• 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.

Sad how the hobbie has gone

tradaroo

tradaroo

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I’m an old school herper, it’s sad to see all the rip off artists on here, and on the web.. back in the day, you would send somebody a post a money order they would send you your product. Now you don’t know who to trust who you’re sending it to I’m trying to buy some stuff online in almost every site I’m going on or everybody I am contacting is a scam they’re not even real people.. sad..
 
It's more than this hobby. Jewelry, watches, small electronics, high-end optics...

About the only thing it doesn't happen with is firearms because they can't be advertised on social media platforms, and an FFL typically handles shipping and transfers on each end.
 
I agree. Hug your friendly forum moderator, since they're helping to keep out the riffraff. :)

tradaroo said:
Now you don’t know who to trust who you’re sending it to I’m trying to buy some stuff online in almost every site I’m going on or everybody I am contacting is a scam they’re not even real people.. sad.
Click to expand...

One thing you can do is seek out breeders who have a long history on the forum they're advertising on, and who have positive reviews. Even better if they're on more than one forum so you can double check your observations. Nice that real names appear here, so you can Google for more info as well.

While there are many good newer sellers, many breeders have a substantial electron trail that you can investigate -- at least to find out whether they're a real person or not.

Always use secured funds (PayPal/Venmo Goods and Services; a credit card managed by a company that you're sure has your back) unless you would be absolutely 100% comfortable giving the person an envelope full of cash on their promise to give you a quality reptile next week. The two repliers above this post are people I would easily do that with without hesitation (of course!).

There are others out there who are the same, but many are not. Spend some time here getting to know folks, even vicariously just by reading what they post, and what others post about them. It just takes more research than it used to in order to find quality people, maybe.
 
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