Auction Rules & FAQ
US Shipping Request Form (includes detailed shipping information).
***All Non-US Residents (Canadian, European, etc.) please see items 13, 14, & 15 below as they pertain to you for some very important information.***
***** Auction Rules Index (Please Read Before Bidding) *****
- All auctions are subject to Terms & Guarantees of acreptiles.com online store.
- All bids are final.
- Payment Must Be Made in Full Within 48 hours - READ CAREFULLY!
- Your privacy settings must be configured so that everyone can see your bid.
- Bidders must be 18 years old.
- We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.
- Auctions end the second the clock strikes the end time.
- If there are any discrepancies, please contact us privately.
- Only post bids in the auctions (questions/comments should be made via private message).
- Winning bidders must schedule shipment via ONLINE FORM with our shipping department.
- Common Sense Always Applies!
- No auction rigging or bidder intimidation of any kind.
- Canadian Customers
- Hamm Show Delivery
- Other Countries
***** Frequently Asked Questions Index *****
- Facebook shows that you have read my message. Why have you not replied to me?
- I live in the Kansas City area. Can I come by to pick up my reptiles?
- How do I register to participate in the auctions?
- How long can I hold off on shipping my animal?
- How do I "bank" my purchases?
- How does shipping work? In what temperatures are you able to ship?
- When will you ship my order? / How do I request shipping?
- Will I get a confirmation email when I submit a shipping request?
- Will you send a tracking number or email when my order has shipped?
- What if I do not live in the United States?
- How do the 7 Minute Overtime Auctions work?
- When do I find out if I won an auction?
- How do I make payment?
- It says out of stock.
- Why didn’t I win? I bid before someone else; I bid at the same time as someone else; I bid more than someone else; etc.
- Is it true that chatting and/or non-bid comments are not allowed in the auction posts?
- What are the care requirements for geckos?
- What and how do you feed your geckos?
- What will my gecko(s) look like as an adult?
- Do you have lineage or pictures of the parents?
- Do you sell wholesale?
- How much for a…..? Do you have a…..?
- How do I start a payment plan?
- How do I apply a coupon/promo code?
***** Auction Rules *****
1. All auctions are subject to Terms & Guarantees of acreptiles.com online store.
Click here to view our terms. You will be asked to provide a digital signature stating that you have read and accept the terms prior to completing your purchase.
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2. All bids are final.
If a bidder backs out, retracts/edits a bid, or cannot complete the purchase FOR ANY REASON, he/she will be banned permanently. In the event a bidder does not pay within 48 hours, the animal will be auctioned off again.
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3. Payment Must Be Made in Full Within 48 Hours - READ CAREFULLY!
Payment must be made in full within 48 hours (including any shipping charges). Because of the nature of our auctions and the large number of auctions we list, we are unable to accommodate requests for payment plans. We accept PayPal or Credit Card via PayPal (in which case no PayPal account is necessary). Those are our only payment options for auctions.
Shipping is a flat $39, regardless of how many reptiles you buy, to anywhere in the United States. Yes, shipping can be combined for an unlimited number of auctions, and auctions can be "banked" after payment has been received, for up to 30 days (unless we've made other arrangements).
Larger animals may incur an additional shipping charge due to weight/size, but those will be few and far between, and they will be clearly pointed out in the auction. We don’t WANT to make anything on shipping (the cheaper the shipping, the more reptiles people are likely to buy), so please understand any auctions where there’s an additional shipping charge, it will only be there to cover our actual shipping costs.
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4. Your privacy settings must be configured so that everyone can see your bid.
Bidders who do not comply will be blocked and banned from bidding on future auctions - no exceptions, no second chances on this one. This is not to be unfriendly, but to keep things fair for everyone bidding, and to preserve the integrity of our auctions.
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5. Bidders must be 18 years old.
If you are under 18, please have one of your parents bid for you. Younger bidders tend to bid irresponsibly, so we are serious about this rule, and failure to comply WILL result in a permanent ban.
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6. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.
This is something we very rarely do, but some examples would be if we have reason to believe our animals will not be cared for properly once in your possession, or if the bidder has a history of being a general troublemaker, or if the bidder is known to associate with a particular group of known troublemakers. This does not apply just to our Facebook page - your behavior elsewhere, and the caliber of people you choose to associate with, could very well preclude you from doing business with us. Contrary to what some folks may tell you, Anthony Caponetto Reptiles is NOT all about the money. There are certain characters in this hobby we won't associate with, and a certain type of behavior that we just won't deal with - regardless of what that means for the bottom line. If we feel someone's behavior portrays our hobby in a bad light, or is setting a bad example for new hobbyists, we don't want their money. In those circumstances, bids may be deleted by our staff, and it will likely be without warning/notice.
