Thought I'd see what people think

[Colorful Balls]

Let me set this up by saying a few months back we purchased a 100% Het Orange Ghost BP from a breeder at a Herp show. The guy we bought it from said he had paperwork for it but did not have it with him and he would send it to us asap. A month went by with no paperwork so Sean emailed him and never recieved a response. Sean emailed a somewhat nasty email to him about how disappointed he was with the way he was doing business. Noting also the many negative feedback testimonials on the guys webpage. This was the response he recieved.


That was my dad that sold you the ball. I ( Zach- Zach Currie Reptiles ) do not deal with any ball pythons mainly larger pythons, anacondas, and a few colubrids. I actually don't even own 1 ball. I know my dad talked to a guy last week about getting the paperwork, he has had to track it down but we know who bred it. Feel free to call him at **********, his name is Phil. As far as ruining my name I see no point in that but if you want go ahead, it will not hurt my business one bit. I have plenty of satisfied customers who will back up my name if anyone ever has any questions, because honestly, I am one of the best to deal with. That was my purpose in putting up my Testimonial page on my site, which has plenty but hasn't even been updated in 3 months so there are plenty more. Your last e-mail , I forwarded to him so I don't know if you got a response or not. But you cannot intimidate me , and I am sure you may think you can put a "Sting" but I know too many people in the reptile community and reptile business that I deal with profesionally and honestly every week so you can do no damage to my business but like I said I am not the one you need to talk to.


Am I out of line to think that this is no way to do business as a professional breeder? I believe a simple appology would have been in better taste.

[jason221]

In my mind, it looks like he's trying to defend himself after he or his "dad" made a mistake. Not something I look for in a quality reptile breeder.

[Rapture]

IMO you shouldn't have to have any kind of trouble contacting your seller. This is annoying and causes a lot of undue stress, whether the genetics are true about the snake or not.

[recycling goddess]

so did you call phil?

[J.Vandegrift]

Sounds like to me you bought a normal. I would never buy a snake from someone who said he "does not have the paper work with him". That would send up big red flags for me. Was it a male or a female you bought?

[TekWarren]

so did you call phil?

Although it sounds like the start of a goose chase I would at least put forth the effort call "Phil" who knows maybe he is telling the truth!

Otherwise, another lesson learned about purchasing. If you don't feel you can trust the person...even if you think you can, demand paperwork up front. A quality hard working breeder is not likely to "forget" paperwork like that if they really expect to make the sale.

[recycling goddess]

especially with hets. since you can't visually see what they are packing... i would only purchase one from a respected and reputable breeder.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Am I out of line to think that this is no way to do business as a professional breeder?

What would make you call some moron sitting behind a table at a reptile swap a "professional breeder"?

I think the way this person "does business" is pretty typical of the majority of people that set up tables at shows ... there are definitely some great people selling animals at shows, but unless you know who they are BEFORE you go to the show, you're rolling the dice.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[rabernet]

there are definitely some great people selling animals at shows, but unless you know who they are BEFORE you go to the show, you're rolling the dice.

Hope this helps.

-adam

I couldn't agree more! Whenever there's a show locally, I print the vendor list about a week before the show, and start researching on the BOI. I sort of grade them 1-3. 1's are people who have favorable BOI threads and who I am somewhat familiar with. 2's are people who don't have any reputation on BOI and 3's are those with a history of bad transactions on the BOI.

I will only do business with the 1's. Usually there are only 3 or 4 "1's" (for me) of people I will consider buying from.

Occassionally, I'll get to the show and there will be a vendor that I'm already familiar with (like Ballroom Pythons South) that wasn't on the vendor list, but was very familiar with their quality, who I'd also buy from.

And just a personal thing for me, I ALWAYS pass from a vendor who has a ton of babies in one small display tank. I don't see the balls, I see nothing but potential parasite or sickness.

Basically a lot of words to say - anytime you go to a local reptile show, it's always good to have done your homework, not just on how to care for your new pet, but also of the vendors who will be showing.

[tmlowe5704]

I couldn't agree more! Whenever there's a show locally, I print the vendor list about a week before the show, and start researching on the BOI. I sort of grade them 1-3. 1's are people who have favorable BOI threads and who I am somewhat familiar with. 2's are people who don't have any reputation on BOI and 3's are those with a history of bad transactions on the BOI.

I will only do business with the 1's. Usually there are only 3 or 4 "1's" (for me) of people I will consider buying from.

Occassionally, I'll get to the show and there will be a vendor that I'm already familiar with (like Ballroom Pythons South) that wasn't on the vendor list, but was very familiar with their quality, who I'd also buy from.

And just a personal thing for me, I ALWAYS pass from a vendor who has a ton of babies in one small display tank. I don't see the balls, I see nothing but potential parasite or sickness.

Basically a lot of words to say - anytime you go to a local reptile show, it's always good to have done your homework, not just on how to care for your new pet, but also of the vendors who will be showing.

good advice, i started searching the BOI a few nights ago for vendors that will be at the show here next month