Terms & Conditions

Piston Index Terms of Use Agreement

Last Updated 9-23-2013

1. GENERAL:
Welcome to Piston Index. We hope you find it to be a very enjoyable and useful tool for the world of motorized products. By accessing our servers, websites, or content there from, you agree to these Terms of Use ("TOU"), last updated. 9-23-2013
Piston Index LLC ("PI") provides services through its websites, programs and computer servers, including but not limited to classified advertising and forums. (All such services are referred to collectively herein as "Piston Index." By accessing or using Piston Index, you are a "user" and you accept and agree to the terms below (the "Terms of Use" or "TOU") as a legal contract between you and PI. The TOU include and incorporate additional terms ("guidelines") applicable to particular categories or services available on Piston Index as set forth to users upon access to such categories or services. PI may post changes to the TOU at any time, and any such changes will be applicable to all subsequent access to or use of Piston Index.
If you do not accept and agree to all provisions of the TOU, now or in the future, you may reject the TOU by immediately terminating all access and use of Piston Index, in which case any continuing access or use of Piston Index is unauthorized.
You are also required to comply with, and to ensure compliance with, all laws, ordinances and regulations applicable to your activities on Piston Index.
License: PISTONINDEX is intended and designed for users 18 years of age and older, and access or use by anyone younger is not authorized. If you are 18 or older, we grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nonassignable, nonsublicensable license to access PISTONINDEX in compliance with the TOU; unlicensed access is unauthorized. You agree not to license, distribute, make derivative works, display, sell, or "frame" content from PISTONINDEX, excluding content you create and sharing with friends/family. You grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, unlimited, worldwide, fully paid/sublicensable license to use, copy, perform, display, distribute, and make derivative works from content you post.
The TOU grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive license to access Piston Index and use Piston Index, in whole or in part, including but not limited to PISTONINDEX intellectual property therein, solely in compliance with the TOU.
“PISTONINDEX” is a trademark and is protected by United States and International laws.  The TOU does not authorize you to use “PISTONINDEX” or any similar or related marks (including, for example and without limitation, “PISTONINDEX.com,” “PI,” “pistonindex.com,” “Piston Index,” “piston index,” “______index,” “pistonindex.com, .org etc.”)­­­ for any use pertaining to classified advertising, Internet advertising, social networks, online forums, online communication services or any similar or related use, or any other use that is likely to cause confusion on the part of, to cause mistake by or to deceive the public as to any affiliation, connection, association, origin, sponsorship, approval or endorsement by or with PISTIONINDEX.

All images, text and graphics on this website are protected by copyright law and are the intellectual property of PISTONINDEX or Piston Index.  You may not reproduce any of the images, text, or graphics contained within this website for any purpose whatsoever without express written permission.  All rights are reserved.

 

2. PRIVACY AND SECURITY POLICIES:

This policy details how data about you is collected/used/disclosed when you visit our websites and services or otherwise interact with us. If we update it, we will revise the date, place notices on Pistonindex if a change is material, and/or obtain your consent as required by law.

 

a. Security

The security of your personal information is very important to Piston Index and we do respect it.  Pistonindex.com is the sole owner of the information collected on this site and we never sell, rent, or share your personal information to any third parties under any circumstances unless there are problems and law officials require it.  This helps protect all parties involved.  Piston Index will only collect, store, and use your personal information for defined purposes to support and enhance our relationship with you.  For example: to process your membership and registration, provide service and support, share product information, share service and company news and offerings with you.  All information collected and kept will remain confidential unless otherwise required by law.
Circumstances in which Piston Index may release information:

• Piston Index may disclose information about its users if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process.
• Piston Index may also disclose information about its users to law enforcement officers or others, in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: Enforce our Terms of Use, respond to claims that any posting or other content violates the rights of third-parties, or protects rights, or personal safety of Piston Index, its users or the general public.

b. Information for Becoming A Registered User

Information we may request includes you name, e-mail address, phone number, shipping & billing address, credit card details, customer preference information as well as other similar personal information.  This information is used for billing purposes to fulfill your order (membership registration).  If we have trouble processing an order or credit card transaction, this contact information may be used to contact the user or to get approval from the merchant bank.

 

c. Use:
You agree not to use or provide software (except for general purpose web browsers and email clients, or software expressly licensed by us) or services that interact or interoperate with Pistonindex, e.g. for downloading, uploading, posting, flagging, emailing, search, or mobile use. Robots, spiders, scripts, scrapers, crawlers, etc. are prohibited, as are misleading, unsolicited, unlawful, and/or spam postings/email. You agree not to collect users' personal and/or contact information.

d. IP Address

When you visit a particular page on the website, our servers log your Internet Protocol (IP) address and the address of a referring website, if any.  IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.  We collect this information to enhance the quality of your experience during your visit to this site and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.  We will not sell or rent this information to any third parties.

 

e. Sharing

We outsource our credit card processing to a third party credit card processing company to bill buyers for goods and services.  These companies are very secure using SSL encryption and do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.  These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services.

 

f. Data Security

We are committed to data security with respect to information collected on our website.  We offer the industry standard security measures available through you browser called SSL encryption.  Your information is protected both online and off-line.

