Welcome to SCF, the best online trading and sports discussion community in the world. As a valuable member of our community, we ask that you take the time to read through the rules and restrictions that we ask all our members to adhere. Membership is free, however SCF is privately owned and we reserve the right to revoke anyone’s membership if our policies cannot be followed and any comments posted on the SCF that violate our Guidelines are routinely removed.

In an effort to maintain the integrity of Sportscardforum.com (SCF) and to provide a comfortable environment for people to communicate, we ask that you please follow these Guidelines when posting on this site. These guidelines are global and take effect on every area on this site. Moderators may choose to enact specific guidelines for a forum which are to be taken as an extension of these guidelines when posting and visiting that specific forum. These specific guidelines are usually sticky topics or announcements placed at the top of the specific forum. For rules in French visit our
French Rules Page.

I. Trading/Selling
II. Must Send First
III. Account Information
IV. Multiple Accounts
V. Posting Guidelines
VI. Trade Manager Rules
VII. Trade Feedback
VIII. Language
IX. Private Message System
X. Spam
XI. Copyright Infringement
XII. Signatures
XIII. Avatars/Pictures
XIV. Card Cash Store
XV. vBay
XVI. Infraction System
XVII. Bad Trader Group
XVIII. Contact Us/Report Issues
XIX. Miscellaneous

I Trading/Selling:

SCF prides itself on its daily traders and will continue to do so as we have certain expectations that keep our members coming back every day.

Members cannot trade/sell any of the following:

Incoming Cards – All cards must be in your possession before you can post them in the Trade Manager. This includes any pending trades as well as all auction wins.
Weapons – No weapon of any kind are permitted to be traded or sold on the site.
Grab Bags – These are the lots that will contain a possible chance of certain cards. The exception to this is team lots (lots that only contain usually commons of a particular team) and they can only be sold to cover the cost of shipping.
Auctions – No cards can be traded or sold in an auction style or format. This includes time-restricted trades/sales, guaranteed or not.
Packs/Boxes – No selling of packs or boxes of cards is permitted on SCF unless you are a staff member or sponsor. Factory sealed boxes of cards can be traded, but not packs.
Group Breaks - Only permitted to be conducted by staff or sponsor. All must get permission from the General Manager.

II Must Send First:

As the #1 Trading and Discussion site on the net, we garner numerous new members daily. As a new member, it is imperative that you establish yourself on SCF. Therefore, all members with a trader rating fewer than 20 must send first on a transaction. It does not matter if you are buying, selling or trading. If both members have less than 20 feedbacks they must send at the same time. If one member has a permanent MSF tag, they must send first in every instance, even when dealing with new members.

However, SCF does respect and honor all feedback history from the following sites:

• Trader Retreat
• Hobby Insider
• Rusty Soap Box/Sports Card Haven
• The Bench
• Sports Card Freaks
• UCB
• NUTS
• TCC
• NSCF
• Hobby Kings

You must notify a staff member if you would like to bring over feedback from another site in order to bypass the must send first rule. The best way to do so is to post a request in our Feedback Transfer Forum, located in our Meet & Greet Forum.

Also, there are times when issues arise and traders have difficulty completing transactions in a timely fashion or worst case, do not send at all. These traders eventually attain a Must Send First on all transactions badge. Any trader with this badge is required by the site to send first under all circumstances, buying, trading, and selling.

If a member with 20 or more feedback sends at the same time with a member with less than 20 feedback, that member waives his/her right to file a dispute on SCF.

You cannot create your own must send first rules and place them in signatures or force them on others.

III Account Information:

As part of your membership on SCF, you are expected to fill out your profile to reflect your actual name, full mailing address and phone number. This information is only viewable by yourself and the staff, unless you make a trade with someone and that person will be able to view your information. Failures to do so could/will affect your status as a registered member on SCF and you will automatically have a must send first badge even if you are here just to chat.

