• 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.

Bad Guy Mike Ruby aka MikeRuby1221

T

taxman123

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I won a auction from Mike for a super pastel ball python male on June 25th. I make payment the next day $145 total that includes shipping. Mike sends my money back and wants me to send it friends and family so he can use the money to ship me the snake. I tell him I'm against that cause I want buyer protection through PayPal. We agree that I will resend the money and wait until it clears for him to ship. I had no problems with that due to hot weather and wanting the snake shipped safely. The money cleared on July 18th he said he was shipping out that Monday. I asked him to ship Tuesday to a fed ex center because of the heat and my schedule. He said no problem and was supposed to ship out July 23. I still haven't heard from him I have sent many messages and still no response. I have opened a PayPal dispute and am waiting to hear from them.
Lonny Mefferd
 
Lonny,

These are the auction details, correct?
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478564

You won the auction for $70.
You paid him $145.00

Auction says "Final price will be bid plus shipping"
So he charged you $75 for shipping?

You state: "Mike sends my money back and wants me to send (Paypal) it friends and family so he can use the money to ship me the snake."

Why did you agree to resend the money when you already told him you didn't want to and plus he already charged you $75 to ship with??

How are you going to dispute with PayPal if it is now money you sent to a "friend" not a business transaction. :ack2:

Sorry to hear this is happening. Couple of lessons learned: 1. Don't go against your common sense. 2. If he takes PayPal, the fee is his, not yours 3. MikeRuby1221 is an unknown on Fauna, no history, no trader rating, no BOI feedback, nothing. Be careful who you do business with in the future.:thumbsup:
 
The final price was $95 plus shipping of $50 I did not agree to send money through friends and family I sent it back as a business transaction.
 
You are correct, I did not see the second page of the auction only the first making it look like $70.

"We agree that I will resend the money and wait until it clears for him to ship."
Sorry, by this alone I assumed you had agreed and resent it under his "friend" terms.

Since you were smart enough to stick with the business transaction and not "friend" I say that PayPal will favor on your side and refund the money since nothing was shipped. You can "call" PayPal and have them bypass the "dispute" phase and make an official "claim". It has been almost 30 days since you sent money and nothing shipped. They should have no issue making it a claim. If for some reason they don't refund your money come back on here and we can try another avenue.

In the meantime, if you feel that you have been scammed, it is okay to include details you know about him: Email, phone number, etc. For example his name according to his profile is not Mike Ruby, it is Mike Rubis.

The more details you provide, the more people on here are able to help out.
 
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