 

g. Data we store:

• We retain data as long as needed for our business purposes and/or as required by law.
• We make good faith efforts to store data securely, but make no guarantees.
• You may access and update certain data about you by logging into your account.

h. Circumstances in which we may disclose user data:

• to vendors and service providers (e.g. payment processors) working on our behalf.
• to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process.
• to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users or the general public.
• with your consent (e.g. if you authorize us to share data with other users).
• in connection with a merger, bankruptcy, or sale/transfer of assets to another company.
• in aggregate or summary form, as long as it cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

i. Protecting Your Privacy:

• We take precautions to prevent unauthorized access to or misuse of data about you.
• We do provide email proxy & relay to reduce unwanted mail.
• Pistonindex links to third party sites - please review their privacy policies.

 

j. Data we use to provide and/or improve our services and/or fight fraud/abuse:

• data you post on Pistonindex, or send us directly or via other sites. Please do not post private data.
• credit card data, which is transmitted to payment processors via a security protocol (e.g. SSL).
• data you provide (e.g. email address, name, address, phone, fax, photos, tax ID).
• web log data (e.g. pages viewed, access times, IP address, HTTP headers).
• data collected via cookies (e.g. keyword searches and "favorites" lists).
• data about your devices (e.g. screen size, DOM local storage, plugins).
• data from 3rd parties (e.g. phone type, general location derived from IP address).

 

International Users: By visiting Pistonindex or providing us data, you agree we may use and disclose data we collect for purposes listed here or as communicated to you, transmit it outside your resident jurisdiction, and store it on servers in the United States.

 

k. Contacting You:

Periodically, we may send out information about various products and services, or other products and services we feel may be of interest to you.  Only pistonindex.com will send you these direct mailings.

 

l. Accessibility

Piston Index will not be liable for any damages or injury resulting from your access to, inability to access, or from your reliance on any information provided at or with this Internet site.  In any chat area, message board, instant message, or e-mail function offered as any part of Piston Index, YOU MUST NOT:

• Defame, abuse, harass, or threaten others
• Make any bigoted, hateful, or racially offensive statements
• Advocate illegal activity or discuss illegal activities with or without the intent to commit them.
• Post or distribute any material that infringes and/or violates any right of a third party or any law
• Post or distribute any vulgar, obscene, discourteous, or indecent language, pornography, or images
• Post material or make statements that do not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of any chat room or bulletin board

 

Chat areas, message boards, instant messages, and email functions offered as part of the Pistonindex site and any of its pages. Piston Index site are provided as a service to users.  Piston Index does not review most postings before they appear on the sites and assumes no responsibility for any postings and/or their content.  Piston Index reserves the right to remove any post at any time.

You may send to Piston Index comments, questions, suggestions, or ideas relating to the web site.  If you do, you agree that such information is not given in confidence, that we are not obligated to keep such information secret, and that we are not obligated to respond.  Piston Index shall be free to use the information you send to us in any manner, without any obligation to you whatsoever, including but not limited to developing and marketing products and services based on such information.  Piston Index may also reproduce, disclose, and distribute the information in your communication to others without limitation.  Piston Index may also reproduce, disclose, and distribute the information in your communication to others without limitation.

Much of the information on this web site is updated on a real-time basis and is proprietary or is licensed to PistonIndex.com by our users or third parties.  You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access PistonIndex.com for any purpose without our express written permission.

