Placing an ad: 101

I was going to go with the "for idiots" (you know - the yellow & black instructional book titles) theme; but decided too many of the intended recipients might take it personally...so I figured ":101" is widely recognizable as the basics.

There are a lot of new members posting really pathetic ads (at least if they want to sell things); but the practice is by no means confined to new users - people that have been around for years are getting horribly lazy, too.


Step 1: Decide what you are selling. (Simple, right?)

Step 2: Use the ad's title to indicate to potential buyers what it is that you are selling.
(Apparently this is a little more difficult; because there are A LOT of people out there that can't manage to do it. If you are posting 4 different color/pattern varieties of the same species, in 4 different ads; don't use the same generic title for each ad...and misspelling a word in different ways doesn't mean you changed the title.)
example:
- GOOD
Adult male hypo motley boa - proven breeder
- POOR
gecko for sell, ball 4 sell, etc

Step 3: Provide information about the animal, including price

Step 4: Provide contact information - how do you want people to reach you?

Step 5: PUT THE PICTURES IN YOUR AD
If you're including a bunch of animals in one ad, it's acceptable to show a few, and provide others to interested parties...but not including any pictures simply doesn't make sense. There aren't many people that are going to purchase sight unseen; so save yourself the aggravation of having to email the pics over and over again. Besides, a lot of buyers are wary of sellers that won't include pictures in the ad. Personally, it would be rare for me to even consider contacting a person that doesn't include images in their ad(s); and I know a lot of other people feel the same way.

Step 5(B): Don't use images pulled off the internet, or from another person's ad(s)...Talk about waving a red flag that says "Don't buy from me"

Step 6: If you don't close your ad, be attentive to replies.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

Step 5: PUT THE PICTURES IN YOUR AD
If you're including a bunch of animals in one ad, it's acceptable to show a few, and provide others to interested parties...but not including any pictures simply doesn't make sense.

Just came across an interesting little innovation. I saw someone demanding a $1 PayPal payment for each picture sent, to be taken off your total if you end up buying the animals. Am I wrong in thinking that that's a pretty moronic idea?

I saw it.
Believe it or not, it isn't the first time I've seen somebody do that, either.

It isn't an approach I'd use, especially while trying to build name recognition and reputation; but it is a way to discourage people from asking for more pictures.

I've come to the conclusion that a good majority of sellers on FB are complete idiots. I've sent messages to severe of them and they either never reply or their reply contradicts their ad. If you ad says tame don't reply to my question saying gloves and a hook are needed when working with it. In what world is that tame. No photo, no inquiry. If you post an ad, put a photo with it. Another thing I have noticed is a lot more people want you to send money as a gift thru paypal to avoid the fees. Nope. You just lost a sale asking for that.

One more point. A seller needs to use a decent photo. There is a pastel up in the auction section right now. Only a complete moron would use the photo that seller used.

What does that make the people bidding on it?
On second thought, don't answer that, lol.

(I saw that one, too - even suggested that a better picture might stimulate bidding; but, last I looked, it was the same one.)

It's a horrible photo. I'd get a warning if I said what I really thought of the bidders. LOL
I think people just want the cheapest and quality has gone out the window lately.

There's still quality out there...but most of the buyers ARE focused on the lowest price.
Because of that, I'm expecting to sit on this year's babies for a while. To be honest, I'm not even sure that I'll be posting them.

Not everyone is after the cheapest animal they can find. Some of us are picky and look through a lot of animals of a given species or subspecies before pulling the trigger and buying. I'd personally rather (and expect) to pay more for a quality specimen, with good color, than pay less for mediocrity. I'm not into balls, but the same principle goes for other kinds of animals too. Took me a long time to find a pair of Vietnamese Blue Beauty Snakes that I liked, that weren't greenish or yellowish near the head, etc. Didn't find both of them at the same place, but that's ok. I got my nice animals. Same goes for other animals I've bought. I'm picky, so it takes me a while to find what I want. So for those of you producing quality (whatever you're producing), those of us looking for quality are out here, although sometimes it may not seem like it. Hang in there and don't despair!

Dawn Carrie, Texas

When buying a pair for breeding, I don't necessarily want them from the same person. I definitely don't want littermates.
We know there are people that want, and are willing to wait and pay for, quality...but it seems there are a lot more people focused on the price tag. I accept and appreciate that, as somebody has to buy the ugly stuff (they can't all be gems)...it's just disappointing/frustrating when they expect the good stuff for the same price and don't understand why (or become abusive when) we don't comply.