Any thoughts on the new Reptile Report Marketplace?

So I guess today was the official launch day for the Reptile Report Marketplace (I must have missed the memo). The only reason I actually found this place is because JLC mentioned it in a conversation on another thread. It seems to be a response to Reptile Ring but is a bit friendlier towards hobby/small time sellers. I'm definitely interested to see this marketplace progress.

Anyways, check it out and tell me what you think.

http://marketplace.thereptilereport.com/


Edit: I guess it was announced today on the general forum. Lol. I need to stop cruising only the BP section.

LOL...it's not a response to the Reptile Ring. TRRM has been in the works for about eighteen months, and was conceived of even earlier than that. Trust me, that site didn't go together overnight. TRRM is a vision of Chad and Robyn who wanted to create a way to market reptiles that didn't involve long-term contracts that could be broken by overbearing/overcontrolling admins. They also wanted awesome searchability, and a huge userbase that makes it a super-valuable tool for both sellers and buyers.

Maybe a future Editor's Desk article at TRR will be about the journey of The Marketplace. It's been a long and challenging one, for sure. And I, for one, am thrilled to see it finally coming to fruition!

Well, it seems to be down because I cannot access it.
TBH I wasn't aware of many other reptile classifieds beyond kingsnake.com.

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Originally Posted by pythonminion

Well, it seems to be down because I cannot access it.
TBH I wasn't aware of many other reptile classifieds beyond kingsnake.com.

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Looks like it's back up.

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Originally Posted by pythonminion

Well, it seems to be down because I cannot access it.
TBH I wasn't aware of many other reptile classifieds beyond kingsnake.com.

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They're working on it now. Opening Day frustrations are....frustrating. :(

Other than Kingsnake, there really aren't any other classified sites. The only one of any size that comes close is Fauna Classifieds, but they really aren't on the same scale. Most everything else is little individual forum ads like what we run here. The Reptile Ring isn't a classifieds site, although they're in the business of selling reptiles. That's an entirely different business model.

We have had some database and bandwidth issues today, the team is working to smooth the road out. But it is smooth enough to have 1500 ads from over a hundred vendors on day one : )

Come check it out! http://marketplace.thereptilereport.com/

This will be the new platform of the future. Congrats to the marketplace at the reptile report for putting this together. Lots of work has gone into this. I literally remember talking to Robyn what felt like was decades ago about this possibility. Cool to see it come together. Bummer to see old platforms fall off, but this is worth it. We are on board!


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Awesome! I need a new job already because I'm going to be looking and tempted daily. :D

I like the clean, professional format of the marketplace. I get the feeling however that there was a closed pre-load or some such as there are a ton of snakes already available on the website. Was there an initial invitation sent out for breeders to load their snakes, or did folks really that quickly load their ads in less than a day's time?


My one gripe for the website thus far is as follows. When I select an ad to view and then want to go back to my review of the adds, clicking the back button on the browser returns me to page 1 of the listing, not the page I last viewed. So if I clicked an add on page 12, when I want to go back to page 12 to continue viewing the ads I haven't seen yet, I then need to navigate from page 1 back to page 12 again instead of merely continuing where I left off. I imagine this is a coding "issue". I'm mentioning it for more user-friendliness. I've spent some time building HMI's (human machine interfaces) so I'm approaching it from that perspective. What would I as a user like to be able to do / see - which I believe is the goal here. Maximum user-friendliness and intuitiveness.


Otherwise, site looks solid. I fully understand this website is brand new, just trying to help out. Has lots of potential - as is apparent by the amount of interest from breeder's posting. I didn't take notice of this, but being able to add reviews to those who post - where you can directly see their user review, would be really great. Are there also any intentions of denying breeder's privilege if they have repeated infractions to try and help "clean" the pool of kids that pee in it? Both options should be doable assuming the user's history and postings are tracked. I think it is since you can see "other postings by this user". Attach a rating to each item sold, asking the purchase for a review and then link that review to the user. Just a thought, but that may be more difficult to do if buyers don't need to register. That said, you could encourage reviews by doing "give-aways" for those who write reviews of their experience of a registered breeder. Again, just some ideas.

Just marked it on my bar. Will have to check it out later. :gj:

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Originally Posted by zee-man

I get the feeling however that there was a closed pre-load or some such as there are a ton of snakes already available on the website. Was there an initial invitation sent out for breeders to load their snakes, or did folks really that quickly load their ads in less than a day's time?