 
3. MODERATION:
Pistonindex has the right, but not the obligation, to regulate content (which includes but is not limited to postings, text, code, images, video, binary files, ads, accounts, account information, flags, emails, messages and any other user communications ("content")) posted to, stored on or transmitted via Pistonindex by any user (or any other third party in any manner); to regulate conduct (including but not limited to any authorized or unauthorized access to or use of Pistonindex) by any user (or any other third party in any manner); and to enforce the TOU, for any reason and in any manner or by any means that Pistonindex, in its sole discretion, deems necessary or appropriate (including but not limited to automated and manual screening, blocking, filtering, exclusion from index pages, exclusion from search results, requiring the use of an application programming interface (API), requiring the use of a bulk posting interface, authorization, verification, and the deletion and/or termination of content, accounts and/or all or any use or access). PI may, in its sole discretion and without notice, start, stop or modify any regulation or enforcement measures at any time. Pistonindex action or inaction to regulate content or conduct or to enforce against any potential violation of the TOU by any user (or any other third party) does not waive Pistonindex's right to implement or not implement regulation or enforcement measures with respect to any subsequent or similar content, conduct or potential TOU violation.
You also understand and agree that any action or inaction by Pistonindex (PI) or any of its directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents or representatives (collectively, "PI Representatives") to prevent, restrict, redress or regulate content, or to implement other enforcement measures against any content, conduct or potential TOU violation is undertaken voluntarily and in good faith, and you expressly agree that neither PI nor any PI Representative shall be liable to you or anyone else for any action or inaction to prevent, restrict, redress, or regulate content, or to implement other enforcement measures against any content, conduct or potential violation of the TOU.
Although PI Representatives may moderate content, conduct and TOU compliance on Piston Index at PI's discretion, PI Representatives have no authority to make binding commitments, promises or representations to anyone that they or anyone else on behalf of PI will "take care" of any alleged problem or complaint, or that they or anyone else on behalf of PI will otherwise stop, cure or prevent any problem, content, conduct or purported TOU violation from occurring or recurring. Accordingly, you further agree that any representation (written or verbal) by any PI Representative (or by anyone else acting on behalf of PI or by anyone purportedly acting on behalf of PI) that PI (including but not limited to any PI Representative, anyone else acting on behalf of PI, or anyone purportedly acting on behalf of PI) would or would not prevent, restrict, redress or regulate content (including, without limitation, screen, block, moderate, review, remove, terminate, delete, edit or otherwise stop, cure or exclude any content), or to implement other enforcement measures against any content, conduct or potential or purported TOU violation is superseded by this provision and is nonbinding and unenforceable. Specifically, you agree that PI, PI Representatives and anyone else authorized to act on behalf of PI shall in no circumstance be liable as a result of any representation that PI, a PI Representative or anyone else on behalf of PI would or would not restrict or redress any content, conduct or potential or purported TOU violation. This paragraph may not be modified, waived or released except by a written agreement, dated and signed by PI's Chief Executive Officer and dated and signed by the individual or entity to whom the modification, waiver or release is granted.
PI also has the right in its sole discretion to limit, modify, interrupt, suspend or discontinue all or any portions of Piston Index at any time without notice. PI and PI Representatives shall not be liable for any such limitations, modifications, interruptions, suspensions or discontinuance, or any purported losses, harm or damages arising from or related thereto.
You agree we may moderate Pistonindex access and use in our sole discretion, e.g. by blocking (e.g. IP addresses), filtering, deletion, delay, omission, verification, and/or access/account/license termination. You agree (1) not to bypass said moderation, (2) we are not liable for moderating, not moderating, or representations as to moderating, and (3) nothing we say or do waives our right to moderate, or not. All prohibited site rules can be found on the Prohibited page and are incorporated herein.

4. CONTENT AND CONDUCT
a. Content
PI does not control, is not responsible for and makes no representations or warranties with respect to any user content. You are solely responsible for your access to, use of and/or reliance on any user content. You must conduct any necessary, appropriate, prudent or judicious investigation, inquiry, research, and due diligence with respect to any user content.
You are also responsible for any content that you post or transmit and, if you create an account, you are responsible for all content posted or transmitted through or by use of your account.
Content prohibited from Piston Index includes but is not limited to: (1) illegal content; (2) content in facilitation of the creation, advertising, distribution, provision or receipt of illegal goods or services; (3) offensive content (including, without limitation, defamatory, threatening, hateful or pornographic content); (4) content that discloses another's personal, confidential or proprietary information; (5) false or fraudulent content (including but not limited to false, fraudulent or misleading responses to user ads transmitted via Piston Index); (6) malicious content (including, without limitation, malware or spyware); (7) content that offers, promotes, advertises, or provides links to posting or auto-posting products or services, account creation or auto-creation products or services, flagging or auto-flagging products or services, bulk telephone numbers, or any other product or service that if utilized with respect to Piston Index would violate these TOU or PI's other legal rights; and (8) content that offers, promotes, advertises or provides links to unsolicited products or services. Other content prohibitions are set forth in guidelines for particular categories or services on Piston Index and all such prohibitions are expressly incorporated into this TOU.
You automatically grant and assign to PI, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant and assign to PI, a perpetual, irrevocable, unlimited, fully paid, fully sub-licensable (through multiple tiers), worldwide license to copy, perform, display, distribute, prepare derivative works from (including, without limitation, incorporating into other works) and otherwise use any content that you post. You also expressly grant and assign to PI all rights and causes of action to prohibit and enforce against any unauthorized copying, performance, display, distribution, use or exploitation of, or creation of derivative works from, any content that you post (including but not limited to any unauthorized downloading, extraction, harvesting, collection or aggregation of content that you post).
You agree to indemnify and hold PI and PI Representatives harmless from and against any third-party claim, cause of action, demand or damages related to or arising out of: (a) content that you post or transmit (including but not limited to content that a third-party deems defamatory or otherwise harmful or offensive); (b) activity that occurs through or by use of your account (including, without limitation, all content posted or transmitted); (c) your use of or reliance on any user content; and (d) your violation of the TOU. This indemnification obligation includes payment of any attorneys' fees and costs incurred by PI or PI Representatives.
b. Conduct
PI does not control, is not responsible for and makes no representations or warranties with respect to any user or user conduct. You are solely responsible for your interaction with or reliance on any user or user conduct. You must perform any necessary, appropriate, prudent or judicious investigation, inquiry, research, and due diligence with respect to any user or user conduct.
You are also responsible for your own conduct and activities on, through or related to Piston Index, and, if you create an account on Piston Index, you are responsible for all conduct or activities on, through or by use of your account.
You agree to indemnify and hold PI and PI Representatives harmless from and against any third-party claim, cause of action, demand or damages related to or arising out of your own conduct or activities on, through or related to Piston Index or PI, and related to or arising out of any conduct or activities on, through or by use of your Piston Index account, if any. This indemnification obligation includes payment of any attorneys' fees and costs incurred by PI or PI Representatives.
5. POSTING AND ACCOUNTS
This section 5 applies to all uses and users of Piston Index, unless PI has specifically authorized an exception to a particular term for a particular user in a written agreement (signed by the CEO?). PI has sole and absolute discretion to authorize or deny any exception or exceptions to the terms in this section 5.
a. Postings

