• 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.

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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.
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    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 Sellers Beware of John Franco!

Unlike a few people here, im not a person that believes a sellers time is free. the seller held the gecko for this person regardless of what it was, and therefor lost sales or at least opportunities to sell. While the 150 may be too much to keep, a portion most certainly should be kept. If one goes against their own TOS in times like these whats to stop people from saying 'well u gave him a full refund so why not me?'. IMO the seller should be compensated for her time. However much her time is worth is not for me to decide.
 
This has been a fascinating, if frustrating, thread to read.

One has to wonder- or, at least, I have to- if this so-called "miscommunication" was in fact an accident. Could it be that the moment the buyer was snagged, the seller ran with the perception the gecko was female in hopes of completing the sale before the buyer caught on it was only a "poss female?" I can't fathom any other reason to NEVER clarify with the buyer once interest was noted.

I worked for Petsmart for two years, at Pets at Home in England for two years when I lived there. Never, EVER did I claim sex certainty on a pet someone was interested in if I was not absolutely, 100% confident. This isn't a rabbit or a guinea pig where you can visually sex them without specialized equipment. This is a animal with no external genitalia that requires a loup or magnifying glass, and even then, mistakes can be easily made.

I was asked once by my boss to sex a veil cham. She wanted 100% certainty for the customer, which I refused to give. I explained it is probably male due to XYZ physical traits, but that I could not guarantee, full stop, end of, because it was still quite young. My customer appreciated my honesty more than my boss did (imagine that) but accepted my words and took the animal with the knowledge I could be wrong. She remained satisfied with the purchase, so I believe I correctly sexed it, but no, I am not banking my name, my knowledge, and the respect I worked to build by going "yup, definitely a male" when there was no definite involved.

It makes me wonder about the integrity of this person who will so easily go from "poss female" to speaking to a customer in definite terms and never, not once, make sure they understand you believe it is probably, but not confirmed, female.

Did you simply see nothing but dollar signs at the first inquiry? You admitted YOURSELF! that you made a mistake! It's here in writing in this very thread, and yet you sit back and cry about your TOS and your hands being tied. Baloney! You're the boss, are you not?! You have the power to rectify this situation, make John whole, and walk away with a modicum of respect. You choosing not to do so seems nothing but spiteful.

This thread has been bothering me for days, so I'm adding my name to the list who believe the wrong came from you, and it is your duty to make it a right. Return every last penny to this man.
 
guruza said:
Unlike a few people here, im not a person that believes a sellers time is free. the seller held the gecko for this person regardless of what it was, and therefor lost sales or at least opportunities to sell. While the 150 may be too much to keep, a portion most certainly should be kept. If one goes against their own TOS in times like these whats to stop people from saying 'well u gave him a full refund so why not me?'. IMO the seller should be compensated for her time. However much her time is worth is not for me to decide.
Click to expand...

The difference being the specific extenuating circumstances. Would I refund someone a day after their guarantee expired? Yes, absolutely. A week? Likely not, in general, though there was a time at work we were contacted about a sick pig a couple days after our guarantee, but the animal couldn't be brought to us for a few days even after. You can bet your butt I convinced my managers to take the pig in, vet it, and get it back to the original owner.

You don't just throw your hands up in the air and go "okay, no more TOS!" But you do look at each case by itself and make a decision whether or not that an exception to typical protocol be made.

The seller misled the buyer. That's a hefty exception, in my opinion.
 
Everything about the gecko was in the original ad, and her tos were clearly stated. Either the buyer didnt actually read the ad, or he simply got buyers remorse. neither of which anyone here but the buyer can prove. The buyer also failed to read the sellers TOS, that or he simply didnt care about the TOS. Was calling the gecko a she a little misleading? maybe. But i refer to all my geckos by the pronoun i believe them to be. The seller did clarify it was not a guaranteed she and thats when the buyer called off the deal. Just as every case isnt black and white, neither is this case you guys have against the buyer. Its no ones call but her own when someone violates her TOS. She clearly had rules set up in advance explaining how she was comfortable doing business and to disregard that is foolish.
 
A "little" misleading? :rolleyes: The first time the buyer asked about the "female" gecko, anyone with integrity, in my opinion, would have immediately made it clear it was only a suspected female.

Hiding behind TOS and "nothing I can do about it" is horsepucky.
 
guruza said:
Just as every case isnt black and white, neither is this case you guys have against the buyer. Its no ones call but her own when someone violates her TOS.
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I think having a clear TOS is essential, but just the other day I was writing in another thread an opinion that agrees with you, Sam, as far as saying that it is the call of the writer of the TOS whether to stand firm on the particulars of the TOS, or waive them.

