• 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.

Sale Etiquette..please help.

K

Kazoo

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Hello all!
I'm not sure this is the right place to post this, but I'm not really sure where else I would..
I bought a turtle off of an individual and it was supposed to ship Monday overnight. It did not arrive and the person has not returned my emails. I did an online phone # search and locatd the individual's home phone number. My question is..is it acceptable to call this person, even though they themselves did not provide me with their number? I am not quite sure what to do here, because I've never had this problem before, and I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt and assume the individual is having computer troubles, but I am getting worried. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 
It's Thursday, so I think you have valid cause to call his home number. Also, try emailing from an alternate email address if you have one, there might be a computer issue that's keeping emails from getting to your account.

My biggest concern would be that the animal shipped on Monday and is lost somewhere.

How did you pay him? Where did you see the ad? These might all be important factors.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
 
You have every right to call him. One of two things have happened.

1. He did what he said he would do and shipped the animal on Monday.
It's now Thursday. He may think you have received the turtle and have just not contacted him to confirm (this is assuming he is having computer problems - It is also possible that his replies to your emails are being blocked by your computer). A reputable dealer would certainly want to know that he has an animal MIA.

2. He did not do what he said he would do and has not yet shipped the animal or contacted you. Barring the possibility of computer problems, you have every right to be upset and call him out on it.

Either way, the call is justified.

Good luck.
 
ms_terese said:
My biggest concern would be that the animal shipped on Monday and is lost somewhere.

How did you pay him? Where did you see the ad? These might all be important factors.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
Click to expand...


I am reallly hoping the turtle didn't get shipped and is lost somewhere, but I have a bad feeling it didn't get shipped in the first place. I paid via Paypal and was in good communication with the individual up to last Friday when I paid..had a little trouble getting a reply to a few emails but got an apology stating they were busy, and said the turtle would ship out Monday, being that the weekend was upon us. This turtle was purchased off reptibid.
I have tried to call and received an answering machine..I'm a bit leery of leaving a message in the event that there IS something nefarious going on, that they may avoid my calls.
I just wish all dealings were easy. I haven't had any trouble at all up until now. Argh!
 
I am reallly hoping the turtle didn't get shipped and is lost somewhere, but I have a bad feeling it didn't get shipped in the first place. I paid via Paypal and was in good communication with the individual up to last Friday when I paid..had a little trouble getting a reply to a few emails but got an apology stating they were busy, and said the turtle would ship out Monday, being that the weekend was upon us. This turtle was purchased off reptibid.
Click to expand...

In my opinion the faster you can get in touch with him the better. Keep trying the phone, although it seems like a good idea not to leave messages. One final thing, does he have more animals cuurently for sale in Reptibid? If he does you might use the Q&A section to ask him to contact you.

Keep us posted and good luck!
 
Yes, there are a few other auctions in this person's name, but the reason I do tend to at least hope it is computer trouble is that there has been an abrupt halting of this individual answering questions posed about their auctions.
I will continue to try to call. I am very nervous about this..turns out I'm a little spineless in confronting someone.. :bolt01:

Thank you for the help!
 
Kate,

You can be very polite and reply to the Q&A section something along the lines:..."Mr. XXX, please contact me about the shipping of the turtle I recently bought from you, I'm having trouble to go through with my e-mails"...That's perfectly legitimate. Don't even mention that you haven't received the animal yet. If he is checking the auction you can rest assured he will reply to you ASAP as it's in his own interest.

Good luck!
 
I wouldn't hesitate to call him. You can also notify him through paypal. I hope you used paypal as a payment through a credit card so you can get it reversed. I have my account set up to use my bank account or credit card. If it is someone I know I can trust, my money is taken directly from my bank account. If it is someone new, credit card only.
I have been leary of reptibid. I have heard of too many people being ripped off there.
Do a search and see if the person's name might be listed in the BOI. If he is there,that could provide you a clue to whether there is a problem or if you need to file fraud claims.
I agree, leave no messages on the phone. Of course if they have caller ID then they know you have been calling anyway. Try calling from someone else's phone and see what happens, or get someone else to write and act interested in their animals. Then you would definitely know if you were taken advantage of.
Good luck, keep everyone posted.
Candy
 
I would try to call from a pay phone.

You could always get a yahoo email and just say that your interested in something, and see if he responds.
 
