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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....

kingsnake.com Bad Business practices.

JETZEN said:
ks.com is not the best, it is common knowledge that they have even tried to fix prices on certain high end reptiles.
Would the best internet site for selling reptiles stoop at something that low?
What happened to free enterprise?
So what if they have more traffic? The person with the best deals is gonna get the customers regardless of where they're sold.

And if customers want cheap reptiles well then that's what they're gonna buy.

The customer is always right(or used to be).



J.Sommerfield
Click to expand...

Best deals are not everything. Personally, the quality of the animal and the quality of the person selling the animals are more important to me and come before the price of the animal.

I would much rather support the quality people in this industry, even if it means paying more.
 
JETZEN said:
ks.com is not the best, it is common knowledge that they have even tried to fix prices on certain high end reptiles.
Click to expand...

I retract the part about "high end reptiles" i believe it was just common ball pythons.


J.Sommerfield
 
shrap said:
Best deals are not everything. Personally, the quality of the animal and the quality of the person selling the animals are more important to me and come before the price of the animal.

I would much rather support the quality people in this industry, even if it means paying more.
Click to expand...

Yes, quality people and quality reptiles are the best.

but i'm not gonna get ripped by overpricing.



J.Sommerfield
 
You won't hear me complain about kingsnake.com. I've sold a ton of animals there and made lots of money because of that website. It is well worth the price I pay for advertising there.
 
I've sold a ton of animals there and made lots of money because of that website. It is well worth the price I pay for advertising there.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have not sold a ton, but it has been well worth the cost. I just wish there was better communication. This entire thread could have been easily avoided.
 
JETZEN said:
Yes, quality people and quality reptiles are the best.

but i'm not gonna get ripped by overpricing.



J.Sommerfield
Click to expand...

What do you call over pricing or getting ripped off? Do you call paying $1100 or $1200 from a quality breeder who has a good reputation for quality animals getting ripped off...... Compared to getting a "deal" for $1000 from someone who has run of the mill animals and a history of selling undersized "maintenance" fed animals? Personally the couple hundred extra bucks for a superior animal coming from a quality breeder is well worth it to me.

Now am I going to pay a quality breeder $7000 for animals that have a $5000 market value? Of course not. That would just be stupid. I would just wait until one of the people I consider to be quality to offer that animal in a price range I find acceptable. Be it waiting 2 weeks or 2 years. I am a very patient man.

And a quality breeder to me could be a big time breeder or small time breeder who only produces a couple of clutches/litters a year. Folks never let the amount someone breeds fool you into thinking quantity means quality. It most certainly dont.

But I must say, I will never buy from suspect people regardless of how cheap their animals are. Never.
 
I definately have to agree with shrap on this one.


And this is related to one of my pet peeves. I, on no less than 100 times per year when I was a kingsnake seller, had people talk to me about animals. When i gave them a final price after shipped they would respond well so and so will do it for this much, will you beat thier price? On 99% of the occassions it was not a great breeders name it was someone like Top Shelf Exotics, or CRE, or some vendor at a show two months ago.

Well, I know two of them went to Top Shelf and bought het pieds instead of paying $200 more for mine. All I can say is "How do you like them cheaper hets now"?


thanks
ben
 
Rick Staub said:
I agree. I have not sold a ton, but it has been well worth the cost. I just wish there was better communication. This entire thread could have been easily avoided.
Click to expand...



I think it has been well documented that this thread should not even exist. The OP simply didn't want to comply with a new initiative that Kingsnake instituted and decided to whine about it. Not a single poster since the first post has agreed with him. There was no breakdown in communication at all.


And Ben, while I agree with you that the internet has cast some negatives on our industry, (you have outlined a number of them quite well) you are forgetting one thing. Prior to the advent of the internet, our "industry" consisted of about 40 people. The internet, and Kingsnake and Fauna in particular, have turned an odd hobby that used to be considered "icky" by the populace at large into a multi billion dollar industry.


You have to take the good with the bad. Personally, I see it as 95% good and 5% bad.
 
Suncoast Herpetological said:
There was no breakdown in communication at all.
Click to expand...

Sorry but when I find out that my business has to be verified by KS and I find that out by having them inform me in an email that all my ads have been removed and now deleted, there was a breakdown in communication.

My comment that this thread could have been avoided had nothing to do with its merits, dubious though they may be. I was refering to it from KS's standpoint that had they communicated better with their paying customers, they would not have had another thread on another forum questioning their business practices and providing bad press. Their actual policy change was legitimate and not worth complaining about, unlike its implementation.
 
