Are websites worth the hassle?

I just finished with a free trial website. What a pain! I don't know if it's worth the trouble for me. I'll only have about three clutches a year, and I'd rather sell them quickly to good homes at a good price rather that to hold out for top dollar. Is it possible to get by without a website? Can a person build a reputation as a good breeder without one?

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Originally Posted by piedplus

I just finished with a free trial website. What a pain! I don't know if it's worth the trouble for me. I'll only have about three clutches a year, and I'd rather sell them quickly to good homes at a good price rather that to hold out for top dollar. Is it possible to get by without a website? Can a person build a reputation as a good breeder without one?

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It will be harder just make sure you ask people if you can use them as a reference, when buying if you tell me you have no references I wont buy from you. Craigslist is the best for pets, although in some forums you get flagged a lot. you can also use kijiji.com. id say you wont need a website as long as you have good references. In the long run if your a bigger breeder I do reccomend one.

If you don't plan on having more than a few clutches, I don't think you need more than a good Facebook page to sell well. Assuming you produce high quality animals, and can take good pics, Facebook has a tremendous reach.

I can't believe the kind of garbage dipped reptiles offered on Craigslist, I wouldn't consider animals from there.

Present yourself professionally on FB, and you should be fine without a specific website of your own.

Best of luck.

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

If you don't plan on having more than a few clutches, I don't think you need more than a good Facebook page to sell well.

Assuming you produce high quality animals, and can take good pics, Facebook has a tremendous reach.
Present yourself professionally on FB, and you should be fine without a specific website of your own.

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Ahhhhh.... excellent idea! :gj:

Sent you a PM.

You could always get a tumblr or blogger or something to post updates and have pages linked to contact info, available, terms etc - both those sites (and more) let you have multiple pages to at least function as a website - but free. Free websites that take of the coding and layouts and such will save you a lot of time! But definitely facebook is a good way to network, people can't "like" and get feed updates from your independent website as easily.

Good luck!

I never sold a snake that I produced until I made a website. After I made one, I sold nine clutches within a couple months on the net. In my opinion, free websites are not professional. If you are going to make one, buy some space and a good domain.

Some times the problems associated with classified markets like Craigslist is simply not worth it. The conservation people in my region tend to lerk on them and also in my area they have been know to come and inspect and impound animals that they have mis-identified and then there is a fight to return them. Red slider mistaken for a painted turtle, a royal python mistaken for a baby burm, that is in the last year. :weirdface

It also depends on the classifieds sites you use. I dont have a website and I built a good rep simply by buying memberships to kingsnake and fauna. Building a trader rating and good BOI threads is a plus. I found that only a very small percentage of buyers will ever actually leave good ratings or BOI posts so it takes many sales to get to that point, but it's worth it in the end.

A website is useful but so many people search the big reptile classifieds now that once you already have a good rep established, I think that's a good way to go. Even the big breeders advertise there as well as their own web pages so they get the most views.

Local sites like craigslist and eBay classifieds (kijiji) are really only useful for rehoming normals or morphs you simply don't want or can't afford anymore but are not looking for any real profit or income from.

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Originally Posted by Sugarbone

You could always get a tumblr or blogger or something to post updates and have pages linked to contact info, available, terms etc - both those sites (and more) let you have multiple pages to at least function as a website - but free. Free websites that take of the coding and layouts and such will save you a lot of time! But definitely facebook is a good way to network, people can't "like" and get feed updates from your independent website as easily.

Good luck!

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Yes, I'm thinking about using Wordpress because it's very easy to use. I'm also learning about Facebooks business section where they just click "like" & then they get your updates on their Facebook page.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I never sold a snake that I produced until I made a website. After I made one, I sold nine clutches within a couple months on the net. In my opinion, free websites are not professional. If you are going to make one, buy some space and a good domain.

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Wow! If I had that many to sell, I'd definately get a website. I'm only planning on about three clutches a year, maybe four occasionally. My time's limited and I don't like fiddling around with websites much. In the end, I may find that a website's a necessary evil though.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Some times the problems associated with classified markets like Craigslist is simply not worth it. The conservation people in my region tend to lerk on them and also in my area they have been know to come and inspect and impound animals that they have mis-identified and then there is a fight to return them. Red slider mistaken for a painted turtle, a royal python mistaken for a baby burm, that is in the last year. :weirdface

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Scarey! :O Think I'll stay away from that!

