Welcome to AM.....all of you new guys
I am just a member like you but I have been around for over a decade.....
Besides the yearly base membership $15 fee that lets you use the site there are also supporter options.....about 5 or 6 levels as I recall. Each level of supporter which ads functionalities such as getting ads by instant email for categories you are interested in and for different time periods.....1 month, 3 months, 6 months etc.....each will colorize/highlight your own ad headers a specific color depending on the support level you chose to donate. The ads you see that have different colors merely indicate the seller is also a supporter at some level.
You guys would benefit from just clicking on stuff to see what it does or shows.
If an ad is not marked sold then normally it should be available still.....by default you do not see ads that have been marked as sold by the seller. When viewing ads in a specific category if you want to see sold ads as well look at the header of the page and you will see " Include Sold/Found Items: Y N" chose the YES and click the GO button and the ad listings will show sold items as well with a GREEN sold flag on them.
Note also: if you post an ad it will show in the listings when viewing the category you posted it in for a certain time period but keeps moving down as new ads are posted.....when that time period is reached it is not removed and is still there and active. You control the age of the ads that you can see yourself.....that function is also in the header like the sold vs not sold....You can also set a permanent default on how old the ads are you are shown on your Account page.
Hope this was helpful......
20" MidnighTelescopes f/5
8" f/16 Muffoletto Achro
Meade 6" AR6 f/8.0 Achro
Celestron C11
Parallax PI250 10" F/5 Newt
Vixen FL102S,NA140SS,R200SS
80mm Stellarvue Nighthawk with WO APOupgrade lens, 90mm f/16.67 Parallax Achro
LXD75/LX200, Mini-tower, GP-DX, CG5 ASGT, LXD650, GM-8, G11, GM-100, GM-150EX, GM-200 and a Gemini G40
4" portable AP convertable 44" or 70" pier
Stellarvue M7 Alt-Az, TSL7 Pier/Tripod
12.5" f/5 MidnighTelescopes DOB Swayze optics
Monroe GA