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Policies and Penalties
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Below is a list of policies that free2auction maintains to create a safe and effective community for buyers and sellers. Members who repeatedly breach these policies may be penalized or suspended from free2auctions activities.
Buyer policies
The following activities are not permitted for buyers in the free2auction community:
Non paying buyers:
When a buyer places a bid on an auction or purchases a store item a legal contract
is considered to exist between the buyer and seller of the item, and the buyer is required
to complete the purchase by paying the purchase price. If a buyer does not
follow through with payment, the seller may enter a request for a fee credit which will
credit the sellers free2auction account for the end price fee paid, and will
record the buyer as being a non paying buyer. Buyers can dispute fee
credits from their financial page, and sellers found entering false requests
for fee credits will be investigated.
Unwelcome buyers:
Before making a purchase a buyer must review all the information in the item listing page
to ensure that they meet the requirements of the seller. If a buyer can not fulfill the requirements
entered by the seller and purchases the item it will be assumed that they did so with the intent
to disrupt the selling process.
Shill bidding:
Shill bidding happens when bids are placed on an auction by an associate of the seller, or
the seller themselves, without the intent to complete the transaction. Often the purpose of shill bidding is to increase
the final sell price of the auction. Shill bidding is considered a serious offense and members suspected
of engaging in this activity will be investigated.
Sellers policies
The following activities are not permitted for sellers in the free2auction community:
False or misleading requests for
fee credits: Sellers entering false requests for
fee credits.
Incorrect category listing:
Sellers must attempt to place their items in an appropriate
category, continually listing in inappropriate categories, for
example adult material outside of the mature section, will
be considered a policy breach.
Duplicate listings:
An item can only be listed once at one time, if you have
more than one quantity of an identical item for sale you
may list them in a multiple quantity auction or sell as a fixed price store
item. You may list an identical item in an auction and as a store item as long as you
have the ability to fulfill purchases from both listings.
Non performing sellers:
Reported cases of a seller not performing as promised or
as expected by a minimum level of service without reasonable
reason will be investigated as a policy breach.
Listing prohibited items:
free2auction
expects its members to follow international and local regulations
that relate to any transaction or item being listed. In the event that regulations
are not being followed penalties, account suspension, and aid in criminal investigations
may be given
at free2auctions discretion.
Offering bonuses:
If you wish to offer bonuses to buyers of your items you must clearly
express when and what bonuses are being offered. For example it is permitted to state that
when purchasing 10 or more of a store item a free clock will be included at no extra
cost, but you may not simply state that if a buyer purchases a large quantity that they will
receive a free clock. When offering bonuses for multiple quantity auctions or store items the
bonus must be identical for all buyers. Bonuses may not be referred to in a listings title.
Choice listings:
Sellers may not list items that give winning buyers a choice of non-identical items, for example
choosing between a CD Player and an MP3 Player. An exception to this policy is that a seller
may offer a choice of colors or sizes, for example with clothing, if the items are identical in all other
respects. A seller may also offer customizable product such as portrait paintings, resizing of jewelry, or
printing of personalized information.
Inappropriate title or description content
When listing an item a seller may not enter information into the listing that is not
related to the item being sold, or is added for the sole purpose of having the item be found in search results.
Unrelated content:
A listings title or description must not include content that does not relate directly to
the item, and may not be overly vague in stating what product is up for sale. An example is entering brand names or logos that are not the brand of the item
being sold, in addition to being misleading this may infringe on trademarks and be illegal.
Inside the description of your item you may include one comparison to a similar product, this comparison
must be clearly marked as such, stating which of the compared items is being sold.
Sellers are not permitted to specifically refer to other items they sell within a description as this
may return the listing inappropriately on searches, for example you can not enter 'see my silk ties and
cotton tops for sale', but you can enter 'see my other items for sale'.
Key word spamming:
Entering lists of words into the description of your item purely for the purpose of being found
on search results is not permitted, this includes hidden keyword lists in html or pull down menus.
Avoiding free2auction fees
Any action taken by a user to avoid free2auction fees
is considered a policy breach, examples include:
Outside negotiation:
A listing that does not include every detail needed
to make a complete appraisal, or a listing that requires further outside negotiation.
Links to outside sales:
Listings with links to stores or sites that sell items
outside of the free2auction community are not allowed. Sellers may enter a link
to an external page that has additional information, terms and conditions of sale,
or pictures of the product being sold,
however this page may not sell items, or link to other pages that sell items. You may link
to other pages within free2auction, for example your feedback profile or welcome page.
Option for outside sale:
Offering, advertising, or soliciting to sell or buy items outside
of the free2auction system.
Unrealistic shipping charges:
Avoiding end price fees by overcharging the shipping fees.
Requiring additional purchase:
Requiring the winning bidder to make additional purchases
to receive the item listed.
Policies regarding contact with other members
Use of the free2auction community to spam other members is not
permitted, contact between members must relate to the free2auction
community, transactions members are involved in, or the interests and items of a
member.
In the event of a dispute between two members, information about the dispute or
criticism of the other party may not be sent to other free2auction members, for example other buyers that are involved with a seller you have had a bad experience with. Dissatisfaction with a
member must be kept to feedback and resolved with the free2auction watchdog or outside mediation.
Private information about another member including contact details may not be published on
free2auction in any publicly accessible area, including listing descriptions, titles, and
feedback.
If another member threatens you with physical harm you should report the threat
immediately to law enforcement authorities, you should also report it to free2auction
and keep a record of all contact you have had with the member including e-mail's, letters, faxes, etc.. as
these may be used as evidence or to support further investigations.
Account policies
Rating becomes negative:
If a users rating reaches (-1) they will receive a warning
e-mail explaining that if the rating becomes (-3) or lower
they may face penalties or have their account suspended
at free2auctions discretion. If you feel you are
the victim of unwarranted negative feedback you can appeal
each case from the link in your feedback page.
Falsifying or invalid personal details:
Omitting or falsifying the personal information on your free2auction
account is a breach of policy, in addition all members must have a valid e-mail
address.
Interfering with the free2auction service:
Any activity by a member to interfere with the free2auction service will be
investigated, including disruptive code in item descriptions.
Minors:
As part of the free2auction user agreement Minors are not allowed to join or
participate in the free2auction community.
Previously suspended users:
People who have previously had their free2auction account suspended may not signup a new account to continue
buying and selling activities.
Profanity or vulgar language:
Language that is profane, vulgar, racist, hateful, sexual, or obscene in nature is not permitted
within the community with the exception
of the mature audiences category where it may be used in item descriptions, only to accurately represent
the product being sold.
Member user ids:
All member ids on free2auction must be at least two characters long, and may not contain
the following symbols %, ;, ', ", #, $, (space), 'www', or '.com'.
Member ids may not be offensive or vulgar, contain an e-mail or web address, or the name 'free2auction'.
Feedback: Feedback must adhere to a select set of policies.
feedback policies
Reporting policy breaches
If you detect or suspect any free2auction policy is being breached, please
contact the free2auction watchdog and describe the circumstances relating to the
breach.
report
a policy breach
Suspended accounts
free2auction may use its discretion when placing an account into suspension or lifting
a suspension and is not required to give prior warning or reason, however
an account will be suspended only after an investigation determines that the member
has been involved in serious and/or
repeated breaches regarding the use of our service.
While
an account is suspended a user may not engage in any auction
activity. appeal
account suspension
free2auction reserves the right to adjust this
schedule on a case by case basis, and will consider the circumstances of an
alleged policy violation and the members trading record before taking action
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