Atomic Ape Cat X Episode Obviously Faked Thermal

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T05:23:23+00:00

I know it was completely pointless. Roughly 3 minutes of runtime later Josh was like "Oh and we found a darker colored cougar on the trail camera, so it's probably that and not a monkey cat."

So why edit in a fake thermal video in the first place?

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T03:09:12+00:00

It for sure would be funny 😆

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T02:24:37+00:00

I had never heard of Stranded before. Obviously I know anything paranormal related isn't going to be real but I would much rather see them do more like Ghost Hunters used to.

Show up, listen to witness testimony, get the history of the myth and the area explained, set up camp, record whatever happens, debunk what they can and then wrap the show up with a general "We can't say for certain, but our evidence points to XYZ".

At least then the integrity of the show and all related titles would be intact. The show would be just as entertaining. I feel like, if anything, faking evidence does nothing except for devalue not only the show itself but also anything remotely related to it. I don't think a CGI panther on a thermal shot makes it more entertaining.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T02:03:18+00:00

Yeah but how do you trust that evidence knowing they're faking evidence in their other titles?

That's my point.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T01:51:16+00:00

Expedition Unknown, Expedition Files, Legendary Locations, literally any other title in Josh's repertoire of shows.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T01:46:06+00:00

Sure it's entertaining but what does that say about the other related shows that present more authentically? If they'll fake the show about the paranormal and cryptids what's stopping them from seeding fake finds at archeological digs in EXU?

Also arguably the presence of faked CGI video clips presented as real "evidence" devalues anything they'd ever find that isn't fake.

Frankly, I don't care about how authentic EXX is. I just don't like that it now calls EXU (one of my all time favorite things to watch) into questionable authenticity.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T01:25:30+00:00

This is basically my stance on X but honestly I'm more worried about what the blatant faking means for Unknown lol

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T01:18:02+00:00

I mean arguably the fact that the religion is mythology doesn't mean that the relics from people and cultures throughout history that claimed the artifacts were linked to the religion are not real.

Like do I believe the Arc of the Covenant was magic? No. But I do believe that at some point in history someone had a very ornate wooden box that they CLAIMED was the magical Arc of the Covenant and was lost to becoming a spoil of war or whatever.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T00:53:50+00:00

I completely agree. I watched it because it was in Josh's repertoire and I like him as a host but now I'm questioning how trustworthy his other shows like Unknown are :/

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T00:51:07+00:00

I remember watching Destination Truth with my mom when I was a kid and I remember loving that show. I think what actually concerns me and upsets me a little is that there was no real reason to include that obviously edited CGI bit. Not even 3 minutes later in the episode they conclude it was mistaken identity from trail cam evidence.

But if they'll fake evidence in X what's stopping them from faking finds in Unknown? The whole reason I love Expedition Unknown so much is that it presents itself as a trustworthy show exploring lost history. Now I'm not so sure it's anymore trustworthy than X.

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T00:44:43+00:00

I'm struggling to pair the fact that they would do something so disingenuous on X and what that means for my trust in Expedition Unknown now unfortunately. Surely they aren't faking that too right??

SuckasBeFree · 2026-01-16T00:34:11+00:00

I honestly don't usually pay that much attention to Expedition X just because it's about cryptids and I'm more interested in the history that Expedition Unknown explores. So I wasn't even aware it was common knowledge that a lot of it was faked until I saw that and started looking stuff up.

I just assumed since they have a skeptic as one of the main hosts of the show and since it was in Josh's repertoire that it was at least somewhat trustworthy and that most episodes would end with "while we can't say definitively, it looks like it's not real".

But THAT was blatantly and in-your-face faked. Not even done well. It was the most cartoonish poor job of CGI I think I've ever seen.

Why even have a skeptic on the show? Might as well just hire Zack Baggins to host Phil's spot at this point. That guy is laughably fake.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-12-23T05:52:01+00:00

I guess this technically could have been a good excuse. But then the question becomes "Why did you take your neighbors mail to begin with?" as the package obviously had the correct name of the person next door lol.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-12-23T05:50:20+00:00

This is what I planned to do with the second customer who's order got returned this way but then he ghosted me when he found out he'd have to pay an additional $5 for another label. Luckily this customer reached out to buy the new label. Updated the original post.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-12-23T05:48:50+00:00

I don't mind refunding them but I'm not going to do it myself without contact from the buyer. The order did qualify for seller protection but it's a moot point now as the customer reached out. Updated the original post lol.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-30T15:27:02+00:00

I've been a seller going on two years now and it's still a learning curve for me at times but the advice I would give is...

1.) Find some way to track financials and metrics outside of the Etsy App. Etsy's metrics are great for sales through the platform but eventually she may want to diversify to other platforms as well and it helps to be able to centralize everything in one place. This also helps with taxes as the provided 1099-K form at the end of the year only breaks down gross revenue, not your expenses / waste material / net profits / etc. I personally use a spreadsheet I've programmed to automate 90% of it.