IV Multiple Accounts:

Multiple accounts on one IP are not permitted without the permission of the SCF staff. Any duplicate accounts without staff permission can or will be banned. If creation of multiple accounts persists, all accounts will be banned including the original account.

If you are a family member and plan on having separate accounts, you must contact a staff member before creating the second account. Otherwise, you risk getting yourself and the other family member banned from the site.

If one of the members sharing an IP, living in the same or are related happens to break our rules and gets suspended or banned, the other IP sharers face the risk of having their accounts suspended, banned, or tagged for MSF (Must Send First).

Members are not permitted to share an account with anyone else, unless it is a COPPA compliant member and that member's parents/guardians.

V Posting Guidelines:

SCF offers a wide range of forums. Always locate the proper forum before posting. If you are unsure, contact a member of the staff to assist you.

Thread hijacking or trolling is not permitted on SCF. Hijacking a thread is considered taking over a thread that you did not originally create and posting something that has nothing to do with its actual subject matter. Examples are trying to sell or trade cards in a thread where the original thread starter is doing the same or jumping in a thread to elicit information about an item that was not mentioned by the thread starter. To remedy this, simply create a new thread. Trolling is considered making comments in someone's thread in provocation to create emotional distress towards other people or picking a fight.

Bumping a thread is only allowed after 8 hours have passed since you last posted if you are the last poster. Also, you may not bump more than once in an 8-hour period. You are not permitted to bump a thread if it is still located on the first page of the forum. Bumping is considered any post that is not in response to a previous post. This includes items such as “ttt”, “bump”, “list updated”, etc. Please note that this rule applies to the trading and buying/selling forums.

Posting a thread for the purpose of having someone give or look up a book value on an item is prohibited. If you are in trade talks, book values can be used and posted as long as the source is not cited.

When you post cards for trade, please combine your lists to a single post instead of having multiple threads for a single card/player. This rule is to help let everyone have an equal chance of having their thread on the front page longer instead of a single person having multiple threads dominating the whole page.

If you wish to run a contest, you must contact the Contest Manager prior to posting it.

Please do not post any trader information such as addresses, feedback or email addresses directly on the forums. This is private information.

There is no gambling of any kind on SCF including fantasy sports leagues, betting cards, betting card cash, or anything that has value.

SCF Staff members reserve the right to close or delete any post or thread that may be deemed unacceptable or improper for this website.

VI Trade Manager Rules and VII Trade Feedback
You are responsible for your item until it is received by your partner and in their hands. This is why SCF recommends insurance and/or delivery confirmation. Anything not listed in these rules but listed elsewhere in the rules is included in this section as well.

Any prior damage must be reported to your potential partner.

Trading or selling of weapons of any kinds is not allowed.

You cannot trade/sell/buy any video game rated “M”, movie rated “R”, or music with explicit lyrics if you are not of the appropriate age.

No grab bags are allowed, members must know explicitly what they are getting unless you are selling team lots of just base cards.

Sending out free cards or in person trades are not eligible for feedback and cannot be placed in the Trade Manager. That includes SASEs.

Deals involving trades where neither party sends anything through the mail cannot be posted in the Trade Manager.

Any deal that involves card cash, the member sending the card cash is not eligible for feedback.

Incoming cards cannot be posted for trade in the Trade Manager. You may discuss trading incoming cards, but cannot finalize a trade until the card is in your possession. Failure to do so will result in an infraction being issued. Only cards in your possession may be traded or sold through the Trade Manager.

Feedback fraud is taken seriously here on SCF. Retaliatory feedback or improper feedback will be removed and actions will be taken against your account if you are caught.

All trades must be made with the trade manager if you want a trade moderated, no exceptions. Failure to do so voids any right to moderation. Accordingly, if you choose to ignore the Must Send First status of a member in a trade, you waive the right for the staff to assist you should a problem arise. If a person is sending first in the trade, please specify this in the terms of the trade in the trade manager. Trades must be sent within 3 working days of confirming in the Trade Manager unless you have spoken with your trading partner about when you will be sending.