To read some of these posts, it sounds as if, one day, KS decided to spring this on their customers...without so much as a word of warning. Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Granted, I just started advertising there recently; but I knew of this condition before I signed up for my account. For the longer term advertisers that had ads deleted: were you not notified in advance...or did you just delay in providing the info until the deadline was past?
 
Rick Staub said:
Sorry but when I find out that my business has to be verified by KS and I find that out by having them inform me in an email that all my ads have been removed and now deleted, there was a breakdown in communication.

My comment that this thread could have been avoided had nothing to do with its merits, dubious though they may be. I was refering to it from KS's standpoint that had they communicated better with their paying customers, they would not have had another thread on another forum questioning their business practices and providing bad press. Their actual policy change was legitimate and not worth complaining about, unlike its implementation.
Click to expand...


So...... what you are saying is that KS, having given people a solid 5 months plus heads-up about the new policy, was not really good communication on their part to their paying customers? :confused:

They first announced the new policy on January 1 and later when they were close to going live, announced that people with existing accounts had until May 15 to finish getting their paperwork ready for complying to the new policy if they wanted to continue to post under an assumed business name. After May 15 they started enforcing that policy. Far as I can see, there was more than enough advance warning and time for people to get their paper work done.

http://www.pethobbyist.com/sitenews...goodbye-to-2006;-Looking-forward-to-2007.html



Saying goodbye to 2006; Looking forward to 2007
Monday, January 1. 2007


Changes to the classifieds

In an effort to improve our vendor screening process, we will be implementing what is known as "Registered Business" program. People wishing to advertise as a business or using a business name will need to be able to document that they have legally registered their business name with the appropriate governmental agencies to our staff. In the majority of cases this can be done online, as most states now have business registration information available. Further details about this program will be released as we get closer to the implementation date. Bottom line, though: if you haven't legally registered your business name yet do so now, because in the near future it will be a requirement if you want to use it here.
Click to expand...

Then on May 8th.....


http://www.pethobbyist.com/sitenews...-Verification-System-Goes-Live-on-May-15.html

PetHobbyist.com Site Blog

Classified Account Holders - Verification System Goes Live on May 15

On May 15, 2007, the PetHobbyist/Kingsnake.com classified advertising system will be implementing its business verification system. After that date, only businesses that have been verified will be allowed to post advertisements using a business name. Any ads posted using a business name that appear on our site that have been posted by an unverified business will be subject to removal.

This does not impact classified account holders that post as individuals.

For more information about the PetHobbyist/Kingsnake.com business verification system and how your business can become verified, please click here.( http://www.pethobbyist.com/verify.html )
Click to expand...
 
Suncoast Herpetological said:
The internet, and Kingsnake and Fauna in particular, have turned an odd hobby that used to be considered "icky" by the populace at large into a multi billion dollar industry.


You have to take the good with the bad. Personally, I see it as 95% good and 5% bad.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was trying to say, but better said and shorter. :iagree:
 
hhmoore said:
To read some of these posts, it sounds as if, one day, KS decided to spring this on their customers...without so much as a word of warning. Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Granted, I just started advertising there recently; but I knew of this condition before I signed up for my account. For the longer term advertisers that had ads deleted: were you not notified in advance...or did you just delay in providing the info until the deadline was past?
Click to expand...

I received an Email approximately 90 days ago regarding this. I read it, promptly forgot about it and continued with my day. About a month and a half ago I got a polite Email that stated that all businesses had to be verified by May 31st with very easy to follow instructions on how to do it including links. It took about ten minutes.
 
Suncoast Herpetological said:
I received an Email approximately 90 days ago regarding this. I read it, promptly forgot about it and continued with my day. About a month and a half ago I got a polite Email that stated that all businesses had to be verified by May 31st with very easy to follow instructions on how to do it including links. It took about ten minutes.
Click to expand...


I received a similar email about 1 week after I renewed my account.
I sent them the proper paper work, and all was well.
There was no communication breakdown, and my adds were not pulled.
All contact between kingsnake.com and I was professional.

As John mentioned, the whole process took only a few minutes.
 
Ben and anyone else who likes to read,
As for people underpricing you...and competition with "less than reputable, impostors of business"...and so on....

A GOOD reputation will take you farther in this business than any other asset.
If Kingsnake, Fauna and the whole Internet shut down tomorrow...the survivors would be the people with trustworthy names and reliable reputations.

People of this caliber can continue to sell more and more animals... for prices that reflect what the animals are REALLY worth!

GOOD customers DO realize that there is is difference between "price of product" and
"Quality of Product", "Quality of Service" and the "Reliability of the Seller".

