Freebies. Like em or hate em tell me why! Do you think they're good practice?

[Marlana]

Well I received an old world freebie on my first order, after specifically asking for no OW. Needless to say I never used that seller again. I gave away the spider. I think some sellers are desensitized to OW or even think some people need to lighten up. Like when I asked why they would send me this spider when I specifically said I didn’t want an old world, the seller said ‘it’s just a spider, lighten up’.

That experience did sour me on freebies. But I have also gotten freebies I never would have picked myself and absolutely love and am grateful for. I think it’s a mixed bag of good and bad. And in my experience it’s easy to get rid of the unwanted freebies locally when it’s ‘free to a good home’.

 

[CommanderBacon]

Well I received an old world freebie on my first order, after specifically asking for no OW. Needless to say I never used that seller again. I gave away the spider. I think some sellers are desensitized to OW or even think some people need to lighten up. Like when I asked why they would send me this spider when I specifically said I didn’t want an old world, the seller said ‘it’s just a spider, lighten up’.

Well that seller was a jerk. I wouldn't use them again, either.

 

[Edan bandoot]

All my freebies have been nic T.albos, they're alright to look at but man are they boring, I'd like to have been given some sort of selection.

 

[Weightsandwebs]

I love freebies. I always got to pick what I want within price range spent.

 

[thedragonslapper]

Freebies are good if the options are a species I haven't owned yet or else I want. If the seller offers them though I would want them included only if I explicitly state so in my order and the freebie in question must come with identification. Don't send me something completely random like an OBT or Pokie sling that I may not be prepared to contend with or even something without an ID. That's the worst and frankly, a stupid thing a dealer can do. How am I supposed to know how to properly care for a sling that I don't know the ID of?

 

[jenniferinny]

I like how some sites let you pick a freebie.

When I was first getting started, one of my first orders included a freebie P. murinus. Like what? I had ordered easy stuff, a pink toe, a couple brachys, Then I got an OBT freebie. I mean, I'm a bit adventurous and would have gotten there in a few months anyways, but, I know a lot of people aren't like that. Now I wouldn't mind a surprise freebie, but, back then, it took us 24 hours to get up the nerve to crack the shipping vial on that. I was glad when that one matured out male.

I'll also say that back then a lot of people were rehousing more often to clean the enclosure- so that was daunting with my experience level and a P murinus.

 

[Ungoliant]

I haven't gotten many freebies, because I've bought most of my tarantulas in person (at shows), but I don't mind surprises. The ones I have gotten (Acanthoscurria geniculata, Avicularia avicularia, and Pterinopelma sazimai) have been good.

I think it's a good idea for sellers to verify that freebies are wanted, and if they are thinking of including any OW species, that the buyer is comfortable with that (especially if they ordered only NW species).

At my level of experience, I am confident that I can care for any tarantula, but I do want to know what it is once it arrives (no mystery slings). I also prefer to know in advance how many enclosures to set up so that the spiders don't have to wait any longer in their shipping containers than necessary.

 

[MikeofBorg]

Love them. Freebies get spiders out the door and into keepers hands. Spiderlings that might otherwise not sell quickly. Most the freebies are Ts that produce a lot of young. My A. geniculata was a freebie, and I got lucky it was female. It also saves the breeders money by not having to feed a lot of growing spiders. It’s gets expensive for feeders when you have a load of adult Ts and young of different ages.

 

[starlight_kitsune]

I would be nervous about getting a freebie that I had not chosen because I would be concerned about being unprepared for them, or being unfamiliar with their husbandry. I think I would adapt quickly and get it figured out, but in the meantime it would be stressful. Thankfully at this point I have gotten a few spare enclosures around because I'm constantly scanning craigslist and marketplace for good deals on reptile and invert supplies. I know of several sites that let you choose your freebie however, and that system I would be very happy with. I have been considering an order with one particular site and getting a P. cambridgei as my freebie from there because I've had one before and would ike another.

 

[TheHound]

I think it's a good concept and kind of fun, as long as it's done in a responsible way by the seller. So not like the example with the poster above where they requested no OWs, got one anyway, then got some lip when they pointed it out. Terrible behaviour.

In my case it wasn't nearly so bad, but I think it's also illustrative. For my 3rd T I ordered my first sling, a 1cm C versi. With it I got a freebie of an even smaller (like 1st or 2nd instar) N chromatus sling. But when I texted the vendor a couple of times to ask for any advice (exactly what instar, and then any general advice on keeping this species, as a sling especially) he didn't respond to either. He was happy to respond to a couple of my queries prior to the sale, of course.

