• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Inquiry Accused of scamming. Timothy Jewell

shoregeckos

shoregeckos

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Hello everyone. I recently had a transaction that I was unable to follow through with for reasons I'd not like discussed publicly. The other person involved is Carol Donaruma. I don't know what she goes by on here. Carol paid me $377 and when I was unable to follow through I called her explained the situation and refunded 270 of the 377 and told her that I would pay her the remaining 107 as soon as possible. I told her it would likely be within one week. Well tonight She texts me saying that I'm trying to run a scam and that she will log a complaint with PayPal and open a boi on here. While I can surely understand her frustration I thought I was completely transparent and honest with her. And what kind of scammer sends money back!?!? I'm just taken aback being called a scammer and want this to not be a thing that harms my reputation in this hobby. If I am a scammer I'm the worst one ever lol.
 
Why is Timothy Jewell the name in the title if you are Amanda Jones and the other party is Carol Donaruma?
 
Not sure what went on here, but just like to say I have dealt with Tim (Shore Geckos) on many occasions in the past few years. He bought geckos from me each time. He was always honest, and paid total amounts with no problems. A good guy, if he said he would pay her the balance there's no doubt in my mind he will, asap.
 
First of all, Tim should not be posting under his wife's account.
Second of all, if his buyer is opening a Paypal dispute, it takes time to process. All he has to do is pay what he owes and the dispute will be closed.
 
Lucille said:
First of all, Tim should not be posting under his wife's account.
Second of all, if his buyer is opening a Paypal dispute, it takes time to process. All he has to do is pay what he owes and the dispute will be closed.
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Correct.
First and most important regarding the forum rules is that each post on the BOI must be made under your own name. If you don't have a user account under your own name please register one to continue posting. Thanks in advance.

When that is done I have a few questions.
Hello everyone. I recently had a transaction that I was unable to follow through with for reasons I'd not like discussed publicly. The other person involved is Carol Donaruma. I don't know what she goes by on here. Carol paid me $377 and when I was unable to follow through I called her explained the situation and refunded 270 of the 377 and told her that I would pay her the remaining 107 as soon as possible. I told her it would likely be within one week. Well tonight She texts me saying that I'm trying to run a scam and that she will log a complaint with PayPal and open a boi on here. While I can surely understand her frustration I thought I was completely transparent and honest with her. And what kind of scammer sends money back!?!? I'm just taken aback being called a scammer and want this to not be a thing that harms my reputation in this hobby. If I am a scammer I'm the worst one ever lol.
Click to expand...

I understand problems occur and from what you typed a issue happened that wouldn't allow you to complete a transaction. Also, for some reason all the funds sent from the buyer for the purchase was no longer available in your PayPal account. I don't know if that's part of the issue you don't want to speak about publicly.

How long ago did the buyer make the purchase? How long has she been waiting for a refund?
 
Some food for the thoughts if someone pays X amount of dollars than X amount of dollars should be refunded immediately if unable to complete the transaction.

Any payment received should not be transferred or spent until full satisfaction on the customer's side.

This might not make you a scammer but it's poor business practice IMO.
 
I have also dealt with Tim on multiple occasions. He is definitely not one to scam, but is a stellar example of what many people in the hobby should strive to be.

Is it sub-par practice to withdraw funds prior to transaction completion? Yes, but we *all* fall on hard times, and sometimes it is necessary. Is it something that should be done repeatedly, no. But should someone be placed at the stake for having to do it once? Not at all.

Not only does Tim price his animals well below market averages, but he also goes out of his way to provide excellent customer service. He has even driven 2.5 hours to hand deliver animals on more than one occasion.
 
GeckoLabs said:
But should someone be placed at the stake for having to do it once? Not at all.
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HE is the one that created this BOI thread, falling on the stake himself. Had the rest of the money been refunded and perhaps a gift critter sent for her trouble, perhaps nothing would have come of this.
As far as we know, she has not done anything official, and as I said previously, Paypal is a process and if he is saying it would have been paid in a week, the escalation process would not even have been completed by then, leaving him with a clear Paypal record.
BTW if he has such good friends in the industry, it would have made far less publicity to simply borrow a hundred bucks and refund his customer.
 
What is the time frame of this incident? When did she send funds? When were you supposed to ship? When did you refund the $277?
 
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