The Black Hat World Marketplace Rules

The Black Hat World marketplace does rule, doesn't it?

However, if you want to list your service here on Black Hat World, it's important that you understand the rules of our marketplace. These rules not only help keep a level playing field, but they also maintain the order and integrity of the marketplace. We want our sellers to succeed and we want our buyers to be able to navigate a fair marketplace full of quality services.

In order to navigate these rules, start off reading chapters 1-3, which will provide you with everything you need to know about submitting a sales thread. Once you've read chapters 1-3, find the chapter that best describe your service and read the chapter (you do not have to read chapters that do not apply to your service).

Index

• Chapter 1: General Rules
• Chapter 2: Marketplace Content Standards
• Chapter 3: Rules For PBN & Backlink Services
• Chapter 4: Rules For Account Selling Services
• Chapter 5: Rules For Social Media Services
• Chapter 6: Rules For Video Services
• Chapter 7: Rules For Signature Threads
• Chapter 8: Rules For Software
• Chapter 9: Rules For Domains & Websites For Sale
• Chapter 10: Rules For Proxies, VPNs, VPS', & Dedicated Servers
• Chapter 11: Rules For Content/Copywriting Services
• Chapter 12: Rules For Image & Logo Design Services
• Chapter 13: Rules For Web Design Services
• Chapter 14: Rules For Web Hosts
• Chapter 15: Rules For Affiliate Programs
• Chapter 16: Rules For Miscellaneous Services
• Chapter 17: Rules For The Sales & Transfers of BSTs
• Chapter 18: Rules For Editing, Closing, Re-Opening, & Maintaining Your BST
• Chapter 19: Rules For Buyers & Viewers

Before you can sell on the marketplace, you need to ensure your account is infraction-free and remains so during the review process.

After you've verified that you have no active infractions, you'll need to purchase one of the following two membership levels:

• Jr. VIP - Requires $147, 100 posts on the forum, and 60 days.
• Marketplace Seller - Requires $749. More information can be found here.

After you've purchased one of the membership levels above, you'll be able to submit a marketplace thread. Please note that marketplace listings are required to be a complete service; this means they cannot be in beta and your terms must be set in stone before you submit a sales thread. Once you've received the review details, you'll have to respond in 3 business days (either through a 'like' or a post in the review thread). Sellers who do not respond will have their approval thread rejected and be required to resubmit.

Upon approval through our rigorous process, you'll have the option to pay the $30 listing within 30 days of approval. Threads that have not been paid for within this time will be rejected and you will have to go through the approval process again.

Section 1: Rules & Content Standards Summarised
As there's understandably a lot to read here, I've created a "too long, didn't read" version of this that summarises both the marketplace rules (chapter 1) and content standards (chapter 2). If you wish to learn more about the rules and content standards, please read the other sections of chapter 1 and the entirety of chapter 2.