VIII Language:
Any foul or hostile language used in SCF will not be tolerated. This includes any derogatory statements and profanity. In accordance, using symbols to represent letters or to cover letters/words is not permitted either as the words are easy to decipher. This includes any attempt to work around our foul word filter or using abbreviations for foul words. Words caught by the foul word filter will appear on the boards blanked out by * and an infraction will still be handed out for their use.

Direct or indirect personal attacks are strictly not permitted. Insults and negative attitudes are not allowed. It is better to walk away from a possible confrontation and come back with constructive arguments after you have cooled off.

All members have the right to their own ideas, beliefs and faiths. Members have the right to express these on SCF with equal respect and consideration if they are not disruptive.

IX Private Message System:

Our PM system is to be used for one-on-one contact. We do not allowed “Member’s Name, Come Here!” threads. That’s why we have a PM system.

However, you are expected to conduct yourself in the same manner in a PM as you are on the boards.

If you are having issues reaching a member by PM and it is of an urgent matter such as a trade issue, contact a staff member to assist you.

PM Abuse is taken seriously. If you are caught spamming, insulting, or otherwise negative behavior through our Private Message system actions against your account will be taken.

X Spam:
We do not allow spamming of other sites on SCF, unless they are in our network of sites. We do have an Affiliate program as well as offer Advertising opportunities to anyone with a personal gains website. This includes all non-sports card related sites as well as sites where you receive compensation for referrals.

XI Copyright Infringement:
Copyright infringement is illegal. SCF will enforce the law. Never post an article in its entirety. When posting copyrighted material, please use small sections or link to the article. When posting copyrighted material please give credit to the author in your post.

Solicitations for copyrighted materials of any form will not be permitted. Advertisement of locations where copyrighted materials may be obtained will not be permitted. This rule includes asking or giving prices from Beckett (or similar) information that is not provided for free online. You may request “book value” however, do not mention where it came from unless it came from a publicly available free source.

Members are not allowed to ask or offer to buy, sell or trade any illegal copies of anything. (Movies, music, games, etc.) If you are caught or reported you face being banned here. This is a one strike you’re out offense. We do not condone ripping off people. Do not risk your account here for something as stupid as this. Remember, IT IS CONSIDERED STEALING! This includes selling a MP3 player preloaded with music.

Also, if you are caught modifying or selling modified cards, including modified patch cards, and claiming they were distributed in that way, then that will result in an immediate ban from the site.

XII Signatures:
Please keep your signatures limited to no more than 5 lines. You may also have a banner image in your signature. The size limit for the banner should be no larger than 100 pixels high x 300 pixels wide (45k size) and there is only to be one such image in any signature. Premium and VIP members are allowed 500 x 100 (75k size). Also, members cannot have a font size larger than "3" typed in their signature. If you want something larger than that, create a banner. Having a link to your personal site like Freewebs is allowed. Having a link to your business website in your signature is prohibited without having a link back to SCF. The link must be approved by the SCF staff. Please refer to the Advertising Guidelines and if you have any questions please contact the Off-Site Relations Manager.

Also, links to eBay stores are permitted in your signature only for staff members, ex-staff members and VIP members. No other auction or store site is permitted unless you are a site sponsor promoting your own store. However, you still can use the eBay profile link that's under your username when you post as well as post auctions in the Sites and Auctions Forum.

XIII Avatars/Pictures:
Images, material or links to images and or material whether real, satirical or implied depicting obscene, indecent, lewd, pornographic, violent, abusive, insulting, or threatening in nature are not permitted anywhere on SCF. This includes Gifs or cartoons. The SCF staff has discretion in judging which avatars/pictures do not comply with these rules.


