• 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.

What’s the first thing that attracts your attention in an ad?

What's the first thing that attracts your attention in an ad?

  • A picture of the animal

    Votes: 55 64.7%

  • The price associated with the animal being offered

    Votes: 3 3.5%

  • The person/breeder who offers the animal

    Votes: 9 10.6%

  • The wording employed

    Votes: 6 7.1%

  • Mainly option 1

    Votes: 10 11.8%

  • Mainly option 2

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Mainly option 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mainly option 4

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Total voters
    85
I use a blue or green cloth as the background. It's adds contrast to the animal's color. Remember that your going to compress the image usually using a JPG format. The way this compresses the file size is by "smoothing" the colors together so same color animal on same color background is going to blend the two together more.

Also remember that all digital cameras adjust the photograph to some extent without any priming from the user. So a white dragon on a black background or a white dragon on a white background will also have issues. Usually I see this as a drop in detail of the patterns on a white dragon.

If your doing multiple animals of the same type (ie a clutch of something) then you'll want to keep the same color background throughout all the photos. That way the minor differences of coloring (one of the clutch being lighter for example) will show up using the background color as a reference.
 
or a more naturalistic (bark, leaves) approach?
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If your selling the animal = plain background. Don't distract your customer with extra stuff (even though it looks nice) that doesn't promote the sale. Also a large number of animals (except morphs etc) have chamouflage (sp?) patterns, which will make it harder to see in a computer photo.
 
Daniel,

How much do you charge for consulting? I need you to run my advertising campaign. :)
 
Daniel,

No need, your quality will always sell. The little tricks though allow you move them faster and squeeze a couple bucks extra out of them :D
 
Daniel,

Did you ever see the movie “Jerry McGuire”? I've probably watch at least half a dozen times. Remember the businessman (can’t recall his name on top of my head) that every now and then appears with a phrase. One of them goes something like this: “Unless you love everyone, you can’t sell no-one”. How true!

Regards.
 
robin s. said:
"U can by this berm 4 only $150 + shipping which is $25 dollars. i also have 4 sale 2 more babie berms 4 only $50 each plus shipping.
You have 2 C em 2 C how beautiful they R. all my friends that seen em think they are rockin.
i am ONLY letting em go cuz i want 2 get in 2 balled pythons."
i steer FAR FAR AWAY
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Ohh that hurts to read.

I look at the picture first and go to the price and then who the seller is. Then if it's something I really want I go the BOI and check out the name.
 
picture...and I take the best I can (which aren't that bad) with my 2.0 mega pixel cam...sad huh? but it's actually decent
I'm newer here so when I advertise I steer ppl to where there is feedback about me b/c I know that's a huge concern when dealing with people online...
 
Nature photography is my specialty, but I agree with Daniel, that you don't want the emphasise taken away from the animal. I like photos that are taken with a plain background (white, can be too bright, so something more neutral), and I like people who include something in the photo for reference. There is someone here who always takes photos of their Leo's next to some colored markers, I really like that for a color reference.
 
There is someone here who always takes photos of their Leo's next to some colored markers, I really like that for a color reference.
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That sounds like an excellent idea.

Thanks.
 
This post has nothing to do with this thread. It is just meant to be a big thank you to all of you. Although some days are rough it’s nice to come home and know we can visit with friends. Seriously, you all make a difference. Have a great week everyone…and hope everything is well with your lives.

Kindly,
 
Karen Hulvey said:
Ohh that hurts to read.

I look at the picture first and go to the price and then who the seller is. Then if it's something I really want I go the BOI and check out the name.
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Isnt this the one that spawned the "People who can't spell Burm" thread? Absolutely brutal murdering of the language.


Back on topic though, this is very interesting. I am just starting breeding and my weakness is taking pictures. I have even convinced myself its the camera so I ordered a new one today. We will see.
 
It is sometimes hard to narrow down why I open ads. If I am just perusing late at night (or in my case, mid-day), I will sometimes open things at random just to keep myself occupied. In terms of "shopping", it is whatever identifies the ad as possibly being of interest...a pic, an identifying or descriptive phrase. I am not involved in the ball python market, for example, but if I were, it would be a pic that got me...there are just to many colors/patterns to open every ad. as for identifiers/descriptions that catch my attention, it is based on whatever traits I am looking for in that particular species, ie: striking red, female, boldly patterned, well defined stripes, etc. Included in that list is one descriptor that gets the attention of many collectors/breeders - the sex of the animal. For example, I am working on a few breeding projects, and have been putting together some nice groups. depending on my needs within a group, I will bypass or open ads solely based on the advertised sex. see they were right all along: SEX SELLS!
 
I go for the pictures first,The seller,Then price.But if no pictures are included I generally pass over the ad, If I'm looking for something in particular and theres no pictures, I don't want to have to e-mail then wait...sorta have a short attention span.... :rofl:
 
I look for correct spelling and creative use of wording, then if I am interested I look for a price. If there is a picture I look at that and decide if I want to take it any farther. If the seller has a good enough ad I can always email for pictures.

A bad picture will turn me away completely.
 
I am lucky enough to have a g/f that likes herps and is great with a camera. Usually when she's at work and I need a pic asap to send out they come out lackluster at best.

Here's a couple of our sites if you'd like to peruse the pics she takes:
http://avalonherp.com/
http://dragoncharm.com/

We use pretty simple backdrops, almost always one color and nothing too bright. Mostly use a kind of shiny peice of black fabric or black velvet. We also use metallic silver and a cow print fabric. Many times she uses something as a prop, it ads to the picture without detracting from the animal. The camera we use (Canon EOS 20d) also takes a mean closeup. For lighting we use a $30 Home Depot 1000w halogen worklight.

-----------

For me pics draw me first, then text and price equally, lastly a run through the BOI or wherever else I can check them out to check their rep.
 
kiote9 said:
I look for correct spelling and creative use of wording, then if I am interested I look for a price. If there is a picture I look at that and decide if I want to take it any farther. If the seller has a good enough ad I can always email for pictures.

A bad picture will turn me away completely.
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I agree with this COMPLETELY...

I will read the ads with no pictures...most of the time...but I will look at ALL new ads...and the way they are written and the information given is the most important thing to me making a decision on whether or not to pursue contacting the seller...

They can always email the pictures as Shel said...
 
Pictures
I Almost always Wont open an ad that has no pics
Oh and i really hate the phrase "E-mail for pics" :hot:
I mean come on, People are selling $1000 reptiles and cant afford a digital camera
 
Pictures
I Almost always Wont open an ad that has no pics
Oh and i really hate the phrase "E-mail for pics" :hot:
I mean come on, People are selling $1000 reptiles and cant afford a digital camera
Click to expand...

Dennis,

Yes, you are right, if you sell high dollar snakes you should post pictures. Although sometimes there are ads that state pictures are too large to be posted, and that might be a valid reason. On the other hand some people might think that once someone e-mails for pictures they establish a contact. It's like having people just walking by your store or actually going in and talking with you about your items. My perception is that you loose much more clients by not showing the picture than those in which you spark the curiosity and actually e-mail you for pictures. In fact there are also those that are just "picture collectors" and will ask for pictures and more pictures from every possible angle when in reality they don't intend to buy your animal. All things considered good quality pictures seems to be the way to go.

Regards.
 
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