1. Include your current pricing, refund policy, and contact details in your thread.
   • Customers need to know exactly how much they'll be paying for your service. Remember to include the currency.
   • You cannot use other forums or competing marketplaces (e.g., Fiverr) as your payment processor nor can you link to them in your sales thread.
   • Your products and services must be of quality and priced reasonably. BHW staff will be the sole arbiters of this.
   • Unhappy customers need to know how and if they can get a refund.
   • For your contact details, do not just link to your website. It must be in the form of an email address, Skype ID, or anything similar.
   • Don't forget to add a buy button / CTA they need to be able to contact you to buy your offering.
2. Include basic service information.
   • We need to know exactly what you're selling. If we can't tell what you're selling, your customers won't be able to, either.
3. Don't post fraudulent claims or anything that can't be verified.
   • Claims need to be realistic and accurate; "best", "safe", "100%", "#1", "approved by Google", "Panda/Penguin safe", etc cannot be verified. Purchased links and black hat services are not "white hat" or "organic/natural".
   • Reviews need to be linked to their source.
   • Any claims regarding industry practices or your type of service (e.g., '"x" has been proven to increase rankings') must cite a reliable source that is not owned by or associated with you.
   • "Free" cannot be included in your sales threads if it's conditional. For example, if you're including a "Free" e-book with any purchase, it's not free. Use "bonus" instead.
4. Do not reclaim accounts or services you provide us.
   • During the review process, we keep anything you would normally send your customers in your service. If you reclaim anything after the review, your thread will be closed.
5. Do not mention anything that's not pertinent to your service.
   • As an example, if you sell VCCs or VBAs, you must specify which websites these will work on.
   • Do not use your sales thread as an opportunity to promote your alt coins or crypto projects.
   • No polls in your sales thread.
6. Do not lump together several unrelated services; garage sale threads are not permitted.
   • An example of what's allowed: Link building services and on-page services. Web design and graphic design services. YouTube likes and YouTube commenting services. Please note that this must not be excessive (e.g., 8 YouTube sub-services, 8 Twitter sub-services, etc in one thread). What is excessive is entirely up to the marketplace staff's discretion.
   • An example of what isn't allowed: A link building service and IG accounts. An email account service and a video editing service.
7. All services must be related to internet marketing.
   • Sellers are always required to provide their top-level service for the review.
   • This is an internet marketing forum, therefore non-IM products and services (e.g., Netflix accounts) are not permitted.
   • Other prohibited products and services include, but are not limited to: forums, coaching, and illegal services. Read the TOS for more information.
   • Each product or service listed must be unique; you may not post the same product or service multiple times.
8. Hijacking sales threads is prohibited.
   • If you do not own or manage a specific sales thread, do not attempt to sell your own product or service in a competitor's thread.
9. All products and services must be approved before you sell them in your thread.
   • You cannot make unapproved changes to your pricing, refund policy, or any aspect of your product or service without reflecting this in the opening post of your sales thread.
   • You cannot sell unapproved services in your existing sales thread. If you wish to add new related services to a live sales thread, you must have your service re-reviewed.
10. You must own the product or service you're trying to sell.
    • Note that in order to verify ownership of any marketplace services, we may ask for the seller to change and verify their BHW registered email address to one that matches the domain of the website they are selling from.
    • Part of that ownership means that you must control every part of a service you offer. For example, if you offer a PBN link building package, you must own the PBN and not use another seller's PBN.
11. Freebies and Giveaways Relating To Marketplace Threads Can Be Run In Exceptional Circumstances
    • Requires approval from administration.
    • Black Hat World will need to hold title to the items you're offering to give away.
    • There will be a charge for this based on the value of the giveaway, minimum $250.
12. Images must be hosted on a third-party server.
    • Imgur is the most commonly used third-party server.
    • Do not host the image on your website.
    • Do not upload the image as an attachment as this will cause the image to appear small for users who are not logged in.
13. Services cannot require personal identification.
    • Sellers cannot request personal IDs.
    • Sellers cannot request legal documents from their buyers.
14. Spoofed & impersonation services are prohibited.
    • Services falsely claiming to be associated with another service will be rejected or closed if already live.
    • BHW marketplace staff will be the sole arbiters of any reports regarding this rule.

Section 2: Include Your Pricing, Contact Details, Refund Policy, And Turn-Around-Time (If Applicable)
2.1: Pricing
Your pricing needs to be included in your thread, not just on your website. Your pricing should also be clearly shown in your thread and easy to find.

However, we understand that this isn't always feasible to simply list your prices with some services. A few common examples have been listed below:

1. If you're offering an indefinite number of bulk accounts, you may include a price range in your thread. Please note that "starting at" prices are not allowed.
2. If you're advertising your social media marketing panel in the marketplace, you may include a small selection of 10 or more of your services.
3. If you're offering a service with variable pricing (e.g., reactive ORM services), include examples of your services and how much you would charge for them.

2.2: Contact Details
Contact details such as a Skype ID or an email address need to be included in your thread. You may not only include a link to your contact page.

2.3: Refund Policy
You must include a refund policy in your thread (viewable in its entirety on your thread; not just a link to your website). Links to off-forum refund policies are not an acceptable alternative.

Please note that "no refunds" refund policies will not be accepted as they cannot be upheld in the event of a shit list, therefore you'll need to offer a refund under some kind of circumstance (e.g., if you do not deliver the article within the advertised TAT).

If you have a lengthy refund policy, then summarise it as much as you can before posting it in your thread.

The only section exempt from this rule is the affiliate programs section.

2.4: Turnaround-Time (TAT)
You must include the Turnaround-Time (TAT) of your service if it is applicable. If the TAT may vary, then you can include a range instead of a specific deadline, and even specify what may make the delivery take longer. If a listed TAT is considered unreasonable, such as 12 months for a PBN package, then your service may be rejected on this criteria. This is not required for services where a product is being delivered instantly (Proxies or Ebooks).

Section 3: Adding Managers To Sales Threads
If you wish to have someone manage your sales thread alongside you, then you need to ensure that the following are in order prior to allowing them to respond to customers in your sales thread:

1. All managers must have Jr. VIP or Marketplace Seller membership.
2. All managers must be mentioned in the opening post of your sales thread.

