Message From Mod Judi - Religion and Selling on the Board

[judiaci]

I am posting this gentle reminder to the entire board and no one in particular about two of our board rules regarding selling and religion. These topics have come up lately, and I would like to address them in the same thread even though they are unrelated.

Selling -
Here is the rule about selling -
6. Occasional selling of American Girl items is allowed, but if that is all you want to do, please do not use the board. The Society is not legally responsible for any transactions resulting from the use of the board. All items posted for sale on the Board must be at a fixed price, no item shall be posted for sale at "best offer".

Please - no auctions or best offer selling. Also, selling of only AG items allowed.
There are many marketplace forums online to sell your AG items. The main focus of this board is conversation and information. Please keep your AG board selling limited.

Religion -
1. Use good judgment. The following are not allowed:
discussing religion outside of the context of holidays or AG products, or in a negative way

We do allow Off Topic or OT threads clearly marked with members' request for support and prayers in times of need as long as these threads don't turn into religious debates. If a thread is clearly marked OT, it can easily be avoided by those members on the board who seek only doll information.

We have a very diverse group of members with many different convictions. Please refrain from inserting religious comments into threads other than OT prayer requests and religious holidays as it relates to AG.

Our main focus of this board is to talk about American Girl. As everyone knows, religious comments often lead to discussions and deep feelings beyond the scope of this doll board.

Ok - So we are not so deep here, but I guess that is the point. [img]redface.gif[/img] Our AG doll board is a light hearted escape from some of today's bigger topics.

[[email protected]]

Our reasons for not allowing auctions or "best offer" sales on this board also include the following....

1) We are not set up for this kind of thing, as real auction sites are. We have no tools, or enough personnel, for oversight or feedback.

2) The risk of hurt feelings is too great. We have had "best offer" sales before that created many hurt feelings in the process.

3) This seems like a slippery slope that could open the door to a lot of other auctions, and we don't want to do that. It already seems as though we have too many sales on this board sometimes, and that seems to detract from the conversations sometimes.

4) The liability is too great.

Joy [img]smile.gif[/img]

[judiaci]

Thank you for your cooperation on these matters. If anyone would like further clarification, feel free to post here or PM a mod.

[Sakurako]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hate to be a spoil sport but I've been on (and off, not due to choice) this board for at least 3 years and when I joined, no one ever sold anything! Even with high speed, trying to load a thread takes me so long that I've pretty much quit trying.

I realize that we all like the option to buy something at a fixed price and sellers would like to avoid the charges on ebay, but I think it would be great if we went back to either mentioning that we have items for sale and people can PM or not sell on the HB at all.

[Sakurako]

bumping before signing off

[Miss_Nellie_OMalley]

I think there is a mix up as to what best offer is suppose to mean. I know personally I used it in my for sale post and ment that prices could be negotiable... meaning I am asking $150 for something (hypothetically) and another member could pm me and say "well I'd be willing to pay $110"

Even on ebay best offer price means that someone is going to offer you LESS than your BIN or asking price.

I think throwing prices to "the dogs" and letting them battle it out definatly has no place on a board like this... that's what ebay is for.

I really like the buying selling aspect of these boards. I for one have bought as much as I've sold from HB members

[Jeanette M.]

Originally posted by judiaci:
There are many marketplace forums online to sell your AG items. The main focus of this board is conversation and information. Please keep your AG board selling limited.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please realize, dear friends, that this board is not intended to be a marketplace, but rather a place of conversation and information. I have purchased items that board members have had for sale, and have appreciated the opportunity; but let's not let the "for sale" listings become more numerous than the questions, comments, and information about our dollies. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

[Ashley1994]

that stinx. i likes getting stuff from mimbers hear.

[Jeanette M.]

Originally posted by judiaci:
We have a very diverse group of members with many different convictions. Please refrain from inserting religious comments into threads other than OT prayer requests and religious holidays as it relates to AG.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">We as moderators have been receiving messages from board members recently relating to this particular guideline. Many of us here are Christians, and as such, make comments relating to our religious beliefs just as a part of our general conversation. Please, let us be aware of and careful about this in our conversation here, remembering that we also have many non-Christian members who come to our board not to read statements of religious belief, but to discuss dollies - a love which we all share. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

[Kenshinchan]

No one said selling is disallowed here! We're just saying that we don't want the focus of this board to become buying and selling. The main purpose of this board is to discuss the dolls, not to spend or make money.