MICE DIRECT,, what a JOKE.

Just as a heads up for anybody that is thinking about using them, and might want the opinion of some one that has had some first hand experience.
I wont tell you how I feel about them,, and I wont tell you what I said to Nathan from mice direct, but I can give you the facts of my previous experience with them, and let you decide if its the service you expect.
First, I started calling them at the beginning of Feburary, alway left messages, no one ever answered the phone. Eventualy, I got a call back and said that I had a few questions about a upcoming show that they were going to be at (3-31-12/ 4-1-12). Ther person that called me back told me that I was going to need to call Nathan because he was the one that did the shows. The person told me I needed to leave a message with him because he (Nathan) never answers his phone. Well,,, I left a message on Nathans phone, but he never called back, so I called the origional number (Mice direct) and left ANOTHER message asking if they were still in business, and if so, Id like to place a order to be picked up. FINALLY, the guy from Mice Direct called me back and I told him what I needed, and he said he would have Nathan call me.. Nathan called,, and ask for my Email and this is the Email I got:
From: Show Sales <micedirectshows@gmail.com>

To: liveoakreptiles@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, March 1, 2012 2:09 PM
Subject: Perry Repticon Show Feeders



Jason,
Please let me know what sizes and quantities you are needing and I will send you a price quote back next week.

Thanks,
Nathan

And heres what I replied:
On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 7:18 PM, Jason <liveoakreptiles@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi,

Here is a list of what we need:

2 bags pup rats (100 rats)
1 bag small rats (50 rats)
1 bag weaned rats (50 rats)
21 bags medium rats (420 rats)
11 bags jumbo rats (55 rats)

If you can get a price quote before next Tuesday (02/06/12) that would be good.

thanks,
Jason
And then:
From: Show Sales <micedirectshows@gmail.com>
To: Jason <liveoakreptiles@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 1:55 AM
Subject: Re: Perry Repticon Show Feeders

Hey Jason,
As long as everything is in stock which it appears that it should be at that time. Your order will come to $1045. You can pay for it at the show and all I would need is a phone number in case there is an issue with your order.

Thanks,
Nathan
FAST FORWARD to today (3-31-12) I show up to the show, found the Mice direct booth, and say "HI ,Im Jason, I placed a order with yall". So after Nathan does something on his phone for about 10 minuets, he tells me "I sent you a Email yesterday morning did you get it?" (NO, I dident get it, because I dident check it yesterday,,,,,,my fault) .anyway,, here it is:

FROM:Micedirectshows TO:liveoakreptiles@yahoo.com Message flagged Friday, March 30, 2012 10:13 AM
Jason,
We currently have a shortage on sm-jumbo rats, and will not be able to fill your whole order. I am checking to see how many med and jumbos we can do right now for you. What we might be able to do is part of your order now and in a few weeks bring some more your way on a Floridia show run. Let me know if that might work? But right now we are looking at maybe 60 Med and 20 jumbos.


Thanks

I laughed in His face and told him that that was WEAK. Thing about it was that they had a whole lot more that what I was asking for in their freezer right infront of me but he said that he couldent sell those to me because those were to be sold at "show price" and not at the "discounted pre order price".

for those that choose to use them,,, I hope you have better luck than I did. Now, I must go so I can place an order with Rodent Pro.
Jason

Should've just used rodent pro from the start ;-) I've never dealt with Mice Direct, but I know right now a LOT of places are having a major shortage on Jumbos, Larges, and Medium rats. Guess its the breeding season rush, but Rodent Pro gave me a ship date 2 weeks from purchase date for a small order of 100 Small and 30 Jumbo as of last weekend. Still have to wait another week minimum before shipment will be here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

he (Nathan) never answers his phone.

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I ain't too bright, but that doesn't seem good for business... :rolleye2:

Rodent pro is cheaper too.
Idk why he would choose not to sell you them. Are "show prices" higher than the ones online or lower?
Im pretty sure if i have the chance to sell someone over $1K of rats im gunna do my best to make the sale lol...

When I dealt with rodent breeders at the NARBC last year the prices were about 25% cheaper than online plus no outrages shipping charges. But this was neither Rodent Pro nor Mice Direct

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Rodent pro is cheaper too.
Idk why he would choose not to sell you them. Are "show prices" higher than the ones online or lower?
Im pretty sure if i have the chance to sell someone over $1K of rats im gunna do my best to make the sale lol...

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this might answer that.. I dident post this conversation because i dident think that it was relavent, but sence you ask..


