Rules, Guidelines and Best Practices for Buying, Selling and Trading via OCW

1. In the instance that we are contacted about any member here being a "bad trader" or a "troll," we reserve the right to turn any and all IP and personal information we have on that member over to any law enforcement authorities and/or any other group or individuals we desire. If you do not agree with this rule, do not trade on our boards.
   
   
2. The SUBJECT of your thread should reflect the type of transaction FS (For Sale), FT (For Trade), WTB (Want to Buy) or WTTF (Want to Trade For).
   
   
3. No MISLEADING Titles or item descriptions.
   
   
4. CONSOLIDATE Threads. Do not post multiple threads, keep all your FS/FT deals in one thread, and all WTB/WTTF deals in a different thread. You should only have one FS/FT and one WTB/WTTF thread active at any one time. When making a new thread, include items from the old thread.
   
   
5. No excessive BUMPING of your thread. Excessive bumping using Bump, TTT, ^^^, or other multiple wording to place your thread at the top is forbidden. Repeated bumping by another member will not be tolerated. Repeated long term bumping of a thread will not be allowed. Any abuse of the bumping rules is to be determined at the discretion of the moderators and administrators over and beyond the stated rules on a case by case basis.
   
   
6. You must Post a PRICE unless the item is purely FT. (trading for cash still means FS).
   
   
7. No pirated software sales or trades. No sale of NFR or Academic software. OEM software must be sold/traded in accordance with the terms of that software, usually with a piece of hardware. Online accounts may only be sold/traded in accordance with any allowed transfer, per its TOS
   
   
8. Do not post anything that violates any US Federal, State, or Local laws, including but not limited to: copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, NDA, TOS, or EULA.
   
   
9. The sale of any engineering samples, pre-production hardware, or any hardware otherwise not for resale is not permitted.
   
   
10. Selling or Trading of CD-KEY(s) without the original disks is strictly prohibited unless the software was originally sold by the publisher without physical media.
    
    
11. No multi-level marketing schemes. (PYRAMID Schemes).
    
    
12. No sales of COUPONS or any other freely distributed items such as DewU codes, Marlboro miles, Gmail, Dell discount codes, etc.
    
    
13. No PANHANDLING (Requests for money, paypal, or goods and services for free).
    
    
14. No trading MONEY for money. (Borrowing money with higher payback).
    
    
15. No LINKING to other sites except for image hosting. Do not steal bandwidth from others, host your own images or use an image hosting site such as http://photobucket.com/ or a similiar hosting site.
    
    
16. No SHOUTING. If you don't know..THIS IS SHOUTING. This applies to thread titles also.
    
17. No FLAMING or in-before-the-lock posts.
    
    
18. No THREAD CRAPPING. It is rude and will not be tolerated. If you have an issue with the price, the seller or the conditions of the sale, contact the seller directly, do not post it in the thread.
    
    
19. No CONTEST threads unless sponsored or approved by OCW staff.
    
    
20. No ALCOHOL, tobacco, firearms, weapons of any kind or pornography (anything that can be classified "Adult Material") are to be sold here..... nothing that is governed by the Federal Government as interstate trade. Likewise, no pharmaceuticals, legal or otherwise, can be sold here.
    
    
21. Charging fees for PayPal is not allowed. It violates PayPal's TOS.
    
    
22. No Dealers or Vendors allowed. Rule Exception: If you have a great deal to bring to OCW members, please send a PM or email to me with your product and deal and it will be decided on a case by case basis. If it is a good deal for the forum members, it will be allowed. You must be legitimate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Tips for trading ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Always use delivery confirmation, and always keep the proof that you shipped.
  
  
• Always ask for a real name, home address, and telephone number. Verify it with a call or a search in the white pages.
  
  
• If the seller is suspicious, please search for info about him or contact a mod. If deal sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is.
  
  
• Don’t jump to conclusions, email the seller if you have problems, if you have their phone number, give them a call.
  
  
• If you feel that you’ve been scammed, you can file complaints about internet fraud directly with the FBI at their Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFFC) http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx You can also go to www.usps.com and file a complaint for postal fraud, and most state Attorney Generals have an online internet fraud complaint form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Avoiding Trolls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Deal with confirmed, reputable sellers. No matter what, get a name, address and phone number and then confirm the information by:
   
   
   • Phoning the telephone number and checking if it is actually them.
     
     
   • Going to www.switchboard.com or a similar site and check out if the last name matches the address. If it does not match, find out why from the trader before selling (the telephone may be listed to another party in the house) Chances are if they won't provide a phone number, something is up.
     
     
   • Ask for references from other forums, ebay, or a references site like www.heatware.com to ensure the user you're trading with has a good history of dealing with people online. If there is a question about identity, confirm the identity by asking the user to send you a message from their Ebay account or by adding their OCW username to their heatware profile as shown here.
   
   
2. Don't ship first without getting good references. You can get money back through different means if your money is taken, but you're SOL if you ship before receiving payment.
   
   
3. Use a credit card with paypal when at all possible. You're only liable for 50$ in damages if someone rips you off.
   
   
4. If you cannot use a credit card, use a check since they are traceable and can prove your case if it comes down to contacting the police.
   
   
5. Don't accept a cell phone for the phone number. It's much easier to change or cancel than a home phone number.
   
   
6. Keep a record of all conversation with the person pertaining to the trade. It provides backup when having to deal with the police.
   
   
7. Be wary of anyone with a recent forum registration date. Post count means little, date of registration does.
   
   
8. If a deal seems too good to be true, chances are that it is......so be wary.

You will not hold OverclockingWiki.org, it's moderators or site operators/administrators responsible for other users' content, actions, or inactions, items they list or their destruction of allegedly fake items. You acknowledge that we are not an auctioneer. Instead, our site is a venue to allow anyone to offer, sell, buy, gift and trade. We are not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers. While we may help facilitate the resolution of disputes through various programs, we have no control over and do not guarantee the quality, safety, or legality of items advertised, the truth or accuracy of users’ content or listings, the ability of sellers to sell items, the ability of buyers to pay for items, or that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction or return an item.


We do not transfer legal ownership of items from the seller to the buyer. Further, we cannot guarantee continuous or secure access to our sites, services, or tools, and operation of our sites, services, or tools may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of our control. Accordingly, to the extent legally permitted, we exclude all implied warranties, terms and conditions. We are not liable for any loss of money, goodwill or reputation, or any special, indirect or consequential damages arising, directly or indirectly, out of your use of or your inability to use our sites, services, and tools.


Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of warranties or exclusion of damages, so such disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you.



*The above rules are made for the protection of all. Failure to comply with the rules will result in suspension of your privileges to post in this forum, or forfeiture of your forum membership according to the severity of the infraction. The moderators and administrators of this board reserve the right to modify, edit, move or delete any part or all of a post or thread for any reason stated above. OCW also reserves the right to ban any user, at any time, and for any reason.


If you have any problems or questions, feel free to address your inquiries to the listed forum Moderators or Administrators by PM