Section 4: Thread Bumping Guidelines
Section 4.1: Responding To Customers
You can respond to any of your customer queries as often as you'd like and even post updates to your sales thread regarding any service updates or the like. Our marketplace bumping system means that any post you make within a 24-hour window will not appear on the homepage aka "bump" your sales thread, but will appear in your thread. This allows you to engage with customers and potential buyers in your sales thread whilst also observing the BHW marketplace bumping rules. This is an update for October 2020 and now part of the core marketplace functionality.

Section 4.2: Promotional Content
You cannot promote your sales thread more than once every 72 hours with promotions, coupons, advertisements, CTAs, or anything else that is not a response to a customer or an update regarding your sales thread. This includes putting an advert, coupon or CTA underneath your response to a question or responding to order confirmations.

Section 4.3: Post Count Inflation
Our usual rules for post count inflation apply to sales threads as well. Do not respond to posts with a simple "Thank you", as you can use the React button for this. You also should not double post by responding to individual order confirmations, but instead group the responses together in one post using the multi-quote feature.

Section 5: Rules On Denials & Re-Submissions
Having a marketplace thread is a privilege, not a right. The marketplace staff are under no obligation to approve any thread and will reject your product or service if you offer a poor customer service experience or if it doesn't match the detail of what you're listing.

The marketplace staff are available on BHW support should you need to discuss the status of your thread. However, be courteous as pestering the staff will result in your application being denied.

Section 6: Submitting Your Sales Thread

1. Chose the marketplace section that describes your service and create your thread. If you're unsure of which section your thread should go in, refer to our marketplace seller guide thread titled 'What Section Should My Marketplace Thread Go In?'.
2. Once you have created the final draft of your sales thread and submitted it, it will go into the moderation queue. You will receive a message from our @iModBot account with a link to manage the approval process. Make sure your thread is a final edit. If you need to edit your sales thread after it's approved, please refer to the thread edit process in Chapter 18.
3. Within 10 business days, you'll receive the review details from a marketplace moderator. Upon receiving review details from the reviewing moderator, you must respond to the review thread with an order confirmation within one week so that we know you're actively working on delivering your product or service. If we do not receive an order confirmation in this time frame, your thread will be rejected.
4. A moderator will then review your service, you must provide your top-level package or service described in your thread. If you are unable to provide this, your thread won't be approved. It's important to note that a marketplace review is meant to assess your ability to deliver your top-level package and your performance in customer service. A marketplace moderator is meant to be treated as a customer, therefore failure to provide a decent customer service experience (i.e., arguing with the moderator, tu quoque, or mod abuse) or your final product as it is advertised will result in a thread rejection.
5. Once you've delivered your product or service to the reviewing moderator, wait patiently to hear back from them regarding the approval or rejection of your sales thread. If your thread is approved, you will receive an auto-generated message to pay the $30 listing fee, which must be paid annually (a message will be automatically sent out 7 days before this renewal is due). Please note that the live thread will be cleared of all previous messages from the review process and set live on the marketplace forum you created.

Section 6.1: Thread Formatting
Make sure your sales thread is easy to follow and doesn't contain any redundant information. Below, I've included a common, yet simple layout based on some of the successful services that are currently in the marketplace


Section 6.2: Submission Cancellations
We understand that sometimes, things happens, so sellers are allowed to cancel the review at any time. However, a cancellation reason must be provided to the reviewing moderator. Examples of common cancellation reasons can be found below:

• I can't afford the BST payment fee right now.
• I want to improve my service before offering it to the public.
• I've changed my mind about offering this service to the public.

Bear in mind that if a seller repeatedly cancels the same service, that our marketplace staff may reject any future submissions for that service.

Our marketplace content standards are important for helping buyers distinguish between sales threads. Without these standards, the marketplace would be full of spurious claims and every seller claiming to be the 'cheapest' or the 'best'. After all, if everyone is 'super', nobody is.


Below, I've gone over all the marketplace content standards that you should know before you submit your marketplace thread. These marketplace content standards were in place long before I personally became a marketplace moderator, but I thought it was important for sellers to be able to view them, hence why they're not public.

Section 1: English
While your English needn't be perfect, your threads must be written in English well enough for it to be readable. You may not include any other languages in your sales thread.

Please note that if you plan on offering a content writing service, the community will judge your thread harshly by the English used in your thread. Additionally, if there are any contradictory claims made in your thread (e.g., Claiming you're a native English writer when your thread is written in broken English), we may either make you rewrite your thread or we may reject your thread.

Section 2: Unquantifiable Claims
An unquantifiable claim is one that cannot be measured and is impossible to accurately express. In the case of service reviews, they are claims that cannot be verified or tested by the reviewing moderator. For instance, the most common example is to say your service is "best". Since it is not possible to determine whether a service is the best, it cannot be claimed in a sales thread.