A user may post the same or substantially similar content no more that once every 48 hours.
Users may not circumvent any technological measure implemented by PI to restrict the manner in which content may be posted on Piston Index or to regulate the manner in which content (including but not limited to email) may be transmitted to other users. This prohibition includes, without limitation, a ban on the use of multiple email addresses (created via an email address generator or otherwise); the use of multiple IP addresses (via proxy servers, modem toggling, or otherwise); CAPTCHA circumvention, automation or outsourcing; multiple and/or fraudulent Piston Index accounts, including phone-verified accounts; URL shortening, obfuscation or redirection; use of multiple phone lines or phone forwarding for verification; and content obfuscation via HTML techniques, printing text on images, inserting random text or content "spinning."
It is expressly prohibited for any third party to post content to Piston Index on behalf of another. Users must post content only on their own behalf, and may not permit, enable, induce or encourage any third party to post content for them.
It is expressly prohibited to post content to Piston Index using any automated means. Users must post all content personally and manually through all steps of the posting process. It is also expressly prohibited for any user to develop, offer, market, sell, distribute or provide an automated means to perform any step of the posting process (in whole or in part). Any user who develops, offers, markets, sells, distributes or provides an automated means to perform any step of the posting process (in whole or in part) shall be responsible and liable to PI for each instance of access to Piston Index (by any user or other third party) using that automated means.
Affiliate marketing is expressly prohibited on Piston Index. Users may not post content or communicate with any Piston Index user for purposes of affiliate marketing or in connection with any affiliate marketing system, scheme or program in any manner or under any circumstance.
b. Accounts
A user may maintain and use no more than one account, including a telephone or phone-verified account ("PVA"), to post content. A user specifically may not create or use additional accounts for the purpose of circumventing technological restrictions (security measures) in the posting process or otherwise for posting content in violation of the TOU.
A user may create an account, including a PVA, only on his/her own behalf. A user must not permit, enable, induce or encourage others to create accounts or PVAs for him/her. The creation of accounts or PVAs for others is expressly prohibited.
A user must only use his/her own account or PVA, and may not use any account or PVA of another.
The purchase and sale of accounts, including but not limited to PVAs, is expressly prohibited.
A user must create his/her account or PVA personally and manually and may not create accounts or PVAs by any automated means. Without limitation, this includes the obligation that the user personally and manually solves any CAPTCHA challenge in the account creation process. Further, a user must create any PVA using his/her own valid telephone number. The creation of a PVA using a telephone number that is not the user's own, a telephonic forwarding service or system, or a temporary/disposable telephone number or service is expressly prohibited. The circumvention of any technological restriction or security measure in the account creation or PVA creation process is also expressly prohibited.
c. Flagging
A user shall not "flag" (or otherwise seek removal of) content on Piston Index without a personal, good-faith belief that the content violates the TOU. A user may flag content only on his/her own behalf. A user must not permit, enable, induce or encourage others to flag content for them. A user must not flag content for others.
A user may flag a specific item of content only once.
A user flagging content must do so manually and may not employ any automated means, products (including, without limitation, software programs) or services to flag content. A user must not circumvent any technological restrictions (security measures) in the flagging process. Without limitation, this prohibition includes a ban on the use of multiple IP addresses for flagging (by use of proxy servers or any means whatsoever).

 

d. Posting Feedback On Other Users
Feedback is a tool that is used to rate other buyers and sellers that are Registered Users of Piston Index.  Its objective is to provide Piston Index users a way to police each other on their honesty and integrity to decide if they want to do business with one another.  It can serve as a very valuable tool when used honestly.  A user must not circumvent any technological restrictions (security measures) in the feedback process. Without limitation, this prohibition includes a ban on the use of multiple IP addresses for feedback (by use of proxy servers or any means whatsoever).
A user may give feedback on specific item of content only once.
A user shall not give “negative feedback” (or otherwise seek removal of) content on Piston Index without a personal, good-faith belief that the content violates the TOU. A user may give feedback only on his/her own behalf. A user must not permit, enable, induce or encourage others to give feedback content for them. A user must not give feedback content for others.

6. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS AND ACTIVITIES
This section 6 applies to all uses and users of Piston Index, unless PI has specifically authorized an exception to a particular term for a particular user in a written agreement. PI has sole and absolute discretion to authorize or deny any exception or exceptions to the terms in this section 6.
To maintain the integrity and functionality of Piston Index for its users, access to Piston Index and/or activities related to Piston Index that are harmful to, inconsistent with, or disruptive of Piston Index and/or its users' beneficial use and enjoyment of Piston Index are expressly unauthorized and prohibited. For example, without limitation:
The collection of Piston Index users' personal information (including but not limited to email addresses, IP addresses and telephone numbers) is not allowed for any purpose.
Any copying, aggregation, display, distribution, performance or derivative use of Piston Index or any content posted on Piston Index whether done directly or through intermediaries (including but not limited to by means of spiders, robots, crawlers, scrapers, framing, iframes or RSS feeds) is prohibited. As a limited exception, general purpose Internet search engines and noncommercial public archives will be entitled to access Piston Index without individual written agreements executed with PI that specifically authorize an exception to this prohibition if, in all cases and individual instances: (a) they provide a direct hyperlink to the relevant Piston Index website, service, forum or content; (b) they access Piston Index from a stable IP address using an easily identifiable agent; and (c) they comply with PI's robots.txt file; provided however, that PI may terminate this limited exception as to any search engine or public archive (or any person or entity relying on this provision to access Piston Index without their own written agreement executed with PI), at any time and in its sole discretion, upon written notice, including, without limitation, by email notice.
Any access to or use of Piston Index to design, develop, test, update, operate, modify, maintain, support, market, advertise, distribute or otherwise make available any program, application or service (including, without limitation, any device, technology, product, computer program, mobile device application, website, or mechanical or personal service) that enables or provides access to, use of, operation of or interoperation with Piston Index (including, without limitation, to access content, post content, cross-post content, re-post content, respond or reply to content, verify content, transmit content, create accounts, verify accounts, use accounts, circumvent and/or automate technological security measures or restrictions, or flag content) is prohibited. This prohibition specifically applies but is not limited to software, programs, applications and services for use or operation on or by any computer and/or any electronic, wireless and/or mobile device, technology or product that exists now or in the future.
If you access Piston Index or copy, display, distribute, perform or create derivative works from Piston Index web pages or other PI intellectual property in violation of the TOU or for purposes inconsistent with the TOU, your access, copying, display, distribution, performance or derivative work is unauthorized. Circumvention of any technological restriction or security measure on Piston Index or any provision of the TOU that restricts content, conduct, accounts or access is expressly prohibited. For purposes of this paragraph, you agree that cached copies of Piston Index web pages on your computer or computer server constitute "copies" under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101. For purposes of this paragraph, you further agree that CAPTCHAs and telephone verification are "technological measures" that effectively control access to copyright-protected components and rights of PI pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 1201.
Any effort to decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer all or any part of Piston Index in order to identify, acquire, copy or emulate any source code or object code is expressly prohibited.
Any activities (including but not limited to posting voluminous content) that are inconsistent with use of Piston Index in compliance with the TOU or that may impair or interfere with the integrity, functionality, performance, usefulness, usability, signal-to-noise ratio or quality of all or any part of Piston Index in any manner are expressly prohibited.
Any attempt (whether or not successful) to engage in, or to enable, induce, encourage, cause or assist anyone else to engage in, any of the above unauthorized and prohibited access and activities is also expressly prohibited and is a violation of the TOU.
7. USER COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSACTIONS, INTERACTIONS, DISPUTES AND RELATIONS
PI and PI Representatives are not parties to, have no involvement or interest in, make no representations or warranties as to, and have no responsibility or liability with respect to any communications, transactions, interactions, disputes or any relations whatsoever between you and any other user, person or organization ("your interactions with others"). You must conduct any necessary, appropriate, prudent or judicious investigation, inquiry, research, or due diligence with respect to your interactions with others.
You agree to indemnify and hold PI and PI Representatives harmless from and against any third-party claim, cause of action, demand or damages related to or arising out of your interactions with others. This indemnification obligation includes payment of any attorneys' fees and costs incurred by PI or PI Representatives.
8. SALES/FEES
PI may charge a fee to post content or for other features, products, services or licenses. You are responsible to PI for any fees applicable to content that you post or other features, products, services or licenses you purchase or that are purchased through your account. You authorize PI, or its designated payment processor, to charge your specified credit card, debit card or other payment method for such fees.
Unless otherwise specified, all fees are in United States dollars and all charges will be made in United States dollars. Any applicable sales or other taxes are additional to the stated fee. Currency exchange settlements and foreign transaction fees are based on your agreement with your credit card or other payment method provider.
Except as required by law, all fees are nonrefundable, including, without limitation, in situations where paid posts are removed by PI or by community flagging. Payments and purchases may not be canceled by the user, except as required by law. However, PI reserves the right to refuse or terminate any purchase or attempted purchase at any time in its sole discretion. You understand and agree that if you authorize a payment transaction with your credit card, debit card or other payment method, but your charge is rejected for any reason, there may be a hold on your use of that transaction amount for several days. To the extent permitted by law, fees are nonrefundable, even for posts we remove. We may refuse purchases, which may place a hold on your account.

