Welcome to the Arkansas River Valley Swap & Shop!
Before posting or commenting in this group, it is your responsibility to read these rules thoroughly and know what is allowed and what is not allowed. Any posts or comments which are not in accordance with these guidelines may be deleted without notice. Repeat offenders may also be removed and/or banned from the group!
We’re a very friendly group and work to keep it that way. However…a certain amount of “law and order” MUST be maintained to make this group as effective and enjoyable as possible for all. So please stay within the rules, and we won’t have to throw a hissy fit when you don’t. ;o)
If you did not read our rules before posting and your post has already been removed from the group (or if YOU have been removed from the group), here is a quick listing of some of the possible reasons that may have happened…
(NOTE: The link above is NOT a shortcut through the rules!)
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Who can and cannot create posts in this group…
This group is intended for use individuals living within the Arkansas River Valley region of West Arkansas and immediate surrounding area. This generally includes the Arkansas counties of Crawford, Sebastian, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Yell, Van Buren, Conway, Perry…and outer-lying counties of Washington, Scott, Madison, Newton, and Searcy. If you live further than this area, please be prepared to travel in order to receive or deliver any items bought or sold within these boundaries…or find another group which better serves your own area.
This group is for “individuals” only…and not for commercial or business use in any way. This includes business “representatives” (weight loss programs, cosmetic & gift companies, etc.), real estate agents, auto dealerships, and the purchasing or creating items for the sole intent of reselling. This also includes RECOMMENDATION of businesses owned by others. Facebook names and profile photos promoting business are also not allowed. Fake names cannot be used while a member of this group. (This is also a Facebook rule.)
Individuals who use this group are also required to be “accessible” by administrators at any time. Any member account which does not enable “messages” to be received will be removed from the group.
Anyone who blocks any of the admins of this group will be immediately banned. (Yes…you are still visible in groups, even though you may have banned an administrator.)
What can be posted in this group…
A simple rule of thumb is to make sure any posts created in this group fall within the basic categories of BUY, SELL, TRADE, LOST, or FOUND. All items posted for sale should include description (size, your location, etc.) and price. Items listed for TRADE should include a “trade value”. “Auctioning” or “seeking best offer” of items is not allowed. You can, however, ask for “or best offer (OBO)” after setting your price, but the final sale amount cannot exceed the price originally set.
(When “seeking an item to purchase”, please do not use the “Sell Something” option , as this option includes a “price” field, which would not be necessary in seeking an item to buy. When seeking an item, please always use the “Start a Discussion”option.)
As well as items to be bought and sold, “Lost, Found, or Stolen” items are also allowed. However…mention of any names or accusations of any kind will not be allowed. This would be information meant for the investigating law enforcement agency…not the group.
English is the only language allowed in both posts and comments within the group. (If we cannot READ what is in the group, we cannot MODERATE the group.)
What cannot be posted in this group…
“Services for Hire” (plumbing, repair work, tree service, etc.) are generally considered to be “businesses” and, therefore, not allowed to be posted in the group. There are, however, a few specific types which may be posted if you are an INDIVIDUAL WORKING FROM YOUR HOME and NOT A BUSINESS. These ALLOWED “services for hire” include…
* Lawn-mowing & other light yard care (no tree businesses, landscaping, etc.)
* Housecleaning
* Baby Sitting (individuals only…not professional day cares)
* Scrap Metal Collection
If your specific “services for hire” is not listed here…or if you are a “business” providing services of any kind…DO NOT POST IT!
ARTS & CRAFTS items (items which you create to be sold) are not allowed in the Swap & Shop, however we have created another group specially for Arts & crafts items. If you create items which would fall into this category, please post them in the Arkansas River Valley Arts & Crafts group, and NOT the “Swap & Shop” group. Here is a link to the Arkansas River Valley Arts & Crafts group…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/232649986790084/
Promoting, recommending, or asking for a recommendation of other groups or pages…or any other outside source (organizations, businesses, etc.) is not allowed. (This includes the posting of “phone screen captures” which show other names of other groups, pages, etc.) Any transactions within this group should be intended to be BETWEEN OR AMONG MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP. (Please do not ask for recommendations or recommend products or a source of products outside this group.)
The only “links” permitted anywhere in this group are links to your own personal photo albums and personal page’s posts which relate your item.