Since there are many types of unquantifiable claims that occur in BSTs that are sent for review, there is a list below with examples of claims that we get regularly. This list does not cover every type of claim that isn't allowed. Please do not try to get around our content standards for the marketplace as this will only result in a rejection.


Section 3: Reviews
Sellers are permitted to have reviews in the opening post of their sales threads. If you want to include reviews in your thread, they cannot be from other sites or forums; reviews can only be from Black Hat World.

If you wish to include reviews from a beta testing thread or an older sales thread, then the reviews need to either be included in your thread as a post quote or as a screenshot that links to the review's post URL. In other words, we need to be able to verify that the review exists.

Sellers are also permitted to request honest reviews from their buyers (i.e., do not ask buyers to leave positive reviews, ask them to leave truthful reviews). If the review is incentivised, this must be disclosed in the review by the buyer, otherwise both the buyer and seller will be penalised. Refer to Chapter 19, Section 6 for more information.

Section 1: Private Blog Networks

1. "Footprint free" & "zero footprints" claims are not permitted.
2. Any metrics advertised must match up to what will be delivered.
3. Advertised domain ages must match up to what will be delivered.
4. All links must be live by the time we view the report.
5. Content must be delivered as advertised.

Section 2: Guest Posting Services

1. You must send us a full list of your guest posting sites.
2. You may not advertise your PBN as a guest posting service.
3. Any metrics advertised must match up to what will be delivered.
4. Advertised domain ages must match up to what will be delivered.
5. All links must be live by the time we view the report.
6. Your outreach process must be demonstrated.
7. Content must be delivered as advertised.

Section 3: Web 2.0s

1. Niche-relevant images must truly be niche relevant, not loosely.
2. Content must be delivered as advertised.

Section 4: Niche Edits

1. All articles used in niche edit services must have a verifiable change. If we cannot verify that the article was altered, we will not approve the service.
2. The websites must be aged as advertised.
3. Your outreach process must be demonstrated.
4. Injected links will not be tolerated.

Section 5: Blog Comments

1. Coming Soon 23/3/2022

Section 1: Instagram Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. Engagement rate must be as advertised.
4. Followers must be as advertised.
5. Content on the account must be as advertised.
6. Stats on the account must be as advertised.

Section 2: Facebook Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. Stats on the account must be as advertised.

Section 3: Email Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. The age of the account must be as advertised.

Section 4: YouTube Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. The age of the account must be as advertised.

Section 5: Adwords, Facebook Ads, & Other PPC Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. The age of the account must be as advertised.
4. Ad spend must be as advertised.
5. Account uses (e.g., black hat or white hat) must be specified in the sales thread.

Section 6: Reddit Accounts

1. Accounts must not be compromised accounts.
2. Everything we need to access the accounts must be provided.
3. The age of the account must be as advertised.
4. The stats of the account must be as advertised.

Section 1: Social Media Growth Services

1. You must state whether you're building the account with real or fake followers.
2. Growth of the account must be tracked.

Section 2: SMM Panels

1. You must state the price ranges of your individual services (e.g., YouTube likes $0.20 to $0.25).
2. Related to the above, price ranges will only be accepted for individual services, not the whole of your panel.
3. Accounts for the review must come with a test balance.
4. SMM Panels must have complete and fully functional websites.

Section 3: Blog Comments

1. High DA/PA/authority claims must be defined. For example, if you're claiming a specific metric, you must define what you consider to be "high" (e.g., DA 40 or more).
2. "Manually done/completed" claims will be verified. If a service claims to be manually done, we expect that no software (e.g., ScrapeBox) be used at any point for the service. The reviewing moderator can and will inquire about this during your review.

Section 1: Quick Video Services

1. Videos must be delivered at the resolution advertised.
2. Videos must be delivered at the editing quality advertised.
3. Videos cannot be plagiarised from other sources.

Section 2: Professional Video Services

1. Videos must be delivered at the resolution advertised.
2. Videos must be delivered at the editing quality advertised.
3. Videos cannot be plagiarised from other sources.
4. You must have the rights for any effects, text, images, clips, or other materials used.

Section 1: Want-To-Buy Signature Threads

1. Want-to-buy signature threads will be placed free of charge.
2. Want-to-buy signature threads must be placed in the Jr. VIP Zone Signature Rental Sub-forum.

Section 2: Want-To-Sell Signature Threads

1. Want-to-sell threads are listed at the standard $30 listing fee.
2. Want-to-sell signature threads must be placed in the Jr. VIP Zone Signature Rental Sub-forum.