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A notice went out on the FB forums last week, if people were interested in pre-loading ads. IMO it was smart to limit that to a few users for a few days as a "live beta-test" before going fully public with the site.

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Originally Posted by zee-man

My one gripe for the website thus far is as follows. When I select an ad to view and then want to go back to my review of the adds, clicking the back button on the browser returns me to page 1 of the listing, not the page I last viewed. So if I clicked an add on page 12, when I want to go back to page 12 to continue viewing the ads I haven't seen yet, I then need to navigate from page 1 back to page 12 again instead of merely continuing where I left off. I imagine this is a coding "issue". I'm mentioning it for more user-friendliness. I've spent some time building HMI's (human machine interfaces) so I'm approaching it from that perspective. What would I as a user like to be able to do / see - which I believe is the goal here. Maximum user-friendliness and intuitiveness.

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This.

Also, is there a way to say hide/block a seller's ads? I'll see some cool snakes and then see it's from a very controversial rated breeder.

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Originally Posted by zee-man

My one gripe for the website thus far is as follows. When I select an ad to view and then want to go back to my review of the adds, clicking the back button on the browser returns me to page 1 of the listing, not the page I last viewed. So if I clicked an add on page 12, when I want to go back to page 12 to continue viewing the ads I haven't seen yet, I then need to navigate from page 1 back to page 12 again instead of merely continuing where I left off.

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I noticed this too. I'll have to get into the habit of just opening ads I'm interested in another tab until it gets resolved.

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Originally Posted by sho220

I noticed this too. I'll have to get into the habit of just opening ads I'm interested in another tab until it gets resolved.

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Thats always been a habit of mine. Guess thats why I havent noticed that. LoL

It wasn't closed by any means, it just wasn't heavily advertised, I was able to just google it and sign up before it went "live".

I will say in my opinion it is better than anything else available. I see a more advanced search, buy it now, the heavy ad section was moved to the bottom, I'm not sure how I feel about the token system. Is there other features we have gained?

I'd like to request a thread merger if thats possible. I was looking for my post in the other thread and got a little upset that it had disappeared. It will also make it easier for Robyn to respond and see feedback.

Maybe it is just me but I don't really like the new marketplace. I feel that it isn't as user friendly as it could have been. However, I hope that someday the marketplace will improve.

Another thing... why does the market place allow an ad of a snake that doesn't exist yet?

For example, I don't want to say who or what, Mr. John Doe is selling his Panda Pied and in his ad, it says to contact the seller because John Doe is breeding two black pastel pieds right now. WTF?

The marketplace should ONLY list snakes that is available right now. My two cents.

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Originally Posted by digizure

The marketplace should ONLY list snakes that is available right now. My two cents.

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One of the rules is: Sellers of live animals must describe, depict, and link to their actual livestock.

I took that rule to mean that drop-shipping animals isn't permitted. Not sure if it means sellers can't ask for deposits on eggs, assuming a certain morph or combo is produced...

I've seen some ads that says "contact seller" for snakes that hasn't been hatched yet.

Also, my personal opinion, I would rather see an ad for each snake, not multiple snakes. What are your thoughts on that? I feel it would take more time to look for a specific animal if there are people posting multiple animals in one ad?

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Originally Posted by digizure

I've seen some ads that says "contact seller" for snakes that hasn't been hatched yet.

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Selling snakes that haven't even hatched yet just seems like a hassle waiting to happen...

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Originally Posted by sho220

Selling snakes that haven't even hatched yet just seems like a hassle waiting to happen...

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Agreed. If you're going to offer snakes that havent been born, do it on your site or FB. I also dont like the multiple snakes on one ad posts. It defeats the purpose of the service and I personally dont even bother reading them.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

Agreed. If you're going to offer snakes that havent been born, do it on your site or FB.

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Not to mention...it sounds like a good way to jinx yourself...:D

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Originally Posted by digizure

Another thing... why does the market place allow an ad of a snake that doesn't exist yet?

For example, I don't want to say who or what, Mr. John Doe is selling his Panda Pied and in his ad, it says to contact the seller because John Doe is breeding two black pastel pieds right now. WTF?

The marketplace should ONLY list snakes that is available right now. My two cents.