I agree with you also that every case isn't black and white. And because that is so, readers may offer their perspective, and they are doing so.

I agree with many of the readers that standing firm on the TOS in this instance amounts to hiding behind it, with unjust and arguably fraudulent results.
Just as it is the seller's call on what to do with the TOS, it is our call on how we feel about what the seller does, and whether we would want to do business with that seller after something like this occurred; because it might occur with future buyers as well.
 
guruza said:
Everything about the gecko was in the original ad, and her tos were clearly stated. Either the buyer didnt actually read the ad, or he simply got buyers remorse. neither of which anyone here but the buyer can prove. The buyer also failed to read the sellers TOS, that or he simply didnt care about the TOS. Was calling the gecko a she a little misleading? maybe. But i refer to all my geckos by the pronoun i believe them to be. The seller did clarify it was not a guaranteed she and thats when the buyer called off the deal. Just as every case isnt black and white, neither is this case you guys have against the buyer. Its no ones call but her own when someone violates her TOS. She clearly had rules set up in advance explaining how she was comfortable doing business and to disregard that is foolish.
Click to expand...
Screenshot (110).jpgHere's a screenshot of the original ad clearly saying this gecko was female.
 
That doesnt appear to be an ad to me. Just a pic of a gecko. The actual ad said it was poss female. That little portion is enough in my opinion to be certain that she was clear about its gender. And while she cant guarantee its a female yet, her price clearly shows that its not guaranteed. If it was it would sell for much more. And as for it being your call on how to react to this post, I do not disagree. Just posting my own opinion of this post. The fact is, the gecko was labeled as poss female. Had the seller read that before sending any funds, none of this would've happened. Or maybe it really is a case of buyers remorse in which case it wouldnt have mattered at all even if she said it wasnt guaranteed a thousand times. A few of you seem to be of the opinion that it wasnt buyers remorse even though the buyer hasnt come here yet.
 
guruza said:
Everything about the gecko was in the original ad, and her tos were clearly stated. Either the buyer didnt actually read the ad, or he simply got buyers remorse. neither of which anyone here but the buyer can prove. The buyer also failed to read the sellers TOS, that or he simply didnt care about the TOS. Was calling the gecko a she a little misleading? maybe. But i refer to all my geckos by the pronoun i believe them to be. The seller did clarify it was not a guaranteed she and thats when the buyer called off the deal. Just as every case isnt black and white, neither is this case you guys have against the buyer. Its no ones call but her own when someone violates her TOS. She clearly had rules set up in advance explaining how she was comfortable doing business and to disregard that is foolish.
Click to expand...
If the seller had been willing to 100% guarantee that this critter was female and the payment plan encompassed several weeks then you would have a point. This took place over a period of five days and was terminated by the buyer because the seller's ad was unclear; in fact, the seller continues to mislead potential buyers based on the above screen shots.

I keep snakes, not lizards, but if it's so well known among people who keep geckos that one that small can't be accurately sexed, then as a seller why even assign it a sex, other than females are typically higher priced than males? Why would other people in the hobby not call out a seller on the misrepresentation? If I posted an ad for a female desert ball python as "a potential addition to your breeding program" I'd be crucified for the "oops".
 
Personally, my opinion is that the 150$ she kept was too much. Half of that would've been more than enough and would've allowed her to simply bend her TOS instead of just breaking them. Im personally never going to consider selling to this buyer as hes made it clear that he not only wont bother to fully read ads before buying, he wont follow the TOS either.
 
guruza said:
That doesnt appear to be an ad to me. Just a pic of a gecko. The actual ad said it was poss female. That little portion is enough in my opinion to be certain that she was clear about its gender. And while she cant guarantee its a female yet, her price clearly shows that its not guaranteed. If it was it would sell for much more. And as for it being your call on how to react to this post, I do not disagree. Just posting my own opinion of this post. The fact is, the gecko was labeled as poss female. Had the seller read that before sending any funds, none of this would've happened. Or maybe it really is a case of buyers remorse in which case it wouldnt have mattered at all even if she said it wasnt guaranteed a thousand times. A few of you seem to be of the opinion that it wasnt buyers remorse even though the buyer hasnt come here yet.
Click to expand...
How about we call it an extension of the original ad. She's putting it in the minds of potential buyers that this particular animal is female.
 
She assigned it a sex because that's what she personally believed it to be. She made it clear that it was not 100% certain it was a female just that it was quite probable that it was a female. But since she wasn't willing to bet it all on the possibility, the price was for that of an unsexed gecko.
 
You can call it whatever you want but the problem is it wasn't attached to the ad. A buyer wouldn't even be able to say for 100% certain it was the same animal.
 
