• 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.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Posted 08/15/2025
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    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Inquiry Bob Clark Experience..pretty negative so far

This is obviously a learning experience, not only for you but others, preemptively. I look forward to seeing & hearing more about your new snake in good time, after he/she settles in & all that.

I still think though, that for future reference when you are soliciting feedback, that your thread title should not also suggest a one-sided answer but reflect a more balanced, open-minded tone, considering what you now know, don't you? (I suspect that's why you initially got some responses that seemed "rude".)
 
bcr229 said:
I have a shopping cart system set up for my business. There's an option to either set up shipping labels to be created and staged automatically, or I can have it done as a manual process. I do it manually b/c it's low volume.

Once the label is created it has an expected ship date (usually the following day) with an expected receipt date 2-3 business days in the future because everything I send goes out USPS priority. The label is valid for 30 days though, which of course would push out the receipt date if for some reason the package doesn't get to the post office on the expected ship date. The recipient still gets the "label created" notification though.
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Very interesting.. perhaps this is just how his online ordering is set up as well. Thank you for the input :)
 
hotlips said:
This is obviously a learning experience, not only for you but others, preemptively. I look forward to seeing & hearing more about your new snake in good time, after he/she settles in & all that.

I still think though, that for future reference when you are soliciting feedback, that your thread title should not also suggest a one-sided answer but reflect a more balanced, open-minded tone, considering what you now know, don't you? (I suspect that's why you initially got some responses that seemed "rude".)
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Yes, I would agree. I think my post was initially misunderstood that I was upset I wasn't contacted right away or I was being too hasty.. but as I mentioned before my real frustration came from the shipping labels (I actually received multiple shipping labels in the end, where the first one was voided altogether.)

I did plan on creating a thread with an actual opinion (red or green button) once I received my snake and all was well. I am also unsure if the title of this thread can be changed - I am new to the Fauna BOI and do not know who any of the administrators are, but if I can figure it out I will send them a PM requesting for a title change.

I really appreciated everyone's feedback and insight and have found this to be a very helpful experience. Although, next time I do think I will wait for communication before purchasing. :yesnod:
 
I don't care who you are, or how busy you are, a live animal should not be sent without confirming the person will be there to receive it- especially when the weather is in question! Not everyone is home all day everyday or can take off of work on a moments notice. I wasn't planning on it but now I surely will never buy from an online shopping cart after reading this thread.

I wonder what Bob Clark's DOA policy is and if things have ever died because they sat in someone's mailbox or on their doorstep all day.
 
And personally, I wouldn't even consider shipping (buying or selling) in winter, but that's me?

I know we're stuck with so many things being "automated" but there's still nothing like good old customer relations. And I agree, Kfen, you should also ask questions or see the written policy for "what if's" before you pay. Not everyone is above board, which is why there's such a need for this BOI in the first place.
 
I would really like to know how your snake is once it arrives. Please keep us updated.

I would not buy from anyone who ships live animals in 20 degree weather. This entire thread makes me feel like your concern and frustration is completely understandable.
 
hotlips said:
And personally, I wouldn't even consider shipping (buying or selling) in winter, but that's me?
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Not just you , I'm the same way. I wouldn't even do a show during the winter with dangerously low temperatures. You have car problems , slide off the road or have some other delay and you animals are gone if you can't get help soon enough.

The last time I bought something I couldn't pass up during winter I drove about five hours one way to pick it up. I never would have risked shipping in those temps.

Yeah, so much is automated now ... some trying to be Amazon.com of the herp business. But you aren't buying shoes or a book .
 
BlueCrowned said:
I would really like to know how your snake is once it arrives. Please keep us updated.

I would not buy from anyone who ships live animals in 20 degree weather. This entire thread makes me feel like your concern and frustration is completely understandable.
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He arrived safe and well.. however I did notice some scale damage on his side. It looks like it may just be a scratch but I will be monitoring him closely. He was nice and calm when I let him out of the bag, I snapped a quick photo before weighing him (he came in at 114g). He is such a precious bug!! Look at that snoot!!!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11AQRBJzj3gVBviMaHSkfK_TF2IT8nbCf
 
JimM said:
Not just you , I'm the same way. I wouldn't even do a show during the winter with dangerously low temperatures. You have car problems , slide off the road or have some other delay and you animals are gone if you can't get help soon enough.

The last time I bought something I couldn't pass up during winter I drove about five hours one way to pick it up. I never would have risked shipping in those temps.

Yeah, so much is automated now ... some trying to be Amazon.com of the herp business. But you aren't buying shoes or a book .
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Thank you. I have shipped & received snakes before, I've kept my snakes comfortably-warm & healthy thru an extended power outage from a major ice storm, and I've kept my snakes protected from temperature extremes when I moved cross country. Any time I take a snake in a car, no matter what season & no matter how short the trip, it's in a snake-bag inside an ice chest/cooler, and if there's any chance of cold temps. I carry chemical 'hand-warmer' heat packs, like they use in shipping by air. (-when there's a delay, those can fail or run down too fast) Ice storm: kept my snakes warm with large jars of hot water for heat in ice chests; had to change water about every 9 hours. (gas hot water heater ;)) I wouldn't risk a program in winter either.

The last snakes I had shipped to me was a pair of Trans Pecos rat snakes that came from New England: they hatched in late fall, so I had a choice of receiving them right out of the egg, or waiting for spring. Since I've plenty of experience raising them, I got them right out of the eggs with no problems at all. Nice to find out the seller felt the same way. :)
 
hotlips said:
Thank you. I have shipped & received snakes before, I've kept my snakes comfortably-warm & healthy thru an extended power outage from a major ice storm, and I've kept my snakes protected from temperature extremes when I moved cross country. Any time I take a snake in a car, no matter what season & no matter how short the trip, it's in a snake-bag inside an ice chest/cooler, and if there's any chance of cold temps. I carry chemical 'hand-warmer' heat packs, like they use in shipping by air. (-when there's a delay, those can fail or run down too fast) Ice storm: kept my snakes warm with large jars of hot water for heat in ice chests; had to change water about every 9 hours. (gas hot water heater ;)) I wouldn't risk a program in winter either.
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Just a small aside for those reading. Hand warmer type heat packs are not suitable for shipping. In a pinch for keeping snakes warm in a power outage they could work, but they typically peak at a higher temp and burn out much quicker. The 40-72 hour shipping heat packs buffered with phase cryopaks are much safer, though freezing temps can stop a heat pack as well.
 
AndyUltimateReptiles said:
Just a small aside for those reading. Hand warmer type heat packs are not suitable for shipping. In a pinch for keeping snakes warm in a power outage they could work, but they typically peak at a higher temp and burn out much quicker. The 40-72 hour shipping heat packs buffered with phase cryopaks are much safer, though freezing temps can stop a heat pack as well.
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Thanks for adding clarity! :iagree:
 
Bob Clark said:
Hi Rachel, I WAS out of town but my system should have confirmed receipt of the payment and sent the tracking number to you. I see that you have the snake but I'm sorry if we didn't meet your expectations.
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Hi Bob, I think most of my confusion came from my experience with online ordering. In the future I will do as most members suggested here and contact you directly before purchasing so I can be aware of shipping and all that. I received a beautiful healthy snake and I am also appreciative of the time you took to respond to me both here and in Facebook. I hope to do business with you again in the future
 
I’ve ordered from Bob Clark several times and had no issues at all. Things happen. But I understand about sending money and not receiving any info on shipment arrival. At least some type of confirmation is usually sent right away.
 
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