Like many small businesses, we are struggling with increased overheads, cost of software licensing, daily back-ups, server cost, etc, so have made the following necessary changes to avoid increasing prices, introducing dreaded third-party advertising or closing the site down altogether.

The standard advert cost of £8.99 will remain unchanged, but the following changes have been applied to free adverts to protect the NFED's future.

We have removed the free offer for all animals & poultry (offered or wanted) & off topic items regardless of value. The maximum free ad value is unchanged at £174.99 but multiple items with a total value of £175 or more will no longer qualify for free ads.

This is an equestrian site, we can no longer cover the cost of these unrelated adverts & it would be grossly unfair to pass the cost of unrelated ads on to our equestrian advertiser base.

There are numerous ways to advertise non-equestrian items, but only one NFED, hopefully those that appreciate the NFED will fully respect & understand this decision.

 

Further Details...

 

Livestock, Pets & Poultry
All livestock (offered or wanted) including small animals, pets, poultry or waterfowl (inc' hatching eggs) are now excluded from the free ads offer, regardless of type, breed or value. The free ads were never intended for professional small animal/poultry breeders, but the number of breeders now using the site & the number of ads being posted has made this completely unsustainable & over shadowing the paid equestrian ads.

Charging for the ads will greatly reduce the number of ads, but still provide the service for those prepared to pay, whilst providing verified seller details to comply with the 2018 Animal Welfare Act.

 

Multiple Items
Multiple items in a single advert have always caused confusion, so to simplify everything, the total value will now be taken into account.

Multiple items in one advert up to £174.99 will still be free, £175 or over will require payment.

This should still allow people to advertise their unwanted low value tack, horse & rider wear, tools or equipment completely free of charge, which is exactly what the free ads are intended to do.
If the total value exceeds £174.99 in a single advert, simply split items into further adverts. The maximum of 15 free ads in 30 days should be sufficient for all normal use.

 

Off Topic Items
We are getting quite a few house clearance, fashion & random items, toys, etc, driving down the equestrian ads. The NFED is intended as an equestrian & countryside website, therefore off topic adverts will no longer be included in the free ads offer. The free ads will remain for equestrian, agricultural, small holding & countryside items only, up to a maximum of £174.99

Removing off topic ads from the free ads offer will save resources, whilst uncluttering the classifieds & helping us to focus on the intended equestrian ads. The miscellaneous category will remain in place for the adverts that do not fit the other categories. 

 

Regular Unpaid Ads
If an advertiser regularly submits adverts that require payment & does not pay, the adverts will be removed without waiting the two days. The cost of backing-up the server depends on the amount of data, so unpaid ads cost us money. If payment is received, the advert will be replaced.