100 posts online?

[Wilzo]

Hi I've just registered on Arnie's Airsoft to sell some of my gear and found out I have to post 100 posts before I can sell any items? Surely this can't be right can it? Doesn't this seem a bit ridiculous to anyone? I bought an AEG previously over UKAN for my brother years ago but UKAN's now closed or at least I can't get into the site. To sell this item here, I now have to waffle on about random topics and probably get booted for flooding. I can't sell my guns on ebay due to this violent crime act so it seems I'm a bit stuck.

I hope I've just missed something somewhere telling me how to post an advert and got it completely wrong. Can any of you guys shed any light?

 

Wilzo

[Wilzo]

I can link my ebay profile to this forum to show my sellers feedback there to give some insight into what buyers buying from me before have experienced. Wouldn't that be more accurate that some guy that just waffles on the forums like I'm now going to have to...?

[Wilzo]

Only another 97 comments to go.

[Chimpy]

You'll find spamming is more likely to get you booted.

 

I imagine the idea is that the restriction is for a couple of reasons:

 

1) Gives something back to the site to encourage members to treat it as more than just a classifieds section.

2) Element of trust in a user that has more posts. Not as likely to be a fly by night scammer.

 

You can read the rules here:

 

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...nounce&id=3

[Pablo]

Only another 97 comments to go.

 

Or we could set you back to -100 posts if you'd prefer

 

Unfortunately we had to bring this rule in after a number of people were ripped off by new users who joined the forum solely for that purpose. This is first and foremost an airsoft discussion forum, not a sales forum - and I would point out that you joined free of charge and agreed to abide by the site rules at the time, so we'll have no more spamming please.

 

Seriously, can't you make a useful contribution to the site without having to resort to waffling about random topics? If not, then I'm afraid you're in the wrong place.

[Wilzo]

That's fair enough, I don't really use forums that much though, and I imagine that I'm not alone there, in the airsoft world I mean.

Is there another platform for selling airsoft equipment these days? I know things have changed since the violent crimes bill came into being and that would definitely make buying and selling difficult. I honestly don't think I'm going to realistically reach 100 posts in a reasonable amount of time.

 

Any pointers?

[Pablo]

Have you tried ASCUK yet? (I'd post a link, but I think they still divert anything coming from here to somewhere silly for some reason)

 

Yep, I'm afraid the VCRA didn't help much - still, could have been much worse, eh?

[Chimpy]

ASCUK won't allow you to sell complete guns as they don't want to face the potential of being implicated in selling RIFs to people not protected by the VCRA defense. Edit: Just noticed he doesn't mention guns just equipment.

 

Flogging it at a local site seems like the best idea.

[Pablo]

Ah, I see. Hadn't noticed that, sorry. I see they have sections for accessories and gear only now.

[Wilzo]

Thanks, I'll check them out. Is UKAN still going? Hope I didn't offend before in my first posts on this topic I wasn't aiming for that. I can understand why you guys would want to have some sort of protection from rip off merchants and it's good to see someone trying to protect their community rather than not being bothered and doing nothing.

[Pablo]

Sadly, UKAN disappeared a while back. Didn't we nearly lose ASCUK at one point too? Seems ages ago now.

 

No offence taken btw

[Marlowe]

As Pablo said we've had to sadly to impose a 100 post limit for a few reasons:

 

1) We had a LOT of individuals who were signing up just to sell / buy items and then vanishing with cash and / or goods. Although we of course would deal with these members, and assist the defrauded innocent parties as much as we could, there's a limit to what we can do about this really on an online forum. In almost all cases the users had less then 50 posts, and usually less than ten.

 

2) If you have to take the time to post 100 posts before posting you're less likely to risk throwing that account away on ripping of another member. After discussion we felt 50 posts was too easy to achieve through mindless spam - many such people can easily rack that up in a single night, before moderators have time to intervene.

 

3) If the brave / idiotic few do try to spam up to a 100 posts, this is usually noticed by either the moderating team or by members who have achieved this many posts through productive posts. Depending on how sever this is, the user may have their posts pulled (thus removing from their post count), their account's post number reset to 0 or -100, or the account banned entirely. This means that generally a new member has to actually be involved in the community and post enough content for others to decide whether the user is someone they would want to risk buying / selling off.

 

4) While many forums have, for entirely understandable reasons, decided to protect themselves legally by ceasing in the supporting of online commerce relating to RIFs, we have taken the position that, as stated in the terms and conditions, users are individually responsible for commercial transactions made using the forums as a means of communication. That said, the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Ministry of Defence have been known to access this forum, and as a result we're understandably keen to not encourage any violation of UK law.

 

As a consequence, whilst the forums do not act as a valid means of ensuring legal entitlement to purchase RIFs, a member with over 100 posts is far more likely to be an active airsofter and therefore more likely to have a valid defence (as detailed elsewhere on the forum) for purchasing RIFs should the police take exception to commercial activity here.

 

I appreciate this is a pain in the backside for many members such as yourself who have just joined and who do not post regularly, but we made this decision over a year ago to protect our members and, in relation to the VCRA, ourselves. If we start granting exceptions (as was initially given for a short period for members who had existing trades), then sadly that protection will be rendered pointless. If 100 posts is unlikely then all I can advise is that you try ASCUK for non-RIF sales, or use your local site / local site forum (if one exists for it).

[ED-SKaR]

If you want a place to sell www.airsoftscotland.co.uk have a second hand service. You might not get a fantastic deal but you will get rid of guns and get some coin out of it.

 

 

http://www.airsoftscotland.co.uk/acatalog/...s_for_sale.html

That is where you buy them, i would guess you'd have to contact them to find out how to sell to them.

 

 

 

 

Just an option, and one with no legal worries i'd add.

[Wilzo]

I can understand now why it's required for a member to have to post a minimum of 100 times before that gain the right to buy or sell. There seems to have been a lot of changes since I last bought online and this is probably mainly due (amongst other things) to the new legislation about gun crime which affects airsoft. I would agree with Marlowe that 50 posts is perhaps too low for an unknown to gain the ability to sell. I guess I was just surprised that so much has changed since I last had a look around, I noticed that airsoft dynamics have also disappeared. The whole landscape seems to have changed.

If you guys have imposed a limit of 100 posts minimum before a user can buy or sell in the forums then I think it's fair of me to say that you must have done it for a reason and that you would obviously have more experience than I do of problems arising with sales on these forums and if Arnie's airsoft is one of the few remaining sites open to buying and selling of airsoft guns then I guess I can respect that.

 

[Pureownage]

I though Airsoft Scotland only sold second hand gear cause it's been a long time since I've seen any guns being sold, but then again I'm not too sure so I may be wrong.

[Edge-Collector]

That my to raise problem also

I joined on arnies to have access has the section sale to be able to find details rare which I find not somewhere else...

After your law of 100 post I cannot go any more has the section sale...

I had 0 post because I speak very badly English and having contacted a moderator by supplying him but former transaction he my to refuse the section sale

Now to have the section sale I participate with difficulty in the forum....

And I shall continue participated in the forum after 100 required post