Other Turtle Discussion :: Social experiment.....

[jozzep]

Ok so i've spent some time relaxing home over the weekend, and decided to do a little social experiment with craigslist to see how many people check it for turtles and tortoises on a daily basis.....
I made one ad "re-homing" my 2 russian tortoises for a fee of $250 (i had no intention of re-homing them, but just wanted to see who replied).I got ONE reply from someone telling me he can get them at the reptile show for $120 pair....fair enough.That was it.
Last night i made an ad saying i had 2 leopard tortoises "FREE TO GOOD HOME"!! I posted the ad at 9pm, by 10:30pm i had 10 replies.
Today i just got back from work and i have 62 emails regarding these tortoises.....WOW....People love free tortoises huh?!
The ads were deleted and emails were also with no reply to anyone obviously cause it's a fake.....So if any of you replied to the ad, sorry, but there are no tortoises. If something is too good to be true, most likely it's fake

[steve]

I'm sure most of those wanted to re-sell those torts. I don't think the outcome of these online social experiments are revealing but they are interesting

[TheComputerGremlin]

I have a flaw in your experimental design.

You need to have posted them at the exact same day and time. If you didn't do that, your results are moot. I have found that depending on what day you post an ad, you will get more replies. Friday afternoon/evening - rarely anyone replies, whether free or not. Weekends - no replies. Monday - late morning/early afternoon until Friday morning - significantly more replies.

Also, you have two different types of tortoise, which could bias the results.

I would say try it again using more strict rules. Like post the two offers within 10 minutes of each other on a Wednesday morning.

But free is always good ...

[imderanged]

LOL If I had seen that I probably would have emailed you.

[jozzep]

I have a flaw in your experimental design.

You need to have posted them at the exact same day and time. If you didn't do that, your results are moot. I have found that depending on what day you post an ad, you will get more replies. Friday afternoon/evening - rarely anyone replies, whether free or not. Weekends - no replies. Monday - late morning/early afternoon until Friday morning - significantly more replies.

Also, you have two different types of tortoise, which could bias the results.

I would say try it again using more strict rules. Like post the two offers within 10 minutes of each other on a Wednesday morning.

But free is always good ...

I don't think it was a matter of time difference.
2 free leopard tortoises would appeal to anybody.It was kinda funny cause i posted that the person "with the most knowledge" would get them. Well people were telling me they had many years experience and already had a few and feeding fruits and vegetables. Fruits ARE NOT supposed to be fed to most tortoises besides red foots cause they cause a parasite bloom.They're not box turtles lol.
I know this was kinda mean, but i just wanted to see what i was up against when i replied to turtle and tortoise ads on CL.I don't think i'll even bother looking anymore since i know there's at least another 72 people lurking.
Now i'm on my way to the reptile expo in PA. I know i'll find lots of turtles and tortoises there