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7. Auctions end when the auction countdown timer reaches 0 seconds left.
Our current auction software does not allow for overtime auctions. Please be sure to refresh the page of the auction that you are bidding on to make sure the countdown timer is current.
8. If there are any discrepancies, please contact us privately.
Please do not call other bidders out, or make any accusations publicly. My main goal in having auctions is to have a fun, friendly, atmosphere where I can interact with customers and have a little fun with my hobby/job. I think most of you know by now, I'm not particularly a fan of internet reptile melodrama, so please don't ruin my fun.
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9. Only post bids in the Facebook auctions (questions/comments should be made via private message).
I am not trying to be antisocial, and I'm not always a huge stickler on this one, but too much conversation makes an auction difficult to follow for everyone. If you need to ask questions or anything else, please do so via private message or email.
If you notice your non-bid comments being deleted, this rule is likely why. If a person continues to disrupt our auctions, they may find themselves unable to bid/comment without warning/notice, at least until we've had a chance to speak with them about it. Continued disruption may result in a permanent ban without further warning.
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10. Winning bidders must schedule shipment via ONLINE FORM with our shipping department.
When you submit your order you will be sent an email that will contain a link and instructions on how to schedule shipment.
We do not schedule the shipment of live animals using Facebook messaging system, as it can be very difficult to sort through, and customer messages sometimes end up in our "other" folder, for which we won't receive any notification.
11. Common Sense Always Applies!
We're still new to doing online auctions, so it's almost certain we've not yet thought of every possible scenario, scam, or angle...but rest assured, we will always be fair, and nobody is going to be allowed to cheat or do anything unethical. There will likely be more rules added, or existing rules amended, as we go along - as such, we reserve the right to change our auction rules/terms at any time.
12. No auction rigging or bidder intimidation of any kind.
If someone is found out to be conspiring, or attempting to conspire, with other bidders in order to affect the outcome of an auction in any way, they WILL be banned permanently. This also goes for anyone trying to pressure other bidders into not bidding against them in the comments, messaging, etc. Bans for such infractions will be permanent and without notice or warning. Such bans will also apply to making purchases from our website in the future.
* People who report such infractions (screenshots are what we need) may very well find a free gecko in their shipments.
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We have some customers that have us ship to a US address (friends house or FedEx hub in the US) and they take them through customs themselves. We can also recommend a professional importer that can bring your geckos across for you for a fee.
14. Hamm Show Delivery
We cannot ship directly to Europe. At this time we are only able to ship your order to Reptile Industries (Mark & Kim Bell), here in the US. They will deliver your animal(s) to the Hamm Germany reptile shows. You will need to pay our standard $39 (US) flat rate shipping so that we can ship it to them, and then they charge a fee of 50 Euro per animal. This sounds expensive, but is actually much less expensive than doing everything yourself (unless you're buying 10+ geckos), and even then, it is a major hassle and requires permits. The 50 Euro fee will cover everything - the cost of care while in transit, import/export paperwork, airline transportation, etc.
When checking out you can use your proper address for billing but you will need to use Reptile Industries US address to get the $39 shipping option. Please email or message us and we will give you their full address.
Please use this form to submit your import shipment information at least 3 weeks before the Hamm show delivery date:
Canada and Hamm Reptile Show Import Shipping Information Form
15. Other Countries
We cannot ship or sell to anyone other than those in the contiguous 48 United States and as described above in items 13 and 14.
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******* Please be patient on the weekends! *******
We still have family functions and gatherings on the weekends, so sometimes we are sneaking away for a moment here and there to answer messages and tend to the auctions. If it's not an emergency, we may not answer you until the next business day.
***** Frequently Asked Questions *****
1. Facebook shows that you have read my message. Why have you not replied to me?
Due to Facebook's rules pertaining to the sales of animals on their site, we are not able to respond via messenger. Please email us with any questions.
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2. I live in the Kansas City area. Can I come by to pick up my reptiles?
No. Due to a variety of reasons, we are unable to allow local pickup. ALL orders are delivered via FedEx. No exceptions.
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3. How do I bid and/or register to participate in the auctions?
*** NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED AT THIS TIME ***
Due to some people having issues with logging in/bidding on the new auction site, and the fact that checkout has always been facilitated through our online store, we have disabled the requirement to register on the auction side of our website (auctions.acreptiles.com) before bidding. You should only need to enter your name, email and bid amount on any auction to place your bid. When you win an auction, you will log in and complete checkout in our online store – the same way we’ve been doing it since 2013.