On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Jason <liveoakreptiles@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thanks for the reply,
I have a few more questions.
1. do you accept debit/credit cards at the shows?
2. how will you have the rats at the show,, are they already boxed w/ dry ice, or do I need to bring a cooler.
3. Why is the price higher than the total (without shipping) from mice direct? I was under the impression that buying from a show would eliminate the shipping cost?
Thanks again for your time
Jason

Hey Jason,

1.) We do accept Credit Cards at the show but will have to charge tax since it is a sale within the state of Georgia. If you can pay cash at the show we will pay the tax as we will not have to pay the bank for the credit card processing fees.

2.) At the shows we have the rodents stored in freezers so if you can bring a cooler that would be perfect.


3.) The prices at the shows are generally higher due to the additional cost associated with the shows such as travel expense, labor, show sponsorship, etc... But by placing a pre order, we can cut that price for regular customers with larger orders. Such as the regular show price for your order would have come to $1415.00. We also try to make sure that your order total comes out less than it would be with the shipping.


If there is anything else please let me know.


Thanks,


Nathan


Hope this explains stuff........
jason

Woooow so he basically screwed you over bc of $300? I mean its not like he would have made out that much better bc if he had to ship them to you then it would have cost money bc of the size of your order. lol some people...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Should've just used rodent pro from the start ;-) I've never dealt with Mice Direct, but I know right now a LOT of places are having a major shortage on Jumbos, Larges, and Medium rats. Guess its the breeding season rush, but Rodent Pro gave me a ship date 2 weeks from purchase date for a small order of 100 Small and 30 Jumbo as of last weekend. Still have to wait another week minimum before shipment will be here.

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Iv always used RP, I was just trying to save on shipping. I started thses conversations with them over a month and 1/2 ago, to make sure that i was going to get my stock. I would have understood, and acepted it if they were short 100 or so,,, but I ask for 400+ in the begining, and at the last minute they said all they could do me was 60...?????? thats a big diference. And remember,,,,, they had ALOT more than what I ordered sitting right infront of me in one of there freezers.
jason

If they had the rodents in the freezers, then in MY opinion, those were your order and you should have left the show happy with your full order.

Your order was pre-made and should be fulfilled FIRST before the possible sales to the general public who did not make arrangements. I could understand if they had several orders and were going to short everyone so that every order got at least some of the jumbo, etc. But to say it was just to sell at the show is a bit ridiculous.

Sorry you had the bad experience and I hope next order from whoever goes smoothly!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

If they had the rodents in the freezers, then in MY opinion, those were your order and you should have left the show happy with your full order.

Your order was pre-made and should be fulfilled FIRST before the possible sales to the general public who did not make arrangements. I could understand if they had several orders and were going to short everyone so that every order got at least some of the jumbo, etc. But to say it was just to sell at the show is a bit ridiculous.

Sorry you had the bad experience and I hope next order from whoever goes smoothly!

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Totally agree, that's just bad business on their part. Hope you get what you were hoping for elsewhere.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by notmyfault

Totally agree, that's just bad business on their part. Hope you get what you were hoping for elsewhere.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

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I agree. bottom line, it doesent matter if you spend $5, or $5k,customer satisfaction is the key to success,, in the end, word of mouth is eigther what breaks a business,,,, or makes one excel.
jason

Wow, sorry to hear about this... I've been using them for about a year and a half and I've always had good experiences with Mice Direct, but then my orders have always been 100-150 so nothing the size of yours. It did irritate me that the show prices were more than the online prices, But he ended up cutting me a break and it came out to about $30 cheaper than it would have been shipped.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wes

Wow, sorry to hear about this... I've been using them for about a year and a half and I've always had good experiences with Mice Direct, but then my orders have always been 100-150 so nothing the size of yours. It did irritate me that the show prices were more than the online prices, But he ended up cutting me a break and it came out to about $30 cheaper than it would have been shipped.

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It sounds like you got a fair deal. after all, you picked them up, so why pay for shipping? Its kinda funny,, but I spent $30 in gas to get there. LOL
Your experience is what a consumer should expect. My experience was lacking.
jason

Spooky, I use Mice Direct all time since they are usually the ones that come to the shows. I also have a very very hard time getting in touch with Nathan. Last time, I printed out our email conversation and brought it with me because since I always use them he DID give me a discount. However, it takes so long to hear anything back from him, I'm not always sure it will be right until I get to the show. I totally understand your frustration but for me getting them at a cheaper price going to the show works best.

I really hope they change the way they do things and become more customer friendly but I'm surprised Nathan didn't work with you. He has always worked with me on my orders. I'm sorry things didn't go right for ya. I do have a problem with standing at there for 20 minutes waiting to get some kind of service.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

Spooky, I use Mice Direct all time since they are usually the ones that come to the shows. I also have a very very hard time getting in touch with Nathan. Last time, I printed out our email conversation and brought it with me because since I always use them he DID give me a discount. However, it takes so long to hear anything back from him, I'm not always sure it will be right until I get to the show. I totally understand your frustration but for me getting them at a cheaper price going to the show works best.

