All About Rule 4E

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All About Rule 4E

written by Charles Silverman

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Many of the questions that I get center around Rule 4E, one of our terms of service, which can be reviewed in their entirety at the QFLEA rules page. The rules states, "We reserve the right to refuse your application, or terminate your membership, if your site is an affiliate program, middleman, MLM, consultant, catalog or distributor site for other companies." This rule is meant to deter these types of businesses from joining QFLEA and includes a wide varierty of companies including, but not limited to Avon, Tupperware, Mary Kay, World of Products, Gift World Net, Herbalife, ACN, Ameriplan, Xango Juice, Nature's Sunshine, Shaklee, Noni Juice, Mona Vie, Young Living, and many more. It also includes Vstores, Ioffer Stores, Ebay Stores, Cafepress Stores and all the other template stores that look alike, sound alike and sell alike.

Now let me state from the start that I have no specific problem with any of these companies. I am sure that the individuals who affiliate with these companies work just as hard as those who own their own small businesses. However, I do not want to allow these companies to list at the QFLEA Flea Market. Let me explain why.

Picture yourself at the main entrance to your favorite mall. You walk in, and of course, if it's a hot day, you welcome the feel of the air conditioning. The first thing you notice is that the Radio Shack that used to be on the third floor is now on the ground floor ... and The Gap, that used to be up on four is next to it ... and down the hall - wait a minute, it's another Radio Shack? As you wander the mall, you now realize that there are seven Radio Shacks, four Bath and Body Works, three Williams and Sonoma, eight Gaps, four Sam Goodys and more. Each one looks the same, sounds the same, and sells the same items. How ridiculous is this? Well, that is exactly the scenario I seek to avoid for QFLEA.com and that was the impetus to create Rule 4E.

You will find a few sites at QFLEA.com that seem to violate Rule 4E. These are sites that joined prior to the creation of that particular rule and I considered them as "grandfathered". I believe it would have been unfair to create a rule and then throw out those already in because they didn't comply with the rule.

My goal is to attract independent businesses that sell unique items that you can't find in other places. I don't want my shoppers clicking from site to site thinking that each site sells the same thing. I want them to see the diversity. That's why Rule 4E exists. It's nothing personal and it's not a statement or opinion about your business. It's my way of assuring that I always have a diverse, varied selection of different types of items for my shoppers.

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