Freebies....most common kind?

[MichaelH]

Just curious to see what species some of you have gotten as freebies when youve placed orders from breeders/dealers. The one and only order I have ever made from a breeder (3 yrs. ago) I got an A. seemanni as a freebie but it died during a molt while it was about 3/4".
I recently made an order and was asked what I would like as a freebie, so I suggested a few species for the guy to choose from. Is it a common practice for the breeder to let you choose your freebie?

 

[Immortal_sin]

I received an E rufescens from Kelly Swift when I ordered from him. It's my understanding that he will try to give a freebie to kinda go along with the order. In other words, he wouldn't give a P cancerides to a newbie that had just ordered an Avic, A seemanni, and G rosea...
Also, I'm sure it has alot to do with what species they currently have slings from. As far as choosing, I hadn't heard of that, but that is cool too!
I had totally forgotten that Swifty even does freebies...so it was a big (and very nice!) surprise for me.

 

[Trinity]

I think it most likely has the most to do with what the dealer has an abundance of. The first order I ever placed was to Realm of Inverts about 3 years ago. I ordered a G. pulchra and was given a A. Avic, much to my surprise. I was so new I didnt know freebies were often included. And recently Botar has generously given me two tiny slings, a rosie and a cobalt. Its cool the dealer let you choose. Although, I kinda like the "surprise" element involved in "freebies."

 

[webspinner]

The freebie subject is taboo for me because sometimes you get the same T over and over, as for me this happened with the salmon pink I now have 5. I always feel funny asking for a particular type of sp. so I just take what they give.

 

[Code Monkey]

Dealers that have given me freebies and what they gave me:

Pat Kane (when he was Regal): B. albopilosum sling.

Art Cerda: L. parahybana sling. Art gives out freebies based on the 'what do I have 10,000 of at the moment?' method.

John Hoke: extra Aphonopelma sp. "Flagstaff orange" slings - to quote him, "they were all over the place" Since Hoke doesn't give out freebies officially, they were extra appreciated on my part.

Kelly Swift: G. aureostriata, Puerto Rican black & yellow millipedes, Puerto Rican white millipedes. Swift really does a great job of tailoring the freebies to both what you order (and you specifically if you're a long term customer) as well as the size/value of your order.

In general, freebies are a great enticement but I do wish more dealers would offer some sort of choice along with increasing value of the freebie with the value of the order. If a freebie isn't something you're interested in, it's just an extra mouth to feed. I'd rather have a token dollar or three knocked off the bill than get the 5th A. avicularia or L. pahahybana.

 

[metallica]

sorry, but i don't see the use for "freebies". it's a spider that i didn't order and thus don't want/need. so bulk discount works better for me: buy 4 of a species, get the 5th free. also i never buy 1 spiderling of a species, i always get 5-10.
sure the dealer tells you that their this and this species.... but are they? if you have multiple spiders from the same sack, at least you know their the same species (even though their bro-sis.) here in europe most people buy their spiders direct from the breeder, so without a dealer. also a lot of breeders specialize in a genus of tarantulas, so they can tell you everything you need to know when buying one. maybe this is easier in europe because it is more compact?

Eddy

 

[Mendi]

I've gotten A. hentzi, E. campestratus, B. smithi, a juvie sized T became an adult female, P. murinus, B. albopilosum, G. pulchra, and P. cambridgei. Several dozen roaches, and a couple others that are escaping the memory... Mine have always matched the order fairly well, and the amount I was spending on individual specimums. I've suggested before, but enjoy the surprise species more.

 

[rosehaired1979]

I guess it depends on the dealer to because if you are communication through them on the phone you can discuss your freebie or also if you ask if you can have this particular tarantula and its a reasonable freebie and they have alot of them then they will give it to ya. Course some dealers through email ask what you want your freebie to be so its just up to the dealer

 

[Lopez]

sorry, but i don't see the use for "freebies". it's a spider that i didn't order and thus don't want/need. so bulk discount works better for me: buy 4 of a species, get the 5th free. also i never buy 1 spiderling of a species, i always get 5-10.
sure the dealer tells you that their this and this species.... but are they? if you have multiple spiders from the same sack, at least you know their the same species (even though their bro-sis.) here in europe most people buy their spiders direct from the breeder, so without a dealer. also a lot of breeders specialize in a genus of tarantulas, so they can tell you everything you need to know when buying one. maybe this is easier in europe because it is more compact?

Eddy

Same sort of thing goes for me too Eddy. I bought some Chilobrachys and Haplopelma off a French guy, who gave me freebies which were just more of the same. So I got 2x C.huahini and 2x"longipedum" when I only paid for one.

