Non Payment of Sellers Fees / Incorrectly Marking Ads as 'Sold Elsewhere'

The new Classifieds system provided an opportunity to record more data, log interactions between buyers and sellers, and implement processes that ensured those who were not doing the right thing and abiding by the guidelines they agreed to when placing an ad, would be discovered.

This has presented as either incorrectly marking items as sold elsewhere, letting ads expire without marking as sold, or simply not paying. The new classifieds system has exposed those users very quickly. It is disappointing that in some cases, it has involved long term members, some with high feedback counts, and in some cases, members that would be considered prominent and respected members of our community.

The necessity of Seller Fees is not up for discussion here - this is not a charity. It will take considerable time to recover the financial outlay recently invested in developing the new Classifieds. It also costs money and time to keep the lights on each day, If you don't agree with our rules, processes and fees, then simply post your ads on other platforms.

When fees are entirely transparent and known upfront, there is simply no excuse for underpayment, nonpayment, incorrectly marking ads, or not marking ads sold at all. We allowed a little leeway for adjustment to the new system, but that period has now well and truly ended. It's too late to apologise and pay the Seller's Fees after you've been caught. That said, the embarrassment of being caught, has been enough punishment for some. 

We are now introducing the ability to select either 'Pay Up Front' or 'Pay Later' for Seller's Fees. If a member is found to be, or suspected of not doing the right thing, we will now enforce 'Pay Up Front' as the only option available to them.

We will continue to enforce the Classifieds Guidelines and use the tools available to ensure everyone is playing fairly.

Let me be clear. Anyone found deliberately or intentionally breaching the Classifieds Guidelines will have their Classifieds access revoked indefinitely. To clarify, that means no access to browse or list ads for sale, forever. There is no case for further discussion or begging forgiveness.