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

It also depends on the classifieds sites you use. I dont have a website and I built a good rep simply by buying memberships to kingsnake and fauna. Building a trader rating and good BOI threads is a plus. I found that only a very small percentage of buyers will ever actually leave good ratings or BOI posts so it takes many sales to get to that point, but it's worth it in the end.

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Yes, I recently joined Fauna. I don't like it as much as this site, but it does seem much more sales oriented. There was something I didn't like about the Kingsnake site. Can't remember what it was. I'll have to look at it again. Nice to know it's possible to make it through the classified sites. I wonder if maybe I could sell enough just through this site since it'll only be a few clutches a year. I'm more interested in the joy of having and breeding than I am in selling. But you gotta do something with the extras! :P

About 90% of my sales this year were due from word of mouth, FB, and my website. I didnt sell one snake that was from a forum posting I made.

Its a huge beneficial thing to have since google is constantly crawling the site updating results for snakes for sale.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

About 90% of my sales this year were due from word of mouth, FB, and my website. I didnt sell one snake that was from a forum posting I made.

Its a huge beneficial thing to have since google is constantly crawling the site updating results for snakes for sale.

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Oh, yeah, I forgot about that crawling stuff. I barely understand it, but I guess it keeps things fresh for Google searches & stuff. I think a buyer would be more comfortable buying from a website than from a classified too. I may not have many to sell, but they'll be high value and I'll have some hets. Just when I thought I might get away with something easy... Back to the drawing board. :cool:

YES, they are worth it!
I agree, do not get a free site. There are cheap web hosts that will charge you $5 per month or less. Get a real host, and a domain name, and create a good site.

I think they are worth it too, but agree they are a pain in the butt. Website design software is not intuitive and is a real pain to work with. I've worked with FrontPage and now am using GoDaddy's website builder. I hate working in those programs and am waiting for something simple and intuitive to come out. If that doesn't work, I might just bite the bullet and pay someone else to design one for me.

However, the more you are online, the better chance you have to make sales and develop a reputation. Many if not most of the people who are buying snakes today (especially higher priced morphs) are going to want to see you show up on the Internet with good trader ratings on various sites, have a website and a facebook account.

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Originally Posted by Don

I think they are worth it too, but agree they are a pain in the butt. Website design software is not intuitive and is a real pain to work with. I've worked with FrontPage and now am using GoDaddy's website builder. I hate working in those programs and am waiting for something simple and intuitive to come out. If that doesn't work, I might just bite the bullet and pay someone else to design one for me.

However, the more you are online, the better chance you have to make sales and develop a reputation. Many if not most of the people who are buying snakes today (especially higher priced morphs) are going to want to see you show up on the Internet with good trader ratings on various sites, have a website and a facebook account.

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Ouch! Do it all? I don't think I'd have the time. :weirdface Good info though. :)

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

YES, they are worth it!
I agree, do not get a free site. There are cheap web hosts that will charge you $5 per month or less. Get a real host, and a domain name, and create a good site.

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I'm begining to lean that way. Not sure that I have the skills or time though. Ever heard of SBI (site build it)? They charge a little more, but seem to be easier to use & have other pluses. I've read many good things about them on line, but would like to hear from another source. If I could get a website that's as easy to use as Facebook or Wordpress, I'd jump right on it. I'm just worried I'll spend hours and hours trying, then end up failing and using the easy sites after all. :confused: I've considered hiring someone to build my site, but if I'm going to have one I'd like to know and understand it. :rolleyes: So... I guess now I'm looking for a user friendly way to build a website. :oops:

They are worth it for the times when you have a ton of available animals or pictures or information you want to share, and have a reference point instead of taking consistant photos of the same animals to send thru e-mails and stuff.

Plus, you can "show off" what you have, which helps people get to know you better and what you can and do have.

I have great faith and belief in websites for what they can do.

Great info everyone! For those who are using Facebook, how do you go about it? A personal page, or a business page? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Don

I think they are worth it too, but agree they are a pain in the butt. Website design software is not intuitive and is a real pain to work with. I've worked with FrontPage and now am using GoDaddy's website builder. I hate working in those programs and am waiting for something simple and intuitive to come out. If that doesn't work, I might just bite the bullet and pay someone else to design one for me.