Just a quick update..
The phone crusade is not going well. 4 calls, no answer. Did what was suggested with leaving a message under Q&A of seller's other item, and also sent an email from my alternate address in the event that they cannot reach me via the email we had been corresponding through.
I am getting quite concerned. I hate to believe I've been swindled, but I really feel it's beginning to look that way. Thank you again for all your suggestions, and if anyone has any more, please do let me know.
 
Kate,

If you want me to inquire about one of his animals just sent me his information and I'll do it for you.

Regards.
 
Kate,
I think it's time for you to take a more aggressive approach.

I did a little checking on Reptibid and this "Snakegirl23" person appears to be a scammer from the get go. She/he has a total of 9 feedback reviews yielding a net total of -1. Four of these have been within the last five days. It also doesn't appear that she/he ever responds to questions.

I also have to question the shipping methods when someone is offering turtles for $10.00 shipped. What is she doing - putting them in an envelope with a stamp on it. The turtle of unknown species and origin that you purchased is said to be the size of a cantelope, but yet the shipping is only $8.00.

I would report her to Reptibid immediately. They have been taking a much more aggressive approach to fraudulent sellers/bidders lately. If that doesn't elicit some type of response from her, do a charge back on your Paypal.

The bottom line is - I think you've been taken.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.
 
I guess it serves me right. I was in good contact with this person beforehand and felt alright about the transaction. I'd also like to note that when I bought the turtle, there wasnt a -1 feedback. The flux of negative feedback is acutally what led me to believe perhaps there was computer trouble on that end, but I guess it's just wishful thinking on my part.
Also about the shipping, I inquired about that, and was infomred that she was splitting costs between buyer and seller. This seemed about feasible to me because I know of several reputable dealers that charge 20$ for DHL.
Man I feel like a moron. I will be reporting fraud today. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Kate,

I actually sold to snakegirl just a couple of weeks ago. At the time, I had some concerns about whether or not she was going to pay for the animals, because she was bidding on SO many, but she did. However, she did mention that she was going to "try" to send cash via PayPal because someone was buying some of her snakes, but if she didn't have enough, she'd send a money order the next week. She ended up sending PayPal the next day.

I don't believe I have a phone number for her, but I do have a real name and address, and possibly a different email address than what you might have. If you want any of this information, just let me know and I'll get it to you.
 
QUOTE]I would report her to Reptibid immediately.[/QUOTE]

Kate,

It would be wise to follow Mike's advice as regrettably it appears that you have been taken.

Speaking about irony…in checking her ad I noticed she has the music of Pink Floyd “The Wall” as background, remember the lyrics?:

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
Click to expand...

Good luck!
 
Kate,
I think Snakegirl has some explaining to do.

Upon further investigation, it appears that she has been a very active bidder on Reptibid, even since the close of the auction you won. Her excessive bidding doesn't support the theory of her having computer problems.

I think it's time to move this thread to the BOI and make her aware of it. Although given her past history on Reptibid, it's unlikely that she will respond.

At the very least, provide her contact info and we may save someone else from having similar problems. You should also post this information in the Feedback Forum on Reptibid.

Good Luck.
 
Upon further investigation, it appears that she has been a very active bidder on Reptibid, even since the close of the auction you won. Her excessive bidding doesn't support the theory of her having computer problems.
Click to expand...

Well...now she has money with which to bid with ;)

Best regards.
 
Just an update..

I have filed a dispute with paypal, and filed a fraud report with Reptile Auction. I don't think I can post in the BOI on here as I am not a paid member, but I do plan to post on the Reptile Auction Feedback Forum.

Out of curiousity, what would happen if this individual was to email me back saying she did have computer trouble, and did follow through with the sale? Will I be able to retract what I have done so far? I know this is a long shot, but I don't want to be the bringer of some defamatory war..
 
Kate,

If she had problems with her computer she should have tried to contact you by other means asap. This is the age of communication! There are those "thingies" called telephones, they come in different colors and shapes ;) . You did nothing wrong, if at all you were more than patient and handled this very professionally.

Kindly.
 
Very, very poor.

Well. Just an update..

There IS no update. I did place info on the Feeback Forum on ReptileAuction.com. Other than that, no turtle, no email replies, no answering of the phone.

I was just curious..I know it is a longshot, but an individual with the user name "Lectric39" left feedback as the winner of one of snakegirl23's auctions on ReptileAuction; I was interested in contacting this individual to ask a few questions. If anyone happens to know who that is, and is at liberty to tell me, please let me know.
Thanks again for all the help, and I will try to post any updates!
 
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