Anyone who wants to arrange imports and/or sell tropical fish on this site must first register as a sponsor of the site. Sponsorship is very reasonable. Either send a pm or email at [email protected] for details.
One reason for sponsorship is to try and prevent fraud from occurring. Several years ago a forum member tried to make use of various online sites, including arowanaclub.ca, to launch a "group buy" of Asian arowana. The person later disappeared, after collecting a lot of deposit $$$ from many people. See: http://www.arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=42507&highlight=onaga#post42507
In addition to what you read in the thread, the Ontario Police were contacted by forum members who lost a lot of money for Asian arowana that never came. Unfortunately, the police could not help and thousands of dollars were lost.
Especially in the case of "new" forum members who come along and who are not well known by current forum members, a level of trust needs to be established. That is done to a degree by having such people provide a sponsorship fee for the site. There is a vetting process as well, usually conducted via email and phone, to establish the legitimacy of people who want to arrange group imports.
One reason for sponsorship is to try and prevent fraud from occurring. Several years ago a forum member tried to make use of various online sites, including arowanaclub.ca, to launch a "group buy" of Asian arowana. The person later disappeared, after collecting a lot of deposit $$$ from many people. See: http://www.arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=42507&highlight=onaga#post42507
In addition to what you read in the thread, the Ontario Police were contacted by forum members who lost a lot of money for Asian arowana that never came. Unfortunately, the police could not help and thousands of dollars were lost.
Especially in the case of "new" forum members who come along and who are not well known by current forum members, a level of trust needs to be established. That is done to a degree by having such people provide a sponsorship fee for the site. There is a vetting process as well, usually conducted via email and phone, to establish the legitimacy of people who want to arrange group imports.