9. DISCLAIMERS
YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF AND RELIANCE ON PISTON INDEX AND CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. PISTON INDEX (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WEBSITES, PROGRAMS, SERVICES, FORUMS AND CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH THE WEBSITES, PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND FORUMS) IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" OR "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.
ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS) ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, PI ALSO DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES FOR OR WITH RESPECT TO: (a) THE SECURITY, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, ACCURACY AND PERFORMANCE OF PISTON INDEX AND CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX; (b) COMPUTER WORMS, VIRUSES, SPYWARE, ADWARE AND ANY OTHER MALWARE, MALICIOUS CODE OR HARMFUL CONTENT OR COMPONENTS ACCESSED, RECEIVED OR DISSEMINATED THROUGH, RELATED TO OR AS A RESULT OF PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX; (c) ANY TRANSACTIONS OR POTENTIAL TRANSACTIONS, GOODS OR SERVICES PROMISED OR EXCHANGED, INFORMATION OR ADVICE OFFERED OR EXCHANGED, OR OTHER CONTENT, INTERACTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS OR COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH, RELATED TO OR AS A RESULT OF USE OF PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACCESSED THROUGH ANY LINKS ON PISTON INDEX OR IN CONTENT).
THESE DISCLAIMERS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of implied warranties. In such jurisdictions, some of the foregoing disclaimers as to implied warranties may not apply.
MANY JURISDICTIONS HAVE LAWS PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND OTHER CONTRACT PARTIES, LIMITING THEIR ABILITY TO WAIVE CERTAIN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. WE RESPECT SUCH LAWS; NOTHING HEREIN SHALL WAIVE RIGHTS OR RESPONSIBILITIES THAT CANNOT BE WAIVED.
To the extent permitted by law, (1) we make no promise as to Pistonindex, its completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, propriety, security or reliability; (2) your access and use are at your own risk, and Pistonindex is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE"; (3) we are not liable for any harm resulting from (a) user content; (b) user conduct, e.g. illegal conduct; (c) your Pistonindex use; or (d) our representations; (4) WE AND OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES ("PISTON INDEX ENTITIES"), DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES & CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT; (5) PI ENTITIES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS (E.G. OF PROFIT, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL); (6) IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY EXCEED $100 OR WHAT YOU PAID US IN THE PAST YEAR.

10. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
PI AND THE PI REPRESENTATIVES SHALL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BE LIABLE FOR ANY ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE, OR FOR ANY TRANSACTIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS, DISPUTES OR RELATIONS BETWEEN YOU AND ANY OTHER PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LIABILITY FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AS WELL AS FOR ANY HARM, INJURY, LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCURRED BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, STATUTORY, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, EVEN IF PI OR ANY PI REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES). THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY APPLIES REGARDLESS OF, BUT IS NOT RESTRICTED TO, WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY, HARM, INJURY, LOSS OR DAMAGES AROSE FROM AUTHORIZED OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX; ANY INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX; OR ANY REMOVAL, DELETION, LIMITATION, MODIFICATION, INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, DISCONTINUANCE OR TERMINATION OF PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX.
THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL ALSO APPLY WITH RESPECT TO DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY TRANSACTIONS OR POTENTIAL TRANSACTIONS, GOODS OR SERVICES PROMISED OR EXCHANGED, INFORMATION OR ADVICE OFFERED OR EXCHANGED, OR OTHER CONTENT, INTERACTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS OR RELATIONS THROUGH, RELATED TO OR AS A RESULT OF PISTON INDEX OR CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY LINKS ON PISTON INDEX AND LINKS IN CONTENT ACCESSED THROUGH PISTON INDEX).
You hereby release PI and each of the PI Representatives, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, predecessors, assigns, heirs, service providers and suppliers, from all claims, demands and damages of every kind and nature, known and unknown, direct and indirect, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to Piston Index or content accessed through Piston Index, or any interactions with others arising out of or related to Piston Index or content accessed through Piston Index, California residents expressly waive the provisions of California Civil Code Section 1542 (and any similar laws in other jurisdictions), which provides: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor."
THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
11. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
You acknowledge and agree that any violation or breach of the TOU may cause PI immediate and irreparable harm and damages; consequently, notwithstanding any other provision of the TOU or other applicable legal requirements, PI has the right to, and may in its discretion, immediately obtain preliminary injunctive relief (including, without limitation, temporary restraining orders) and seek permanent injunctive relief regarding any violation or breach of the TOU. In addition to any and all other remedies available to PI in law or in equity, PI may seek specific performance of any term in the TOU, including but not limited to by preliminary or permanent injunction.
12. DAMAGES
In addition to any injunctive relief, you agree to pay to PI the total amount of all actual damages (including but not limited to direct, indirect, consequential and incidental damages) caused by any violation of the TOU for which you bear responsibility; EXCEPT you acknowledge that, for certain TOU violations, actual damages would be extremely difficult or impossible to quantify. Consequently, for such TOU violations, you agree to pay liquidated damages to PI.

