TBT Bells / Real World Item Transactions

Hello everyone, I'm making this thread as a reminder and clarification about our rules regarding transactions involving TBT bells and real world items. You can find our rules here: http://www.belltreeforums.com/showthread.php?94559-The-Bell-Tree-Rules-amp-Guidelines

Regarding this topic, the rules state the following:

Prohibited Transactions
Do not post about buying or selling the following:

• Forum or Animal Crossing bells for real money or gift cards representative of real money.
• Duplicated or hacked items in Animal Crossing
• Any other item in conflict with our rules and guidelines

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As it says, forum bells cannot be used for real currencies or gift cards. This is because we don't want the bell system corrupted by real money. The rule currently states nothing about game codes and Club Nintendo codes. A game code represents a single game, not an amount of real world money. Although there is an indirect connection to money, the same could be said about any item with value. Therefore, Club Nintendo and game codes are allowed to be traded with forum bells.

If you trade forum bells for real world items, the site is not responsible for your bells, items, personal information, or the transaction itself. You are responsible for taking the risk of partaking in such transactions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy/sell forum bells for real world money?
No.

Can I buy/sell forum bells for gift cards?
No.

Can I buy/sell forum bells for eShop gift cards?
No, it's still a gift card.

Can I buy/sell game codes with forum bells?
Yes.

Why can't I trade forum bells for real money or gift cards?
We don't want people exploiting forum bells to make money off of them. We also don't want money to be used as an advantage in the bell system. Gift cards are included because they represent an amount of money.

What is the difference between eShop gift cards and eShop game codes?
Gift cards are not allowed because they represent real world currency and would enable real money to directly influence the forum bell economy. Game codes represent specific games, not currencies. We would have to ban the trading of all items that have monetary value if we considered them to be the same. Otherwise, the line has to be drawn somewhere, so it's drawn between money and items.

Can I buy/sell Club Nintendo codes with forum bells?
Yes.

Can I use forum bells to buy/sell real world items?
Yes.

Do these rules apply to private messages?
Yes.

Can I share my address with someone?
Personal information must not be shared in public. Share it in private at your own risk.

What is the basis for all of these answers?
All of these answers are derived from the rules, which is linked at the top of the forum and here: http://www.belltreeforums.com/showthread.php?94559-The-Bell-Tree-Rules-amp-Guidelines

Will these rules ever change?
It's possible. We constantly review our guidelines and welcome feedback.

sticky!

Some clarity, thank you! May I suggest a sticky before ir gets lost in the market?

Agree with sticky.

Skyfall said:

Some clarity, thank you! May I suggest a sticky before ir gets lost in the market?

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I meant to do that. This thread is also meant to replace the other one that was pinned.

Jeremy said:

What is the difference between eShop gift cards and eShop game codes?
Gift cards are not allowed because they represent real world currency and would enable real money to directly influence the forum bell economy. Game codes represent particular games, not currencies. We would have to ban the trading of all items that have monetary value. Otherwise, the line has to be drawn somewhere, so it's drawn between money and items.

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So are threads not directly selling the eshop credits allowed? For example, purchasing the game with the credits and then selling the game code to members on the forum?

Sholee said:

So are threads not directly selling the eshop credits allowed? For example, purchasing the game with the credits and then selling the game code to members on the forum?

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Currently it's allowed. But you can't post a thread to use it as a loophole. For example, "Trading Bells for game of your choice." Instead the thread would be "Trading Bells for Pokemon Y".

edit: Also see what danielkang said.

Sholee said:

So are threads not directly selling the eshop credits allowed? For example, purchasing the game with the credits and then selling the game code to members on the forum?

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That's not possible if you buy a game at the eshop with a card, it is automatically downloaded directly to your system you don't get a code.

Danielkang2 said:

That's not possible if you buy a game at the eshop with a card, it is automatically downloaded directly to your system you don't get a code.

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ooo okay, nvm what i said then

Danielkang2 said:

That's not possible if you buy a game at the eshop with a card, it is automatically downloaded directly to your system you don't get a code.

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This is the main reason I want eshop codes, I can't choose what game I get.

Jeremy said:

I meant to do that. This thread is also meant to replace the other one that was pinned.

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I'm glad you've replaced the other one, people always used it as a reason to show that it was allowed and that the staff would just do nothing regarding people getting cheated out in a deal. This is so much better and clearer.

I've asked this at the Information Desk without an answer already, but where does selling art for real money fall into this? Is that prohibited or allowed on this site? This was not specifically covered in the FAQ here or the rules itself, so some clarification would be wonderful. Apparently two different mods have given two different opposing answers to this.

Amissapanda said:

I've asked this at the Information Desk without an answer already, but where does selling art for real money fall into this? Is that prohibited or allowed on this site? This was not specifically covered in the FAQ here or the rules itself, so some clarification would be wonderful. Apparently two different mods have given two different opposing answers to this.

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The rule that would fall under is actually different. Under 1 c: "Selling or trading virtual goods/services, including Animal Crossing items and villagers, for real world currency." So the question is whether art is a virtual good/service or not. The staff are still discussing this as well.

Jeremy said:

The rule that would fall under is actually different. Under 1 c: "Selling or trading virtual goods/services, including Animal Crossing items and villagers, for real world currency." So the question is whether art is a virtual good/service or not. The staff are still discussing this as well.

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Understood. I'll wait to hear what the staffs' decision is, then. Thank you for the response!

About selling eshop codes.

If selling games is ok, why isn't eshop codes? There is no way to redeem it for real cash and you can only buy games with it. It's not really cash, it is like a discount.

The Hidden Owl said:

About selling eshop codes.

If selling games is ok, why isn't eshop codes? There is no way to redeem it for real cash and you can only buy games with it. It's not really cash, it is like a discount.

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What is the difference between eShop gift cards and eShop game codes?
Gift cards are not allowed because they represent real world currency and would enable real money to directly influence the forum bell economy. Game codes represent specific games, not currencies. We would have to ban the trading of all items that have monetary value if we considered them to be the same. Otherwise, the line has to be drawn somewhere, so it's drawn between money and items.

Oh thank jesus xD This thread was giving me anxiety for a while lol Thank god I can still buy games ;w;

Jeremy said:

Currently it's allowed. But you can't post a thread to use it as a loophole. For example, "Trading Bells for game of your choice." Instead the thread would be "Trading Bells for Pokemon Y".

edit: Also see what danielkang said.

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So now people are buying games and selling them for forum bells in the marketplace, isn't this essentially the same as using real money to buy forum currency?

do the mods/admins plan to moderate this?

Sholee said:

So now people are buying games and selling them for forum bells in the marketplace, isn't this essentially the same as using real money to buy forum currency?

do the mods/admins plan to moderate this?

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If we're allowed to post threads like "Trading bells for (x game)" then why is it much different to post a thread doing the opposite? I think if the mods had a problem they would've closed down one of the 4389483 threads from yesterday. No one is forcing you to participate if it bothers you lol.

Illyana said:

If we're allowed to post threads like "Trading bells for (x game)" then why is it much different to post a thread doing the opposite? I think if the mods had a problem they would've closed down one of the 4389483 threads from yesterday. No one is forcing you to participate if it bothers you lol.

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no need to get so defensive~
it doesn't bother me at all, i'm just saying their rules don't make any sense and it allows for loopholes/exploits for real money/forum bell exchanges which is supposedly what the admins don't want.