Classified Ad Policy

recycler.com Classified Ad Policy

recycler.com brings buyers and sellers together by helping them create relevant and effective classified ads. To help create a more trusted marketplace, we have developed a set of policies that govern classified advertisements appearing on www.recycler.com and recycler.com’s advertising network. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about improving these policies please let us know at feedback@recycler.com. We want recycler.com to be your favorite marketplace so your ideas are always welcome.

Application of our policies will always involve an element of discretion and we reserve the right to reject or approve any ads. recycler.com may modify these policies at any time without notice.

Ad Posting Policy

You can place up to 25 different Ads per day on recycler.com. Duplicate Ads or Ads that are similar to an existing Ad (e.g. for the same product or service) are not okay and will be removed (sometimes without notice). If you want to re-list an item that you are already advertising, please cancel your existing ad first.

The following activities are prohibited on recycler.com:

• Placing an Ad if you are not located in the US
• Posting an item for sale that is
  • not located in the US
  • is illegal to own, buy or sell in your area of residence and the area you are advertising
  • is on our prohibited items list
• Placing multiple Ads that are too similar to each other
• Placing an Ad that serves no reasonable purpose other than to send traffic to another web site. You may, however, include a link in your Ad if it is to give the user more information about the item being offered (for example product details, pictures, etc.). Links that lead to sites where online transactions can occur are not allowed.
• Placing an Ad that defames anyone or contains "hate speech." You are not permitted to defame anyone or include "hate speech" directed at individuals or groups in your postings or in the emails that you send via recycler.com, in R’Forums or in R’Blogs.
• Placing a multi-level marketing or other prohibited "job" Ad
• Placing pornography, nudity or other material that is obscene or adult in nature or harmful to minors
• Solicitation of other users, except by placing an Ad, including the use of recycler.com’s e-mail services to send unsolicited emails
• Infringing the rights of third parties. This includes, but is not limited to, infringing on intellectual property rights such as copyright and trademark (e.g. offering counterfeit items for sale)
• Discriminatory or offensive behavior and the usage of profanity or patently vulgar language
• Encouraging others to break the law
• Misleading others by false statements
• Violation of Fair Housing laws and regulations
• Violation of Equal Opportunity and job discrimination laws and regulations

We reserve the right to delete or revise or edit any Ads or other content on the site that does not comply with the recycler.com policies or otherwise negatively impacts the community, recycler.com or third party. Before placing ads in the For Rent and Real Estate categories, please inform yourself about the rules and regulations on Equal Housing Opportunities (link to Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Titles and Descriptions

Your Ads should be clear, factual, and objective and accurately describe the item you are selling or the service you are offering. Always write detailed description. Ads with good descriptions give buyers a better experience and generally get better results. When writing titles and descriptions, keep in mind the following:

• Ad Text: Your Ad must directly relate to the product or service you are offering. As a basic rule, use clear, descriptive, and specific ad content that highlights the differentiating characteristics of your product/service.
• Spacing: You should have appropriate spacing between each word and after punctuation. For example, ‘C-h-e-a-p C-a-r’ would not be allowed. Similarly, ‘Free Shipping.Buy Now’ would also not be allowed.
• Punctuation & Symbols: Punctuation may not be used to attract a user’s attention. It should not be unnecessary or repeated two or more times in a row.
• Grammar and Spelling: Ads should comply with basic grammar and spelling guidelines Appropriate grammar and spelling greatly contributes to the clarity and credibility of your Ad
• Capitalization: The entire ad text cannot appear in all capital letters to draw user’s attention.
• Repetition: Repetition should not be used in a gimmicky manner for the sake of promotion.
• Inappropriate language: Ads cannot contain language that may be considered inappropriate or offensive to some users. This also applies to misspellings, self-censored, or other variations of inappropriate language.

Titles and descriptions should be in English only. When you select an ad package that includes a print publication, you will be asked to create a separate title and description. recycler.com reserves the right to edit your titles and descriptions, both in print and on line.

Photos

Photos are a great way to showcase your item for sale and are included with your ad packages. Some buyers give priority to ads that include more detail. Only static (non-animated) images that can be formatted as .JPEG files are accepted. Image files must be 1.5MB or smaller. If you would like to retain your image’s original proportions, we recommend that you resize your images before you upload them.

