Classifieds: selling, deals and auctions

The «Classifieds» section is a board where members sell each other kits, floss, fabric, hoops, finished pieces and anything else to do with needlework. Charts are not sold here – they have their own place in the catalogue. The board brings a buyer and a seller together, and what happens next depends on how the deal is settled.

Finding what you need

Click «Classifieds» in the site header (/en/shop). The board shows tiles: the title, the price or «By arrangement», the seller and the place. Every listing stays on the board for thirty days.

Above the list are the filters «Kind», «Settled», «Priced in» and «With a price», and the search fields «What are you looking for?» and «Where». The «Where» field finds a place by any part of its name. You can sort by price only after choosing a currency in «Priced in»: amounts in different currencies cannot be compared. A tag with a hash sign opens every listing carrying that tag.

A listing page shows the photographs, the price with a note on how it is settled, the description, the date «On the board until …» and «The seller» box: «Finished deals», «With different people», «First deal». A new seller's box says plainly that there have been no deals – an honest empty history, not an error.

A listing written in another language may be shown in an automatic translation, with a label and a button that shows the original.

Anyone can see the board without signing in, but buying, writing to a seller and selling need an account. How to create an account is described in Account and settings; you sign in at /en/login.

Two ways to settle

«Units, held until you confirm». Payment in the site's own units. Units are earned on the site itself and cannot be bought for money – see Economy and reputation. When you buy, the site holds the amount and passes it to the seller only after you confirm, or when a deadline runs out. A deal of this kind can be disputed, and a site moderator decides the dispute.

«Between the two of you, without the site». You agree and pay each other yourselves, in real money. Next to the price stands the warning «The site is not a party to this deal.»: the site introduces people, but it does not sell, does not guarantee, holds nothing and will refund nothing. A price in roubles, dollars, euros or hryvnias is only the figure you agree on. What the rules say about such deals is behind the link «What the rules say about deals», or on /en/rules.

With direct settlement, your only protection is the seller's history in «The seller» box.

Putting up a listing

Not every account can sell straight away: the board asks for a confirmed email address and some standing on the site. Direct settlement and auctions open later than an ordinary listing. What is already open to you is shown on your profile (click your «@username» in the header), in the «What this opens» box. Without access yet, «Sell something» leads to «This page is closed».

On the board, click «Sell something». Answer three questions: «Kind», «How you will be paid», «How it sells» («Fixed price» or «Auction»). These three answers cannot be changed later. Click «Next».
Fill in the form: «What is it», «Describe it», «Price», «Where it is» (a town or country, not an address), «Tags». With direct settlement there is an «In» field for the currency; you may leave the price empty, and it will read «By arrangement». With units the price is required: the site holds exactly that amount.
If you are selling a kit from the site's catalogue, name it in the «Catalogue entry» field – the listing will then also appear on the kit's page.
Click «Write the listing». A draft is saved, and only you can see it.
Add pictures in the «Photographs» box; the first one is the cover, and «Make it the cover» chooses another. A kit or a finished piece needs at least one photograph, or the listing will not go on the board.
Click «Put it on the board».

Links to other websites are not allowed in a listing – arrange how to reach each other in private messages.

A new seller's first listings are read by a moderator first. Until then the listing is «Waiting for review», only you can see it, and it cannot be edited. When it is put on the board you get a notification; if it is refused, you see the reason – rewrite it and send it again. The site also limits how many listings you may keep on the board and how often you may put up new ones.

You can put an item from your stash on the board straight from its card with «Put it on the board» – see Stash.

Looking after your listing

All your listings, in every state, are on «My listings» (/en/shop/mine): drafts, those waiting for review, on the board, sold, expired.

«Edit» – while the listing is on the board and no deal is running on it, you can change the text, the photographs and the price. You can lower or raise the price; with direct settlement you can remove it altogether, and it becomes «By arrangement». A listing that is waiting for review, reserved or sold cannot be edited.
«Raise it» – the listing goes back to the top of the board and its thirty days start again. If it is too early, the site tells you in how many hours you can.
«Take it off» – the listing becomes a draft again, and putting it back costs no second fee. While a deal in units is running on it, it cannot be taken off or changed.
«Mark it sold» – for direct sales: the site does not know you have agreed until you say so.

If a moderator hides your listing, you still see it, with the reason; nobody else does.

