Rules for classifieds

Classifieds rules have been updated after a long period of me stewing on it.

The two changes:

1) When you advise people that you've sold something, say how much it sold for.

It's not obligatory, but it does help people buying and selling things in the future to assess what is a good price and helps reduce fishing expeditions.

2) If you are taking money via PayPal, the seller cannot demand that payment be as a "Gift" and this method of payment should not be used.

Sending money as a gift via PayPal removes all payment protection for the buyer and encourages fraud. It should never be used.

Yes PayPal charge a percentage of the transaction value to the seller and sending it as a "Gift" avoids that fee... but it's far more honest just to increase the price to include this or to say "If paying via PayPal then add 4%"*. If you do add a surcharge for PayPal, then you must declare this at the time of sale and not after the event... if you haven't declared it, then it's assumed that you have included any fees in the price and you don't get to demand it be added.

Those are the two changes, the PayPal one is mandatory (no seller is permitted to remove buyer protection), and the price declaration one is merely a recommendation.

• PayPal fees are 3.4% + 20p, but it's easier just to add 4% to all values if a surcharge is deemed necessary.