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Interesting comments. I'm currently posting some freeway ads where availability is limited, but the postings were really more of a solid contribution to the site. I don't need ads to sell them, but I like the new marketplace and those behind it. We just wanted to support the launch with some cool animals. Wish we had some more availability on certain animals, but I can see where folks are coming from. But the animals I posted are for a real limited market anyway. I think for something that rare, as a perspective buyer I wouldn't mind seeing where to go to get my hands on it when it does become available.

That being said I would agree with ads posted with only available animals being involved. I imagine certain things will get worked out as things move forward.


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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

If you're going to offer snakes that havent been born, do it on your site or FB.

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For a higher-end or rare morph I could see it, if only because if/when I can afford to buy at that price point I can plan to have the cash available in a few months. I'm not big on payment plans personally.

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I also dont like the multiple snakes on one ad posts. It defeats the purpose of the service and I personally dont even bother reading them.

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I can see doing it in certain cases, such as a breeding group.

The following statements are my opinion only, and in no way imply or infer anything about TRRM policies or positions on these matters...

Some people are really good at placing ads that benefit their business and their customer base. Some people aren't. I don't think it's the business of TRRM (or any advertising venue) to try and turn poor advertisers into good ones.

It's bad business (in my opinion) to advertise for animals that haven't even been born/hatched yet. But not everyone may feel that way. It's up to individual buyers to choose to take that risk or not. It's not up to advertising venues to decide which risks are worth considering and which are not.

Same thing with multiple animals listed in a single ad. Some people don't mind. Some do. It's a personal choice to make for the business person creating the ads, and a personal choice for each potential customer to decide whether or not they want to search that ad for an animal/product to buy. Again, it's not up to the advertising venue to make those choices for us.

Personally, I think it's dumb to post ads with bad pictures, but I don't think it's my business to tell someone they CAN NOT post an ad because their picture sucks. It IS my business to simply skip over that ad and move on to someone who at least seems more business savvy by taking the time and effort to make and use clean, clear photos of what they are selling.

THIS thread should be about matters directly related to TRRM features and what folks like and don't like about the features offered or that might be offered in the future.

I think it would be helpful to start ANOTHER thread about advertising practices, and what customers are looking for in good adverts and what turns them off about bad ones.

;)

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Originally Posted by JLC

THIS thread should be about matters directly related to TRRM features and what folks like and don't like about the features offered or that might be offered in the future.

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I still want to be able to filter out or exclude certain phrases and/or sellers when I look at ads.

A feedback system would be nice. Unlike eBay allow sellers to leave negative feedback for deadbeat buyers.

GunBroker has a function to allow sellers to block specific bidders/buyers, which is an awesome feature when you get solicited by a user to sell off the books/without paperwork... uh, no, either you're a felon or you're ATF so go away... and I've noticed that there are a lot more criminals and scammers in the herp world than the gun world.

I think there should be seperate place in the ad where you can put the price of shipping. Maybe it could be below the snake price, kind of what Ebay does. For most of the ads I just see the price of the snake but there's not even a mention about shipping price. Just a couple thought.

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Someone already mentioned it, but my only problem is with it reverting back to page one. When I view an ad on page 7, it should just send me back to the point I was viewing. Also, when it takes you back to page 1, it reverts the ads per page back to 10. Other than that I like the page and the search ability is great.

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Very cool! I'm so out of the loop, I haven't had internet access lately... :( That looks awesome, I think it will be a big hit and stay a big hit!

I think the new site is great. If you see something you like buy it no auction no bidding. Can't wait to see what will be for sale once the site becomes well known.

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Originally Posted by scooter11

Someone already mentioned it, but my only problem is with it reverting back to page one. When I view an ad on page 7, it should just send me back to the point I was viewing. Also, when it takes you back to page 1, it reverts the ads per page back to 10. Other than that I like the page and the search ability is great.

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That's my main issue with the site too. As someone who is a bit newer to buying snakes (most of mine have been rehomes, with one pick up at a show) this site seems great since I plan on expanding. I just get frustrated at having to find where I left off when I hit 'back' and get set to page 1 with my search terms erased.

I can understand people placing speculative snakes (aka not born) on the site, but I'm not a fan of the idea and personally wouldn't buy one at this point in my collecting. I think if I had the money to place on a maybe, I might. Maybe.

