Selling Instructions

It is REQUIRED that all sellers comprehensively read and understand these instructions! Cubicdissection staff will not respond to questions that are answered in this document.

This site is intended for use as a market by which buyers and sellers connect. Cubicdissection does not mediate or otherwise guarantee transactions between users. Use of this site constitutes your agreement to proactively communicate and resolve any issues between yourself and any other respective party, including pre and post-event questions, request for more detail in listings, complaints as to photographs or descriptions, and any other issues which may arise.

The ability to sell items is restricted to known, active members of the puzzle community and members of the IPP. If you do not qualify as a listing member, you may become one by having references from several current members.  New accounts are by default restricted to bidding only.  To request selling privileges, please log in to the Members Area and click the "Request Selling Privileges" button.  You will be contacted by a Marketplace administrator should we require additional information to approve your request.

Once approved you will see a "Sell" link on the header navigation bar.  Before listing an item is it VITAL that you understand the selling options and properly configure your account.  Please read this page in its entirety before listing any items.

Listing Items For Sale

The seller alone is responsible for the content of their listing, including descriptions and photographs. Listings that violate the terms included herein may be corrected by the seller prior to the event. Listings may not be edited after the event begins. If a listing is reported after the event begins and found to be violating the listing terms it will be removed and all bids voided. Multiple violations will result in the loss of selling privileges.

Items may be listed at any time prior to the event.  Once listed, items automatically become visible for browsing. Once the event begins the items will automatically become active and open for bidding.  The earlier you list items, the sooner they will be visible and the higher interest they will garner from potential buyers.

Before listing items, please navigate to the Seller Tools section (Members Area > Selling > Seller Tools) and configure the various settings.  You will need to configure your shipping options; please note in particular the restrictions implied by your choice of worldwide shipping.  You will also be able to configure various pre-filled fields which can make listing multiple items more efficient.

Listings Are Binding

Listing an item for sale creates a binding contract between the bidder and the seller.  Item removal is not allowed once the event begins; please think carefully before submitting any item for sale.  Should a seller not fulfill a sale, they will be permanently barred from participating in future Marketplace events.

Category Selection

The categories follow the top level of the Slocum classification system.

Listing Details

Enter the details of the item you wish to sell. Please be as detailed as possible with the description, including the cost of shipping both domestically and internationally, as well as accepted payment options. 

Each listing must be accompanied by at least one image, and images cannot be larger than 5000kb.  Listing items directly from a phone will frequently be problematic because the photo is too large or in the incorrect format.  To resolve this issue, simply email the photos to yourself and your phone software will compress the images into an acceptable size.

Stock photos are not allowed; photos used in listings must be of the actual item for sale. It is strongly encouraged to photograph each side of the item.

Photographs that reveal solutions with a quick glance are prohibited. This particularly includes puzzle boxes or other take apart puzzles, or any puzzle whereby viewing the puzzle in the solved state gives an immediate, substantial and unforgettable insight into the solution. Community members are responsible for upholding this policy by reporting to the seller any photo which may tend to violate same.  Should a listing go live with such a photograph, the seller will be responsible for replacing the offending photo or be at risk of the item being delisted.

Item condition must be accurately assessed and disclosed. Any seller who receives multiple complaints of overstating condition may be suspended or banned from future participation.

The seller alone is responsible for the content of their listing, to include descriptions and photographs.  Marketplace Admins do not have access to the items and can not provide any further details.  Should a buyer need more information before placing a bid they will contact you via the built-in messaging system.  Please be responsive to such requests and provide any information that you are able to.

Puzzle Grading 

The grade is the cosmetic condition of the item

The function describes how well the puzzle feels and operates. 

Homepage Featured

Homepage Featured is a free option that will randomly display your item on the homepage to site visitors once the event begins and the listings become active. Its use is recommended.

Bulk Listing Function

Home> Members Area> Selling> Seller Tools> Bulk Lister

Detailed instructions are posted in this section on the 'description' tab. A sample CSV file is available to demonstrate the proper formatting. Listings can be uploaded directly to the site, or to the drafts page for editing before posting. If using Microsoft Excel, the CSV file needs to be saved in MSDOS format.