Buying with units

On the listing, click «Buy it». The deal page opens with «The deal is open.» The amount is held, the listing becomes «Reserved» and leaves the board. The seller gets a notification, and a message saying you are reserving the item appears in your conversation with them. If you do not have enough units, the site says how many are needed and how many you have, and takes nothing.
The seller sends the item and clicks «I have sent it». The deal page shows «The seller has until … to send it.»: if nothing is marked by that date, the units go back to the buyer by themselves.
The buyer receives the item and clicks «It arrived». The units go to the seller, less the site's commission. If the buyer stays silent, the units go to the seller on the day named in «The units go to the seller on …».

The deal page shows «Where it stands», «Where the money is», «Amount» and «What you can do now». The «The listing» link opens the reserved listing – only the seller and the buyer of this deal can see it. All deals are on «My deals» (/en/shop/orders), in two parts: «Buying» and «Selling».

Buying directly

On the listing, the «Write to the seller» box already holds a question asking whether the item is still for sale. Click «Send», and the conversation with the seller opens. Links in a first message are shown as plain text until the seller accepts the conversation. More in Messages and notifications.
Agree and pay each other yourselves.
The buyer clicks «I have bought this» on the listing. A deal opens as «Waiting for both confirmations», and «Where the money is» says «The site holds nothing». The seller gets a notification with a link to the deal.
The seller opens the deal and clicks «Confirm the deal». Only when both have confirmed is the deal finished and counted in the seller's history. A buyer's mark that the seller never answers lapses after a while.

Only one such deal can run on a listing at a time. A direct deal does not take the listing off the board – the seller clicks «Mark it sold». There is no dispute and no refund here.

Auctions

An auction needs more reputation than an ordinary listing, and only a few auctions can run at once.

The seller sets the terms: «Starting price», «Bid step», «How long bidding runs, in hours» (the hint gives the allowed range), and optionally a «Reserve price» – below it the lot does not sell, and bidders do not see it – and a «Buy-now price». With units, every amount on the lot is in units.

How to bid. The lot page shows the price, «Step» and «Ends» in your own time zone. In «Your maximum», name the amount you are prepared to go to and click «Place a bid». The site raises the price for you just enough to keep you in the lead – if nobody else comes, you pay the current price, not your maximum. Under the price you will see «Your maximum: …» and «You are leading».

With units, your whole maximum is held while you lead. If somebody outbids you, it comes back at once.

Rules there is no way round:

a bid cannot be withdrawn – there is no cancel button;
a new maximum must be higher than your previous one – you cannot lower it, and the site answers «You are already committed to … A new maximum has to be higher.»;
you cannot bid on your own lot – nor from accounts the site considers linked to the seller;
a bid in the last minutes extends the bidding, so there is no point waiting for the last second; by how much is written by the form.

«How the bidding went». Next to the form are the latest bids: the price after each bid, bidders by number, with no names and nobody else's maximum. «The whole of the bidding» shows the full history.

«Buy now for …» – if the lot has such a price, clicking it takes the lot at once, without bidding.

If you are outbid, you get a «You have been outbid» notification and an email. You can switch this off in settings, in the «What to tell me about» box, with «Somebody outbids me at auction». Messages about how bidding ended always arrive.

How bidding ends. The site closes the lot by itself, a few minutes after the end, and tells the result.

A winner, settled in units – an ordinary held deal opens, and anything above the final price goes back to the winner.
A winner, settled directly – the lot becomes «Sold», and the two sides pay each other and confirm the deal. The site cannot make the winner pay.
The reserve was not met – no sale, and anything held is returned. The seller sees how far the bidding went and may write to a bidder.
No bids – the lot becomes «Expired». One restart is free: «Edit», then «Put it on the board».

Limits for the seller. After the first bid the lot cannot be taken off and its terms cannot change – it runs to the end. An auction cannot be raised or marked sold. A lot that has been bid on cannot be put up again – the item goes up as a new lot.

Disputes and reports

A dispute exists only in a deal in units, while it is not finished, and either side can open it. On the deal page, in the «Dispute» box, describe in «What happened» what went wrong and click «Open a dispute». The deal's clocks stop, and a site moderator decides where the held units go: to the seller, back to the buyer, or divided. The decision rests on your text – be specific.

A direct deal has no dispute – the site holds no money and cannot return it. If you have been cheated, report the listing: moderators can take it down, lower the seller's reputation or restrict their account.

Reporting a listing. At the foot of the listing page is «Report this listing». Choose a reason, for example «Fraud in a deal – paid for and never sent, or not what was described», write in «What exactly is wrong» and click «Send». A moderator reads the report. Without an account, use the «Report this without an account» link. More in Rules, reports and support.