However, the more you are online, the better chance you have to make sales and develop a reputation. Many if not most of the people who are buying snakes today (especially higher priced morphs) are going to want to see you show up on the Internet with good trader ratings on various sites, have a website and a facebook account.

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Why pay someone to design a site if you can just buy a web development book? Web development is very simple, in my opinion. This would save you a lot of money, and you would have the knowledge to update the site when needed.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

They are worth it for the times when you have a ton of available animals or pictures or information you want to share, and have a reference point instead of taking consistant photos of the same animals to send thru e-mails and stuff.

Plus, you can "show off" what you have, which helps people get to know you better and what you can and do have.

I have great faith and belief in websites for what they can do.

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Good point about the "show off" value. It would help me to build a reputation rather than to just sell off extra babies. I may never have a large number of animals to sell, but I'll be going for high quality. A website would help me extablish a reputation for quality.

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Originally Posted by Don

I think they are worth it too, but agree they are a pain in the butt. Website design software is not intuitive and is a real pain to work with. I've worked with FrontPage and now am using GoDaddy's website builder. I hate working in those programs and am waiting for something simple and intuitive to come out. If that doesn't work, I might just bite the bullet and pay someone else to design one for me.

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For anyone who has an Apple - RapidWeaver is the deal for making websites. It's super easy and very intuitive (mostly). If you have problems the developer has a very active forum with people willilng and ready to help. Well worth the cost IMO.

Mine isn't super fancy, but I used Rapidweaver to make it. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I knew nothing about website design when I started.

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Originally Posted by Blue Apple Herps

For anyone who has an Apple - RapidWeaver is the deal for making websites. It's super easy and very intuitive (mostly). If you have problems the developer has a very active forum with people willilng and ready to help. Well worth the cost IMO.

Mine isn't super fancy, but I used Rapidweaver to make it. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I knew nothing about website design when I started.

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Thanks, I checked them out and may order a copy to test it.

I can tell you personally from a buyer perspective I would rather buy from someone who at least has a facebook business page. There are a lot of breeders I "like" on facebook who do not have websites other than that, and that's fine with me. I get to ask questions, comment on pictures, and I can even ask to see photos of parents, etc. without having to go through emailing and waiting for a response. It's nice and instant.

Just having that alone helps me feel more comfortable buying from someone. I see postings where people just mention by name who they bought from.. Sometimes I'll REALLY like that animal they bought, and I'll want to see more of what this guy produces..I search for him on google..Nothing. Can't find a website, can't find a forum post, can't even find a facebook where someone even mentions anything to do with snakes. That drives me crazy! :rolleye2:

But if you have a website you need to update it. It's confusing to see a breeder who only has 'sold' animals on their available page--and they are all from like 2006 or something like that. It makes it look like you aren't even breeding anymore! I think that's part of the 'pros' of facebook pages-It isn't hard to post a picture, you don't need to design anything or reformat the page. You just click upload!


I think I like it best when breeders have both. Facebook makes them seem more personable as well as active. You can see dates when things were posted and can really see the activity going on. And much like on forums where we watch people getting ready to breed, the breeder posts pictures of the parents locking and the clutches laid and it just makes me more excited to see what the babies are gonna look like! Then it's nice to be able to click over to their main website where more information is available and where you go to the available pages to see those babies for sale. The websites are great for holding all the information you want your clients to see, as well as giving that nice professional look if you are good with design! I think they help each other well. You want to be found easily, and not have it frustrating to get in contact with, or else the laziest among us will give up the search no matter how awesome the babies are!

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

I can tell you personally from a buyer perspective I would rather buy from someone who at least has a facebook business page. There are a lot of breeders I "like" on facebook who do not have websites other than that, and that's fine with me. I get to ask questions, comment on pictures, and I can even ask to see photos of parents, etc. without having to go through emailing and waiting for a response. It's nice and instant.

Just having that alone helps me feel more comfortable buying from someone. I see postings where people just mention by name who they bought from.. Sometimes I'll REALLY like that animal they bought, and I'll want to see more of what this guy produces..I search for him on google..Nothing. Can't find a website, can't find a forum post, can't even find a facebook where someone even mentions anything to do with snakes. That drives me crazy! :rolleye2:

But if you have a website you need to update it. It's confusing to see a breeder who only has 'sold' animals on their available page--and they are all from like 2006 or something like that. It makes it look like you aren't even breeding anymore! I think that's part of the 'pros' of facebook pages-It isn't hard to post a picture, you don't need to design anything or reformat the page. You just click upload!


