Original Message:
One less volunteer... (by KC):
Congratulations! It's always truly gratifying to learn of someone NOT being "taken in" by such parasites.
You are undoubtedly correct that kc165 was an (entirely unconvincing) shill for The Villa Trader. You are equally correct that placement of a dinky little ad on an obscure web site, however lame or ineffectual that particular advertising may be, is still legally sufficient to fulfill the parasites' end of the "advertising and marketing" contract. On the subject of contracts, contrary to popular (but entirely incorrect) belief, there does NOT need to be anything in writing for there to be a valid contract. Verbal contracts are executed all the time.
I am delighted for you. I can only hope that others in the future will exercise similar good judgement and "just say NO" to these types of upfront fee parasites. Hopefully, the day will come when federal legislation curtails their deceptive practices and drives them all out of business. Until that day comes (and it's not here yet), it will take informed and wary consumers making wise decisions on an individual basis to just stop volunteering to line the pockets of these assorted "upfront fee" parasites.