I'm not allowed to post there. Something i am missing?

A paid membership.

Perhaps you could promote me.

Unsure what you mean by promote you. But here is a link to the page to pay for a membership. $12/yr, $20/2 yr, even have a trial 30-day membership for $3. Bike Forums - Paid Subscriptions

Ah yes, thankyou for enlightening me. Is the paid membership a means to keep the fraudulent users at bay? I`ve never seen this $ done before on other forums.

In addition to gaining access to the area you are wanting, it will remove ads. The paid membership is worth every penny IMHO.

All the forums i visit regularly (a couple of bicycle forums, a couple of musician forums) have a "marketplace" or "classifieds" section; all of them require a paid membership for sellers to list their items.

You should really take the time to read the Marketplace Rules.

The Market Place - Bike Forums

Updated Marketplace Sales rules - Bike Forums

Here are some that are pertinent to this conversation.

The Marketplace requires Premium Membership to post new threads. This can be purchased at: https://www.bikeforums.net/payments.php bikeforums.net only provides infrastructure and a platform for your sale threads and assumes no responsibility for the transactions or disputes. This applies to all Marketplaces and For Trade threads.

Items for sale, bicycle and cycling related items only, please! Requires upgraded Membership to post new threads. This forum is intended for individual members to sell their bikes and bike related gear, and not for commercial ventures or company sales. Prices must be quoted up front, we are not an auction site, and do not link to your eBay auctions.

Wow, big barrier to entry, I spend a lot of time on the paceline forums, great community and its free

Not really.

Pay for your membership.
Advertise your personal stuff.
Include a price.

Pretty simple really.

A buck a month. Brutal.

$12 a year is an incredibly good deal to support this site, gain all the features and lose all the ads.

Support this site?

Is that not what the money is used for? Honest question, I just assumed that it was.

One could probably pay for it from change currently under their couch cushions or in their car somewhere.

For some reason, "support" doesn't seem fitting, although it's technically correct. When I think of support, I think of things like giving to a non-profit and buying from a mom and pop business.

The psycholoy of pitching the $12 as a subscription works against the majority of BF members who may only need the service once, and maybe (at most) twice in a given year, if ever. Something like a $3 - $6 'pay per ad' fee (no subscription necessary) might make someone selling a bike not feel like they are paying for an entire year for an item that might sell in far less time than that. The fee to place ads could be surcharged on the existing $12/yr subscription without raising a single eyebrow or it could be advertised as a 'free' (worth $6) benefit to subscribers ...

Maybe something like this?

Conversely all of the forums I frequent including MTBR and other forums that aren't bike related don't require paid membership fees to post in their classifieds section.

Ads?

What are ads? That's why ad blockers are invented as extensions for your browser. Can't remember the last time I saw an ad anywhere online at sites I frequent.

I've been on various forums since the mid 90s. Back then and into the 2000's and 2010s and beyond there were no ads and no membership fee required.

You make a compelling argument. I have a year now to ponder what I can do with a dollar a month when renewal comes around.

As a buyer I don’t think I’d be comfortable buying from one of those forums. Actually I know I wouldn’t.

I mean someone has to run the site, it doesn’t run itself, and that takes resources.

Shhh!!

Paying a membership fee doesn't change that dynamic.

I've bought and sold on many non paid forums over the years. It's not an issue.