I really hope they change the way they do things and become more customer friendly but I'm surprised Nathan didn't work with you. He has always worked with me on my orders. I'm sorry things didn't go right for ya. I do have a problem with standing at there for 20 minutes waiting to get some kind of service.

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well,, on his behalf, he did say that he would work with me and sell me 80 rats insted of 60 (400 + being the known amount).
QUOTE
"Hey Jason,
As long as everything is in stock which it appears that it should be at that time. Your order will come to $1045. You can pay for it at the show and all I would need is a phone number in case there is an issue with your order.

Thanks,
Nathan"

and BTW, I never got a phone call. only offering 60, when you ordered over 400 is kinda a issue ( in my opinion)
jason

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

... and BTW, I never got a phone call. only offering 60, when you ordered over 400 is kinda a issue ( in my opinion)
jason

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I agree, I never got a call either. I only got one lowsy email and I tried to email him back but never got another response.

Jason,

Have you tried the Gourmet Rodent? They're located in Newberry. You could make the drive over, pick out what you need.

http://www.gourmetrodent.com/

Bad way of doing business. Even more so in this market where almost everyone is on some type of forum and can spread either good or bad things about a business in the blink of an eye.

Sorry to hear about all this hassle and bad business. I'm lucky I have a local rodent supplier who knows my name and my order on sight and has the order ready even if I forget and don't call it in until the night before. Although, I do only pick up orders between 25 and 100 rats at a time.

I have heard bad things about MiceDirect too. It's crazy that he's so difficult to contact. That's really gotta be bad for business...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

Jason,

Have you tried the Gourmet Rodent? They're located in Newberry. You could make the drive over, pick out what you need.

http://www.gourmetrodent.com/

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yes, we have looked at them in the past, but they are about 2 hours away. After driving to the show and back today and coming back empty handed (as far as feeders go) Id have been better off investing the time to go somewhere else like where you sudgested. thanks for the link, Ill look deeper into it.
jason

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rob

Bad way of doing business. Even more so in this market where almost everyone is on some type of forum and can spread either good or bad things about a business in the blink of an eye.

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Couldnt agree more. With just this thread alone i most likely wont do business with mice direct...

The way they treated you Spooky was utterly ridiculous! The very least he could have done was CALL like he said he would. Had he called you, you probably wouldn't have bothered making the drive just to pick up feeders he didn't have. I don't think I will be attempting to buy from them in the future. Thanks for the heads up.

thanks mr spooky. It's good to get information on how people do business.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

thanks mr spooky. It's good to get information on how people do business.

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this was just my experience. Others, as posted above have had good experiences with them. I have tried to show the facts (by showing the Emails) and let everyone make their own decisions if they are thinking about using them.
IM not one that is always bashing people, as a matter of fact, I give props where there deserved. Like I said, if they were 100 short, I would have understood,,, after all when dealing in live animals, you can only anticipate the outcome. But when they say that they cant give me the order that I ask for (2 months ago) and more than my order is setting infront of me, AND HE TELLS ME HE WONT SELL ME THOSE,, is just SHADY. IMHO.
thanks
jason

I found out what the deal with Nathan is when I called Mice Direct yesterday to try to arrange to pick up some feeders on Saturday from Repticon Atlanta this coming Saturday. The man on the phone at Mice Direct told me that Mice Direct no longer goes to Repticon and he had asked them to take the name of his business off their vendor list. Then he gave me Nathan Vermont's name and told me that he is not part of Mice Direct (is merely somebody who buys and then re-sells their product at the shows). The guy from Mice Direct told me (as he said to some of you) that Nathan is bad about returning phone calls. I tried but got his voicemail.

I hated to pay shipping when I might not have had to but since it was getting late and Nathan wasn't returning my call, I went ahead and ordered directly online from Mice Direct. My pack of rat pups are due to arrive tomorrow, so will see how they look.

As best as I can tell, the main thing Mice Direct has done wrong is that they know this guy, Nathan makes their name look bad and yet they won't send one of their own representatives out to do the Repticon shows in order to reclaim it. Just asking Repticon to remove their business name from the vendor list as long as there is this one unreliable guy selling their product and making additional profit on it isn't good enough. Mice Direct really should be out there selling their own. That would go a long way towards pleasing potential customers allowing people to save the shipping charge, restoring confidence, and clearing up any confusion about their association with Nathan (or lack thereof).

I really hope they will decide to do this.