Photo Ad images must be clear and recognizable. Text appearing in the Ad images must be legible. We reserve the right to disapprove low quality or blurry Ad images.

Unacceptable Content

Depending on the market being served, we do not accept ads containing or relating to certain products or services. These products or services often include, but are not limited to, those listed below:

• Alcoholic Beverages
  • Beer
  • Wine
  • Liquor
• Academic Aids
  • Test-taking services in which someone takes an exam for someone else
  • Academic paper-writing services providing custom/pre-written these, dissertations, etc.
• Adult Content
  • Escort services that offer or suggest sexual services
  • Material that is obscene, pornographic or adult in nature, or harmful to minors
  • Prostitution or ads that offer sex, sexual favors or sexual actions in exchange for money or gifts
  • Pictures or images that contain nudity
  • Personal ads that are adult in nature
• Beating Drug Tests
  • products that facilitate the evasion of drug laws and promote ways to " beat" a drug test
  • Counterfeit Products and Replicas
  • Counterfeit currency, coins, stamps or tickets and the equipment designed to make them
  • Replicas or imitations of designer products
• Documents
  • Identity documents
  • Personal information in any form, including mailing lists and financial records
  • Government and Transit Badges
  • Government Uniforms, Documents or Licenses, such as internal manuals of commercial airlines or postal service uniforms
• Drugs, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment
  • Illegal substances, substances with questionable legality or substances whose primary purpose seems to be recreational mind alteration.
  • Drug paraphernalia
  • Prescription drugs
  • Devices that require a prescription to obtain (e.g. contact lenses, hearing aids)
• Embargoed goods
  • Items originating from the countries of Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba
• Endangered or protected species
  • This includes the sale of products derived from elephants, sharks, tigers, whales, rhinoceroses, or dolphins such as:
    • Elephant tusk ivory, tiger pelts, shark fins
• Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Devices
  • Fireworks
  • Destructive devices
  • Explosives and explosive material

• Illegal Activity
  recycler.com will not publish any ads that may encourage or facilitate illegal activity, such as:
  • Hacking and cracking code and tools that aid in copyright infringement
  • Stolen goods or property with serial number removed
  • Altered property
• Gambling
  • Lottery tickets
  • Sweepstakes entries
  • Slot Machines
• Investments and e-Gold Related Content
  • e-gold exchange, e-gold investment, and e-gold accounts
  • Stocks and other securities
• Potentially Hazardous Materials or Items
  • Radioactive or toxic materials
  • Used or rebuilt batteries or batteries containing mercury
  • Recalled Items
• Products and Services of Questionable Legality
  • Electronic surveillance equipment
  • Burglary tools

Any other products/elements/ingredients as may be designated by recycler.com at any time in its sole discretion.

JOBS

The following types of Job ads are not permitted on the site:

• Multi-level marketing opportunities or pyramid schemes
• Business or job opportunities that require upfront or periodic payments
• Business or job opportunities that pay only commissions, unless the Ad makes it clear that the sole source of compensation would be commission and clearly describes the product or service that would be sold and the commission terms
• Business or job opportunities that require recruitment of other members, distributors or agents
• Ads that are not clear regarding what type of work would be required
• Ads for employment that state a preference or requirement based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability

Policy on Discrimination in Housing/Real Estate Advertising

We strongly support the local, state and federal fair housing statutes and encourage you to read more about your rights as a prospective renter, home buyer or roommate. All potential home buyers or renters are hereby informed that all housing advertised is available on an equal opportunity basis and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, handicap or familial status. When posting an ad in print or on our websites, you must comply with section 3604(c) of the Federal Fair Housing Act. This law prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing and details other prohibited practices. This statute prohibits stating, in any notice or ad for the sale or rental of a dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on any of the following protected categories:

• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial Status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18)
• Handicap / Disability

The Fair Housing Act provides additional protections, and limited exceptions, that are explained in publications from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development("HUD") and the Department of Justice

HUD has issued guidance on advertising rental properties, properties for sale and roommates.

State and local laws often prohibit discrimination based on additional criteria (e.g. sexual orientation, age, marital status, or source of income). Please contact your state’s Housing Authority in order to find out more about the specific laws in your state and see more detailed discussion of Federal rules elsewhere on our site.