
3. Since auctions are conducted using bids in posts, non-bid comments within the thread should be kept to a minimum. Questions regarding brand, type, size, etc. by those who are genuinely interested in buying the item are allowed. However, we ask that questions be directed to PM as often as possible to avoid derailing an auction thread. Threads where there to be an excessive number of non-bid comments will be cleaned up by R2R staff.
4. Posts that are deemed to be attempts to intentionally derail and harm the seller's thread will not be permitted and may lead to revocation of auction forum privileges.
5. Payment for auction must be made within 48 hours of auction's end date/time.
6. Staff may ask at anytime to be added to the private message of the buyer and seller to prove that the sell is legitimate if question should arise.

Someone has to interpret the above guidelines and how they apply to these auctions. Ultimately it's up to our site administrators to make these decisions. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please feel free to contact us.

 

[vogon]

IMPORTANT: Participation in auctions is considered a privilege for R2R members in good standing. Failure to abide by the rules and guidelines below may result in the loss of the privilege of participating in our auction forum.

How to Post an Auction

1. Auctions may only be posted by members with at least 30 days membership at Reef2Reef AND 25 meaningful posts. (For more rules regarding general selling/auction posting requirements, please see "Auction Rules" section below.)
2. Post a new thread in the auction forum using the "Post Thread" button.
3. Auction posts must include the following:
   • An accurate description of the item
   • At least one picture of the item being sold (All auctions must be WYSIWYG)
   • A starting bid price (Starting bid price is the least that the seller would be willing to accept. Reserve prices are strictly prohibited.)
   • An auction end date and time (Auctions must end precisely at the stated end time, and only bids placed before that time will be honored)
   • Minimum bid increment (If no minimum bid increment is stated, then the R2R standard minimum bid increment of $1 will be assumed and applied)
   • Any additional shipping fees (Remember that any additional PayPal or selling fees are prohibited on R2R. All selling fees must be built into the selling price of the item.)
   • Preferred method(s) of payment (Remember, unless the transaction is local/in-person, all payment methods offered must include buyer protection. CLICK HERE for more details.)
   • DOA policy (if applicable)
4. "Buy it Now" prices are allowed but must be stated in the original post. However, any acceptance of a "Buy It Now" price must be placed directly in the thread buy the seller as well as the buyer. The buyer must first post in the auction thread that they want to end the listing and BUY IT NOW. (a seller should not state that a "Buy it Now" price has been accepted unless the buyer has posted the offer in the thread via a post) (Buy it Now must be conducted specifically as laid out by the seller in the thread and cannot be negotiated to circumvent the auction.)

NOTE: Posting an auction is considered binding once the first bid is placed. Refusing to sell an item for which a bid has been placed will result in loss of marketplace privileges at Reef2Reef.

How Auctions Work

1. Auctions on R2R are in a forum thread format.
2. Each auction bid is binding and considered to be a good-faith offer. Bidders cannot renegotiate bids after they have been placed.
3. Each auction bid should be placed in a single post
4. Each auction bid should be higher than the previous bid (in the event that 2 bids are offered in the same amount, the first bid placed will be honored)
5. Auction bids must increase by a minimum bid increment of at least $1. (Bids that are less than the minimal increment will be removed by R2R staff.)
6. Non-bid comments must be kept to a minimum to avoid derailing an auction. Therefore, most questions/comments about an item being sold should be directed to the seller via PM. (If the number of non-bid comments in an auction thread becomes excessive, the thread will be cleaned up by R2R staff)
7. Seller will contact the buyer directly via PM within 24 hours of the auction's end. (Winning bidder may also contact the seller directly via PM)
8. Payment must be made within 48 hours of auction's end. (Failure to make payment as agreed in a timely manner will result in loss of Reef2Reef marketplace privileges.)

Auction Rules
General Auction Forum Rules:

1. The auction forum on Reef2Reef is available to members that have been a member for 30 days and have 25 meaningful posts (A meaningful post will involve more than saying things like "nice tank" or "I agree." Something meaningful will often be sharing one's knowledge and experience with others and actively participating in hobby related discussions). Use of this forum is available immediately to R2R Supporters (Want to be a Supporter? Click here!).
2. Participation in R2R's marketplace (buying, selling or trading) is restricted to members aged 18 years or older.
3. The use of the auction forum is for members that contribute in the regular forum (To understand what we mean by "members that contribute," please see the above statement regarding meaningful posts).
4. This forum is to be used for the sale/trade of reef related items only.
5. Threads that appear to be commercial (non-sponsor vendors) will be removed. Being deemed commercial is not just for parties that have a physical store or website. There are many factors that may lead to a thread being deemed commercial. Some of them are having a constant supply of an item, large supply of an item, "made to order" goods, or buying with the intent to resell.
6. Please keep in mind that selling is a privilege. The staff reserves the right to remove any sales threads at anytime.

Seller:

1. All required auction post details must be listed in the first post of the thread (see "How to Post an Auction" section above).
2. Starting bid price should be the lowest bid a seller would be willing to sell the item for. Reserve prices are not allowed.
3. Sellers are not allowed to ask buyers to send money via unprotected methods of payment (this includes PayPal's Friends and Family option, unprotected Venmo, Western Union, or any other option that sends funds with no protection to the buyer). If you are found to be asking for payments as a gift or via unprotected payment, your sales thread will be removed and you may lose your selling privileges all together. For more on this, please read the announcement HERE.
4. Any selling fees and taxes must be included in the starting bid price. Sellers are not allowed to ask buyers to pay additionally for PayPal's transaction fees or taxes. These must be built into the price of the item.
5. Items listed for auction must be yours and in your possession. You may not sell things on behalf of someone else or list items that are yours but being kept by someone else.
6. Links to Ebay, Craig's List or other sites are not permitted
7. Posting to bump is permitted once a day, and up to (2) times within the last hour of the auction.
8. Only winning bids posted publicly in the thread may be honored (this include "Buy it Now" offers). Payment should be worked out in private via PM.
9. Staff may ask at any time to show proof of ownership or the thread will be removed.
10. Staff may ask at anytime to be added to the private message of the buyer and seller to prove that the sell is legitimate if question should arise.
11. Please be courteous to other sellers. Limit the number of threads started within close proximity to each other and consolidate where possible.
12. Purchasing multiples of an item to resell is considered flipping and is not permitted (it will be deemed commercial by our staff and selling privileges will be restricted).

Buyer:

1. All bids must be placed publicly within the thread (including "Buy it Now" bids).
2. Attempts to negotiate a selling price outside of the auction thread are prohibited (may result in loss of auction forum privileges).
3. Since auctions are conducted using bids in posts, non-bid comments within the thread should be kept to a minimum. Questions regarding brand, type, size, etc. by those who are genuinely interested in buying the item are allowed. However, we ask that questions be directed to PM as often as possible to avoid derailing an auction thread. Threads where there to be an excessive number of non-bid comments will be cleaned up by R2R staff.
4. Posts that are deemed to be attempts to intentionally derail and harm the seller's thread will not be permitted and may lead to revocation of auction forum privileges.
5. Payment for auction must be made within 48 hours of auction's end date/time.
6. Staff may ask at anytime to be added to the private message of the buyer and seller to prove that the sell is legitimate if question should arise.

Someone has to interpret the above guidelines and how they apply to these auctions. Ultimately it's up to our site administrators to make these decisions. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please feel free to contact us.

I need to cancel the auction I began. No one had bid yet. How do I do this?