All transactions posted in the HAM Community Classifieds Page are purely the responsibility of the seller and buyer participating. The HAM Community is only providing the forum though which sellers and buyers can choose to contact each other.
Hard Air Magazine, the Hard Air Magazine Community, Archer Airguns Inc. (the owner of HAM), its owners, employees, Moderators, etc are not responsible for any issues or fraud that may arise.
However, HAM is doing its best to help you make a safe, successful sale for both seller and buyer with these recommendations. Here’s how and why…
1. Buyers And Sellers
In order to place an ad, sellers need to have earned more than 100 HAM Airgun Points for their contributions to the Community. The intention of this is to prevent “hit and run” scammers who might otherwise just sign-up and place an ad.
Buyers must use the Personal Message (PM) system if they wish to contact the seller. This means that they also must be registered HAM Community members.
There's no capability to make a public comment in Classified ads. This is for confidentiality.
2. Photographs
In order to provide extra reassurance to buyers, all HAM Classified “Want To Sell” ads must be accompanied by at least one photograph showing a sheet of paper including his/her HAM Community User Name, product name and the date the seller is placing the ad.
Like this…
Obviously this cannot be a GUARANTEE that the seller actually has the product. However it would require strong skills in photo editing software to fake convincingly. Again the intention is to deter scammers.
If none of the photographs includes a clear, legible and large enough indication of ownership, or if there are any other concerns about the ad, it will be deleted by a HAM Community Moderator.
3. Payment
Hard Air Magazine strongly recommends that Classified transactions are NOT conducted using the PayPal “Friends And Family system.
There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, it’s contrary to PayPal’s User Agreement. Check out this page. It says that “You must not send money as a personal transaction (often referred to as using the “Send Money to a Friend or Family Member” feature in your PayPal account) when you are paying for goods or services.”
Stuff sold in Classified ads qualifies as "goods". This means that you should use the PayPal “Goods And Services” option.
Secondly, if you do pay by “Friends and Family”, the transaction is completely un-insured. If you pay a scammer by “Friends And Family”, you will NEVER get your money back - EVER.
If you pay by the PayPal “Goods And Services” service and are scammed, PayPal covers eligible goods and services payments under the PayPal Purchase Protection. So you may well get your money back if you comply with their rules. Yes, it costs money, but it has to be worth it for security!
3. Shipping
Hard Air Magazine strongly recommends shipping with a Tracking Number and Signature Confirmation. Again this costs money but it's another level of protection against scammers. It also protection against “Porch Pirates” stealing a package that has been delivered correctly by the carrier.
Without a Tracking Number and Signature Confirmation, there’s no proof that any package actually was delivered from the seller to the buyer.
In addition, it’s definitely worth insuring the package against loss or damage by the carrier. True, carriers do provide limited insurance coverage in their shipping prices: it's $100 for USPS, FedEx and UPS. If the product is more expansive, it will require additional insurance if you want to be covered.
Finally, note that it’s ILLEGAL to ship ANY PISTOL by USPS - including air pistols. So if you’re shipping an air pistol, it will need to be shipped by another carrier.
4. Safe Buying And Selling Summary
Yes, not using PayPal Friends And Family, shipping with Signature Confirmation and with full insurance all cost money. But they give you the best chance to avoid a horror story if something goes wrong with your transaction.
Sellers can easily make the appropriate selections using the HAM Community Classifieds input form when placing their “Want To Sell” ad.
Hard Air Magazine, the Hard Air Magazine Community, Archer Airguns Inc. (the owner of HAM), its owners, employees, Moderators, etc are not responsible for any issues or fraud that may arise.
However, HAM is doing its best to help you make a safe, successful sale for both seller and buyer with these recommendations. Here’s how and why…
1. Buyers And Sellers
In order to place an ad, sellers need to have earned more than 100 HAM Airgun Points for their contributions to the Community. The intention of this is to prevent “hit and run” scammers who might otherwise just sign-up and place an ad.
Buyers must use the Personal Message (PM) system if they wish to contact the seller. This means that they also must be registered HAM Community members.
There's no capability to make a public comment in Classified ads. This is for confidentiality.
2. Photographs
In order to provide extra reassurance to buyers, all HAM Classified “Want To Sell” ads must be accompanied by at least one photograph showing a sheet of paper including his/her HAM Community User Name, product name and the date the seller is placing the ad.
Like this…
Obviously this cannot be a GUARANTEE that the seller actually has the product. However it would require strong skills in photo editing software to fake convincingly. Again the intention is to deter scammers.
If none of the photographs includes a clear, legible and large enough indication of ownership, or if there are any other concerns about the ad, it will be deleted by a HAM Community Moderator.
3. Payment
Hard Air Magazine strongly recommends that Classified transactions are NOT conducted using the PayPal “Friends And Family system.
There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, it’s contrary to PayPal’s User Agreement. Check out this page. It says that “You must not send money as a personal transaction (often referred to as using the “Send Money to a Friend or Family Member” feature in your PayPal account) when you are paying for goods or services.”
Stuff sold in Classified ads qualifies as "goods". This means that you should use the PayPal “Goods And Services” option.
Secondly, if you do pay by “Friends and Family”, the transaction is completely un-insured. If you pay a scammer by “Friends And Family”, you will NEVER get your money back - EVER.
If you pay by the PayPal “Goods And Services” service and are scammed, PayPal covers eligible goods and services payments under the PayPal Purchase Protection. So you may well get your money back if you comply with their rules. Yes, it costs money, but it has to be worth it for security!
3. Shipping
Hard Air Magazine strongly recommends shipping with a Tracking Number and Signature Confirmation. Again this costs money but it's another level of protection against scammers. It also protection against “Porch Pirates” stealing a package that has been delivered correctly by the carrier.
Without a Tracking Number and Signature Confirmation, there’s no proof that any package actually was delivered from the seller to the buyer.
In addition, it’s definitely worth insuring the package against loss or damage by the carrier. True, carriers do provide limited insurance coverage in their shipping prices: it's $100 for USPS, FedEx and UPS. If the product is more expansive, it will require additional insurance if you want to be covered.
Finally, note that it’s ILLEGAL to ship ANY PISTOL by USPS - including air pistols. So if you’re shipping an air pistol, it will need to be shipped by another carrier.
4. Safe Buying And Selling Summary
Yes, not using PayPal Friends And Family, shipping with Signature Confirmation and with full insurance all cost money. But they give you the best chance to avoid a horror story if something goes wrong with your transaction.
Sellers can easily make the appropriate selections using the HAM Community Classifieds input form when placing their “Want To Sell” ad.
