Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I see that Reptile Depot has a sale on their baby panthers. If something sounds to good to be true it probably is. Has anynone got any of their chameleons. If so how are they to deal with??

I have never got a cham from them, but i have heard other peoples getting chams and other herps as well. No problems with the quality of animals, but their service needs work. I get a lot of bugs from them, and they have dropped the ball a couple times. They are nice people and mean well I think, just need to work on the professionalism.

-roo

I apologize in advance for i might go off toic, but...

I really don't like how they price their panthers. To me, i see it as predatory pricing. Setting the prices at such a level, They are going to bring down the prices and ultimately, the value of a whole sector in the industry. I think that this would eventualy lead to inbred panthers and the like such as how the veild chameleon situation in this country.

I know that most serious hobbyist and reputable breeders as well as most on this forum believe that "you get what you pay for", and would not considering getting a chameleon from them, But there are so many aspiring keepers and newbies just coming into panthers that don't know better, and can't see the reason why they shouldn't buy the $99 dollar panther chgameleon. I beleive that this would cause a ripple effect, And those reputable breeders that care about quality and healthy bloodlines, would suffer. Reptile companies would be buying in bulk from "little Jimmy" down the street breeding sibling panthers, and selling them at about the price of veilds or slightly higher. eventually, you'll get an entire country of panther chameleons with "polluted bloodlines" , and the quality of these animals will deteriorate as a whole.

Places like reptile depot don't have to care about the value of animals, they make their largest margin from reptile products. That is why they can set any price they like with their reptiles. They are not dependant on it. i would say they make 90% of their sales through reptile products. So the reptiles they sell are merely "tickets", if you will, that gets you into this "clubhouse" so that you can spend more money buying their products. Sort of like selling you a playstation which is just the beginning, And once you buy it, you are commited to buying a whole lot more games and you'd eventually spend thousands more than what u spent on the playstation.

I'm really sorry to go on ranting and going off topic. I apologize if anybody is offended, but i feel like getting this off my chest. And oh, i also feel like reptile depot has one of the worst customer service practice in teh business. I have stopped buying supplies from them for this reason.

I agree with you big time on the market value problems that $99 panthers creates. 2 weeks ago, I did a show and RD was there selling panthers for $99. It's pretty hard for me to sell anything at all when you're going up against someone like that. People kept asking why mine are twice the price of Reptile Depot's. It was the same with leaf chameleons, veileds and anything else I had at all. They were selling Brevs for $12 or $14 at the show, mine were $25 that I've had for 4 or 6 months (acclimated and doing well), but nobody realizes that. At $25, I wasn't even making a profit because I think that's what I got them for, give or take a bit. It just kills everyone else trying to sell something similar at the same time. All you can do is make sure you have superior animals, and hope that the buyer cares.

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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

Very well put.

I highly recommend you do an internet search and see what you come up with. You might be pretty put off by what you find, I know I was.

how much you gonna be sellin em for? i saw on your site they will be available in october, ill have to talk my girlfriend into lettin me buy one lol our baby is due early nov so im not sure.. do you do deals on pairs? like if i wanted a female from knoxville and a male from loki would the cost be cheaper?.. J/W

LOL thanks! Loki's are doing well, young, but doing well. His batch seems to be female-heavy at this point, but time will tell I guess. The two lines are somewhat related, and they won't be sold in pairs (Loki's sister bred to Knoxville). But I can line you up with other breeders that would have nice unrelated Sambavas available at that time. Shoot me an E-Mail with any other questions. Prices aren't set yet.

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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

thats right i remember one time i e-mailed you about loki babies and you tryed to get me to buy some loki/mabel because mabel is loki's sister.. well either way i still want a male loki bad. im suprised you dont remember me always metioning how much i admire loki..i must have sent u 3 e-mails and made about 6 posts on K.S. to you about him.. as for directing me to other dealers, no thanks.. i my self could easisly get a pair of sambavas at a good price, but i buy nothing but the best bloodlines i can find, and to me loki is by far the best Sambava available. be sure to let me know when they are available for purchase.

PS see if you can get some Diego Saurez. i been looking for them, and cant find nothing

That must have really suck Tyler.Couldn't imagine how you had to explain why Rd's prices are half yours without making the buyers think you are lying and overcharging them(which you are not). did u manage to sell anythign that day?

Yeah, it was a pain. I did ok though, I had a few adult panthers up on display and they took the show. My Zeus (Nosy Be), Loki (Sambava), and Thor (Ambanja) were hot "display" items there, they were bright as could be and sat still up on perches all day long. The chameleons always get alot of attention at shows. 2 of them were on the Salt Lake news that night also. If it makes it any better, I sold more panthers than RD did, and I sold the rest of my male veileds. I've got another one this weekend I'm packing for tonight, leaving first thing tomorrow.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com