Regarding rules against selling of merits - that rule is specific to merit sources, so there may be a need to consider that non-merit source members don't have that same explicit rule in regards to their merits. There is at least that distinction that has specifically been in place for merit sources since the start of the merit system in January 2018.
Imo, there should be no difference in penalties between source and non-source merit when they get caught selling merit. This may be the same as punishment for those caught doing plagiarism on purpose regardless of how long they have been here (new members or old members). JayJuanGee, I really never knew there was a specific rule about it because I just knew selling merit was something that was forbidden to everyone regardless of whether they sourced or non-sourced.