Section 1: General Software

1. You must provide a VPS to the reviewing moderator so that we can test your software. Note that we will not need to keep the VPS after the review.
2. You must provide a VirusTotal scan of any downloadable files you send the reviewing moderator, including executable files.

Section 2: Link Indexing Software

1. You must create a fresh post targeting an arbitrary keyword to test the software.
2. A 2CAPTCHA API key, if required.
3. Any proxies required to test the software.

Section 3: Social Media Account Management Software

1. Test accounts must be provided so that we can test the software.
2. Any proxies required to test the software.

Section 1: Domains

1. Proof of ownership over the domain must be provided to the reviewing moderator.
2. If you're selling domain names that you have not been purchased, we will need to be able to verify that

Section 2: Websites

1. Proof of ownership over the website must be provided to the reviewing moderator.
2. Any monetary claims must be proven for your listing to be accepted.
3. Traffic claims will need to be verified.
4. Logos, content, and images must not be copyrighted.

Section 1: Proxies & VPNs

1. Proxies & VPNs cannot leak a marketplace moderator's real IP address.
2. Proxies & VPNs must work at the advertised upload and download speeds, if any.
3. Proxies & VPNs must work with the websites advertised, if any.

Section 2: VPS' & Dedicated Servers

1. VPS' & dedicated servers must have the stats advertised.

Section 1: General Content Writing Services

1. Content must be delivered to the advertised standards.
2. 'Native English' content must be written by someone whose first language is English. Content written by non-Native speakers will be rejected.
3. Rewrites will not be accepted; the review will be conducted based on what you deliver the first time.
4. Content cannot be plagiarised.
5. A score of 80%+ is acceptable for content advertised as native
6. A score of 75%+ is acceptable for "high quality/university level content".

Section 2: Spun Content

1. Your must state whether the content is machine spun or hand spun.
2. The spun content must not be detected as plagiarised content.
3. Content must be delivered to the advertised standards.

Section 3: SEO Content

1. Keyword-stuffed articles will not be accepted.
2. Content must be delivered to the advertised standards.
3. 'Native English' content must be written by someone whose first language is English. Content written by non-Native speakers will be rejected.
4. Rewrites will not be accepted; the review will be conducted based on what you deliver the first time.
5. Content cannot be plagiarised.

Section 4: Copywriting Services

1. Copywriting services must not be advertised as content writing or 'copyrighting' services. There's a difference between all of these.
2. Content must be delivered to the advertised standards.
3. Rewrites will not be accepted; the review will be conducted based on what you deliver the first time.
4. This content must be written to be persuasive.
5. This content must keep the target consumer in mind.
6. Content cannot be plagiarised.

Section 1: Logo Design

1. Logos cannot be stolen.
2. Text logos cannot use pre-made fonts.
3. Graphic logos must be delivered up to the quality advertised.

Section 2: Image Editing

1. Image editing services must be professional, no exceptions.
2. The following are examples, but not limited to these examples, of what will be rejection:
   • A. Random streaks
   • B. Warped objects, especially in the background
   • C. Random text
   • D. Colour imbalances (e.g., too yellow, too blue, etc)
   • E. Pixelation that wasn't present in the original image.
   • F. Doll-like skin
   • G. Exaggerated colours
   • H. Unrealistically white teeth
   • I. Fake muscles

Section 1: General Web Design Services

1. Websites cannot have an plagiarised content.
2. Websites cannot use any copyrighted images or logos.
3. Websites must be delivered up to the standards advertised.
   • A. Bespoke web design services cannot use pre-built themes. In other words, if you're claiming to design a service entirely from scratch, we expect the theme to be custom-made as well
   • B. Wordpress theme installation must not be advertised as a web design service.

Section 1: Shared Hosting

1. Specifications must match what's advertised.
2. The OS of the server must be specified.

Section 2: Dedicated Hosting

1. Specifications must match what's advertised.
2. Dedicated servers must not be shared servers in disguise.
3. The OS of the server must be specified.

Section 1: General Affiliate Programs

1. All of the features for the affiliate program must be in working order.
2. Access to any affiliate tools must be provided.
3. You must own the affiliate program; do not use the affiliate programs section to simply post affiliate links.
4. If you're offering a related affiliate program for an already-approved service, you do not need to create a separate sales thread for this.

Section 2: Clickbank Products

1. A copy of the product must be provided.
2. Access to any affiliate tools must be provided.
3. You must own the Clickbank; do not use the affiliate programs section to simply post affiliate links.

Section 3: Pharma Affiliate Programs

1. Rule 3.1 does not apply to pharma affiliate programs.

Section 1: VCCs/VBAs

1. VCCs & VBAs must not use details or the stolen identity of any real individual. In other words, identity theft will not be tolerated.