XIV Card Cash Store:
SCF has a member reward program called Card Cash. Information about how Card Cash works can be found here:

The Card Cash store is filled with many items for the members to earn with their Card Cash. These items are received through various donations, box breaks, personal collections and other means. Items range from cards, supplies, memorabilia, gift certificate, site rewards, and other miscellaneous goodies. There is no begging of card cash anywhere on the site.

All items are purchased with card cash “As Is”. Items are purchased at your own risk. The picture you see in the store is the exact card in hand and the condition that it is being sent. Please contact the person who uploaded the pictured to claim the item.

SCF is not responsible for any loss or damages incurred during the shipping of items.

If interested in acquiring anything from the store, please contact either mikesilvia or Enigma.

XV vBay

All members must follow the following rules.

* Staff and VIP Members can list auctions at no cost.
* Shipping must be limited to 200 Card Cash within the US or Canada and 500 Card Cash Worldwide. Using a lower number is always better!
* Only SCF Staff or members at or above 20 feedback can start an auction
* A limit of five live auctions up at one time.
* You must have the Card Cash in your account to bid on the item. If you are bidding on another auction please keep that Card Cash in mind!
* You can not retract a bid. No exceptions! Any bid will be considered as a bid to the next increment.
* Sellers will post the card information, set the minimum bid, bid increments and time auction ends. Scan of your card is recommended but not mandatory. Your scan can be an example but you must state that.
* Any member caught shill bidding for team members will receive a 3 day suspension for first offense, team member will be removed from staff.
* Auctions cannot be canceled unless the CC Auction Team gives the user specific approval to do so.
* All auctions that end successfully with a winning bidder must be posted in the trade manager. Only the sender of cards is available for feedback. If you sent only card cash you are not eligible for feedback. Feedback will be removed.

Once the auction is over, the transaction will go to the Trade Manager.

Transaction must be confirmed and CC must be sent by the buyer within 5 days of auction's close.

If CC is not sent within the time period, the seller has the right to cancel the auction or continue with the transaction and the CC will automatically be taken from the buyer's account if they have the full amount available.

Failure to make payments within five days will have the following consequences for the buyer:
First offense - Infraction warning and 30 days suspension from vBay
Second offense - Infraction (1 point) and 60 days suspension from vBay
Third offense - Infraction (3 points) and banning from vBay

This is to make sure that everything runs smoothly in the vBay area and protect people's auctions

XVI Infraction System:

SCF has an infraction system. Most infractions will result in a PM warning.

5 Points = 3 day suspension
10 points = 7 day suspension
15 point = Ban

All members can use the "contact us" button at the button of SCF or send a PM to a staff member to appeal any suspensions/bans.

