Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been emailing back and forth with a person that had just bought a Boa. The Boa was supposed to be from my Co-Dom / High Pink Striped Line. The Victim, and I am not giving out his name because I did not ask permission to, Was told that this snake was from my Line of Co-Dom Striped Boas, was born in 2003 and produced by me. Furthermore he stated that the snake was 50% het for albino.
Right off the bat I knew something was wrong, once the Victim contacted me. I did not produce 50% het for albino babies in 2003 only in 2001. The snake was small only about 50 inches and the person selling it stated that he was feeding on a maintenance diet?
The guy who bought the snake did not know the name of the seller right off the top of his head so I was unable to get that, but he is from Texas. I sent the Victim the link to my 2003 Striped Line litter and he confirmed that the snake was not one of mine.
Please if any one is claiming to be selling you a snake from any of my lines, check with me first. I keep pretty good records and photos of my babies, I should be able to verify if they came from me or not!!!
I hate scammers, I might even have to take a trip to Texas to introduce my foot to his A$$!
Well Just a warning, check before you take an unknown persons word on the lineage of his snakes!
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

It makes no sense to contact you AFTER the purchase. While I dislike scammers very much I also place part of the fault on the purchaser. First off, we have seen so many people getting ripped off lately I would only have to assume that people would be cautious with doing business with an unknown seller. What I mean by cautious is getting referrals for the seller and contacting the people that produced his/her animals BEFORE the purchase is made. There are a few more things you can do to find out is the person/s is/are legit by asking specific questions and analyzing the responses given. As long as there are scammers there will always be victims, the question is, are you going to let yourself be one?

Thanks,
www.VazquezFamilyReptiles.com

Who do you blame when you get ripped off.On the internet I agree we all take chances on buying any animal on here and if the seller decides to misrepresent his product you would go so far as to say the customer is at fault!In my opinion the reason these things happen is because there is no way to stop the responsible party(THE SELLER)from doing what they want.Some folks dont go to the original breeders because we cant afford the prices of the original breeders.I would love to own a pair of Salmons from Rich and John but why would I spend that kinda cash from them when I can purchase nearly guarenteed Supers from that same line from someone that got theirs from them directly for the same money.The Seller needs to be held accountable for his own actions,contrary to your belief I am convinced it is the Sellers responsibility to correctly represent his/her product.Now I'm not gonna start a war over it and dont want to p*** anyone off just dont understand why anyone could disagree.Just my honest opinion thanks for listening.

...this is not fairy land. Why don't we just leave our doors unlocked at night and leave our keys in the ignition because people should not enter our homes and take our cars. This is the real world and you either adapt or you get left behind. You act as if I did not also say scammers are also at fault. If you want to buy boas from Ripmeoffboas.com and then say, “I wonder why he ripped me off”, that is your problem. I guess the extra precautions the numerous breeders like myself take are all a waste of time because we should just not expect to get scammed? It's plain and simple..... scams exists whether you like it or not. I may just take your advice and go to the forest and play with bears since someone on animal planet said they are gentle creatures, they shouldn’t bite me. Maybe you should be asking yourself why people like myself don't get scammed and why others do? Dude, unless you can go out and stop all scammers then people should not ignore the fact that they are out there and should do everything they are capable of to make sure they don’t become victims.

In the jungle, it’s the slowest and dumbest gazelle that gets eaten by the lions; the faster and smarter ones usually don’t become the prey. I think I hear a lion behind you. J/K

P.S. You don’t have to go to a “no name” to get a cheap salmon. There are many reputable breeders that sell them at affordable prices. I’m sure if you asked the forum, you would get responses from numerous reputable people that would gladly sell you one at a great price.

Thanks,
www.VazquezFamilyReptiles.com

A blind man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of the best quality draft beer the bartender has (Bud,MGD,whatever) and pays the bartender for it(I.E. top price).The bartender pours him a Schlitz,PBR,or whatever.A good samaritan goes over to the blind guy and tells him whats going on.My question to you is,is the blind man at fault?It is my opinion that if the people in this world would stand together and not tolerate this kind of behavior then we could leave our doors unlocked and the keys in our cars and expect them not to be robbed.I dont know about you but I personally dont live in the jungle so I dont see how the law of the jungle applies here.Maybe if the folks with your opinion on this matter would wise up and stand up and not sit back and accept it as the "Norm" then maybe Sir we could all live in a perfect world.This is only my .02 cents my comments are in no way intended to offend.The world is the way it is because we allow it to be this way not because it just is.Thanks!

C'mon man think about what you are saying. You are comparing a blind man at a bar with a beer to a person that could see a snake, email and make phone calls. Even the blind guy would be able to taste the difference in the beer. Do you think Miller and Budweiser taste the same? I'm really trying to understand where you are coming from but I just can't visualize the picture. You honestly believe that if we stand together we can change the world? What makes you think everyone in the world shares the same values and ideas as you do? You and I have a perception of what the world should be based on how we were raised. Our opinion is only but a small speck on the planet. Our culture is only one of thousands. You say that the lion theory does not apply yet it's the people that bust their asses off to become stronger and smarter individuals that tend to succeed more in life. I guess a lazy, ignorant person has the chance of taking over for Bill Gates. The picture you visualize is a nice one, no doubt, however you should teach yourself to set goals that can actually be accomplished. Also, you don't have to buy boas from me to know if I'm a reputable breeder. I would gadly tell you to call people like Class Reptilia, Peter Kahl and Salmonboa.com to verify that I am a good business person. If you chose not to call then would that be my fault?

Thanks,
www.VazquezFamilyReptiles.com

Even if you have never heard of me or done business with me, I have set up my website in a way where you can read about my values, my goals and my collection. I also have information about where I acquired my boas. You see I set my site up to where if someone wanted to know what I'm about, they are able to find out. Not to mention that you can find me on the forums often. So what does that mean for the person that decides and calls the people I have done business with? He will feel more comfortable with any purchase made and that is my whole goal. For me to present myself in a manner where people know I have busted my ass off to acquire great animals, have kept them in great conditions and that they can feel confident they will have a great experience. It's all part of the business world my friend. If a person is not willing to offer you information then that should set off a red light to tell you there MIGHT be something wrong. So why leave things up to chance when you could have more of a say so to control the outcome?

What do other people think?

Thanks,
www.VazquezFamilyReptiles.com

I never meant to insinuate that you are not a reputable dealer and the names of the breeders you mentioned are probably the biggest in the business,however I dont know a single one of them personally,my point is I could tell you I am a good guy and if you dont believe me ask my buddy Phil.I am sure Phil will tell you I am a heck of a guy do you know Phil?If not how do you trust him to tell you I am a good guy?Furthermore is it illegal to get scammed?I am pretty sure product misrepresentation is.That fact alone would lead me to believe that the seller is 100% responsible for this.See I do understand that everyone doesnt share your or my belief,however a majority of the people believe it is wrong to misrepresent your product, hence the law.One more thing you seem to think that Bill Gates is what every one should be trying to achieve?Some of us place higher values on things other than money unlike you and Mr.Gates.To some people the richest (monitarily)people are the ones pitied most.To me sucess in life is to be able to look back on my life when its over and be happy with the way it all went in general,and so far Sir I maintain that sucess.I will however end on this note and agree to disagree with you.I respect and appreciate your opinion.Thanks for the time you have invested in airing this out with me.I can only hope there are no hard feelings.Thanks!

If you are a reputable breeder then I commend you for that.Although I personally havent purchased anything from you so I dont know.