Freebies of different genera are cool if you're a stamp collector, but it would be like me buying some regalis off you and you throwing in a free baumgarteni. What the hell am I supposed to do with one of those? ;P

 

[Lyle Beach]

What to do with freebies?

Why not get more people into the hobby? I know that if I didn't want or need the freebie I recieved, I would find someone to give it to.

My 13 y/o brother would probably love one! And with us (here on the board), already T keepers ourselves, we would be able to show people proper care and such.

Maybe you could take it down to your local Elementary school and see if one of the teacers would like to have the T in the classroom for a "class pet". That way kids will learn to appriciate spiders, rather than fear them. My brother had a T for a class pet when he was in the 3rd grade. The kids loved it!

If we get more people into the hobby.... heck maybe we may see a $75-100 P. metallica sooner than we think! lol

 

[metallica]

like me buying some regalis off you and you throwing in a free baumgarteni. What the hell am I supposed to do with one of those? ;P

hey i don't do freebies! you want it, you pay for it! ( yes, i'm Dutch )

 

[xalbinox]

If we get more people into the hobby.... heck maybe we may see a $75-100 P. metallica sooner than we think! lol

yea don't we all wish I'll take 3

 

[ScorpDude]

freebies would be nice, but if you wanted that pet, you would of ordered it right? and how come ppl give out freebies? is it when you order alot on spiders? or do yuo get them when you just order 1? im in the UK and i dont think there are many freebies here

 

[Lopez]

freebies would be nice, but if you wanted that pet, you would of ordered it right? and how come ppl give out freebies? is it when you order alot on spiders? or do yuo get them when you just order 1? im in the UK and i dont think there are many freebies here

Here's a UK freebie - would you like 3 free Acanthoscurria sternalis? All you need pay is postage.

Eddy, you know better than to send me anything itchy anyway! I have enough trouble caring for the NW spiders I already have!

 

[LPacker79]

From Swifty - P. cancerides

Hoke - P. cancerides (Received that order the same week as the order from Swift)

Art - Discoid roaches. He was giving out L. parahybanas at the time, but I chose roaches as I already had 15 parahybanas at the time.

 

[InsaneCaine]

I think freebies are great, and they can really add value to your order. I've received the following freebies: Aphonopelma borelli and Cyclosternum fasciatum. I really wanted the C. fasciatum, so I was extremely happy when I received it.

 

[genious_gr]

Here's a UK freebie - would you like 3 free Acanthoscurria sternalis? All you need pay is postage.

Eddy, you know better than to send me anything itchy anyway! I have enough trouble caring for the NW spiders I already have!

Why's that, do you have 1000s of them?? Or are you beeing ironic?? I have the impression that they are rare...

 

[Lopez]

Why's that, do you have 1000s of them?? Or are you beeing ironic?? I have the impression that they are rare...

Nah, not thousands - just 29.
But I only want one for myself......I'm not a big New World keeper.

As for rarity, yes true sternalis are quite rare. I believe there are only one, maybe two egg sacs in the trade, though adults sometimes appear IIRC.

 

[webspinner]

Wow I never knew how manny people don't really appriciate the freebies. I will never pass one up because we know all know that in the T hobby we will need a replacement T. for those bad molts.

 

[Zach Valois]

I'm down with freebies!

Wow I never knew how manny people don't really appriciate the freebies. I will never pass one up because we know all know that in the T hobby we will need a replacement T. for those bad molts.

i totally agree with webspinner. I know how it can feel to have over 500 hundred(or more!) T's to care for, from my previous herp/invert company experiances. But i'm nearly 17, work seven days a week, school, and 160+ T's(not including my countless numbers of other inverts and herps) that i pay for and care for completely by myself. So i give out freebies too just to lighten the load of not having to feed small ass babies! Let me note that these are my personal "pets" and only large eggsacks that i hatch myself are ever to be sold. I REALLY like to take the time and observe the T's behavior and day to day life style.

From experiance i like this ALOT better than being a dealer. I would never turn down a freebie. And like W/Spinner said"you gotta have a couple of replacments now and again".

I have gotten bigger T's too as freebies:

G. gigas FEMALE 3"+
H. maculata 1"+
C. fimbriatus 1"
P. irminia 1"
C. crawshayi 3"
E. camperstriatus FEMALE 4"

i could go on and on.....these were all from Kelly.
He has tons of things that arn't even on his website.
I have talked on the phone with him many a times, and he always lets me know what stuff he hasn't or won't post on the price list.
But i do buy quite large orders from him. But he is my
#1 dealer!!!! Always nice, cheap prices, NOTHING but the best quality T's and shipping, and ofcourse great freebies.


Zach
OutLander Invertebrates