• 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.
  • 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.

How are you searching for people/businesses in the WWW?

The BoidSmith

The BoidSmith

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A fundamental part of doing business on the WWW is checking for addresses of prospective clients. Most sites are now asking for a fee to release that information. Which search engine is everyone using that gives accurate but yet FREE results? What about reverse phone lookups?

Thanks.
 
Thanks guys! :)

Regards.
 
I use to do reverse lookups, but it seems that the number portability law they passed (primarily, because of cell phones) has given them an excuse to say "due to number portability we do not know who this belongs to, as it can change, but it is pacific bell, from Fresno, CA" or something similar, I can't remember exactly. I even tried to do it with a couple numbers of two different friends who have had the same numbers, at the same address' for 30 years and it said the same thing. Of course there is also a link to pay and find out additional info, freakin scammers.
 
Dan,

Exactly what information is it that you are looking for? 'Cold clients' who you may want contact and offer your product to? Or reference information for prospects that have already contacted you?

Vickie
 
Vickie,

It would be the second.

Regards,
 
ok Dan,

Well, without knowing all of the details...
Much of your search would depend on if it is an individual or an actual company... and if you have suspicions or not. :)

"Individual" searches for usually involve email, phone # and physical address verification.
- Yahoo, hotmail and many other free email addresses do have member areas and also involve registration information in order to obtain the email account. Those services that also offer a classified section get a quick username search.
- home accounts such as [email protected] get flipped to verizon.net/~whoareyou or if there is a member listing through the hosting company, I search it.
- In all cases, I email the address for a response to be sure it is actively checked by the individual.
Ususally, I manage to get the persons full name and/or phone # through the email search. Many times Im lucky and the person has a classified ad listed with their contact #.

Then I take what I have found over to the whitepages online. Run the info through and shoot for an address. You'll end up with more than 1 most likely - but if you dial (the area code) 555-1212 and ask for the persons phone # or address, Information will have the most recent one listed in their files since its run by the local phone company and the bills must be sent.

If they want to pay by check or $ order they MUST clear, all credit cards MUST be accompanied by the actual billing address (my CPS will verify this for me) and paypal orders only get sent to verified addresses with a signature delivery confirmation.
~Since I have lizards and you work with snakes the shipping procedures would be a bit different...

"Company" searches follow the same routine mostly. A few differences are :

- Many companies have web sites that can be searched through whois.com You can get all of the contact info on the WhoIs Lookup at the bottom of the page.
- A yellow pages catagory search will bring up others in the same business that you can always make a quick call to for references. Most pet stores will share their information/opinions about the wholesalers they deal with.
- Privately ask other breeders if they have dealt with the company... or outright ask the company for references.

~Always start with a pre-paid order. Establish a working relationship with the company in question before setting up a 'net 10 day' or whatever account.
(QuickBooks offers a credit check as part of their program - though Ive never used it and dont know the details)

While none of the above information will guarantee that everything will go smoothly, its usually makes me feel a bit better when the ground feels a bit shaky.

Hope this helps,
Vickie

ps - pm me if its a company and Ill help if I can.
 
The BoidSmith said:
A fundamental part of doing business on the WWW is checking for addresses of prospective clients. Most sites are now asking for a fee to release that information. Which search engine is everyone using that gives accurate but yet FREE results? What about reverse phone lookups?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I use www.dogpile.com . It is a multifunctional search engine and I rely on it heavily. From it I get addresses, telephone numbers, maps, general and specific search information. I also have a tendency to just type in a persons name and the city/state they are supposed to live in. When I do it on me my address and phone number show up ON the search engine itself as a white page listing. Try it, it's fun.

Oh, you can do reverse lookups on it too, but as was mentioned before, they are unreliable.

I can't find it right now, but there was also a site that will give you a persons neighbors names, addresses, and phone numbers. I thought the dogpile USED to provide that.
 
Don't laugh at me, but ancestry sites. I worked an internship job at a probation office over the summer and one of the tricks my supervising PO was to use ancestry sites to track down info on people's pasts.
 
When searching for people or businesses on the web, I typically use a combination of search engines, directories, and social media platforms. Search engines like Google or Bing are great for finding websites or specific services. I often refine the search with specific keywords, location, or niche terms to narrow down results. For businesses, online directories such as Yelp, LinkedIn, or industry-specific platforms can be helpful. Social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter also offer insights into businesses and personal profiles. It’s all about using the right terms and filtering through results based on what you need!
 
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