What is the SPH Item Size?

The SPH (Standardized Puzzle Hamster) is a unit of measure pioneered by collector Steve Nicholls.  One SPH equals 160mm x 76mm and weighs 64grams. And is furry.

Listing Durations

The Marketplace is a scheduled event that runs four times per year; all items start with a seven-day duration and close at the same time unless the anti snipe feature is activated by bidders.

Make Offer

The Make Offer function allows a bidder to make an instant offer on the item being sold. The offer range is specified by the seller during the auction listing process. If an offer is made within the range specified, the seller can choose to accept or turn down the offer.  

An accepted offer results in the immediate sale of the item. The presence of other bids, with or without having met any reserves, does not prevent a seller from accepting an offer. 

International Shipping / Postage Setup

Shipping may be entered as a fixed amount when listing items, or you may set the shipping price to "TBC" which means "To Be Calculated" after the item closes. 

Packaging, handling, or any other fees associated with shipping are prohibited. Shipping charged to the buyer should reflect the actual cost of postage.  Any seller attempting to overcharge on shipping will be barred from future marketplace events.

If you do not enable international shipping, bidders will receive a warning that you do not ship to their locale when attempting to place a bid.

To configure postage and shipping options, please go to the Postage Setup (Home > Members Area > Selling > Seller Tools > Postage Setup).  Offering combined shipping on multiple items is recommended but not required.  Combined shipping amounts can be negotiated and agreed upon with the buyer after the sale using the Messaging system.

Auction Fees

All fees are paid by the seller; the buyer pays no fees. Fees amounts may be viewed by clicking on the "Site Fees" link on the bottom of every Marketplace page. The current fee is 7% of the final value of the item sold. No other fees are charged.

Fees are due once all items have closed; an invoice will be sent via email and may be paid via PayPal to "paypal@cubicdissection.com".  

Should a sale for some reason be canceled or otherwise not completed, the fees for that transaction will be deducted.  

Non-payment of fees will result in a suspension of your account.  Should your balance remain unpaid at the start of the next event your account will be permanently disabled and you will no longer be able to participate in the Marketplace as a buyer or seller.

Proxy Bidding

The Marketplace utilizes a proxy bidding system. That means that when a bid is placed, only the minimum necessary amount to maintain status as the highest bidder is committed.  The amount of a maximum proxy bid is not revealed; only what is necessary to win the auction within the constraints of the bidding increment (below) is shown as a bid.

Reserve Auctions

At times a seller may elect to protect their item with a reserve amount. This can be thought of as an undisclosed bid by the seller. If an auction is protected by a reserve, the item is not sold unless the reserve amount has been met. 

Anti-Snipe Feature

Auctions within one day of closing are protected by an anti-sniping feature. Due to the international nature of the clientele, any bid placed within the last 24 hours automatically extends the bidding time by a certain amount the moment the bid is placed. Therefore, sniping auctions is foiled. A sniper bidding during the last few seconds of the auction simply extends the auction time, allowing the sniped bidder to reply.  This extension diminishes over time to encourage resolution as shown in the table below:

Proxy Bidding and Anti-Snipe

When a bid is placed that increases the existing leading bidders proxy bid, the anti-snipe time extension WILL be triggered whether or not the new bid exceeds that existing proxy bid. This is intentional so as to give the losing bidder a chance to re-bid.

Reserve and Anti-Snipe

If an item is protected by a reserve, the anti snipe feature will not be activated unless the previous bid has met the reserve. To say it another way, if a bid is placed and it does not meet the reserve requirement, the auction will end at the originally scheduled time and will not be extended.

Bidding Increments

Bid increments are as follows: 

Bid Cancellations

Bids are a binding contract between the buyer and seller, and will not be canceled under any circumstances.  Non-paying bidders will be permanently banned from the Marketplace.

Combined Invoices

Buyers and sellers may combine purchases from a single seller provided the following criteria are met:

To combine invoices as a seller, from the My Sales menu (Home > Members Area > Selling > My Sales), select two (or more) invoices and click Combine.  Please note that combining invoices is irreversible, therefore please ensure you are finished selling all items before combining.

