Canada-wide Astronomy Buy & Sell
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) – updated Feb. 21, 2017
How do I enter an ad?
Click on "Log In / Post Ads" from the menu (at the top left of any page). Then
sign-in using your user name and password, then click on "Place Ad" from
the top menu. If it is your first time using
AstroBuySell, you will first have to register.
Follow
the “Register” link from the top menu on any page.
Is placing ads really free?
Yes. All private,
not-for-profit ads can be placed free of charge, but
there are some exceptions. See below
and see the terms of use for more information.
NOTE: Manufacturers, wholesalers,
retailers, or service providers (whether full-time, part-time, or
spare-time) cannot advertise for free.
Can dealers advertise personal items
for free?
No. A dealer must
become a paying sponsor whether selling business
inventory or personal items.
What are "featured ads"?
These are pay ads. The advantage of
"featured ads" is that they are featured on the front page of
AstroBuySell. Featured ads also appear on top of the listing and
never "sink to the bottom", thus they are much more prominent and cannot
be missed by prospective buyers! See this
link
for complete details. Featured ads are not available to commercial
advertisers.
How do I look at the ads?
From the menu (at
the top of any page) click on "Browse Ads". On that page, you will have
several choices. The most used choice is the "Show All ### Ads (starting
with most recent)".
Click here for step-by-step
instructions.
This option will show you all ads from most recent to oldest. Otherwise
you can specify exactly what you want to see by selecting from the menus
on that page. For example, if you want to see all refracting telescopes
for sale that are still "active" in
How do I see the details for each ad?
When browsing the
ads, you will only be shown the "preview" for each ad. To read the full
details of an ad, click on "For Sale" or "Wanted" or "For Trade" in the
second column.
Can I delete my ad after I sell/find my
item?
No. You can mark your ad
"sold" or "found" or “cancelled”, then archive your ad.
When you archive your
ad, your contact information is no longer shown! The reason we do
not allow ads to be deleted is because the accumulation of ads creates
an excellent reference database for used astronomical goods. By browsing
old ads, one can see the availability and pricing of used equipment.
Note that ads are automatically archived after 3 months.
How do I delete my registration
record?
Send an email to the webmaster asking to have
your registration deleted. NOTE:
you should probably archive any current adverts. If you
don’t archive current adverts, your contact info will still show
in the current adverts, even though you have deleted your
registration record.
Why don't you have a rating system for sellers /
buyers?
This has been requested many times over the years, often referencing web
sites that have rating systems, such as eBay. Please keep in mind that
eBay has billions of dollars and thousands of employees behind it, while
AstroBuySell is run by a single person (part time) with the help of one
volunteer!
Unfortunately a rating system is a mine field to administer - when there is
a disagreement in a transaction and negative feedback is left, I am sure I
will be pulled in to mediate. How could I possibly mediate when I'm
not part of the transaction?! How could I possibly know who's right and
who's wrong?!
Another concern is that dishonest people will find a way to enter fake
positive feedback about themselves.
What are the guidelines for
FREE
ads?
Complete
guidelines are listed here.
Generally, free advertising is typically for items that meet this
criteria:
- Single items (not a quantity of the same item)
- Usually the items are used
- The seller does not profit from the sale of the items
- Must be related to the hobby of astronomy
What do you consider inappropriate
free advertising?
- Multiple quantities of the same item
- Any kind of service
- Refurbishing and re-selling equipment
- Building and selling equipment
- Repeatedly selling items with the intent of making a profit
- Repeatedly selling “brand new, never used” items
- Items on consignment with a dealer or retailer
What are some examples of
inappropriate free advertising?
- Buying quantities of equipment at a close-out sale and re-selling it on
AstroBuySell at a profit
- Buying new or used items on eBay and re-selling them on AstroBuySell at a higher price
- Buying a large quantity of some material / item and re-selling it (whether
at a profit or loss) on AstroBuySell, such as:
- solar film, solar viewing
glasses, red film for monitors, Teflon or Kydex plastic, Ebony Star
laminate, etc...
- Offering to modify DSLR cameras or web cams for a fee because you are an
electronics expert
- Building or refurbishing equipment in your garage workshop and selling it on AstroBuySell
at a profit
- Your telescope is for sale on consignment at a dealer and your ad refers
people to the dealer.
Why are you so strict about
for-profit-advertising?
Because there are legitimate businesses tying to make a living by
selling astronomy equipment. These businesses have large overheads
(rent, salaries, taxes, advertising, etc) to pay and do not deserve to
be undercut by spare-time “dealers” who don’t have any of these
expenses. Please support
our astronomy retailers and dealers… without them we’d have nowhere to
buy our equipment.
Can businesses place ads?
Yes, but first you
must become a sponsor. Note that there is a small charge for placing
commercial classified ads in addition to the the sponsorship charge.
How does my business become a sponsor?
See this page:
Commercial Advertising (last
section)