Section 2: Email Lists

1. Low bounce rate claims will be verified.

Section 3: Email Servers

1. You must provide any domains or anything else we require to test this service. We will not need to keep the domain you use.

Section 4: Virtual Assistants

1. Virtual assistants will be required to demonstrate the advertised competency.

Section 5: E-books

1. "Only on BHW" claims will be checked by the reviewing moderator. If the e-book can be found elsewhere, the thread will be rejected.
2. Sellers may not resell someone else's e-book from Amazon or any other website.
3. As is expected of any book, the written content in an e-book must be legible.
4. E-books cannot have more than 10% of their content come up as plagiarised. Furthermore, this 10% rule is to account for quotes from other sources, not for actual plagiarism.
5. E-books cannot contain illegal content or methods.

If your e-book contains any monetary-based claims, you must follow the rules below to submit video proof of these claims.

• A video screen recording where you're logged into whatever platform(s) where your monetary claims are form (e.g., if the claims are from Amazon Affiliates, you must log into your Amazon Affiliates account, not your bank or PayPal account)
• The entire browser, including the address bar, must be visible.
• Every web page in your video must be refreshed.
• You need to select the appropriate time period of your monetary claims (e.g., if you claim you earned $30,000 in 2020 from doing this, you must select Jan 1st, 2020 to Dec 31st, 2020)
• All of the above must happen in one straight recording session; do not cut any part of the video.

Please note that this is not optional, and failure to follow the instructions will result in a rejection.

Section 6: Hot Deals Threads

1. You must be the owner of the service and thread.
2. Your offer must be at least 30% off of the package you are linking to.
3. You must state the discounted price on the coupon (the original price is optional).
4. The coupon must link to your existing BHW marketplace thread. External links to your website or anywhere else other than BHW are prohibited.
5. You must state if the offer applies to the whole thread or a certain package in your thread.
6. You can keep the coupon running for as long as you like as there's no expiration date, unless stated in your coupon.
7. All reviews included in the Hot Deals thread for the service must have been made on your original thread.

Section 7: Business Reviews Services

1. You must state whether you will provide the content or whether the buyer is meant to provide the content.
2. In the event that the buyer is required to provide the content, you (the seller) will still be required to provide content for the sake of the review only. In the event of an approval, you do not have to provide content to your buyers.

Section 8: Business Listing Optimisation

1. You must provide the marketplace moderator with a report going over exactly what you changed.
2. A verifiable before and after must be provided.

Section 9: Google Business Pins

1. We must be able to verify that the created pins exist on Google Maps.

Section 10: Third-Party Products
There are some third-party products members try to sell on the forum. In the case of these third-party, we'll require the seller to present an official reseller's license that can be verified with the entity to prove that the seller is authorised to distribute or resell these products.

Please be aware this list is not exhaustive, these are just the most common ones user's try to submit to our marketplace.

1. Windows products
2. Canva
3. Microsoft Office products
4. ScreamingFrog products
5. Adobe
6. McAfee products
7. Norton products
8. Apple products
9. Kaspersky products
10. BitDefender
11. Panda antivirus

Section 1: The Process

1. The current owner of the BST must start a conversation with @Diamond Damien (to verify account ownership) detailing the following:
   • The usernames of the seller and buyer, with confirmation that the buyer wishes to buy the service.
   • The details of the transfer (i.e., are you selling part of a thread, the whole service, or the entire account?).
   • The price you're selling this to the buyer for.
   • The date you wish for the service or account to be transferred.
2. After receiving the details above, we will carefully verify the information for accuracy and legitimacy.
3. The new owner of the thread must submit a re-review of the service to the marketplace to ensure they can offer the same level of service as the previous owner.
4. If they pass this review with the same results as the previous owner, there are no further changes. If there is an improvement or minor downgrade in the quality of the service, this will be reflected in the review.
5. The owner and new details of the thread will be changed in accordance with the arrangements made. Please note that the new owner of the account or marketplace thread must accept the existing history (e.g., reviews, infractions, etc) of the previous owner; these will not be removed.
6. A staff member will reflect the change of ownership in the original review for transparency

Section 1: Thread Edits
Once a sales thread is approved and paid for, any changes to your service must go through the thread edit process. In other words, at no point are sellers permitted to change any aspect of their service without changing their opening post first; otherwise, they risk the closure of their sales thread. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Making a post in your sales thread with different packages, pricing, refund policies, etc.
• Posting "updated" sales text or graphics in a separate post without updating your opening post.
• Telling customers in private that your pricing is different than what's advertised in your sales thread.

