• 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 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.

Including the sold animals in an ad.

The BoidSmith

The BoidSmith

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Every now and then I open an ad just to find the actual animal(s) for sale, plus one or more animals with the label "sold". It seems to me this tactic is used to create a sense of "urgency" in the buyer ("if he is selling that many animals this one will also sell fast...I better hurry up!"). Does anyone have any other interpretation for this? What do you feel about this practice? Personally, it sometimes distract me of the main purpose of the ad or even worse, it has the opposite intended effect.

Best
 
I think there's a purpose for it--if someone was looking at that animal previously, they'll know it's no longer available, rather than wondering where the ad for it went. Also, it shows off some of the animals you were selling--examples of what you might have available in the future. And yes, there's also a sense of urgency created--it's an indicator that the animals you have available ARE selling, so if someone wants one, they shouldn't wait around too long, or they may lose out.

I don't think sold animals should be left up forever, nor should they clutter up an ad. If most of the stuff is sold, remove the 'older' ones so people can see what's left more easily. Anyhow, that's what I do. lol
 
Cluttering an ad! That's exactly how I feel about it.

Best
 
I'll agree that sometimes just going in an popping a -SOLD- next to an animal has its benefits. It can reduce contacts by people that saw the ad but hadn't gotten around to making contact (for some reason, waiting until the ad comes down seems to be a favored technique for some people...maybe they figure you haven't sold it yet, so they can get it for less $$). It can also save the text in case the buyer flakes, the seller doesn't have to rewrite that part of the ad.

I'll agree, though, that the sold animals should not clutter a classified ad for an extended time. (I'm more forgiving of seeing something like that on a website, as the sitebuilder I use sometimes requires a bit of fussing to get things just so after adding/deleting ads. Now that I mention it, its been about two months since I updated my available page...guess I'll have to put that on my To Do list)
 
I usually leave the ad up and listed as "sold" until my buyer takes possession of the animal~ then they can verify that the animal they recieved is in fact the animal I advertised. Once I've shipped the animal and gotten confirmation that the buyer is pleased I delete the ad.
 
I could also see some justification for leaving photos of sold animals in an ad if they are related to animals still for sale, especially in the case of recessive traits and a mixed clutch of visibles and hets. While some pattern and color morphs are absolutes, most of them have some aesthetic element to them that is less so and it makes sense to advertise to potential customers by indicating that an animal is related to an exceptional visual specimin.
 
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