• 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.

The proper way to Ship? (and other questions)

blackandblue_lulu

blackandblue_lulu

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Hello Everyone!

As I am new to the website, and most looking in this forum are, I wanted to post a thread about how things should go when trading and purchasing reptiles through fauna.

The questions are:

How do I know I am making a fair deal?

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?




Thank you all for your participation and help! I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong or I don't look like an idiot when dealing these animals.

Mariah:thumbsup:
 
I know the heading says anything that comes to mind, but I think your questions would get better response if you posted them in the General Business forum.
 
How do I know I am making a fair deal?
You don't. All you can do is familiarize yourself with current pricing, and consider the value of a particular animal to you. You will soon see that advertised pricing is all over the place....and actual selling prices are even harder to figure. Some sellers readily take low offers, others don't. By the same token, some buyers routinely throw out offers starting at 40-50% of the asking price; and some would never think of doing so. "Lowballers" aren't widely appreciated; but, if they didn't sometimes score, they'd stop playing that game. It's all a matter of perspective - personally, a lowball offer isn't a starting place...it is an insult, and a fast end to negotiation.

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)
What is best for the seller is not the same as what is best for the buyer. As a buyer, you get the most protection when using a credit card. As a seller, the safest option is one that puts real money in your hand ASAP...and doesn't offer an easy way for it to be taken.

(I'll be back to finish when I can)
How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?




Thank you all for your participation and help! I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong or I don't look like an idiot when dealing these animals.

Mariah:thumbsup:[/QUOTE]
 
How do I know I am making a fair deal?

If you're worried about good or bad buyers and sellers, the Board of Inquiry here is a great tool. Search for someone's name or their business name. If they've been around a while, chances are they've been mentioned at least once in the BOI.

Harold summarized transactions quite nicely. If you're looking for reasonable market prices, it's up to you to do the research to figure out how much an animal is worth to know if you're getting a good deal or not.

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

A lot of us use PayPal because it's quick and easy, but there are disadvantages as well. I've never had problems with buyers filing Paypal disputes on me, but there are others on here who have. Money orders work fine, provided you're willing to wait a week or so for them to arrive. I would avoid checks altogether, or at least wait until the check clears before you send anything in the mail.

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Reptilesexpress.com and ShipYourReptiles.com both have excellent how-to's on their websites. They also sell the necessary materials to safely ship reptiles, and provide discounted FedEx rates for those of us who don't have FedEx certifications.

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?
YES. YES. YES. Always email the day before you ship to make sure they can still accept the animal. Always insist they tell you if the animal arrived okay the instant it arrives (or shortly thereafter). I always worry when animals are in shipping, so it's a big relief when I get an email from a buyer saying that the animal arrived okay. It's common courtesy to email the seller too (if you're the buyer) once you've safely received an animal. If anything goes wrong, then you're in the habit of immediately contacting people so issues can be resolved.
 
Short answer: What Vanessa said. ;)

How do I know I am making a fair deal?
Harald described it well with comparing prices and using your own judgement. There's a lot of factors to consider. Even between the same morph, an animal may express higher quality and command a higher price. Depending on the project, certain sexes will cost more. Animals that are older/larger than fresh hatchlings will have more work put into them and be priced higher. When it comes to something new, if it produces quicker - easy to breed, large clutches, or some sort of dominant morph - then the price will likely come down quicker. Also a big name in the business can generally get away asking more and a new hobby breeder may ask less to get by since they don't have a reputation attracting people.
Of course it's never exact, I'd do as much research as possible first~

Every seller has different feelings when it comes to offers. Some are just looking to unload animals or need cash quick, they might say OBO/Or Best Offer after their price to let you know they're open to it. Others don't mind hanging onto their animals and may say "firm" after it.
Personally I'm not one for making offers. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I usually consider most prices to be fair. If I think the seller is way out there with what he's asking, then that'll probably make my mind up for me by killing my interest. :p Everyone has their own idea of what constitues an insulting "lowball" offer, but just try to put yourself in their shoes. I'm of the personal opinion that it should never be more than 20% off what they're asking, but that's just me~