The purpose of this is to maintain transparency with buyers and to ensure that the customer experience our reviewing staff had is consistent with what your buyers will experience.

The thread edit process starts when you fill out the form here, but there is a $30 fee per thread.

If there's anything more than a thread edit (e.g., a re-test is required), the fee is $60.

You can choose to close your old thread and open up another one. If you chose to open another thread you will have to go through the review process again.

Section 1.1: Thread Edit Rules
Before submitting a thread edit request, you must note the following:

1. The service itself must not change. If the service is radically different to what was originally approved, you'll be asked to submit a new sales thread.
2. Any new add-on services will require a re-review. You may not add un-related add-on services to your existing service.
3. Any price changes of 15% or less over the course of a year are acceptable. Note that this 15% does not accumulate across multiple years (i.e., 2 years without adjusting your pricing does not entitle you to a 30% price increase). Price changes outside of this range will require a re-review in most circumstances.
4. If you want to move your sales thread, you can do so once every 6 months. Be aware that moving your sales thread counts as a thread edit, and is subject to the usual fee.
5. All thread edits are required to following the marketplace rules and content standards. Note that if you repeatedly make it clear that you're trying to sneak in unquantifiable claims or repeatedly fail to read our rules, your thread edit request will be rejected and an infraction will be issued to your account. This rule applies to those who submit marketplace threads as well.

Section 1.2: Thread Edit Procedure
To start a thread edit, you'll need to fill out the thread edit request form. Please note the following when making a thread edit request:

1. A link to your current thread.
2. The new BBcode of your thread.
3. A summary of the changes you're making.
4. Your email address.
5. A new title if you're changing it. Your new title must be 80 characters or less.

After reviewing your request, you'll be sent the payment details in order to pay the $30 thread edit fee. Once you payment has been processed, and assuming you've correctly followed the rules and procedures above, your thread edit request will be made at our earliest convenience.

Section 2: Requesting A Service Closure
Sellers are permitted to request the temporary or permanent closure of their sales thread up to 3 times per year.

Section 3: Requesting A Service Re-Opening
You'll have different options on the reason why your thread was closed.

1. Your thread was closed due to inactivity.
   • Simply send a support ticket in using our Support Desk to request your thread to be opened again. You must do this before the 7-day grace period after your thread expires.
   • If you wait until after the grace period, you'll have to resubmit the thread for review and start over with a new thread.
2. Your thread was closed due to a drop in service quality
   • You'll have to resubmit your sales thread for review and start over with a new thread. Your old thread will not be re-opened.
3. Your thread was closed because you requested it.
   • Report your sales thread and ask for a marketplace moderator to re-open it. You must do this before the 7-day grace period after your thread expires.
   • If you wait until after the grace period, you'll have to resubmit the thread for review and start over with a new thread.

Section 4: Maintaining your BST

1. Sellers are expected to respond to any customer queries either in their thread or via PM ideally every day, but once a week is also acceptable. If there have been no customers queries, you are not expected to post in your sales thread or respond to queries (although taking advantage of the 72 hour thread bumping policy is encouraged).
2. If you do not respond to customers in your sales thread for at least 2 weeks, the thread will be closed with a notice from a marketplace moderator. If there aren't any outstanding orders, you can submit a support ticket using support.blackhatworld.com.
3. If a seller is not responding to a sales thread and there are several buyers stating that their order has not been fulfilled, your thread will be closed and your buyers will be directed to the shit list section. Before your thread can be reopened, you will be expected to resolve any outstanding orders.

Section 5: Re-Opening Expired Sales Threads
We do allows sellers to submit a request to re-open their expired sales threads under the following conditions:

• The sales thread expired less than 6 months ago.
• You have an active Jr. VIP/Marketplace Seller membership

If you meet the conditions above, you can submit a thread edit retest form here. The fee is $60 ($30 for the annual fee + $30 for the re-test). If you need the content changed, it's an extra $30 for a total of $90.

We found it necessary to create a rules for buyers thread in order to clear up what is and is not allowed in the marketplace. Violating any of these will result in you being reply banned from the thread, receiving an infraction, or a ban from our platform in extreme cases.

Section 1: Guidelines For Buyers

1. Always make sure your payment method can be reversed if the service or product provider doesn't deliver as advertised. Do not, under any circumstances, send a payment through PayPal's friends and family feature or through Western Union.
2. Document and store all communications with sellers, including chat logs.
3. Always use Google to search for the seller's details in the event that they may have scammed on other forums after approval here.
4. Check the seller's other posts and threads on the forum to see how they conduct themselves on the forum and how previous customers have rated and reviewed them.
5. Always get the full contact information from sellers in the event that they become unavailable on the forum
6. Just because someone has status, a high post count, or a good reputation on Black Hat World does not guarantee that your business with them cannot result in a sales dispute.

