There are several possible reasons:

(1) When you fill in the submission form and click on 'Send' an email containing the information is sent to me, and some time later I manually update the pages with your advert. This usually happens within an hour throughout the working day, but a delay of several days is possible if I don't have access to my email for some reason. You should worry only if other adverts appear having a 'Posted:.. Date' which is later than your submission date - in which case the email might have got lost. Simple answer is to re-submit your ad.

(2) All adverts are vetted for content, if I feel yours is not relevant (as outlined in the introduction) then it never gets posted. This is not an automated system - there's no way of sneaking one in without my seeing it. Relatively few get rejected (less than 1%, but some are so inane they're often good for a laugh :))

(3) You included no contact information in the body of the ad, and no valid address was decipherable from the email submission. Whilst A phone number will do if posting on behalf of an internet-challenged friend, I do need to see the submitter's email address even if it's not to be shown in the 'ad, without it I can't reply to you if needed. Anonymous ads are immediately rejected.

(4) Most web-browsers are set to load a fresh copy of a webpage only once each 'session' (usually each time the browser program is started). In order to see the most recent additions you may need to use your browser's 'Refresh' button to force the page to be re-loaded.

(5) You may have been identified as a dealer: these pages are primarily for private ads, and whilst the odd dealer 'ad does get through (and certainly some get posted) I've had a couple of blatent multiple postings from dealers. It's not that I've got anything against dealers, but trade ads are not appropriate for these Private ads Pages - private buyers like to know if they are purchasing from a dealer, and I don't want the page getting swamped by stock listings. Email me directly if multiple submissions are not appearing.

(6) Maybe your advert submission was typed in ALL-CAPS or perhaps so badly formatted that it's incomprehensible. If I'm having a really good day I might correct it, but more likely it simply gets deleted. A short advert in Caps might also get nodded through but a long one will definitely not. I don't normally have time to re-type your advert for you, and all-caps makes the listing a mess. I don't correct spelling either - the content is exactly as you send it.

It will take a week or so for a new addition to appear - because I check the links work and also that your entry is relevant and likely to be of interest to Model Engineers. To gain a listing your services/products needs to represent a useful source for any one of the many branches of the hobby. That's a very wide range of topics but it's not infinite! Whilst a model engineer might need double glazing for his workshop I'm afraid that doesn't warrant a listing. I will usually inform you by email if your submission is thought unsuitable.

Sometimes emails get lost - inexplicable, annoying, but that's the way it is. Don't assume that because you pressed 'Submit' I have received it, on more than one occasion a submission has gone astray.

Do you already have an entry within a different sub-section? I will not list your company in more than one section so it's up to you to decide whether your company's entry would be better listed under "Machinery&Tools" or "Modelmaking Supplies" or whatever. A lot of small businesses deal in machine tools, modelling materials, and probably complete models too - but it's pointless having all these entries listed under every heading. The data section allows you complete freedom to list your business interests. If in doubt then use the catch-all "General Model Engineering Services".

For your protection - it is a simple ploy to fool some of the web crawlers, email harvesters and spam-bots that scan websites for email addresses. Such programs collect addresses and sell them on to mass advertisers - 'spammers' in other words. I doubt any system is 100% effective in preventing this but I hope this system means it's not worth their while. If you do get spammed then never reply to any 'remove from email list' option, this merely confirms that your email address is valid. Simply delete it. My own email address is all over my website and it's almost become unusable as a result. Spamming should be made a capital crime.

Yes, it should be. Old adverts are only removed when I receive notification they're no longer needed. Unfortunately, the original posters don't always notify me! For (hopefully) obvious reasons, I can only remove adverts in response to notification from the original poster. So trawling through the previous months ads is a good way of finding those less-popular accessories.

I've installed a separate formpage for this job to make it easier. All I need to know is the advert #number, and the month, and your email address as confirmation - without a matching email address the advert will not be removed. Please do remember to remove any unwanted ads because it's frustrating for everyone to discover an item was sold several weeks ago.

You can't edit it directly once it's posted. The easiest way to make an amendment is to simply delete the old advert (using the method above) and submit a complete new one. This new advert will receive a new reference number.

Where there are only 2 or 3 items to list, then it's preferable to use separate adverts. That way, when just one item is sold it's a simple matter to remove the associated advert. If all items are included within a single advert then the only way is to either remove the original and replace it with a complete new advert (you do that), or get me to edit the original (which is becoming a problem duw to the sheer number of ads being posted now). If you expect me to edit the original then I need to know the reference number! (# No.) - it's amazing how many requests I get to '... please just remove so-and-so from my advert, thanks'. Give me a break, I haven't got time to go searching for your advert.

Two ways: either by emailing an image file to me direct, or (preferably) by including a link (URL) within the advert body to a picture posted on your own website. If you are sending me the picture direct then it must be a JPG file less than 50k in size - Please, don't go sending me huge 500k files (BMP, TIF or whatever) because it won't get posted!! Several times I've had to get my ISP to clear my email account because it's clogged with Mbs of images (and Spam). Always check the filesize before you send the attachment. If you have a photo but no means of scanning it to produce a digital image then you may post it to me and I will scan it for you (please request the mailing address). It's well worth the effort of adding a pic - most especially for models and other high-value items. You are 5x more likely to get a buyer if folk can see what is on offer!

Maybe. It's possible that in the process of cutting and pasting I messed up the email address, when I receive a query like this I can check the original email to see if this happened. However, beyond that there is little I can do. It may be the original poster typed their email address wrong on the submission form, in which case I'll try emailing the poster myself and if it bounces then the advert gets pulled.

Sure you can! International deals obviously mean personal inspection is probably ruled out, but from personal experience I've found it's just as easy to ship things internationally as it is within the same country - just a bit more expensive. You need to check how import/export restrictions apply to your country, but a _very_ general rule is that used (second-user) items should not attract any import duties, whilst new tools and equipment normally will. When you post something abroad you will need to identify the contents and you also have the option to declare it's value (a figure used both for insurance and calculation of duties payable). It's no more 'dangerous' for either buyer or seller to deal internationally.

You can't. However, the vast majority of people using this list are honest people - just like you :) On only one occaision have I positively identified someone trying to pull a fast one (on the Astro Ads listings), and this person was notified, as was his ISP, and promptly kill-filed. Nevertheless, you do need to take all normal precautions as you would with any transaction.

As with any private transaction - use some common sense. First establish true ownership of the goods, then the address of the poster. Try to inspect the goods personally and at the very least make sure you know exactly what it is you are buying and it's condition. An emailed digital photo often helps. I know it's difficult, but don't part with any money until you are quite satisfied in your own mind that this is an honest deal.

I prefer to keep things simple. Although lacking the bells and whistles such packages offer the simple format used here is very quick and easy to browse through. I reckon content is more important than fancy graphics.

Because I want to see the Internet used for the interests of our respective hobbies. I get really irritated at people simply using the internet to make money without giving anything back. Several attempts have been made by commercial website operators to create competitive advertising services (both Model Engineering and UK Amateur Astronomy) that work on a comission system - people who otherwise have no interest in the fields concerned. I don't see why we should pay a premium to such people simply because they have expert knowledge of the internet. Thankfully, they fail because this free service is already well established and you prefer to use it. Granted, most of those other systems are very professionally done, nice graphics, and with clever database and search functions. The ads services provided on this website are in comparison just simple text listings but this is no different perhaps than a magazine advert (except that you can add pictures if you want). Many thousands of pounds worth of goods are bought and sold via these webpages every month so maybe I'm just stupid :)