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

Paypal seems to be the most popular. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe it has limited protection when it comes to live animal purchases as a buyer. Like if you aren't happy with it's health, I think that so long as the seller provides a tracking number proving you got it, they're in the clear. But if you paypal it through a card, you can usually try a chargeback through your bank. On the seller's side, a buyer could hypothetically do that for an unjust reason and get away with the animal and the money.
I haven't had any issues with it either, I've just seen cases of folks who have and thought I'd throw that out for you. Also, they'll subtract a 3% fee.

As a seller, I really like USPS money orders, but I have to admit that it doesn't offer much protection to the buyer. Also if you're doing a local deal and it's in cash, I probably wouldn't see anything wrong with it, but I wouldn't accept a check personally.
I guess you can use your own judgement on those, but I will say that if payment's going through snail mail, I'd make sure it's sent quicker than standard and that it has a tracking number. This way the buyer has a bit of protection in proving that the seller received it and nobody has to worry about it getting lost~

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

When it arrives to you, the temperature-controlled box should hopefully be undamaged and the animal packed securely inside. A more fragile animal will probably be sealed in a ventilated deli cup and a larger probably in a cloth bag, there should be some sort of packing material (like crumpled up newspaper) to stop them from bouncing around too much and the box itself should be properly labeled and well insulated with foam. If the weather's warm, then cold packs should be used. Too warm, and animals shouldn't be shipped at all! Or if it's real cold, then heat packs.

I agree that ShipYourReptiles is great for this sort of thing, here's a link to their FAQ~ http://www.shipyourreptiles.com/en/get_help

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?

Always! :thumbsup: Not only do most sellers state in their TOS that you only have so many hours afterwards to contact them if there's a problem, but it's also just common courtesy to let them know. Many will request you do it regardless to make sure, it can be pretty nerveracking having a live animal shipped.
As a seller, I'll be relieved. As a buyer, I'd usually consider the safe arrival of an apparently good animal the premature "end" of a deal and take the time in my response to sum up my thanks for everything~ :D

Best of luck to you~
 
Well, I came back and completed my post before there were any more responses...but my :censored: phone ate it. Most of it has already been said, so I'm not going to retype it.
There isn't really a "temperature-controlled box", though some of the new generation packs claim to do a pretty good job of keeping consistent temps. I haven't tried them, but I've seen some favorable posts. (sorry - I don't remember the name of them right now...too cranky to focus on it.) I'm pretty sure that Autumn was referring to insulated boxes, which are considered standard; regardless of whether the pre made kits are used. Some people consider DIY boxes unacceptable; but if they're done right, they're as good as, if not better than, the pre made kits. I usually buy my own boxes, and use insulation board that I cut myself - it has a higher R value than regular styrofoam, it's easier to make clean cuts, and is nowhere near as messy for the average person. The ready to use kits (pre-cut styrofoam panels + box) are convenient, though; and, if I plan to be doing a lot of shipping in a hopefully short amount of time, I'll sometimes buy them - especially for use from May-Sept when the temps are mild.
Reusing boxes is a matter of personal preference. To an extent, it depends on the condition of the box: if it is damaged, stained, or has obviously been reused multiple times - definitely use a new one.
 
Whoops! Sorry about your phone, I know that feeling...:ack2: Yeah, by "temperature controlled" I was just trying to refer to insulated boxes with hot/cold packs as needed. Didn't mean to make it sound fancier. :p

And since you brought up a good point, I'd like to add that I'm in agreement on DIY boxes. I don't see any problem with them so long as they're done right. Also, while I haven't yet used it to ship out, I have received boxes with insulation board panels and was impressed. It does seem to be an all-around better material than styrofoam.
 
Thank you!

This week I am doing a presentation over ball pythons and someone was bringing theirs in, I had to help him set up a safe temporary environment. This thread helped a lot!
 
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