• 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 Joe Castaneda

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this guy is fraud and is attempting multiple chargebacks through his bank and paypal.

Joe Castaneda

XXXX Sw 21st St
Miami, FL 33145

[email protected]
[email protected]
(305)927-1994


on oct 12, 2017, joe contacted me via text message from a classified thread on facebook. he inquired about a few scorpions he was interested in, I gave him prices, all was well. he claimed paypal was giving him problems but would send payment when he could. as agreed, I invoiced him via paypal and soon that I canceled the invoice because he made payment on his own ($370). we were all set to ship. just prior to shipping (oct 16,2017), I texted joe and asked if he wanted to add a special group of scorpions to his order for $50. he agreed. I boxed up his original order plus the $50 add on's and told him that he needed to pay the $50 asap but I would go ahead and send them. a few hours later and after a video he texted me showing him stuck in traffic, he paid. all was well. he received his scorps, texted a picture of him holding my business card and we were good to go.

a few days later, oct 20, 2017, I shipped off his second order of scorpions that he just had to have. this order was $490. shipped them, he received, and sent me a video of him holding one DOA scorpion. I didn't question him at all. I told him that he would receive a $125 credit on his next order (per my terms). he was good with that.

now suddenly out of the blue on Nov, 29,2017 I get multiple emails from paypal stating:
"The buyer reported that someone made the order without their permission.Until this case is closed, we've also placed a hold on the transaction amount.
The buyer has filed a case with their financial institution for a payment of $50.00 you received on Oct 16, 2017."

there were multiple messages, each with the corresponding amounts to the above mentioned orders.

Joe knows what he is attempting to do. he is trying to get his money back ($910) and keep the scorpions as well by claiming someone purchased without his consent. with all the texts, pictures, videos, etc....this is, in my opinion, either buyers remorse or fraud.

just letting everyone know about this guy. id look out for him if I were you.
 
I'm sorry to hear you're getting a hassle from this buyer and I hope that PP finds in your favor. Thanks for sharing though, you may have saved someone else going through the same shenanigans.
 
it seems every couple years someone attempts this with me. historically it has worked in my favor but only time will tell. ...he's just another name for the black list! hopefully someone finds this thread useful.
 
**Final update**

All 3 chargeback cases have been decided by paypal. I was awarded all three payments back after i submitted all evidence to them. That combined with the trackng information proved that i did infact ship his items on time to the address paypal provided (which allowed me seller protection).

Joe blocked my number so i am unable to communicate with him. Not that that matters but i did want to let him know that i am no longer going to honor the doa credit like i originally mentioned after having to deal with these issues and attempted fraud. I did send links from this thread to both of joe’s known email addresses so he is aware.

Attached is a screen shot from the final paypal decision. There is a email for each transaction but im only posting one to save time and space on the boards here. ....they are the same email with different prices anyway.

My advice still remains....avoid joe castaneda.
 

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Glad you got money. Guys like that need to be sent to jail.
 
Rowdy I'm so glad for you!

It appears in your first post that this person has several different email addresses, this is a good warning but I think he may well have a habit of changing his information around to avoid detection.
 
I agree he needs to be in jail. And i will take the time to continue to see if i can make that a reality.

I also agree he is likely a name changer. Hopefully others can be a bit more aware at a minimum. These people exist but as long as we do our part, perhaps we can slow them down a bit. This was just a minor setback and headache that i hope others can avoid with this scammer.
 
Good news, glad to hear PP came through! I hope they have tied up HIS money now and I can't help but hope that really messes up his day. :)
 
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