Section 2: Leaving Reviews
This is covered in our newbie guide thread titled, "How To Leave A Review", which has been quoted below for your convenience.

Zwielicht said:

Whether you're happy with a service or displeased with it, it's important that you understand how to leave a review. It's not enough to just say "This service sucks, don't buy it". The 'why' of it is important as well. This not only helps the seller understand where they went wrong, but it helps potential buyers understand what went wrong as well.

If you feel that something went wrong, it's important not to resort to name-calling or threats. Not only is this unprofessional, but it might give the seller a reason to report the review to get it removed. Additionally, posting personal information or doxxing sellers is not allowed

Below, I've provided a general format that you can use to post reviews.

Code:

[CENTER][SIZE=7][B][COLOR=#0000ff]Review[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER]
[B][SIZE=5][COLOR=#0000ff]Service Highlights[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[LIST]
[*]Point 1
[*]Point 2
[*]Point 3
[/LIST]
[B][SIZE=5][COLOR=#0000ff]What Could Use Improvement[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[LIST]
[*]Point 1
[*]Point 2
[*]Point 3
[/LIST]
[B][COLOR=#0000ff]Final Thoughts[/COLOR][/B]

Click to expand...

The rules on leaving reviews can be found below in section 2.1 and 2.2.

Section 2.1: Leaving Positive Reviews
Positive reviews must be factual and may not be used in a misleading manner (i.e., not just to bump the seller's thread). Buyers may leave only one positive review per thread and only after having an experience with the seller and the specific service you wish to review.

As buyers are only permitted one review per thread, if you wish to update your positive review, please ask to have your review edited via the report button.

Section 2.2: Leaving Negative Reviews
Negative reviews must not be misleading, abusive, or contain personal information. If you feel you have been scammed by a seller, please follow the shit list process in addition to leaving a negative review. Buyers may leave only one negative review per thread only after having an experience with the seller and the specific service you wish to review.

As buyers are only permitted one review per thread, if you wish to update your negative review, please ask to have your review edited via the report button.

Section 3: Posting In Sales Threads
You can post questions you have for sellers in their sales thread. Additionally, you may not bump sales threads by posting back-to-back as this violates rule 3.5. You also may not create an account for the sole purpose of bumping a sales thread or leaving a review for a service, endorsed or otherwise. Cross-posting, the act of posting the exact same transaction ID or review across multiple BSTs, is prohibited, with the exception of when a seller is running a promotion that combines both services.

Section 4: Leaving Reviews & Trials
Section 4.1: Don't Request Trials Or Review Copies When None Are Offered
The seller will post the number of review and trial copies they are willing to give away. They will also provide you with the criteria they require to get a review or a trial copy.

Anyone caught requesting trials and review copies for the sake of inflating their post count will receive an infraction for violating rule 3.5.

Section 4.2: Stating You Received A Review Copy
If you're going to leave a review for a review copy you received, you must state that you received a review copy. An example has been posted below:

I got this review copy.

The links were awesome.

The customer service could've been better.

Click to expand...

Section 5: Don't Post If You Are Not A Prospect Or Buyer
Only genuine sales queries and reviews from customers are permitted in sales threads.

This is further clarified in our newbie guide thread titled, "The Three Commandments of BHW".

WilhelmScream said:

Trolling Marketplace threads

We've had a number of issues with members trolling sales threads in the Marketplace sections. To clear things up, you can only post in someone else's sales thread if you are 1) a customer or 2) posting a genuine sales query. You can't keep commenting with posts like "This service looks sketchy..."

If you have actually had a negative experience with a sales thread, you are permitted to leave ONE negative review on the sales thread that is factual and not abusive - issues with the seller that need to be resolved should go to the Shit List

Click to expand...

Section 6: Rules For Hot Deals Threads
You may only use the coupon thread to ask or comment on the coupon. If you have any questions regarding the service, ask them on the sellers main service listing.

Section 7: Disclosure of compensated reviews
From time to time, a seller may ask you to leave a review in their thread for a service you ordered. They are permitted to request an honest review from you (and that review must remain honest). However, if they request an honest compensated review from you, note that all compensated buyer reviews must be disclosed in the review This is to include both free, discounted, and incentivised review copies of products and services. If you are exchanging a review for a service, please be sure to make a short disclosure statement in the review text. Examples:

• "I was given a free review copy in exchange for this review".
• "I was offered a discount in exchange for my feedback here".