As someone who only started keeping Ts in January I don't have tons of spare equipment lying around, but I was able to rustle up a home, being resourceful and inclined to research, and of course having access to this forum. And this chromatus sling is doing fine, having moulted a couple of times and generally seeming in good health. But if you are going to send your baby spiders out into the world, without them even being expected by the recipient, the least you should do is respond if someone asks you a question about how to care for it. To not is just rude and irresponsible. Although the slings were in good shape and packed well, it's put me off using that vendor again.

 

[Rozwyrazowana]

I got P. cambridgei with my first order as a freebie, I was surprised and not sure if it's not more than I can chew. It ended up being my favourite T, but still, I have mixed feelings about it being a freebie.

I ordered more Ts from a seller that is known for giving a lot of freebies, I ordered two juvie females and got 5 unsexed slings as freebies. I got species that probably wouldn't draw my attention otherwise, especially C. elegans and N. incei, because I wasn't interested in dwarfs. I like N. incei a lot, so I'm glad that I got it.

I'm planning to make another order, as two of my slings molted to be MM, but I think that I don't want more freebies. I think that I know what I want, I have limited shelf space and I don't want more random Ts in my collection.

 

[thomlennon]

I’m poor so I’ll happily take any and all freebies I can get.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Freebies are fine if you know you're getting one. Was unknowingly sent 2 T. albo slings with my B. boehmei in September and I had no enclosures prepared, straight up wasn't prepared to have them at all. Had to scramble to get them housed, and in the end my lack of preparedness to care for 1\8" slings killed them both. While I acknowledge that it was my fault, they maybe wouldn't have died if someone who was willingly expecting them had received them. So I think there should always be communication on both sides, however I really didn't think I would need to specify that I didn't want freebies lol.

 

[ErinM31]

With tarantulas or any other species that need to be housed individually, I think it’s nice as an option. It shouldn’t be a surprise or a species that the buyer did not select, although having “surprise me!” as an option would be okay.

Now I have at least twice now received an additional sling of a tarantula species I was purchasing and was grateful for that surprise. Although space is an issue for me, it is not too much for me to house an additional sling, and with multiples (bought or free), I often sell or trade the others once I’m sure I have a female of the species.

With communal animals that don’t require individual housing, such as cockroaches or millipedes, I think including some extra when a number are purchased is good practice and insurance against any not surviving shipping (in my experience more often an issue with millipedes depending on the species).

 

[SquidStina]

My first T was a freebie. I had no Ts but wanted to get a jumping spider, so I ordered one and got a K.brunnipes. Ended up being a "first hit is free" to get me hooked, I went to a reptile/invert expo and bought 3 more Ts about 5 months later. I'm very glad the seller didn't give me anything difficult to keep.
I feel like looking at what the person is buying and adding something similar isn't too bad. Alternatively, it might be good if websites have an option somewhere to either select the free T (or specify no freebie at all), or some options if you want a surprise T - OW/NW, arboreals/fossorials/terrestrials, ect.

 

[8 legged]

I personally love them.
BUT it's rarely stupid when a Brachypelma is ordered and a Pterinochilus is included as a freebie...
Often people are not aware of what they are looking at! That hardly shows responsibility!

 

[Darth Vehl]

With Mexican breeders we don't have such thing as freebies, you only get the tarantulas you paid for. LOL

 

[Charlie TT]

I love them, but I've only ever bought from one company, and I would imagine that that's the biggest factor. I've had 3 orders and so 3 freebies: first was a dram container of B lateralis. Second was a T albopilosum; this order had consisted entirely of new worlds. Third freebie was an Orphnaecus sp. Quezon Blue; this order was $400 worth of old worlds, including 4 OBT slings. So it's been nice that they seem to match the freebie to the order.

 

[Venom Man]

I like freebies my most recent freebie is a aphonoplema seemanni blue form

 

[USNGunner]

I like the freebies I have received, but I picked mine. It was a great way to add a T to my collection. I would not want a T I didn't select, the T's I have I selected each for a specific reason or trait. I can't imagine:

"What is this thing? Crap, that is an AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH! Uh honey, we have a spider loose."

LOL. So yeah, If I can select one fine, but I hate surprises.