Major invert categories?

MorphMarket.com is adding a top level inverts category. What subcategories are the major ones we need to have?

For comparison, this will be similar to our “other” areas:

e.g.,

  • spiders
  • insects
  • centipedes
  • millipedes
  • scorpions

UPDATE: separated centi/milli

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I think centipedes and millipedes would be better separated personally. They are very different in care and precautions with handling.

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I would love to see morph market add Tarantulas, millipedes, isopods, scorpions, solifugae, centipedes, stick insects, mantids, and… probably every other type of bug/arachnid available.

but if I had to add a single category to your list it would be isopods.

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+1 for Mantids

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  • spiders
  • insects
  • centipedes
  • millipedes
  • scorpions

I would definitely expand these categories as Isopods aren’t insects. Plus the term insects is way to generic of a category as mentioned above about mantis/ stick/leaf insects. I also understand you’re probably waiting to see if this area takes traction before putting time into it. Unfortunately most Invert people won’t take the current categories serious enough to want to post. Love that you’re offering a place as FB continues it’s BS. Thank you.

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@john Any update on this? I know some of the tarantula groups on FB are being shut down due to selling animals. Seems like FB is targeting the “exotic” animal groups more than the others. A ton of people looking for a positive, safe place to post their Inverts for sale. And just as many looking for a safe secure place to buy their inverts.

@usinvertebrate_auction @serpent-alchemy I need some more specifics. Its seems like we got a lot of votes for these core categories:

  • spiders
  • centipedes
  • millipedes
  • scorpions
  • mantids
  • isopods
  • insects
  • “other invertebrates”

But then there are some other ones. @usinvertebrate_auction you said:

I would definitely expand these categories as Isopods aren’t insects.

But can you specifically list out what those expansions are?

Other things mentioned have been:

  • assassin bugs
  • tarantulas
  • solifugae
  • stick insects

I probably would like to keep the total around 10-ish. We went way overboard with turtles/torts and are probably going to simplify those back down.

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I agree with this for the most part. I do agree that this is a pretty good list to start with. I also think that centipedes and millipedes should be separate but I definetley think adding tarantulas and maybe even true spider should be considered.

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FYI everyone – I am planning to launch inverts tomorrow morning.

You can see the initial subcategories below.

37%20AM

43%20AM

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A little bad news on this front. There were some… complications… with inverts, because it’s the first category outside of “reptiles” to date.

This means it’s going to require reworking some things, which is going to take more time than we have budgeted right now for the inverts release relative to other MorphMarket priorities.

So the good news is a lot of the work was done, but the bad news is we are going to postpone this until later this year. Sorry!

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Thanks for the update! I had realized earlier this morning there is no great place for some of our inverts besides arachnoboards. Many of us have no reason to visit this board other than to possibly part ways with a few random things, however many people visit this website for the purpose of reptiles. I really feel this new section will bring a new powerhouse to the website. Can’t wait for it to be up and running!

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Sorry I’m a bit late to the party, but here’s my take:
It’s best to keep it as simple as possible, especially when launching a new portion of the site. New additions can always be made, yeah? While sub categories are always fun, getting too specific can make it overwhelming for new users and leave them rather neglected.

Solifugae is a fantastic order, but to be honest I had never heard of it and I’ve been in the game for a while. There may be a handful of keepers but not enough to mandate an entirely separate category.

A general category for spiders would be best at first in my opinon. While they are classified differently as “true” spiders, people will know to look for spiders under, well, spiders. There is a strong tarantula community and a jumping spider community, but not much in the way of other spiders - others are typically wild caught and kept in captivity, not bred for sale.

Assassin bugs would make a good separate category. I see them frequently listed for sale, brag posts on forums, and on display/available at shows.

As pointed out already, an isopod category would be valuable- I am a bit biased since I am eyeballs deep in isopods, but there are many dealers, interested parties, and the isopod market continues to grow with the bioactive movement.

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Hello,
Any update on this project ? Thanks. :+1:

@john where’s my mantises?! :wink:

No real update, working on other stuff.

Right now trying to improve the performance (speed) of the site.

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Good news, I’m starting to work on this again. It’s at the top of my list now for big projects.

Once we get this done, Amphibians will be right behind it.

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I was pretty active in the invert hobby for a decade or so. Tarantulas are the most commonly kept and bred inverts in the world. It’s not even close. In fact, you could break tarantulas into subcategories (old world/new world) (terrestrial/arboreal) and those groups would be the two most popular sections on the invert list. Or even by genus, then tarantulas will be the top ten categories at least.

The other thing is you need to understand how breeders and dealers work. Some species of tarantulas lay over 1000 eggs. Dealers keep multiples of each species, like 25-50 of each species. When you shop for tarantulas you get a list of as many species as the dealer is carrying and the cost. Unless someone is selling an adult or near adult, it will not be “what you see is what you get”. Most dealers will want to have one add that list all of their animals. You could make one listing per genus or species. They will not list each animal individually. Most tarantulas will sell for under $40. It won’t be worth it to list them individually. Seriously the best dealers will have at least 50 species at various stages of life, with prices varying based on size and sex. Some dealers will have 200 species.

The best way to do this honestly would be like this
Multiple categories of tarantula (old world/ new world) or (terrestrial/arboreal) or by genus (Avicularia, Brachypelma, Grammostola, Poecilotheria, other)

After tarantulas would be
scorpions
Other aracnids
Insects

I know this seems very tarantula-centric. But I can promise you the number of tarantula adds will be five times larger than the rest combined if it is done right.

You can check out invert adds by joining arachnoboards and checking out their classifieds.

This could be a great thing if you can figure out how to do it.

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Hey everyone, inverts are LIVE on our site now! Of course the categories are empty right now, so please post some ads if you have 'em.

@azjohn Thank you for the feedback. Because I already had this work done, we went with the categories as they were – although they can be changed. But in particular, your feedback about “exact items” is useful. Right now this can be done on our site but it requires a standard membership to use a “representative photo” feature. Will consider how this should work – possibly making rep photo be the default in this area. Rep photos are a free feature in developing areas, so this is available to everyone. Perhaps should be default, we’ll see how people use it.

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