• IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! This concerns the future of this site.

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    Posted 07/14/2025
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    Putting this at the top so it will more likely be read rather than skipped over.

    If you read below, you will see that I disabled the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025 in the hopes that I could get you all to donate AT LEAST $25 per day to make up the shortfall such an action would entail to financially support this site. I just got finished checking the stats through PayPal of the previous 6 months, and I plainly see that this did not happen. Yes, some people donated more that the bottom level Contributor Membership, but equally plain is that most people don't give a crap as long as they get a place to advertise their animals and merchandise for free. Well excuse me. I asked for help and apparently that fell on a lot of deaf and uncaring ears. Do you feel it unfair of me to want to make some money from this site, just as YOU are apparently wishing to do? I sure do hope that concept doesn't shock and offend you. But it is what it is. As such I will be reinstating that Google Adsense Ads as soon as I get around to it .

    Burdensome are they? Well, I don't like them either, but I gave you the opportunity to show me they weren't needed to keep this site financially solvent. You blew it. Don't like the ads and want to go elsewhere? Sorry about that. Bye bye. Good luck to you. You left me no choice if this site is going to remain alive. It is either that or I just pull the plug on this site and you all will HAVE to go elsewhere. Yes, I know some people will be overjoyed by such a move, and personally I really don't care about that. I have done my part as best I can. I really don't need to be doing this AT ALL.

    And please, don't come to me asking me to donate this site to you. Screw that. I didn't go through all the headaches running this site for decades to just GIVE it to someone. I would just as soon see it become just a footnote in the history books.

    Do I sound angry? Sorry if I come across this way. In reality, I am just VERY disappointed in the whole herp industry in how they treated this site. Snubbed it, really. Oh well. I guess it was my fault for expecting (hoping?) for more out of people.

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    Posted 12/19/2024.
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    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 of 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.

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    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.

Bad news re: shipping companies

ChaosCat

ChaosCat

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Now all of a sudden, DHL refuses to ship reptiles for me. Like its my fault someone working for them screwed up the last shipment.

I was going to give them another chance, and went to bring a well packaged snake by today (same as the last one) and was told they would not accept it.

Went to Fedex. They won't accept it.

UPS obviously will not accept it.

So ends my shipping days, I guess. I doubt anyone is going to pay Delta's high charge for a $15 snake.

Unfortunately, I am getting the runaround with DHL. I keep being given bad numbers to reach corporate at.
 
UPS obviously will not accept it.
Click to expand...

Why not??? I ship UPS at least twice a week, never had a problem. I've shipped Fed-Ex as well, also with zero resistance.

All of my shipments are marker Live Perishable - Live Harmless Reptile, etc...
 
Neither my local UPS or Fedex will accept live animal shipments. Period.

They won't even give me reasons why.
 
Have you tried going around your local office and getting certified to ship the snakes and then go back to the local office with your "waiver of liability for repilte and amphibian domestic shipments" in hand? Local little botique(SP?) like mail box place about has an attack everytime I come in with a box~ they'd love to tell me "No"~ but I have my waiver~ I pack my box and print my shipping label at home~ I just go into their store 5 min before the last Fed-Ex pickup and make sure the Fed-Ex man takes my box. ~And I make sure I have my copy of my waiver in hand in case one of them wants to know "Thats not REALLY a box full of live snakes is it?!?!?"
 
Yep, tried that. Unfortunately, DHL's policies seemed to have changed within the last week.

I'm pretty angry about it. I'm also writing a letter to their corporate office (like it will do any good.)

DHL had said it was ok for me to ship snakes a week ago, and I'm not sure why it changed so quickly.
 
DHL actually began cracking down as soon as they merged with Airborne. Your local office is probably just now getting the information.
Many long time Airborne users, including some whose shipping fees reached the tens of thousands of dollars annually have been told by DHL that their business is no longer welcome.

You'll are likely have trouble anytime you take a box to the desk. One remedy is to just open your own account and schedule pickups at home. I do this with FedEx and never have a problem.
Another option is to use a drop shipper. Many businesses offer this service and you can search for the nearest one from the company website. The benefit is it is not staffed by company employees, it's just a regular business that offers shipping services. Radio Shack used to offer it here.
The closest official outlet for any of the major carriers is an hour away from me, and we only have one drop location in the next town, a gift wrapping shop.
 
I find it really annoying that DHL/Airborne called me a month ago, asking to be my reptile shipper, and then they pull this garbage.

I told them over the phone that they will be losing a lot of money by dropping me and anyone else. I'm going to write them a letter, I hope others do the same.
 
We dropped DHL as a shipper and closed our account with them several months ago, after having major issues with them. Too many late packages, too many mishandles, too many rough handles, etc. Oh, and no refunds. Even if promised.

We now use Fedex exclusively, printing our own shipping labels and dropping our packages off at a shipping center.

Now that Aimee is staying home permanently, we'll probably just schedule Fedex pick-ups.

The ONLY way DHL gets any of my business is if we buy an animal from someone who insists to ship through them. And even then - I plan for the worst.

Mark
 
Same thing going on here.
I was able to ship live snakes thru Airborne. Hell, they used to send me vouchers for free shipments because of how many were going out the door.
Now that DHL has taken over, they no longer want to ship items for me.
I used to be able to label the box with exactly what was in it and never had a package turned away. Now with DHL, they won't take them anymore.
There is only 1 driver who will take a package for me. The drop off center or the other drivers turn me away.
 
Its really frustrating to be told one week I can ship, and now they won't take ANYTHING, be it animal or non animal from me.

Is there any way to get some sort of petition going? I've never heard of someone shipping DHL/Airborne and having a snake get loose or anything like that, and they still ship tortoises and frogs. I think someone in power just doesn't like snakes.
 
and they still ship tortoises and frogs.
Click to expand...

Really. Now I was told the change in policy meant NO live animal shipments at all.

The way UPS, Fed-Ex, and DHL operate, I am beginning to think I should just stop shipping altogether and just sell locally and start vending at shows.
 
ChaosCat said:
Its really frustrating to be told one week I can ship, and now they won't take ANYTHING, be it animal or non animal from me.

Is there any way to get some sort of petition going? I've never heard of someone shipping DHL/Airborne and having a snake get loose or anything like that, and they still ship tortoises and frogs. I think someone in power just doesn't like snakes.
Click to expand...

Christian Reynolds had a petition going a while ago. The response was rather underwhelming, so that is now a dead issue, I guess.
 
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