Posts and comments promoting or “hinting” of political or controversial issues are also not permitted.
Requests for FREE ITEMS (other than animals) is not allowed in this group. Any type of “fundraiser” (school, organization, or otherwise) is also not allowed.
EVENTS are also not permitted. Also RAFFLES and OTHER FORMS OF GAMBLING are not allowed, whether legal or non-legal. Do not, at any time whatsoever, create a “group event” within this group, even though the option exists in the menu. Anyone creating a group event will be immediately banned from the group.
Seeking employment or employees is not allowed. If you are looking for a job, please use the “Job Search” found on this website (ArkansasRiverValley.com).
Photos which are unrelated to the item sold or sought are not allowed. Any photo posted must be of the item or relate to the item. Likewise, any unnecessary photo or photo graphic (text graphic, etc.) we feel was used with your post merely to gain attention is not allowed.
Posting in the group…
A limit of five (5) posts per member is permitted at any given time and no duplicate posts allowed. If you have more than one photo to display, please use the “Sell Something” option and NOT the “Start a Discussion” option. We have had problems in the past when posting more than one photo using the “Start a Discussion” option. You may also opt to place your photos in a photo album ON YOUR OWN PAGE, then SHARING THAT ALBUM with the group. (Always make sure that album is set to “everyone”, so everyone can see it.)
Bumping of posts…
Bumping explained… Whenever a comment is made under a post, it moves that post to the top of the listings. You may see some members actually type the word “bump”, the letter “B”, or a period (“.) in the comments area under their own posts…and, by doing this, they are just moving their posts to the top of the list.
“Bumping” is allowed no sooner than 12 hours after the last comment (by either you or another member), unless you are responding to a question by another member. Only one response is allowed to a question. Repeated responses to a question will be considered “excessive bumping”. Always be considerate of others who would like their items to be seen as well.
Since several members in the past have been caught using “unscrupulous” means for bumping their post to the top earlier than allowed (such as “deleting previous bumps” or “deleting the post and re-posting ahead of time”), we must ask that members DO NOT DELETE ANY COMMENTS OR BUMPS you create under any post. Any deleted bumps to your post may result in the immediate removal of that post by an admin…and further action, if repeated.
Constant deleting and re-posting of previous posts is also frowned upon, so please bump an earlier post, rather than posting again, unless there are significant changes to be made to your post. Either of these practices may result in the removal of your post and removal of member from the group. (We’re sorry we have to go to this extreme, however these “unscrupulous” ones we’ve mentioned have made it difficult for us to moderate the group. Anyone caught using ulterior motives for the purpose of going around our rules will be immediately banned from the group without warning.)
Commenting…
When commenting under another member’s post, please make sure you are genuinely interested in creating a transaction of some kind with that member. Personal comments, jokes, or other comments not considered an “inquiry” concerning the posted item may be removed. (Exception: Tagging other Facebook members is allowed.)
Before asking a question about an item, please read the item description and all the other comments under the post to see if that question had already been answered.
DO NOT bump other members’ posts. You are allowed to bump YOUR POST ONLY! Comments created for the purpose of “following” the post or bumping other members’ posts to the top will be removed. If you wish to “follow” a post, you can click on the “v” to the upper right of that post and select “Turn on notifications for this post.”
Hijacking other members’ posts for your own benefit (i.e., using another member’s post to sell or seek a similar item) is not allowed. If you are selling or seeking a similar item, you’ll need to create your own post.
NEGATIVE COMMENTS directed toward any member or product WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Again…a good rule of thumb is…if you’re not interested in buying or selling the specific product, DON’T COMMENT!
Garage and Yard Sales…
We have a special area for posting of Garage and Yard Sales. The post is titled “GARAGE SALES AND YARD SALES MUST BE POSTED HERE!” To find this post, just scroll down the listings until you find it. Please read the specific rules for posting of Garage and Yard Sale listings at the top of that post before adding your sale. The “Garage and Yard Sales” post will be bumped by the administrator at least once per day (usually much more than that), so this area should never be difficult to find. Administrators are the only ones permitted to bump this post. DO NOT post Garage or Yard Sales as the general post to the group!
