I am sure that by the time people respond to this that is where this will be! First, my name is Phil Buscher. I am sure a lot of you have seen me or met me at the shows and if you have not, stop by and introduce yourself next time! I was told to come and read the “new forum”. Well after reading all of this I am really bothered even more! Not many people on here will talk about there personal life with people but I’m game!
I will tell you about a side of Ralph Davis that most of you all do not know nor will take the time to learn. If you spent half of the time that you do bashing him and got to know him you might be suprized! I had seen Ralphs adds in Reptiles and I had never met him before and he was in Maryland also. While at a expo in Orlando I was working with Brian Sharp at his table. Pete Kahl had a table right beside Brians and Ralph was sitting there one day of the show. We started talking and just B.S. ed for the weekend. A few weeks later I was in Snakekeepers chat and I ran into Ralph again. We talked for awhile and he gave me his phone number and told me to give him a call sometime. A few more weeks went by and I called him to see if I could come to his place and see what he had. Well, most breeders with high end animals don’t let people they “don’t know” in to see there stuff! He told me to come up anytime and I did! He showed me all around and we hung out and talked for hours! That week I was talking to someone and they told me to watch Ralph, they said he was arrogant and would stab me in the back! Well the way I was brought up was not to judge a person on what you hear but what you know and I am glad I did! I started going out to his house on a regular basis and he was always working with the animals. I would help him while I was there because I enjoy working with the animals and it was fun to see all the different ones. Granted this was in the late 90's and a lot of the stuff we see today was not there then! I called him up one day to see what he was up to and he was planting trees in his yard and said it was killing him! Well I went out there after work and helped him finish them all up! When we were done he told me he had something for me? Well when I left there I had an albino male ball! I did not want to take it but he was not going to take no for an answer! Well that meant more to me than he will ever know! He has done numerous other things for me and my family since! One day I was asking him some carpentry questions since that is his other business on my basement that I wanted to finish. Well when everything was said and done he and his crew showed up with all the materials and finished all the framing in a few hours! When I asked him what I owed him he said nothing and thanks for the help! Well in my book this is what being friends is all about in helping each other! This summer I needed to put a roof on my garage and he called me while I had just started on it to talk. I told him what I was doing and in an hour he was in my driveway with his tool belt and we worked on it till midnight and the next day! He told me roofing sucks but it was definitely a lot nicer with his help on it and he would not accept anything from me for his help! My daughter started going to a trade school in Baltimore last year for one year. Next thing I know she is living with Ralph and his family because it cut her commute in half! When we go to shows he covers all of our expenses, even flies my wife down there all for just helping him at his table for the weekend! When we go to shows the first thing he says is he is covering all of the expenses and there was going to be no argument about it! I don’t like people paying my way but he would have it no other way! Well if he was only in it for the money I don’t think he would be so generous with it!!!
Arrogant??? Anyone in business knows that sometimes you need to be! If you are not then people will walk on you! He is very passionate about the ball market! I know it bothers him and a lot of us to see the stuff going on here right now! That is why you do not see me post on here or sell any animals from here! I am not going to try and compete with the slash and burn mentality! I bought my first ball in 1990 and fell in love with them then! I have been breeding them since 1996 and have produced a few hundred babies. Yes, I still have most of them because I am not in it for the quick buck like a lot are they are worth more to me as future breeders than the cash that I would sell them for! When people start to realize this and the work that goes into them they will stop giving them away! I have seen a lot of people come and go in this business! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, not to mention money to get going! That is why the big breeders deserve the respect that they should get! They should not constantly be getting bashed for the prices that they ask! Some of them have over $50k in expenses a month!!!! YES A MONTH!!! How would you like that over your head all the time? I have seen Ralph write checks to the IRS that would make your head spin! When they sell an animal for $5k, after taxes and expenses are taken out they might see $2k as profit! Now when you sell the same animal for $3500 and put all the money in your pocket you have already made $1500 on the same animal! Now do you see why they do not try to compete in the price slashing??????
The big breeders try to maintain a market for there customers because if they didn’t they would not have a market or customers! I have personally seen Ralph turn down a $50k deal from someone who was trying to see if he would underbid one of his customers! Would you do that for one of your customers?? This business should not be about having the lowest priced animals for sale and having to sell them in the same day you post them! When people realize this it will be better for everyone! Work as hard to build a reputation for you and your animals and the sales will come without slashing the prices! You will get a lot further in the business this way!
I am sure all of us on here have learned something from Ralph through e mails, phone calls or his journal! A lot of breeders will not be so open about everything and this is what I have respected about Ralph. Good or bad he tells it all! He receive more e mails in a day than most of us will receive in a year and he answers every one of them! I have seen him answer questions on an animal that someone bought from another breeder and could not get in touch with them!
Why buy from a big breeder? Well lets say you buy a high end animal from someone who produces two. If something happens to that animal are you going to have as much chance of them replacing it as a big breeder that has an inventory??? Probably not! They have taken a lot of time and money to build the reputation they have and they are not going to throw it away on something stupid! It is no different than anything we buy every day, we want someone to stand behind it if something happens! I have known people to get into this business and sell normals as poss hets and when questioned they said anything is possible! Is this the kind of person you want to deal with to save a few dollars? Buying from a big breeder is like having some insurance on the animal. Yes, it is going to cost a little more but it is all in what you feel comftorble with. Don’t bash them for this, respect them for this!
In closing I would like to thank Ralph for everything he has done for myself and my family! It means more than you know! Maybe someday I will be able to repay you for his generosity! And for trying to protect and stand up for the market so some day it will be there when I sell some animals!
P.S. Great post Christy! You know the same thing I do about Ralph and I have your back and I know you will have mine!
Proud to call him my friend, although it hasn't been very long. I'm old enough to be his father....and he's a good boy....