Furthermore you agree that the amounts of liquidated damages described therein are reasonable estimates of PI's damages for such violations, and that liquidated damages for violations of the TOU are and will be cumulative.
13. MISCELLANEOUS
These TOU constitute the entire agreement between you and PI and supersede any prior written or oral agreement. Other than the PI Representatives (who are expressly included as named third-party beneficiaries of the TOU), there are no third-party beneficiaries to the TOU.
Any and all claims, causes of action or disputes (regardless of theory) between you and PI arising out of or related to the TOU, Piston Index or content accessed through Piston Index shall be governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota without regard to conflict or choice of law principles. You and PI agree that any such claims, causes of action or disputes shall be brought exclusively in courts located within the state of Minnesota, and you and PI agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. You further agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, you must file any such claim or cause of action within one year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. If any provision of the TOU is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, all other provisions of the TOU shall remain in full force and effect.
14. TAXES
It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the sale of your products and services and/or the payments you receive in connection with your use of the Service (“Taxes”). It is solely your responsibility to assess, collect, report, or remit the correct tax to the proper tax authority. We are not obligated to, nor will we determine whether Taxes apply, or calculate, collect, report, or remit any Taxes to any tax authority arising from any transaction. You acknowledge that we may make certain reports to tax authorities regarding transactions that we process.
Pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, merchant acquiring entities and third-party settlement organizations are required to file an information return with the IRS for each calendar year, reporting all payment card transactions and third-party network transactions with merchants occurring in that calendar year. You acknowledge that we will report to the Internal Revenue Service the total amount of the payments you receive each calendar year as required by law.

 

Prohibited/Not Allowed on PistonIndex.com

Users must comply with all applicable laws, as well as the Piston Index terms of use and all posted site rules.
Here is a partial list of goods, services, and content prohibited on Piston Index:

• any good, service, or content that violates the law or legal rights of others
• false, misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent content; bait and switch; keyword spam
• offensive, obscene, defamatory, threatening, or malicious postings or email
• anyone’s personal, identifying, confidential or proprietary information
• spam; miscategorized, overposted, cross-posted, or nonlocal content
• postings or email the primary purpose of which is to drive traffic to a website
• weapons; firearms/guns and components; BB/pellet, stun, and spear guns; etc
• ammunition, clips, cartridges, reloading materials, gunpowder, fireworks, explosives
• US military items not demilitarized in accord with Defense Department policy
• child pornography; adult pornography, bestiality; offers or solicitation of illegal prostitution
• pet sales (re-homing with small adoption fee ok), animal parts, stud service
• food stamps, WIC vouchers, SNAP or WIC goods, governmental assistance
• alcohol or tobacco; unpackaged or adulterated food or cosmetics
• prescription drugs, medical devices; controlled substances and related items
• hazardous materials, recall items; body parts/fluids; unsanitized bedding/clothing
• stolen property, property with serial number removed/altered, burglary tools, etc
• ID cards, licenses, police insignia, government documents, birth certificates, etc
• counterfeit, replica, or pirated items; tickets or gift cards that restrict transfer
• lottery or raffle tickets, sweepstakes entries, slot machines, gambling items
• postings or email offering, promoting, or linking to unsolicited products or services
• affiliate marketing; network, or multi-level marketing; pyramid schemes

Thanks for helping keep Piston Index a safe and useful place for everyone to enjoy.

 

Phishing is an attempt to steal information (such as passwords, usernames, and financial information) by masquerading as a trustworthy party.

How phishing works:

1. You receive a supposedly official email from Pistonindex, asking you to confirm your password, username, phone number, or credit card information.
2. This email may threaten you with the removal of your posts or the closure of your account if you do not comply immediately.
3. If the sender is using email spoofing, the message may appear to come directly from Piston Index.
4. You click the link in the email and are taken to a fraudulent third-party site that may resemble a legitimate Pistonindex page.
5. You may be asked to download an attachment, install specific software, or receive a message to your phone.
6. You enter your login information on the fraudulent page, inadvertently providing it to a third party.
7. The third party scammer can then use the information you provided to gain access to your actual Pistonindex account.

How to avoid phishing attempts and protect your account information

• Never click on email links that ask you for any personal or account information.
• Make sure to login to your account only by navigating manually to pistonindex.com.
• If you are unsure about the status of your account or your posts, the safest way to check is to go directly to pistonindex.com and login.
• If you do not see any problems within your account, you can safely ignore any messages to the contrary.
• Never provide a password code to anyone else.
• pistonindex.com will only ask for you to enter it on our site as part of the posting process.
• Use common sense. If an email seems suspicious, fishy, or too good to be true. . . it probably is!

Think you've been phished?

If you see strange activity or unfamiliar posts on your account page, please change your password immediately and manually delete the ads.
If you use the same password for your email account (or any other services), you may want to change those passwords as well.

Further information on phishing

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG)
FTC Phishing Avoidance Tips
Wikipedia: Phishing

