Reptile & Amphibian Forums

after reading the entire thread below, and having done this now for ten years, i think those problems today are much smaller than 10 years ago. when i started, female hets were a prize, you couldn't just buy whatever you wanted right away. they were very expensive, and you might have to put your name on a list for a year for the privledge of buying one. i got burned on several, we all did, but instead of just walking away, i just learned from it. in florida, we were blessed to have daytona, and all the bigs would show up every year. it was a crash course in profesionalism to buy a snake from ralph davis, a mere het, but he treated it like you were buying a crown jewel. he had a record card with the neck markings scetched on the back, he sexed it in front of you, and if you went home and looked on his clutch pics, it was the snake you asked for. if you bought a snake from pete kahl, he would implore you to take with you and not lose all the genetic information he had so you wouldn't inbreed. nerd and brian barcyk and the sutherlands would patiently answer any stupid questions i had about anything. i can't name all the people who took good care of me when i knew nothing, tom carlton, doug beard, ozzy, marc bailey, cv, my point is, i try to remember the good people in this, and the people that ripped me off don't matter to me. now there are plenty of snakes to choose from at fairly reasonable prices. if you are new to this, take your time and ask around about the people you are thinking of dealing with. the 'other' website can be helpful as well. this hobby/industry, or any other for that matter, will never be free of scumbags, that's not a reason to bail. just slow down a little bit. one thing i have learned [the hard way] is that there isn't a reason to get into any risky deals at this point. too many good people i can give my money to instead. kurt d.

Good post Kurt! I too have read the below post! I own 2 1/2 busineses and gotta tell you, if I could find an idiot proof business, that would be my next venture! Bottom line is, if you're dealing w/the public, you're gonna deal w/knuckleheads at some point! It comes w/the territory! If you fold your tent out of frustration, THEY WIN!

There are a lot more bad guys then good guys in this industry! if you can sattisfy 9 out of 10 customers, you are doing a great job, the other 10% could never be satisfied no matter what you do, customer service is less then desirable with most big players, no need to point fingers but they know and don't give a sheeze, the way they see it, he's not happy I'll just sell to the next guy...pretty sad...

I've only done business with 1-2 medium-big guys, but honestly I kinda like doing business with some of the little guys because it helps build their reps up as well.
The big guys like Ralph and Kevin have their reputation set in stone, and for most people no one will say other wise...but at one point they were just starting out as well, and it was building that rep that got them where they are today....and if I can be a part of helping someone reach that status, I like it.

Heck, I'm a "little fish" myself...but I have two good guy threads on a different forum, and I am stoked about them. I want to keep that trend up, and I intend to. Hopefully no one will be swayed away from business with me because I am not a big fish.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

www.youtube.com/reptilenexus

what would you think of a 34 yr old claiming 25 yrs experience? Does experience start the first time you hold a reptile?
Some people dig their own graves.
There's a zoological pets on another forum that really dug his own grave and still seems not to have learned anything.
I just cant feel sorry for him and his "customer service" issues.

Kurt that's a great post my friend. One phrase comes to mind after reading your post. That is "Guilty by association". Surround yourself by good people and friends and you won't have these issues. I used to purchase from just about anyone but now find myself staying within a powerful circle of friends. When they don't have what I need or what I'm looking for I go to the next best thing, friends of friends. Sure new people in the biz need a chance but I've been burned like everyone else and there are to many good people out there with great reps. I'm just like anyone else out there in that it took me years of good business to create a good name for myself. It takes a lot of time and effort but anyone can do it. I'm not going anywhere, these animals fuel my fire and run in my blood. Weather it be ball pythons, monitors, cobras, crocs, you name it....it doesn't matter. My love for reptiles will never stop because of a bad experience or big loss. It's like falling off a bike. Dust yourself off and get right back on!
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John Light
JPLReptiles@gmail.com
(954) 903-8061