sold Classified Advertisements: Clarification & Reminder

[AFO]

Dear members of AFO,

We just wanted after quite a few instances of unsanctioned commercial advertising in recent months to draw your attention to this rule in the "For Sale" thread:

*The Brisbane Fishing Online "For Sale" are reserved for genuine sales of unwanted or second hand gear for sale by members. Commercial activities by wholesalers and retailers are not permitted. If you are a wholesaler and would like to see your product for sale or promoted on the Brisbane Fishing Online website, please contact the admin team to discuss becoming a Brisbane Fishing Online shop supplier or a site advertiser.

To clarify, this rule is not meant to eliminate free loaders, but protect our paying sponsors interest. Sponsor contribution to this website makes up part of our overall running revenue as well as the vast majority of our event prizes. In short, without support from sponsors the website will cease to operate in the present interactive format. Our sponsors will have little inclination to support us with prizes when free loaders can gain the same exposure for nothing.

Further to this, there are many cases of people placing commercial advertisements who are ignorant of the rules and with inforamtion may become a potential sponsor. So please as members, dont feel obgliged to jump on someone right away accusing them and being overly harsh. Simply report to moderator and admin will tactfully approach and deal with them. We have lost several potentially great sponsors in the past through members being over zealous from the outset.

There are very affordable ways for potential sponsors to gain exposure on this site so we welcome enquiries, but until something sanctioned have been negotiated moderators will continue to lock and potentially remove threads. This is not personal in any way, or a judement on the product advertised so do not take it as such.

Regards

The Team

AFO

[tacklebox]

for the record, it should also be made clear what AFO's stance is on product placements in fishing reports and charter operators writing reports that could be interpreted as free advertising.