It was not stated only once, it was stated in every actual ad for the gecko. Every picture of the gecko that was attached to the price had it as poss female. The buyer made the decision not to read the actual ad more carefully. Anyone whose willing to spend that kind of money on a gecko better read the whole ad because if you back out, then the seller is the only one who loses out if they break their own TOS. The buyer is the one that made the original mistake and therefor should suffer the consequences of the sellers TOS.
 
guruza said:
Unlike a few people here, im not a person that believes a sellers time is free. the seller held the gecko for this person regardless of what it was, and therefor lost sales or at least opportunities to sell. While the 150 may be too much to keep, a portion most certainly should be kept. If one goes against their own TOS in times like these whats to stop people from saying 'well u gave him a full refund so why not me?'. IMO the seller should be compensated for her time. However much her time is worth is not for me to decide.
Click to expand...


I'll address this, before I finish reading the remaining comments.

6 days had passed. I've wasted more time than that and got no sale from it. 6 days, is not enough time IMO to keep any of the deposit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It may not be enough time for you but this seller obviously has a higher value on her time. Time is money after all and this buyer attempted to not pay for the sellers time. Who knows how many offers she turned down thinking it was a sold gecko.
 
guruza said:
That doesnt appear to be an ad to me. Just a pic of a gecko. The actual ad said it was poss female. That little portion is enough in my opinion to be certain that she was clear about its gender. And while she cant guarantee its a female yet, her price clearly shows that its not guaranteed. If it was it would sell for much more. And as for it being your call on how to react to this post, I do not disagree. Just posting my own opinion of this post. The fact is, the gecko was labeled as poss female. Had the seller read that before sending any funds, none of this would've happened. Or maybe it really is a case of buyers remorse in which case it wouldnt have mattered at all even if she said it wasnt guaranteed a thousand times. A few of you seem to be of the opinion that it wasnt buyers remorse even though the buyer hasnt come here yet.
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In negotiations I find it is better to take the case you are trying to make and apply it to another case.


For example.

An ad that states, 1980's jeep. Poss running.

When you call the owner states, yes it is running, it is running perfectly. Does need some minor work, but yes, it is running. You put a deposit down on a running jeep.

Then later states, well it could run, I guess.

Does it sound like it is running or not? Should you get your money back?

Example 2.

Your girlfriend/wife/friend announces that she is poss pregnant. When you ask her about it later is says she is pregnant. You run around getting stuff for the new baby only to find a week later that she is not pregnant at all. Do you still keep the stuff? D
























o you return it?


Example 3.

You are setting up a lunch party for your company. You call the cater stating that you have a coupon for lunch. The coupon states that it is a cold lunch. You ask if there is a possibility that soup or something warm could be served during the meal. They say yea, no problem. They then give you a list of what they can bring to the meal that is served warm. The day of the service you call to make sure they are on time and going to be there. They verify that they are bring cold food. You ask about warm food and they say well maybe. They show up with no warm food.

Who is to blame for this?

I know all the examples are pretty extreme. But that is the problem. This is a pretty extreme case. When you are told it is one thing that does not match up with down the road, it becomes very confusing for both sides.

I get the problem with this case. Ms. Peterson thought it was (99.99%) Female. Mr. Franco listen to the seller on what sex she thought it would be.

But when he pushed for the .01% chance to be fixed, she bulked. Mr Franco then walked away.

Honestly, this was just a case where both sides screwed up soo badly that no one is at fault here. Fault is the problem with terms of service. They only apply if you are willing to be honest and do best effort about the service.

I don't think Ms. Peterson did her best effort and was completely honest about the gecko until she got the money.

I think the buyer was looking for a bargain, got ahead of his self and did not do his best effort or was completely honest either.

This thread shows that other breeders, many that have been in the same spot as Ms. Peterson, do not believe that she was 100% honest and did best effort here. There for TOS does not apply and money needs to be returned.
 
Don't you love when you are editing a post and a ferret runs across the keyboard posting it forever?
 
I wont even entertain the idea of the item being misrepresented as anyone who actually read the ad would have known it wasnt guaranteed female. If you believe a buyer should be allowed to waste a persons valuable time because he didnt bother to actually read the ad then have at it. But the buyer most certainly is not in the clear for this and shouldnt be the only person not losing anything in this deal.
 
guruza said:
It may not be enough time for you but this seller obviously has a higher value on her time. Time is money after all and this buyer attempted to not pay for the sellers time. Who knows how many offers she turned down thinking it was a sold gecko.
Click to expand...
According to her ad/post whatever, she seems surprised that it hasn't sold yet. Makes me think she wasn't getting much interest.
 
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