• 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.

Info My Experience with Color Creations (Holland Incitti)

Will0W783

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I made this deal about two months ago, and should have posted sooner, but it kept slipping my mind. Honestly, I cannot in good conscience consider him a Good Guy or a Bad Guy, as I did get my animals and they are still thriving, but the shipping conditions were deplorable and I will not be doing business with him again.
First of all, in late May I ordered a pair of Jackson's chameleons (supposedly with a gravid female, as I figured I could raise the babies and sell them). I did not at the time know anything about Color Creations and I didn't think to search here on the BOI for them. I asked if he could hold my pair for a week until I got back from vacation, but I paid for them up front. I got back from vacation and asked that they be shipped. I asked what method he used and what the guaranteed arrival time was. He told me he just shipped regular USPS mail overnight and that they would come whenever my mail came. I wasn't happy about this and said I'd much prefer they be shipped with Fedex for guaranteed by 8 or 10am so they would have less time in transit with the female being pregnant, and I would cover the difference in cost. He refused. At this point I became concerned and looked on the BOI and found a lot of Bad Guy threads about him. I was, needless to say, very nervous, but couldn't cancel the deal, as I'd already paid for the animals. The shipping date came and went and no chams. I sent another few emails and waited yet another week. Finally I threatened to file a Paypal dispute and post a Bad Guy thread here and he finally responded that he was out of town with a family emergency but would ship them that week. Again, they didn't come when they were supposed to. I was livid and sent another email asking what was going on and saying if I did not get them the next week, no matter what the excuse, I would be filing a Paypal dispute to protect myself. He emailed me saying he'd gotten home later than expected but would have them out the following week. They did come that week, and were both alive, but the female was quite skinny for a supposedly gravid animal. They were packed in a plain cardboard box with "Live Animals" scrawled on it in faint pen. There was no insulation, heat/cool packs, or padding. Each animal was in a stapled paper bag just tossed in the box. I was livid when I saw how the poor creatures had been shipped. I emailed him back saying they'd arrived but that it was not a good way to ship and that the female looked awfully skinny for a gravid animal- did he know when she was due? I never got a reply. The chameleons are still alive and doing quite well. I have no doubt that they were farmed or wild caught, so I am thrilled they are doing well for me, but due to his deplorable shipping methods and lack of communication, I would not do business with him again, nor would I recommend him to anyone. I do have all the emails with him if anyone is interested, but didn't know if they were necessary here since I'm not really calling him out as a Bad Guy, I just wanted to make my experience known.
~Kimberly Urban
 
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