I think I like it best when breeders have both. Facebook makes them seem more personable as well as active. You can see dates when things were posted and can really see the activity going on. And much like on forums where we watch people getting ready to breed, the breeder posts pictures of the parents locking and the clutches laid and it just makes me more excited to see what the babies are gonna look like! Then it's nice to be able to click over to their main website where more information is available and where you go to the available pages to see those babies for sale. The websites are great for holding all the information you want your clients to see, as well as giving that nice professional look if you are good with design! I think they help each other well. You want to be found easily, and not have it frustrating to get in contact with, or else the laziest among us will give up the search no matter how awesome the babies are!

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Fabulous info! I think I'll start a "Piedplus" business page on facebook right away. It will be easy to start with Facebook first & then maybe add a website later. Thanks for the details. Just what I needed! :gj:

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Originally Posted by piedplus

I just finished with a free trial website. What a pain! I don't know if it's worth the trouble for me. I'll only have about three clutches a year, and I'd rather sell them quickly to good homes at a good price rather that to hold out for top dollar. Is it possible to get by without a website? Can a person build a reputation as a good breeder without one?

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The answer to your last question is YES!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by piedplus

I just finished with a free trial website. What a pain! I don't know if it's worth the trouble for me. I'll only have about three clutches a year, and I'd rather sell them quickly to good homes at a good price rather that to hold out for top dollar. Is it possible to get by without a website? Can a person build a reputation as a good breeder without one?

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I don't know what its like in the states but here in Canada your supposed to claim all of your earnings on your income taxes including assets that you sell (this includes garage sales!!). People don't - but thats the reason why I don't recommend that hobby breeders advertise themselves LOL. Unless you want to register as a breeder/ obtain a small business licence and be upfront about it - and give the government all of your money (boo!)..

Just my two cents - I also don't know the laws in your region so don't quote me :P

<hijack>
I want to stay within the TOS, so mods please advise if this is out of line.
If you're apprehensive about creating a website/coding, and would like someone on to do it for you, please pm me.
</hijack>

i certainly think they're worth it!

i had a lot of fun building mine (and a lot of headaches, but i digress)

it's a great tool to supplement forum postings, classified listings, etc. when i post a for sale ad on a forum i will throw up a couple photos, and also include the link to see the rest of the available animals.

squamishserpents.ca/available

i'm not sure my "available" page is as professional as it could be, but if you click on any one photo, it will give you ALL the information pertaining to that exact snake, as well as a link where you can make an email inquiry about the particular snake you're interested in. that way customers don't have to be involved with my complicated ID #'s, they can see what is available and what has already sold, and the website has a lot of other things.

some pages are not done yet, but i also have a spot showing off racks and enclosures:

squamishserpents.ca/snakery/facility

the rodent-breeding side of things:

squamishserpents.ca/snakery/rodents

and my blog. the News section is a place where i can update what's going on with pairings and clutches, or just post random thoughts: squamishserpents.ca/news

i think if you have an eye-catching and easy to use website, it will for sure bring you more business. especially if you also have some educational stuff on there.

i just recently added this page: Can I Keep Multiple Snakes in One Enclosure?. and whenever somebody asks me about co-habbing, i can point them there!

building a website isn't for everyone though. as easy as Wordpress is, my website did take a LOT of frustration and fine-tuning. it's been about a year in the making and it's still not done. (though mostly because i'm lazy...)

so in my opinion yes, a website is essential if you're a big-time breeder. if you just have a couple clutches then perhaps it's not worth the hassle. and definitely not worth the money to pay somebody else to do it!

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Originally Posted by decensored

I don't know what its like in the states but here in Canada your supposed to claim all of your earnings on your income taxes including assets that you sell (this includes garage sales!!). People don't - but thats the reason why I don't recommend that hobby breeders advertise themselves LOL. Unless you want to register as a breeder/ obtain a small business licence and be upfront about it - and give the government all of your money (boo!)..

Just my two cents - I also don't know the laws in your region so don't quote me :P

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One has to claim income on earnings here in the US too, not on used stuff though. There are tax advantages for starting a small business. I have my business licence, but I don't know anything about registering as a breeder. If anyone knows anything about registering as a breeder, please let me know. I'm very careful to follow all laws and pay my fair share of taxes.

