Forum Rules

💬 Community Conduct

Yellowhammer Trader is an Alabama community first, a marketplace second. Treat it like you'd treat a gun show or a hunting camp full of people you'll see again.

• No harassment. No threats, stalking, doxxing, or targeted personal attacks against another member — on the forum or in PMs.
• No hate speech. Attacks based on race, religion, sex, national origin, or similar are not welcome here, period.
• No spam. Don't flood the boards with copy-pasted posts, referral links, or off-topic promotion. This isn't the place to advertise an unrelated business or crypto scheme.
• Respect other members. Disagree with the take, not the person. Insults, pile-ons, and drama-baiting get old fast in a community this size.
• Keep politics out of the gun talk. This is a marketplace and a hunting/shooting community, not a political battleground. General political flame wars, national election arguments, and partisan baiting belong elsewhere — take them to another forum. Reasonable discussion of Alabama gun law, hunting regulations, or legislation that directly affects members here is fine; "your party is ruining the country" threads are not.
• No trolling or bad-faith posting. If you're posting just to stir a reaction, expect a warning.
• Respect privacy. Don't post someone else's personal information, address, or phone number without their OK — including screenshots of PMs.
• One account per person. Sock puppets used to evade a ban, pad feedback, or fake agreement in a thread are not allowed.

💰 Listing Rules

The classifieds only work if buyers can trust what they're looking at. These rules apply to every listing, whether it's a $20 range bag or a $2,000 rifle.

• Describe it accurately. Condition, wear, modifications, known issues — say what's actually true. "As-is" doesn't excuse hiding a known defect.
• Use real photos of the real item. Photos must be of the actual item you're selling, not a manufacturer stock photo or a picture pulled from the internet. If you use a catalog photo temporarily, say so in the listing and add real photos before anyone should send money.
• Price it honestly. List the actual price you'll accept. No bait-and-switch — advertising a low price to get interest, then "discovering" it's actually higher once a buyer shows up.
• Only list what you actually own and possess. Don't post an item you don't have in hand (pre-orders / group buys / drop-shipping arrangements must be clearly labeled as such, not presented as an in-hand item).
• No stolen goods. Knowingly listing stolen property will get you permanently banned and reported to law enforcement. If you're buying, and a deal feels like it's stolen (no papers, absurdly low price, seller cagey about origin), walk away.
• NFA items need a real transfer plan. Suppressors, SBRs, machine guns, and other NFA items must go through a proper, legal transfer (licensed dealer / Form 4, etc.) — don't list or offer to sell an NFA item as a straight person-to-person handoff. See the firearms legal disclaimer for the full rundown of what's required.
• No prohibited transfers. Don't sell to anyone you have reason to believe is legally prohibited from possessing the item, and don't ask sellers to skip legally required steps.
• Mark it sold. Once an item is gone, update or close the listing so you're not wasting other members' time.
• No duplicate or category-stuffed listings. One listing per item, in the right category.

Not sure whether an item or a transfer is legal to list? When in doubt, don't post it — ask a moderator first.

⭐ Trade Feedback — How It Works

Every completed deal on Yellowhammer Trader can be rated by both sides. Feedback is how the next buyer or seller knows who they're dealing with — keep it honest and keep it about the trade.

• One rating per deal. After a transaction, either party can leave the other Positive (+1), Neutral (0), or Negative (−1) feedback, tied to the listing thread. You get one rating per counterparty per deal — you can't stack ratings to inflate or bury a score.
• Rate the transaction, not the person. Did the item match the description? Did payment and shipping or handoff go as agreed? Was communication reasonable? That's what feedback is for — not politics, and not a grudge carried over from another thread.
• Leave it promptly. Post feedback within a couple of weeks of the deal closing, while the details are still fresh.
• No retaliatory or hostage feedback. Don't threaten a negative to pressure someone ("leave me a positive or I'll tank your score"), and don't fire back a revenge negative just because you got one. Both are feedback abuse and will be removed.
• No feedback for deals that didn't happen. Feedback requires a real transaction — completed, or attempted and failed — tied to an actual listing. Don't swap feedback with a friend to pad numbers.
• Think a rating against you is unfair? Don't start a public fight in the thread. Send a moderator a PM with the listing link and your side. Staff can remove feedback that breaks these rules, add a note, or let it stand if it's an honest account of a real deal.

A member's feedback page is linked from their profile. A negative, or a run of neutrals, is a signal to slow down and ask questions before you send money — not automatic proof of a scam.

🤝 When a Trade Goes Wrong

Most trades here go fine. This is the path for the ones that don't — an item that arrived not as described, a payment that never landed, a deal that stalled halfway. Outright fraud is different: report that right away under How to Report a Problem.

Protect yourself up front: use a payment method with buyer protection for anything shipped, meet in person for local deals, keep every message in the platform PM system, and check the other party's trade feedback and join date before you send money.

⚠️ Consequences for Violations

Enforcement is tiered — the punishment fits the offense. Minor slip-ups get a chance to correct course. Scams and fraud do not.

Moderators use judgment on severity — this ladder is a guide, not a rigid script. A single bad-enough action can justify skipping straight to a ban.

📢 How to Report a Problem

Don't argue it out in the thread — report it and let a moderator handle it.

• Reporting a bad listing or a bad post: Open the listing or post and click the Report link/flag icon on it. That sends it straight to the moderator queue with a link to the exact post — this is the fastest way to get eyes on a scam listing, a fake photo, or a rule-breaking post.
• Reporting a member (pattern of behavior, not tied to one post): Send a private message to a moderator or admin describing what happened, including usernames, links to relevant listings/posts, and screenshots if you have them.
• Suspect fraud or a scam attempt? Report it immediately using the methods above — don't wait to see how it plays out. If money already changed hands and you believe you were defrauded, also contact local law enforcement; the platform can suspend an account, but it can't get your money back.

There's no separate "report a listing" form today — listings live in the Classifieds forum as regular posts, so the same Report link/PM-to-staff process above covers them. If that changes, this page will be updated with the new process.