Point System

1 point - Failure to send CC payment within five days of winning the auction on vBay - Second Offense - 30 days suspension from vBay
1 point - Unapproved contests/fantasy links that involve any type of financial item
(No contests or fantasy leagues that use a signup fee or monetary is allowed to be posted on SCF)
1 point - Posting a cash auction on the forums
(SCF is not an auction site. If you want to auction your cards, please find an appropriate site to do it)
1 point - Spamming a site other then trading
(Spamming is not permitted on SCF. If your sole intent here is to spam, you will be banned.)
1 point - Thread hijacking
(Hijacking occurs when you use a member’s thread to trade/buy/sell to another member other than the thread starter. To avoid this, simply post your own thread or contact the member you wish to do a transaction with via PM.)
2 points - Signature violation
(As mentioned before, signatures have restrictions and it is vital that you keep yours in line with our standards.)
2 points - Grab bag threads
(As mentioned before, any lot that contains a chance, not a guarantee, of getting a type of card is prohibited.)
2 points - Bumping 1st offense
(Make sure you only bump your threads after 8 hours has elapsed if you posted the last post.)
2 Points - Trading incoming cards
(Cards must be in your possession before you can trade or sell them.)
3 points - Incomplete profile information
(All profile information such as name; physical mailing address and phone number must be filled out correctly.)
3 points - Posting vulgar/inappropriate images and/or language
(Profanity as well as any graphic, pornographic or indecent picture is not permitted on the site.)
3 points - Unapproved pack/box sales
(Only staff and paid sponsors are permitted to conduct these sales.)
3 points - Posting redundant/duplicate threads
(Refrain for posting the same threads over and over. Simply bump your original thread.)
3 points - Failure to send CC payment within five days of winning the auction on vBay - Third Offense - Ban from vBay
4 points - Not sending your end as a must send first
(The MSF rule is in place for a reason. You must adhere to it as a member of SCF.)
5 points – Causing major problem on the boards
(Please avoid adding fuel to a burning fire. Instigating will not be tolerated.)
5 points - Bumping 2nd offense
(Make sure you only bump your threads after 8 hours has elapsed if you posted the last post.)
5 points - PM abuse (spamming, abusive language, etc.)
(Use the PM system like you would as if you were posting on the boards.)
5 points - Sending cards that are damaged without letting the other trader become aware of the damage.
(Always divulge any issues with cards in your possession.)
5 points - False profile information
(This applies to any part of your profile.)
5 points - Bad packaging/shipping causing the cards to arrive damaged
(It is your responsibility to make sure cards are sent safely and securely.)
10 points - Feedback fraud
(Do not abuse the feedback system. Only use it for trades/sales that happened via SCF.)
15 points – Spamming another trade site not a part of our network of sites
(Our network of sites includes Trader Retreat, Absolute Hobbyist and Non Sports Card Forum. If you are not linking to those sites, then it is considered spam.)

XVII Bad Trader Group/Website:
SCF has come together with other sports card trading sites to help stop bad traders from going on one site and jumping to another after ripping off a few people. The group is represented by a couple of staff members from each site. With SCF joining this group, we hope to stop a bad trader dead in their tracks before they can scam numerous people. SCF is represented by tchavezcards. From all of us here at SCF, we would like to say thanks to the staff of these other sites for coming together for the better of Internet sports card trading.

We will report any member to be added to this list upon issues that occur on SCF. If you do not want to be on that list, then keep your account in good standing at all times. If you want your information removed from that list, you will need to handle all issues that placed you there in the first place.

XVIII Contact Us/Report Issues:

We have an open door policy at SCF. You can come to us at anytime with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc. We can be reached via the PM system or the Contact Us link at the bottom of any page. To see what staff members are online, just view the Who’s Online column on the main forum page. Members in orange or green are staff members. You can also find a detailed list of the role of each staff member by clicking the View Forum Leaders link at the bottom of the main page. Please avoid make a post on the boards to contact a staff member.

If you notice an issue on the board, you can report it to the staff by clicking on the triangular sign with an exclamation point located beneath a member’s name on that post. Fill out the information and then the staff will handle it accordingly. Keep it mind it may not get handled immediately as it depends on what staff members are online at the particular time.

Also, please utilize the chain of command/hierarchy with any issues or inquiries. All items pertaining to a particular sport or section of the site needs to go through the moderators of that area. If that does not work, then contact the TM of that area. Accordingly, you will need to contact the Senior Moderator that oversees the area in question. When all else fails, contact the General Manager.

At no time should you air your grievances on the open boards, if you feel you have been wronged, please contact a senior moderator (red usernames).

XIX Miscellaneous:

SCF is a free membership website. However, we do offer two inexpensive membership packages, Premium and VIP. Information on both can be found here:

http://www.sportscardforum.com/view.php?pg=premium

While we respect Freedom of Speech, we do reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

We do not remove accounts at the request of the member. Your profile information cannot be seen by anyone other than yourself and staff unless you perform a trade. If wish not to be contacted by or about SCF, you have the option to not receive SCF e-mails. If you wish to no longer have an active account on SCF, use the Contact Us option at the bottom of the page and let us know. We will set your account to unregistered status. This way, whenever you would like to return, we can simply reactivate it.