Well I finally took the plunge! My website's at: http://piedplusballpythons.yolasite.com/

It's just a freebie for now, but at least I have something to work with and later down the road I can upgrade to a paid website. So far, building a website has been way more easy than I thought it would be. Thanks for all the advice everyone! :)

Most of what I would say has already been said. The only thing i'd like to add is that you get back what you put into it. If you put almost no effort into it then you'll likely not get anything back from it. The nicest most professional looking website with the easiest user setup is completely worthless if you don't properly market it and keep it up to date.

I have the statistics to prove that.

regarding claiming your earnings, most breeders don't make a lot of earnings from selling snakes. i'd even go out on a limb and say the majority of breeders are actually investing more into their hobby than they are getting back.

i know WE ARE anyways! the startup costs, and ongoing costs for that matter, are astronomical.

supplies, racks, initially buying your animals, all the food you're feeding them in order to get them up to breeding size, buying substrates to house the snakes in, costs associated with breeding rodents, extra hydro you pay for heating, travel expenses to get to and from shows, show table fees, incubation supplies/media, containers to send your hatchlings off in, vet bills when your 3 year old 1500g breeder female gets an RI (for example), printer ink to print out labels, paying for web hosting...

NEED I GO ON!?

i say *the majority* because there are many many many breeders now. it's so easy to do. most people only have a couple clutches a year, but still. obviously there are also a lot of big-wigs that DO make a living and a huge profit off of their snake breeding businesses.

but i think when you're at the stage where i'm at, you don't have to claim any "earnings" as you're not making a profit.

in Canada, at least. here is the definition of Small Business:

1.1 Definition of Small Business

business is carried on in Canada, with a place of business in Canada, and assets held in Canada for the purpose of operating the business;
its purpose is for profit, and;
for an existing business: during the fiscal year in which the CSBF loan is approved, its estimated gross revenues will not exceed $5,000,000, or;
for a new business: at the time the CSBF loan is approved, its estimated gross annual revenues during the first 52 weeks of operation will not exceed $5,000,000.

i know i don't breed snakes to get rich, i do it because i love them and i love learning about them. if i make a bit of money off some hatchlings, i'm probably just going to buy a different snake, anyways!

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Originally Posted by SquamishSerpents

regarding claiming your earnings, most breeders don't make a lot of earnings from selling snakes. i'd even go out on a limb and say the majority of breeders are actually investing more into their hobby than they are getting back.

i know WE ARE anyways! the startup costs, and ongoing costs for that matter, are astronomical.

supplies, racks, initially buying your animals, all the food you're feeding them in order to get them up to breeding size, buying substrates to house the snakes in, costs associated with breeding rodents, extra hydro you pay for heating, travel expenses to get to and from shows, show table fees, incubation supplies/media, containers to send your hatchlings off in, vet bills when your 3 year old 1500g breeder female gets an RI (for example), printer ink to print out labels, paying for web hosting...

NEED I GO ON!?

i say *the majority* because there are many many many breeders now. it's so easy to do. most people only have a couple clutches a year, but still. obviously there are also a lot of big-wigs that DO make a living and a huge profit off of their snake breeding businesses.

but i think when you're at the stage where i'm at, you don't have to claim any "earnings" as you're not making a profit.

in Canada, at least. here is the definition of Small Business:

1.1 Definition of Small Business

business is carried on in Canada, with a place of business in Canada, and assets held in Canada for the purpose of operating the business;
its purpose is for profit, and;
for an existing business: during the fiscal year in which the CSBF loan is approved, its estimated gross revenues will not exceed $5,000,000, or;
for a new business: at the time the CSBF loan is approved, its estimated gross annual revenues during the first 52 weeks of operation will not exceed $5,000,000.

i know i don't breed snakes to get rich, i do it because i love them and i love learning about them. if i make a bit of money off some hatchlings, i'm probably just going to buy a different snake, anyways!

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As I understand US law, if you never make a profit you're a hobby, not a business. However, the law also allows three years of losses for a business start up. So for the trouble of saving all my receipts and adding them up at the end of the year, I'm getting a pretty good tax break. If there's no profit in my fourth year of opperation, I can either become a hobby or I can remain in business without any tax deductions until I can show a profit. That's the way I understood it when my tax man explained it anyways... :)

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Originally Posted by AaronP

Most of what I would say has already been said. The only thing i'd like to add is that you get back what you put into it. If you put almost no effort into it then you'll likely not get anything back from it. The nicest most professional looking website with the easiest user setup is completely worthless if you don't properly market it and keep it up to date.

