Jay Villa / Jay Brewer Owner of Prehistoric Pets (Good Guy)

i just completed a trade / cash deal with jay villa. my transaction with him was top notch!

the deal we made was more than fair... and i received the NICEST retics available on the market! he is negotiable, and you get what you pay for!!!!

he even let me have one of my snakes early, while i made my 2 last payments, so i could breed him!!!!

now are deal is complete... and i wouldn't hesitate to business again with them!

although he is a very busy guy, once you have his attention, he will answer any questions you might have.

his employees are good to go as well!!!!!!

so, thanks Prehistoric Pets!!!!

I agree

Darla and I were in Anaheim last Sept. the day before the NARBC show. We stopped in to visit Prehistoric Pets and have a look around. All of the employees were busy preparing for the show, but they still had time to answer our questions. We spotted Jay (we recognized him from the Chicago show) and introduced ourselves, he proceeded to give us a grand tour of the shop, including the area in the back where he keeps a lot of his high end projects. Jay seems like a very nice guy, and all of the staff at Prehistoric Pets were great. The shop is amazing also! Right inside the door is a huge museum quality turtle habitat, the mote is filled with huge Pacu, and the island has dozens of large turtle, and a huge water monitor,(I hear the monitor has the run of the shop)

Is this the one that belongs to prehistoricpets.com?

My Experience With Them

I'm glad both previous parties have had good experiences with Prehistoric Pets of Fountain Valley. I have not dealt with them for a few years and decided to buy one of their boas that was posted at their web site. It was not a high dollar item by any means but when a problem arose their customer service was nonexistant.
I initially contacted them the second week of November about a "weird possible hypo Central American boa." I spoke more than once on the phone with the person that seemed to be responsible for internet inquiries regarding this animal. His name was Patrick Powers. I mentioned to him that I though I'd seen this animal at the Anaheim NARBC show in September. I somewhat remembered the animal and asked him typical questions such as what it was feeding on, temperament, background history, etc. He told me he was "holding it in his hands right now". What he failed to mention was it had permanent scarring all along it's back that severely detracted from the value and marketability of the animal. I received the animal on 11/22/05 and couldn't believe the amount of scarring present that was NOT there in the picture depicted at their web site. I called Patrick up shortly afterwards to let him know I was not happy about this and he told me he would talk with the owner and we would go from there. I did not hear back from him. After about a week went by I called him again and left a message. Again, I did not hear back. On 11/25/05 I also e-mailed Prehistoric so that there would be something on record in writing and guess what?....I never received a response. On 12/15/05 I forwarded a copy of my original letter and explained how I'd actually helped Jay Brewer recover a $3,500 stolen animal that I could have just kept. I never received any response. Here's a copy of my e-mails to them with the first letter on the bottom.

Date: 12/15/2005 12:32:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: BoidMorphs
Reply To:
To: [email protected]
CC:
BCC:
Sent on:


Sent from the Internet (Details)
Internet Address Card Attached

I've called more than once and written you about this animal over three weeks ago and have NEVER received any response. What do you plan on doing about this animal? I have kept it quarantined and low and behold it broke out in mites as if it had been treated before leaving and now the eggs have since hatched.
I should have known better than to deal with you guys. My friends in Southern CA have always warned me to stay away and your inaction regarding the animal you sent me is proof enough for me.
This after I saved Jay $3,500 for the stolen animal I helped him get back plus traded him a purple phase albino retic for a lavender which at that time was worth a hell of a lot more. I've always supported you guys on the Fauna BOI but NOT after this.

Greg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Possible Hypo CA Boa
Date: 11/25/2005 10:00:12 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: BoidMorphs
To: [email protected]



This message is for Patrick Powers. We've spoken twice on the phone about the animal that came in with multiple scars all along it's dorsal surface. Although they are old and fully healed they were not mentioned in the ad, could not be seen in the picture, and were not mentioned over the phone when we spoke prior to shipment. I remember seeing this animal at the Anaheim show and I decided not to pick it up at that time due to this fact. Of course I didn't realize this was the same animal when I saw it pictured online when I decided to purchase it.
I feel the scarring depreciates the value of the animal I bargained for considerably and I'd like to be compensated accordingly. I can send the animal back or I would like you to adjust the purchase price. Please let me know what you'd like me to do. Thank you.

Greg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm glad the other two parties here are happy with Prehistoric Pets. I have to think Jay Brewer was probably never made aware of my problem. He still needs to be in control of what's going on there just the same. The animal was only $200 plus shipping so I did not personally try to call Jay directly. It's the idea that if his sales force chose to totally ignore this situation, what would they do about a problem regarding a higher end animal? I'm not ever going to try and find out!

Could also check this out

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32641&highlight=prehistoric+pets or

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31035&highlight=prehistoric+pets or

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15656&highlight=prehistoric+pets or

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24&highlight=prehistoric+pets


Those of us who have been around, use exciting opened threads...........this stuff does make for some interesting reading though!! Better get your favorite beverage and get comfortable.

that sucks Greg... sorry to hear about this.

i think sometimes that is just the price people pay for going large scale... you cant please everybody, and you cant control your employees. maybe there isn't any excuses though - and when things like that happen you just deal with it and move on?