We are currently evaluating some other, more robust auction software, one of which works like a plugin that will integrate auctions with our current online store. We’ll be making a decision and implementing a permanent solution for our auctions very soon.
Don’t worry… In the meanwhile, if we find someone placing phony bids or someone fails to follow through paying for a win, we can restrict the IP address so that even using a new name/email combination won’t get them back in.
If you are logged in and having trouble bidding, you may want to log out and try bidding again without logging in. You may also try using a different browser (Firefox, Opera, etc.) or using a computer instead of a phone. If you have any questions you can email customerservice@acreptiles.com.
We appreciate your patience and continued patronage while we figure this out. We are doing our best to make sure the geckos and deals are well worth it – and in the end, we’re going to be able to offer a better, more convenient auction experience than ever before.
4. How long can I hold off on shipping my animal?
After you have paid for your auction wins, you can bank your auctions for up to 30 days to save on shipping. We can hold them longer if the weather is unsafe, or unless otherwise discussed and agreed upon ahead of time. We have a $39 flat shipping charge no matter how many auctions you win. The only exception to that would be an up-charge for a larger python or group of pythons (1500 grams and up total weight) due to increased shipping costs. The up-charge would depend on total weight and destination.
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5. How do I "bank" my purchases?
Your purchase is automatically banked until you submit a shipping request. You do not need to do anything specific during checkout.
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6. How does shipping work? In what temperatures are you able to ship?
All packages are shipped FedEx Priority Next Day Service. Arrival in most locations is by 10:30am but some outlying areas are delivered in the late afternoon/early evening. Please call FedEx (1-800-463-3339) to confirm Next Day Priority delivery times for your location.
Cold packs are used in all temps over 80F for geckos (or over 76 for baby geckos). We will use heat packs (mainly for snakes) as needed based on our experience.
***** Something to be aware of is that if it is much cooler in our area and warmer in your area, we may have to wait for a day when the temps are closer together because we will not be able to use a cold pack without possibly harming the geckos. Also, Crested Geckos are very sensitive to heat and we will typically only be able to use a heat pack in very large shipping boxes such as the ones we use for large wholesale orders. Heat can be a much greater threat to the health of the gecko than the cold when we are able to ship following our safe shipping guidelines. *****
***** Please do not try to warm up any animal with artificial means if they are cold when they arrive. Let them come up to room temperature naturally. You could harm or kill your them by trying to warm it up too fast. This would also void the health guarantee. *****
If our temperature becomes unsafe to ship we will email anyone that has already submitted a request for that day.
You can find our current shipping status at the bottom of our store home page: http://acreptiles.com.
Temperature Guidelines
The expected LOW temperature on your delivery day (the day it arrives at your location) must be above freezing (33F+).
The expected HIGH temperature on your delivery day (the day it arrives at your location) must be 85F or below to have geckos delivered to your door.
You may schedule delivery on a day when your expected HIGH temperature will be up to 90F if you have your package held for pickup at a FedEx Shipping Center (not an office/copy/print or other "authorized" location).
On days that we have confirmed that we will be shipping you can opt to purchase the Extreme Temperature Packaging Upgrade. This will allow for safe shipping when the high on your delivery day will be over 90F (up to 100F) AND you are picking up at the hub (FedEx Ship Center - Not one of the FedEx Office/Copy/Print Locations).
Please note that we cannot ship a package based on the hourly temperature for the morning that it is expected to arrive at your location. We must plan for the high and low of the entire day in the event that the package gets delayed. The temperature may be safe that morning but if the package gets delayed and is stuck in a cargo hold, on a truck or in a warehouse that is not climate controlled, it could end very badly for our friends in the box. We package and ship with the animals best interest in mind.
7. When will you ship my order? / How do I request shipping?
Since we are dealing with live animals we do not automatically ship any order. You must request shipment when you are sure to be available to receive your package and the weather is safe for shipping. We only ship Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday FedEx Next Day Air Priority. We do not ship anything on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. You can schedule your shipment using our Shipping Request From. You should have received an email after checking out with this information as well. Please check your spam folder if you did not receive it.
**** Orders that will include 10 or more geckos must be scheduled at least 1 week in advance. ****
8. Will I get a confirmation email when I submit a shipping request?
YES. You will get an email confirmation after you submit a shipping request.
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9. Will you send a tracking number or email when my order has shipped?
As long as you provide an email address spelled correctly in the Shipping Request Form, FedEx should send you a tracking number late in the evening the day that your package has shipped. Normally you will not get this email until after 7:30pm Central Time.
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10. What if I do not live in the United States?
Please see item 13, 14 or 15 in the Auction Rules.