Contacting Buyer

Operating the Marketplace incurs overhead from hosting, software, support, participant verification, customer service, and other activities. Marketplace fees are in place to defray those costs and enable continued operation of the site. Therefore any attempt to circumvent the fee structure by any participant is strictly forbidden and will result in account suspension or revocation. 

The buyer may be contacted through the built-in Marketplace messaging system.  Communication outside the Marketplace framework may be considered bypassing the fee structure and result in either buyer or seller being banned from future events.  

Buyers are expressly forbidden from soliciting sellers in order to purchase puzzles outside the Marketplace framework; should this occur, please report it immediately by clicking on the "Contact Us" button below.  

Marketplace Admins have access to all communication on the Marketplace messaging board and reserve the right to monitor such information to detect users bypassing the system.

The buyer may ask public questions which will be visible for all users viewing the listing. Common questions regarding the condition of the item, the seller's shipping preferences, and other details will be posted under the listing's questions and answers tab. 

Pay attention to the dropdown selection when posting a question to the seller. Public questions can be viewed by all, private questions will only be seen by the seller. 

After-Sale

After the sale, you should send an invoice to the winning bidder in the "My Sales" section.  The buyer and seller use the built-in invoicing and messaging function to coordinate payment and delivery.  Buyer and seller work together to handle payment and delivery; Marketplace staff are in no way involved in the transaction and will not be able to answer questions specific to a particular listing.

Within the invoice page, you will see a dollar icon and a car icon.  Pressing the dollar icon will mark the invoice as paid.  Pressing the car icon allows you to enter the shipment tracking number, and will send a notification of such to the buyer.

PayPal

Payment sent through PayPal must be sent using purchase protection. Sellers are prohibited from requesting "trusted party" payments. Violation of this will result in an immediate one event suspension, with further violations resulting in a permanent ban from the Marketplace.

Buyers and sellers alike are required to comply with PayPal's terms of service, which precludes sellers from charging buyers for PayPal fees. 

No handling or packaging fees are allowed. Sellers are prohibited from charging any fees in addition to the final sale price and shipping cost.

To enable PayPal direct payments, you must activate the setting on both the Marketplace and your PayPal account. The Marketplace setting is located under Member's Area> My Account> Account settings. Enter your registered PayPal email address in the text box, and copy the URL underneath. To enable your PayPal IPN, go to your PayPal account settings, and click the notifications tab on the left side of the page. Click the update button next to "Instant Payment Notifications" and enter the copied URL from the marketplace.

Feedback

To leave feedback, go to Members Area > Feedback > Leave Feedback. There you may rate the user and leave specific comments. 

Please remember that comments are permanent and will not be deleted. Always attempt to work out any issues with the other member first - leaving negative feedback should be an absolute last resort.

Problems After Sale

The buyer and seller should make every effort to resolve any disputes arising from the sale of an item between themselves.  If as a seller you are unable to come to a resolution, please contact us using the "Contact Us" button at the bottom of each page.  In the case of clear and documented misrepresentation, we will attempt to mediate.  Our remedy is limited to disallowing future participation in the marketplace. Under no circumstances will we be able to, nor held liable for, recovering funds.

Non-Paying Bidder / Non-Shipping Seller

Payment must be sent within 10 days of the item close. Items must be shipped within 10 days of payment being received. Extensions to this timeline may be approved if both parties agree. After 10 days the non-compliant party will receive a 48-hour warning. If the listing is resolved within this time frame, one of two things will happen:

If the listing is not resolved during the warning period the non-compliant party will receive a final 24-hour warning. If the matter is not resolved they will be permanently banned from the Marketplace. If the listing is resolved there may still be a suspension depending on the history of the individual.

Unauthorized Listings 

Cheat3 Lego Puzzles and Instructions - any lego puzzle boxes sold by Cheat3 or built from Cheat3's instructions are not authorized for resale. 

Terms Last Updated Monday, April 17th, 2023

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