I have the statistics to prove that.

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I absolutely agree! I just hate going into a website only to find that the information's years out of date. That's why I wanted something easy to use, so it will be easy for me to keep up to date. I also wanted something that's free for now but that can be converted to a more professional looking site later. That gives me time to tinker with it at no cost. :gj:

I would be interested to see your statistics, especially about marketing. :)

Just to finish off this thread, I have a website with Yola now. It's was much easier to work with than the first free trial I tried. Plus this free trial goes on as long as I want! :D When I'm ready, I can switch to a paid site which will remove the advertising and then I can get a shorter address. If you'd like to check out my site, it's at: http://piedplusballpythons.yolasite.com/
It's a little bare right now, but I've got plenty of time to work on it! :P

if anybody is interested in setting up their own website, there is a really good deal going on right now with the company that hosts my site, [url=http://www.squamishserpents.ca]squamishserpents.ca[url].

it's only $9.95 for a whole year (as opposed to their regular price of $9.95 PER MONTH) of hosting and that includes domain name & registration, free sitebuilding tools, (Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, etc) UNLIMITED space & traffic, CPanel, 99.9% server uptime, emails & mailing lists, and 24/7 customer support.

if you're interested PM me and i will send you the link. you can only get this deal through my referral link, and it helps me out too because i get the chance of getting a Kindle! :D :D

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Originally Posted by piedplus

I just finished with a free trial website. What a pain! I don't know if it's worth the trouble for me. I'll only have about three clutches a year, and I'd rather sell them quickly to good homes at a good price rather that to hold out for top dollar. Is it possible to get by without a website? Can a person build a reputation as a good breeder without one?

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I will say first, I just skimmed through this. Lol. Here's my opinion though.

Websites have both a downside and a upside, you yourself have very little.clutches, so a website could be more of a.loss for you then a gain, on the upside you would.most likely be able to.sell your snakes faster with a good website

I personally only buy from websites that are designed well and easy to navigate, this Is a general rule for me involving ANYTHING. I also always try to find reviews. In your case kingsnake could be a good place to Start, slowly build reputation And get reviews which will in turn make you look better.

But, this for me resides on a personal level, if you treat me, (your customer) with respect I will buy from you time and time again, even if you do have the occasional slip up.

In the end, the choice is yours, a website could be good, though Facebook could save you ALOT of time and energy, and may even work our better for you in the.long run. Whatever You choose I wish you luck!

~Zachary.

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Originally Posted by zeion97

I will say first, I just skimmed through this. Lol. Here's my opinion though.

Websites have both a downside and a upside, you yourself have very little.clutches, so a website could be more of a.loss for you then a gain, on the upside you would.most likely be able to.sell your snakes faster with a good website

I personally only buy from websites that are designed well and easy to navigate, this Is a general rule for me involving ANYTHING. I also always try to find reviews. In your case kingsnake could be a good place to Start, slowly build reputation And get reviews which will in turn make you look better.

But, this for me resides on a personal level, if you treat me, (your customer) with respect I will buy from you time and time again, even if you do have the occasional slip up.

In the end, the choice is yours, a website could be good, though Facebook could save you ALOT of time and energy, and may even work our better for you in the.long run. Whatever You choose I wish you luck!

~Zachary.

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Thanks! I'm pretty happy with the free website I set up on Zola. It'll be over a year before I have anything to sell, and I might make it a pay site at that time. I also set up something on Facebook. Pretty bare bones right now.

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

If you don't plan on having more than a few clutches, I don't think you need more than a good Facebook page to sell well. Assuming you produce high quality animals, and can take good pics, Facebook has a tremendous reach.

I can't believe the kind of garbage dipped reptiles offered on Craigslist, I wouldn't consider animals from there.

Present yourself professionally on FB, and you should be fine without a specific website of your own.

Best of luck.

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I agree with Robyn on this one. I'll take it one step further by saying social media is the best way to reach new customers online. If you have a website, unless you are really good at the back end stuff, you may not appear in search engines. While if you are using Twitter, Facebook etc, your message is very easily accessible and most times unavoidable if people have you "liked" or connected.

There are even website design companies out there now that offer building "a professional Facebook page" for specific rates. What does that tell you about the impact of social media?