I wish Canada had a website like that

So far my ads have gotten a grand total of 1 view, and I think that was just from me checking on how they look. Hopefully it picks up...:D

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Originally Posted by sho220

So far my ads have gotten a grand total of 1 view, and I think that was just from me checking on how they look. Hopefully it picks up...:D

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Haha, I haven't got past page five because I get sick of going back to where I left off. Love the possibilities of the site, just wish that issue would be cleared up.

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Originally Posted by scooter11

Haha, I haven't got past page five because I get sick of going back to where I left off. Love the possibilities of the site, just wish that issue would be cleared up.

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Just right click on any ads you want to see and open in a new tab...I do that with all kinds of stuff...at work I end up having like 20 tabs open sometimes...but I always keep the original one there...

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Originally Posted by sho220

Just right click on any ads you want to see and open in a new tab...I do that with all kinds of stuff...at work I end up having like 20 tabs open sometimes...but I always keep the original one there...

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Touche

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Originally Posted by scooter11

Touche

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I noticed the same thing you did with it going back to page 1. It is annoying, but the right click new tab thing helps. I would imagine it's something they'll fix eventually...

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Originally Posted by sho220

I noticed the same thing you did with it going back to page 1. It is annoying, but the right click new tab thing helps. I would imagine it's something they'll fix eventually...

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Yeah, I figured it just got overlooked and they would make an adjustment eventually as well. But I can't believe I didn't think to right click it. Good looking out.

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Originally Posted by sho220

So far my ads have gotten a grand total of 1 view, and I think that was just from me checking on how they look. Hopefully it picks up...:D

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Wow only 1 view...Hope that wasn't a 4 token Platty ad!




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Originally Posted by sho220

So far my ads have gotten a grand total of 1 view, and I think that was just from me checking on how they look. Hopefully it picks up...:D

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I've noticed the same thing with my one and only ad, not much traffic as far as I'm concerned. I really hope it picks up.
I've decided to not even check on the ad for at least another month, see how many views it's up to then.
Definitely got a lot more views on my fauna ads and here on bp.net

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Originally Posted by qegalpal

I've noticed the same thing with my one and only ad, not much traffic as far as I'm concerned.

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I look at a lot more of the ads on KS and Fauna than on RM because KS and Fauna don't have the nice preview option that RM does. If the ad title just says "BIG LIST" or "WHOLE COLLECTION SALE" then I have to read it to find out if what I'm looking for is really in it. Usually it's not, which just wastes my time, so I've started not reading ads with a generic title.

I prefer using RM because I can filter through ads faster. There's a picture plus the first few lines of the ad text in the preview and that contains all of the info I really need - morph, size, sex, price, seller - so I usually don't have to actually click on it to read it. So, as a seller, don't get discouraged if you're not seeing "clicks", most likely it's because buyers don't have to click on the ad to get the info they want.

And I still want the ability to filter out certain sellers.

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Originally Posted by qegalpal

I've noticed the same thing with my one and only ad, not much traffic as far as I'm concerned. I really hope it picks up.
I've decided to not even check on the ad for at least another month, see how many views it's up to then.
Definitely got a lot more views on my fauna ads and here on bp.net

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Like mentioned in the post above mine the title has almost everything you need to know...So most people are not going to be clicking on your ads...

I pointed this out to Brad and Robyn a couple weeks ago...Robyn sent me some stats on the site...

"in the three and a half weeks we have been live we have had 11,000 unique visitors, and they are averaging 5.5 minutes on the site per visit."

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Originally Posted by qegalpal

I've noticed the same thing with my one and only ad, not much traffic as far as I'm concerned. I really hope it picks up.
I've decided to not even check on the ad for at least another month, see how many views it's up to then.
Definitely got a lot more views on my fauna ads and here on bp.net

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I had 4 ads and they all eventually expired with 1 or 2 views each. No takers...

p.s. I like your sig :) Mine is taken from "Up From the Skies" from his Axis album...Looooooove Hendrix...:D

Yep. I only click on the ad if it's something I'm interested in. I can see morph, sex, and price from the main page. If it's not something I'm looking to add to my collection I won't open the ad. I've bought one snake so far from the marketplace. I check it multiple times a day and have seen several things I'd buy if I had the money.

I still am having issues with viewing it on my phone. I click on the tabs and the top and it loads that page instead of letting me pick something from the drop down menu. I know it's not my phone because on other sites it'll let me do it fine. Even if I click the tab then click the option I want under the drop down really fast it won't go for me.

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