Maintenance of Posts…
Whenever you create a post within the Swap & Shop group, it is your responsibility to maintain that post…which includes checking in on your post regularly, at least every few hours…then moderating and answering questions other group members may leave in the comments area…AND deleting that post when the item is sold or when the post is otherwise no longer needed. (Marking a post “sold” DOES NOT remove the post.)
You may leave phone numbers for members to call, but your ultimate responsibility involves interaction WITHIN THE GROUP. If questions are not answered within a 24 hour period, that post and the member who created the post are both subject to removal from the group.
Also, any member found to have old posts which were not deleted after use may also be removed from the group. To find and delete any of your old posts, see the section “Finding posts using the search tool”, which can be found in our “Helpful Tips” area below.
Interaction with Other Members…
We do not have any “first in line” rules in this group. The seller of an item has complete and final jurisdiction over who has first opportunity in buying the item, whether they commented first or last. We will also not become involved in transactions between members, as we do not have the legal authority to do so. (We are not lawyers, judges, nor jury.) If you feel you have been mistreated on legal grounds, please contact your lawyer…not us.
We do, however, keep records on reports of possible scams and may act if there are numerous reports made against a specific member. We will also step in and remove any post which is an obvious scam.
Here is a quite informative article on online scams…
How to Identify and Protect Yourself from Internet Scams
Our Administrators keep a close watch of this group and moderate it very closely. Even though it’s usually not needed, we do appreciate members who help us to keep a lookout for scams and other rule-breakers…HOWEVER…please do not make any interaction with other members regarding any rules they may have broken. This is the job of the ADMINISTRATORS ONLY! Feel free to contact an admin if you see something wrong, but please let us do the “administrating”. Also…please do not use the “Report this Post” function found in the group. This Facebook function is FLAWED and causes problems for us. Any excessive use of this function may lead us to removed the reporting member from the group.
As in any other interaction with others on Facebook or anywhere else, please use extreme caution and common sense. There are very dangerous and dishonest people in the world, so, when interacting with others…
(1) Let someone else (friend, family member, etc.) know what you are doing and even accompany you on meetings to deliver or purchase items.
(2) Meet in safe, public locations, such as police stations or well-attended shopping centers or parking lots with lots of security and secutity cameras surrounding you. Most communities provide “safe locations” (usually the police departments) for exchanging items. Contact your police departments to find out about any “safe locations” in your area…and USE THEM!
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Helpful tips…
Finding posts using the “Search Tool”…
*One way to find posts or items in the Swap & Shop is to use the “group search box”. You can find this search box in the left sidebar (column) of any Facebook group. If you are looking for YOUR OWN posts, just type in your name as it appears in the group.
When you search for items, your “results” will show two options… “Items for Sale” and “All Posts”. These can be quite confusing, but it’s always best to search through BOTH options to find what you need.
*Finding posts by “Scrolling” though the posts…
When the search box isn’t working right (which happens occasionally), you can just scroll down the list, keeping an eye on the “date stamp” of the last comment of each post. This will tell you where you are, time-wise and help you reach to reach your post according to when your post was created.
* Finding posts using the “Activity Log”…
Your “activity log” also comes in quite handy to find any posts or comments you have created, both inside and out of the group. To find your “Activity Log”, just click on the “downward arrow”…far right hand side of the blue menu area across the top of Facebook. Click on that downward arrow, and you’ll see “activity log” listed.
*Changing your Notifications Preferences…
If you feel like you’re being notified too much of posts and comments made in the group, you may want to check your “Notifications” settings. This can be found right under our top “Arkansas River Valley Swap & Shop” banner.
*Telling others about this group…
Of course you can add any of your friends to the group by using the “Add Members” box (upper right). HOWEVER…we must warn you that a lot of people do not appreciate being added to groups without their consent. If you do add anyone, please make sure they have requested you do so. You may also copy the url (internet location) of the group…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212360602146334/
…then paste it to your timeline or within a message to someone.
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The group is a service of… ArkansasRiverValley.com …where you’ll find helpful information about quality, family-type entertainment close to home. While at our website, be sure to subscribe to our “River Valley eNews” to keep up with events and happenings around the Arkansas River Valley.
Also be sure to “LIKE” the ArkansasRiverValley.com Facebook PAGE here…
https://facebook.com/ArkansasRiverValley.com
Thanks for being a part of the Arkansas River Valley community!
Paula Owens (Group Administrator)