Avoiding Scams

You can help avoid would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

• WHEN POSSIBLE DEAL WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON—following this rule when you can helps avoid 99% of scam attempts.
• NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is likely a scammer.
• FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON—BANKS WILL HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.  Make sure the check or money order issued is from a bank name that you are familiar with and that you personally check with that bank to make sure the check or money order is good and that they have a record of it.  Be aware that there are a lot of fake websites and phone numbers out there of people that are trying to scam you out of your hard earned money.  ABOVE ALL BE CAREFUL AND DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!!!!
• PISTONINDEX IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, provide escrow, "buyer protection" or "seller certification."
• NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.).
• RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH  DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES.  Know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.  Due diligence research and reference checking with other users, feedback from other users, or networking with people you know and trust is ALWAYS a good idea to help avoid being scammed or taken advantage of.  Secure a payment before you transfer ownership with the actual person who is purchasing your item (not someone acting on their behalf).  An example of an escrow company for transactions like this used by people and companies such as eBay is www.escrow.com. Another place to begin your research on an escrow company might be the Better Business Bureau.  Use caution there also by not relying on any one source.  ABOVE ALL BE CAREFUL AND DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!!!! Remember pistonindex is not involved in any transactions.
• DO NOT PURCHASE GOODS SIGHT-UNSEEN—Options could be making the person or company send you detailed pictures with a currently dated piece of paper physically zip tied or wired to the object along with a picture of them next to or holding the object to prove it’s theirs to sell and that they own it.  Legal documentation can also be a good thing proving they own it.  A person or company that is willing to give you their personal contact information, their personal phone number, a real person to talk to and that can answer your detailed questions, detailed pictures as stated above, a physical address to go and see the item of interest if you want, rather than just an email address, can all really help prove that the item really exists.  Once again due diligence research and reference checking with other users, feedback from other users, or networking with people you know and trust is ALWAYS a good idea to help avoid being scammed or taken advantage of. 
• DO NOT SUBMIT TO CREDIT OR BACKGROUND CHECKS until you have met in person.

Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?
U.S. Federal

• Internet Fraud Complaint Center
• FTC Video: How to report scams to the FTC
• FTC online complaint form
• FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
• Consumer Sentinel/Military (for reports from services members or their families)
• SIIA Software and Content Piracy reporting

Resources for Ohio residents

• Ohio Attorney General Consumer Complaints

Canada

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or 888-495-8501 (toll-free)
• RCMP

If you are defrauded by someone you met in person, contact your local police department.
If you suspect that a pistonindex post may be part of a scam, please send us the details.

Recognizing scams
Most scams involve one or more of the following:

• Inquiry from someone far away, often in another country.
• Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee."
• Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face before complete a transaction.
• A buyer that seems sketchy and the facts just don’t seem to fit together.
• Complicated scenarios, overseas buyers, and third party transactions.
• A buyer who makes an offer to purchase something without any detailed pictures, details about the item, or actually looking at the item.
• Transactions where the buyer requests a payment plan.
• Overpayment scams are transactions where the buyer says that someone else who owes them more that your selling price will provide payment. This buyer will normally request the item you are selling as well as any difference in price, and no payment as promised will be made.
• Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face to complete or before completing a transaction.

 

Examples of Scams
1. Someone claims Pistonindex will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR will handle or provide protection for a payment:

• These claims are fraudulent, as Pistonindex does not have any role in any transaction.
• The scammer will often send an official looking (but fake) email that appears to come from Pistonindex, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, handle payments.

2. Distant person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check:

• You receive an email (examples below) offering to buy your item sight unseen.
• A cashier's check is offered for your sale item as a deposit for something or for your services.
• Value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item—scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service.
• Banks will often cash fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, sometimes including criminal prosecution.
• These scams often involve a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc.).

3. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:

• Scam "bait" items include motorized product parts, other parts, collectibles, laptops, toys, motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, tickets, etc. and other high value items.
• These scams often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money—this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.
• Common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Netherlands—but could be anywhere.
• Deal often seems too good to be true, price is too low, priced way below market value, etc.

4. Distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:

• This is ALWAYS a scam in our experience—the cashier's check is FAKE.
• Sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not.
• Scammer often asks for your name, address, etc. for printing on the fake check.
• Deal often seems too good to be true.

5. Distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service:

• Most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT and operated by scammers.
• For more info, do a google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud."

6. Distant seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods:

• He says he trusts you with the partial payment.
• He may say he has already shipped the goods.
• He says the item is already crated and sitting on a loading dock ready to be shipped to your location. He just needs payment. This is a scam.
• Deal often sounds too good to be true.

7. Foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers, then wiring funds:

• Foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly.
• You are typically offered a percentage of payments received.
• This kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email.

Personal Safety

The overwhelming majority of Pistonindex users are trustworthy and well-intentioned.
With billions of human interactions facilitated, the incidence of violent crime is extremely low.
Nevertheless, please take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline.
When meeting someone for the first time, please remember to:

• Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe.
• Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home.
• Be especially careful when buying/selling high value items.
• Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
• Take your cell phone along if you have one.
• Consider having a friend accompany you.
• Trust your instincts.
• Get information about the prospective buyer (full name, address, phone number, drivers license number, insurance information) Request these documents before proceeding or allowing any test drive to take place.  Always verify the buyer’s street address, phone number, and driver’s license number to make sure that things coincide with each other proving who they really are. 
• If allowing the potential buyer to go for a solo test drive, request that they leave their keys with you and agree on a set return time.  Be very clear about no joy rides and trust your instincts!

Taking these simple precautions helps make Pistonindex safer for everyone.
For more information about personal safety online, check out these resources:

• http://www.staysafeonline.org/
• http://www.onguardonline.gov/
• http://getsafeonline.org
• http://wiredsafety.org

Please review our avoiding scams page as well.