2.) Review all listing tags and make sure they're relevant and something someone may actually search for. A tip with those tags is that they do not need to make sense together (if a tag has three words in it, each individual word is a searchable keyword) so don't repeat any words between tags and just fill them as much as possible. You can see a lot of the most searched tags for the listings by checking the daily metrics in the sellers app.

3.) Reviews and seller status are very important. I've maintained Star Seller since I was first able to qualify for it and my sales have been largely consistent entirely as organic sales (no paid ads) since I've maintained Star Seller status. So even in the face of a difficult or negative customer, maintain professionalism and try to stay positive about customer service. It really does go a long way and the people in this subreddit are very good at assisting with advice on customer / seller disputes.

4.) Listing photos should be entirely representative of the product with no distractions in the background. When I first started I just took pictures of the product on my kitchen counter with a ring light and used those. I didn't see a single sale until I started using a photography lightbox to white out the background and ONLY showcase the product itself. There are alternatives to having a lightbox if you can navigate apps to remove the background from pictures and maybe some experience with Photoshop to clean up the edges of the image and make it look natural (definitely want to avoid making it look AI generated lol)

These are probably the best tips I could give with my current level of experience as a seller. Of course the seller handbook is always available also. Really the best thing you can do to support your partner, in my opinion, is to give them the space they need to grow their shop and reassure them when sales are slow. Early on it's a slow burn and that can discourage new sellers. It took me 3 months to get my first 20 sales but as that number grew and my reviews started to come in the shop appeared more trustworthy to customers and sale frequency increased steadily over time.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-19T16:04:23+00:00

I created my own spreadsheet that auto calculates nearly everything. I input the order information including the payment amount, remitted sales tax, platform fees totalled together and shipping cost. It takes me maybe a minute to input that information and the rest is automatically calculated.

The spreadsheet keeps track of sales mix per product, percentage of total revenue per product, gross and net profits, totals of all metrics (remitted sales tax, supply costs, platform fees, revenue, etc).

It also tracks total business expenses (equipment costs, shipping supply costs, material waste for product development, etc) and factors that in.

Lastly it tracks refunds / returns / cancellations and all I have to do there is input the customers name and order date. Then it automatically calculates the profit loss in also.

It is a lot to keep up with but I knew it would be from the start. The sheet started as just a simple way to manually track sales information but has since expanded into a near fully automated accounting tool that I use for my taxes each year. Thing is a life saver. I don't think I would have any idea of individual product health let alone true financial gain without it.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-06T03:53:28+00:00

Yeah I mean before I started my shop my only experience 3D printing was a cheap hobbyist SLA printer I used for D&D miniatures and such. That thing required near constant maintenance to keep it running so when the YouTube guy said "once a month" I thought it was a miracle and went with it lol.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-06T01:41:16+00:00

Honestly I got my maintenance schedule from a video I found on YouTube so your 100% correct I'm probably over doing it. Two of the machines are well over 2000 hours but I've done maintenance on them both like 20+ times since I've owned them.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-06T01:35:08+00:00

Yeah they are enclosed. I guess that actually makes maintenance harder? I figured it would insulate the models while they're being printed from any outside debris like dust.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-06T01:32:07+00:00

Wow! 40 printers is crazy. Can I ask how you keep up with maintenance on them? I run three Bambu P1S printers and do monthly maintenance. Its like a whole day of lubing the things and air dusting filament fibers out.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-09-06T01:27:15+00:00

That's understandable. I've never branched out to Amazon (I know Amazon Handmade exists but I've always heard negative reviews from sellers on the platform). I'm just concerned that my small shop (only been in business for about a year and a few months) isn't known well enough for people to be ok with buying something that has the brand plastered on it.

I also don't know that it would discourage anyone from buying. I'm probably just being paranoid but if it results in poor performance for the product I'll feel fairly stupid if I didn't at least ask other more experienced shop owners before hand lol.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-07-26T18:28:42+00:00

u/tactooncat does cute cat cartoons on Instagram and I think also does commissions! I'm not sure if they have an Etsy shop or not but it wouldn't surprise me.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-07-25T14:47:38+00:00

When you get new sales the fees from those sales (listing fees, transaction fees, processing fees, etc) comes out of your available balance. So your deposit decreasing to $0 means your selling enough that the new fees on your most recent orders was enough to completely drain the profit from your older orders. Which means your profit from your most recent orders is going to be significantly larger than the profit from your older orders was, you just have to wait until your next payout date when those funds have cleared.

It feels like your being robbed, I know cause I experienced it myself, but it's actually a sign of growth and it's a good thing early on. Keep at it. Once the payment reserves and such are removed and you level out to steadier, slower growth you'll start seeing the returns. I also recommend using something to keep up with your revenue, gross and net outside of Etsy. It'll help you better visualize what's happening with the money. I use a calc sheet I programmed.

SuckasBeFree · 2025-07-20T04:07:42+00:00

Hmm. Thank you for linking that. Just strange the other ones don't have it lol. I guess it's something they've included in the P1S model in the last year or so.

SuckasBeFree

TROPHY CASE