These issues that you brought up should be of no real concern to you.
Your name should speak for itself.
I am able to sell animals for decent prices. Many of the customers who make purchases from me never ask to see photos...because they trust that I will provide quality animals. Most of my customer base is made up of people who have bought in bulk from me without ever even seeing an advertisement.
I utilize Kingsnake and it works for me....but, I don't have to post there everyday.
Or even every month. Repeat customers make up the majority of my business.

I will agree with Kelli...Kingsnake has been good for my business!

But I rely on my reputation to keep things running smoothly.

I can remember advertising in periodicals...the old "send a S.A.S.E" for photos of our animals and a printed price list.... and then sending out piles of photos.
Things were much slower back then! LOL.
Heck...I still do not have a web site. Perhaps in the near future I will get one.
But, I have not REALLY needed one.

I am not trying to brag about anything.
But, I really think that competition is a healthy thing.
It makes your reputation all the more important.
It keeps dishonest people from lasting very long.
It teaches us to evolve with an ever-changing market.
Competition hones your business skills and the quality of service that you provide.

As for the Kingsnake vs. Fauna thing....both are great sites. Both have different things to offer. I am glad that we have BOTH to utilize.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects....I like to look at the positive side.
When used in conjunction....Kingsnake and Fauna are both awesome tools for ALL of us.....well, at least for all of us who can follow the rules and TOS of both sites.
Just my take on the whole thing.

This has been a GREAT thread to say the least.
A lot of interesting perspectives here.
Isn't it nice that we have these places to share our views...and market our goods.....
...obtain information....and protect one another from the unsavory elements.
Sure beats the days of sending a Self, Addressed, Stamped, Envelope....just to see what the snakes look like!
The growth of the Reptile Segment of the Pet Trade has really taken root.
The future should continue to blossom.
Take care,
Harlin Wall - WALL TO WALL REPTILES!
970-245-7611
 
You read the site news forum at KS? You consider that communicating with your customers? I got no email. I only stumbled on this thread because I came here to do a search on a buyer.
 
I can't remember if I received an email or not. I saw the announcement posted on the front page of kingsnake in bold letters several months ago though, and it was up for quite awhile.
 
Yeah,
I can honestly say that I do not recall if they sent me a notification or not.
I would think that if i were sent notification...I would have remembered it....but it could have skipped my mind.
I did know that the change was going to take place, because I had heard about it from a friend....and had also seen something in writing about it being a consideration....quite some time ago on another board I think?
But I did not look into it any farther.
Who knows, perhaps they did send me notification that it would be taking place... it is possible that I absent-mindedly spaced it out....but I honestly do not recall.
Either way....rewriting the advertisements is something you often have to do anyway...if you have any real turnover.
And the process of verification was very quick and simple.
So....not a big deal to me.
Harlin Wall - WALL TO WALL REPTILES!
970-245-7611
 
shrap said:
What do you call over pricing or getting ripped off? Do you call paying $1100 or $1200 from a quality breeder who has a good reputation for quality animals getting ripped off...... Compared to getting a "deal" for $1000 from someone who has run of the mill animals and a history of selling undersized "maintenance" fed animals? Personally the couple hundred extra bucks for a superior animal coming from a quality breeder is well worth it to me.

Now am I going to pay a quality breeder $7000 for animals that have a $5000 market value? Of course not. That would just be stupid. I would just wait until one of the people I consider to be quality to offer that animal in a price range I find acceptable. Be it waiting 2 weeks or 2 years. I am a very patient man.

And a quality breeder to me could be a big time breeder or small time breeder who only produces a couple of clutches/litters a year. Folks never let the amount someone breeds fool you into thinking quantity means quality. It most certainly dont.

But I must say, I will never buy from suspect people regardless of how cheap their animals are. Never.
Click to expand...


I prefer small breeders that pass a background check.(good deals)
I will buy from anyone if the price is right and they pass a background check and i like their animals.
I don't care about big names with very expensive animals.(rip-offs)
I love to hagel over prices, if a seller don't like it, fine sell it to someone else.
Basicly i like to buy/sell/trade/breed cheap animals. (kingsnakes)

So Shrap,
what exactly is your opinion of kingsnake.com?

J.Sommerfield
collector of kingsnakes
 
JETZEN said:
So Shrap,
what exactly is your opinion of kingsnake.com?

J.Sommerfield
collector of kingsnakes
Click to expand...

I dont utilize anything on kingsnake but its classifieds (well I used to use the photo gallery at one time also) so I cant comment on the site as a whole.

So with that being said, I have been a completely satisfied KS customer. I can honestly say as a paying advertiser on KS that I have never had a single problem with any aspect of their advertising services. Kingsnake has met my needs just fine.

Even the one time I unknowingly broke a rule in one of my ads they sent me a very professional email explaining what I did wrong and how to correct it. What more can you really expect?
 
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