11. How do the 7 Minute Overtime Auctions work?
*** Our current auction software does not allow for Overtime auctions. *** Please be sure to refresh the page on each auction to make sure the countdown timer is correct. If you are having problems with the page not refreshing or the countdown timer not counting down properly you should try a different browser or a PC.
12. When do I find out if I won an auction?
The auction software will automatically send you an email telling you that you have won but the link will just return you to the auction with no way to make your purchase. As the auctions end (and time allows), we will email you with an updated link to make your purchase at your winning bid amount. If you do not receive an email with the updated purchase link by the next morning, please email customerservice@acreptiles.com.
13. How do I make payment?
As the auctions end (and time allows), we will email you with an updated link for each gecko (or group) that you won so that you can add them to your cart and check out. If you do not receive an email with the updated purchase link by the next morning, please email customerservice@acreptiles.com. If you have more than one win, you can add the other items to your cart before you begin checkout so that they are all on one order. As stated in the Rules & Guidelines, we only accept payment through PayPal. You do not need to have a PayPal account in order to use a credit or debit card to complete payment but the card will be processed through PayPal.
14. It says out of stock. I can't add the animal to the cart.
If you were trying to place an order and the page crashed or you hit the back button, you may see that the gecko is now "Out of Stock". This usually means that the order has already been submitted (you clicked/tapped the "Submit" button on purpose or accident). In which case, you just need to finish paying for it. Click on "My Orders" at the bottom of the page to see your past orders. Find the order that has not been paid for and click "View Order", then click the "Pay Via PayPal" button to make payment. If you are still having trouble, please email us.
15. Why didn’t I win? I bid before someone else; I bid at the same time as someone else; I bid more than someone else; etc.
Since we are no longer using Facebook we do not have to worry about many of the problems associated with the comments lagging or other issues.
If you are unsure if you won an auction, just email customerservice@acreptiles.com.
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16. Is it true that chatting and/or non-bid comments are not allowed in the auction posts?
Our current auction software doesn't allow for comments so this no longer applies.
17. What are the care requirements for geckos?
Please see the care sheet:
http://acreptiles.com/new_store/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=26
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18. What and how do you feed your geckos?
Please see the care sheet:
http://acreptiles.com/new_store/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=26
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19. What will my gecko(s) look like as an adult?
Please refer to our Crested Gecko Collection page on our website (www.acreptiles.com) or browse through our Facebook Photos. There you will find auctions that have descriptions and photos of juveniles and adults of varying lines and traits.
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20. Do you have lineage or pictures of the parents?
We typically have 1 male to 3 or 4 females in our breeding groups so we cannot know for sure which female laid which eggs. We also have hundreds of breeding groups and at this time we do not have the resources to photograph all of them. Anthony lists what lines the geckos come from in the auctions/online store descriptions and you can find a lot of information on our website (www.acreptiles.com) about the different lines.
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21. Do you sell wholesale?
We do offer Individual Ultra High-End Hatchlings and Wholesale Lots in our online store.
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22. How much for a…? Do you have a…?
Except for the animals you see here in our store, we do not have set prices for a specific type of animal, and are unable to photograph specific animals for an individual request. Doing so requires giving the animals each an ID tag, holding them for you until you decide, etc. We auction off the bulk of our available higher end animals. We list them as they become ready for sale. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to go through the thousands of animals we have to try to find a specific morph with a specific type of pattern.
*** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED *** Sign up for our email alerts (near the bottom of this page) to keep an eye out for something you are interested in. I hate spam as much as anyone, so you have my assurance that we will not wear it out. At most, you may receive 2-3 emails per week, depending on how many days we’re doing auctions that week.
23. How do I start a payment plan?
To start a payment plan:
Add this down payment item to your cart by clicking the ADD TO CART button above, select $39 SYR shipping option and then complete checkout. Your total will be $139.
DO NOT ADD THE GECKO TO YOUR CART. Email customerservice@acreptiles.com to let us know which gecko you would like by sending us the geckos item Code (shown below the Price or Available Add On Options), the page link or the Title/Description Line.
We will add your selected gecko to your payment plan order after it is in our system, and the gecko will be taken off the website and held for you.
If you would like to make a larger down payment, you can message us and we will send you a link.
When you are ready to make another payment, email John and he will send you a link for the amount that you will be paying.
24. How do I apply a coupon/promo code?
To apply a coupon/promo code just type (or paste) the code into the small promo code window and click or tap Apply.
On a desktop PC the promo code window is on the right side of the screen on the checkout page in the Order Summary section. 
On a cell phone you will need to tap Order Summary to access the coupon code window. Enter the code and tap apply.
