[ForSale-Swap] List Guidelines

[ForSale-Swap List Owner]

ForSale-Swap is a mailing list for individuals to buy, sell, or trade Amateur Radio equipment and related items including computer equipment for Amateur radio, electronics experimenting, scanning, shortwave listening, etc.

This list is not intended for use by retailers, or individuals running an official or unofficial business from home.  Real estate listings are strictly prohibited.

This is a closed list, therefore you must be subscribed in order to post.

If you are having problems setting your list options, posting, or unsubscribing, read the Mailman Users Guide at:
                http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm

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ForSale-Swap FAQ

The following topics are addressed in this document.

What are acceptable items to post for sale?
What information should be included in my post?
How often should I post something for sale?
Why aren't messages addressed to the list when I reply to a post?
Why do I get mail from the list, but messages I send aren't posted?
Why have I stopped receiving messages from the list?
How do I check up on someone selling equipment on ForSale-Swap?
How do I unsubscribe from this list anyway?


Q - What are acceptable items to post for sale?
A - Ham radio equipment, scanners, computer equipment and parts for repair or experimenting. This isn't a garage sale so please don't post items that don't closely relate to the hobby. Just because a ham owns it or it has a radio in it, doesn't make it ham related. 

Please do not offer for sale copies of manuals or other copyrighted material.  You may include copies of manuals with the equipment you are selling but selling them a la carte is not OK.  Original manuals are OK.

If you are in doubt, ask the list owner first.

The following will be considered inappropriate postings and can result in you being unceremoniously removed from the ForSale-Swap list:

        Complaints about anyone.
        Virus Warnings or Chain Letters.
        Advertising non-Ham related items.
        Convention or other announcements.
        Ebay or other auction notices and links.
        General opinions, debates or licensing issues.
        Commercial Messages (items offered by or for businesses).
        Flames, personal attacks, profanity or other offensive material.

Q - What information should be included in my For Sale post?
A - A descriptive subject line including if you are buying or selling and the items you're posting. A good description (make, model, working and physical condition, modifications or accessories, and age). How much you are asking (does it include shipping, are you willing to trade, are you negotiable). Who you are, your call sign and contact information (while not required an alternative method of contact if email fails).

Q - How often should I post something for sale?
A - Since most of the members on this list have been subscribed for a year or more, a good practice is not to post the same item for sale more often than once a week unless you have reduced the sale price. In general, if something isn't sold in 3-4 weeks, give it a break and try again in a month or so.

Q - Why aren't messages addressed to the list when I reply to a post?
A - This is by design. A reply to an advertisement need only go to the original poster. The entire list should not be cluttered up with negotiations or other traffic not beneficial to everyone. Please do not hit REPLY ALL in order to avoid this, and always be conscious of who is in the TO: and CC: fields of any message before hitting the send button. Getting into this habit could save you a red face in the future.

Q - Why do I get mail from the list, but messages I send aren't posted?
A - The mail servers at QTH.NET are configured to reject mail containing executable attachments, HTML links and mail from known spam friendly IP's.  (see: http://mailman.qth.net/spamfaq.htm ) All lists at QTH.NET strip HTML and remaining attachments prior to resending.  This is done to keep our lists from spreading worms and viruses. So, you should send mail to the list in PLAIN TEXT to keep from having problems.  If you don't know how to configure your mail client to send plain text messages, please visit the following link for instructions (most popular email clients are covered).

Configuring Mail Clients to Send Plain ASCII Text
http://mailman.qth.net/plaintext.htm

Another possibility is that you are submitting your post from an address other than the one you are subscribed under (this is a closed list). Check the welcome message you received when you subscribed to the list (you did save it didn't you?) or the monthly password reminder. The address you are subscribed under is contained in the body of that message. You must send mail to the list from this address in order to post.  If you want to be able to post from 2 addresses, read http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html which explains how to do this.

Q - Why have I stopped receiving messages from the list?
A - You can expect on an average 6 posts a day from the Swap list (there is rarely a day that at least 1 post doesn't go out). Please make sure that you have room in your mailbox for the mailings from the list. If mail to you bounces because your mailbox is full or is unreachable for various reasons, Mailman will put your subscription on hold and you will be notified. If you do not respond to the notifications, you will be removed from the list.

Q - How do I check up on someone selling equipment on ForSale-Swap?
A - There have been polls taken of the buyers on this list and we have found that it's a rare occasion when someone is actually cheated by a seller here. More often than not when a problem occurs, it's merely a misunderstanding between the buyer and seller. To that end, we DO NOT allow posts of this nature on the list since they have a negative impact on both parties as well as the list. Information about discussion lists for this purpose is included in the welcome message you received when you subscribed. If you are actually cheated by someone posting on this list, you should inform the list owner, who will take appropriate action with the offending list member.

Q - How do I unsubscribe from this list anyway?
A - Every message sent to you from this list contains a link to our home page in the footer. You can unsubscribe or change your address or list options using the web interface.