I'll have to admit that he does have some of the nicest retics on the market... just an observation of mine, but it seams like all the mainstream breeders are always stepping on each others shoes?

anyway, i would much rather deal with him personally than some of the other guys out there.

0.1 tiger het = moocho classic patter!!!

1.0 white classic tiger

1.1 dh albino genetic striped (male is breeding)





jay was really cool for sending this male to me early - while i made my last couple of payments.

i was hoping that i could let people know of my good exerience regarding prehistoric pets - and the fine snakes i got there too!

How big and how old is that female?

i got the supertiger from matt crabtree, she is only 2yrs old... the male was having fun spurring her.

the second one is a super dwarf X jamp from constrictors unlimited (breeding pics).
...she is somewhere around 3yrs old - 13ft and close to 75lbs (big girl!).

the third female is the dh (very last pic) she is a late '04.

I've been to Prehistoric Pets a couple times. The first time, my overall impresson of the store was neutral, they just seemed to be another reptile store. Their selection of lighting was overpriced.
I went again this past October on my way to the reptile show at the OC Fairgrounds, and the store could easily be summed up with one word... NASTY. Dirty, overcrowded cages, and it smelled bad!
My hubby convinced me to go again the first week of December, he felt that maybe the store was dirty because they could have been shorthanded during a show weekend. Big mistake, the store was still nasty, the cages were still dirty and overcrowded. Some of the animals appeared very dehydrated, and the water bowls... well, yuck!
I won't go back, I would never even consider buying an animal from them.

wow... i wasn't aware of their reputation as being negative. i also have never been to his shop... i have talked to jay on the phone a number of times though.

all i know is that the snakes i got, are hands down - the best money can buy!

as far as Prehistoric Pets past business dealings... i dont know!

i do know that if i was in a pet store so nasty that "i wouldn't buy a snake turd there" - a phone call to the Dept of Agriculture would be in due order!!

I've learned one thing about pet stores is that only in very rare circumstances does it help to complain. Another thing I've learned, years of experience, is its the rare one thats a good one, though I've only been in 2 that really ticked me off, Prehistoric Pets in Fountain Valley and Reptile Depot in Northridge. I'm glad you had a good experience with them.

Total About Face

Thanks for the links Laura. I read them all and remembered supporting Jay in the past. In the last link you provided I posted the following:

02-27-2002, 03:16 PM #11
Greg Riso
BoidMorphs.com



Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 548
Name : Gregory R. Riso
Karma Power: 53
Trader Rating: (8)
Warning Level: 1

Well, let me start off by saying that I've never been to Prehistoric Pets facility but I have dealt with Jay Brewer (the owner) on three separate occasions and have received exceptionally nice albino retics from him as well as excellent customer service. I would not hesitate to do business with him again and always find it a pleasure to do so. I know first hand he stands behind what he sells 100% and that to me means everything. __________________
Greg Riso

==========================================================
As I stated earlier, I'm sure Jay has no clue about my situation. I would hope if I told him what happened he'd take care of it. He should talk to the Bozos he has working for him about the importance of good customer service. My opinion of Prehistoric Pets I posted a few years ago has completely turned around 180 degrees. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I too have been in the store. Jay will always have business, the store(from an outsiders view) is a fun store. They have made it into a jungle, a place for turtles to be seen, bamboo hut filled with snakes displayed all over the counters, BIG snakes, an 8 something foot monitor roaming lose. Very busy, lots of displays.

From my point of view, DISGUSTING!! Customer service is AWFUL!! Reptiles look AWFUL!! Way too many ball pythons in one enclosure. Even saw crickets with the ball pythons. The store is one big ugly showcase.

well, when i started this thread i wanted to do something nice and share my good experience with prehistoric pets.

but its nice to know, that for the good of the hobby, their are people out there like you folks who care enough to help others out by sharing your experiences.

thank you, and may 206 be a good year to you all!

~ Brian W.

wooops!

error, thats 2006....

Well......I happened to have worked for Jay when I was 15-16 at his store Pet Country before he moved and opened Prehistoric Pets. He is a business man and that's all I have to say about his character.

I made a trade with him last year for one CB Indian Python and a Boa for my pair of outstanding Surinames. I took the Indian and boa home to find out the Indian would not eat despite perfect conditions. I took it to the vet and $80 later the vet let me know it was loaded with internal parasaites.

I e-mailed him and after a few attempts he finally e-mailed back and asked for me to come in and trade him back. I did and I let him know I would like 2 hatchling Leopard tortoise which was around the same value. Jay didn't like that idea he told me that he had about 2 dozen Indian's in the back. I told him that wasn't my fault and he blew up asking me to get out of his store. Jay had also told me that all snakes have paasites but from what the vet told me the Indian had huge amount. I finally calmed him down and he ended up allowing me to trade for a sulcata and leopard. He made a scene in his own store over a simple little trade.

I will never deal with Jay as long as long as I am in this hobby. He probably treats his higher end buying customers great but has no clue how to treat anyone else. He is all about the money......period.

Misunderstanding

Mr. Riso,

Let me first start off by telling you that I NEVER received any emails from you regarding that boa, and I am the one who handles 90% of the emails, checking it multiple times a day.

I understand your frustration and I can see why you would be upset with me and Prehistoric Pets as a company, but I am also disappointed that you did not, after not hearing back from me or Jay, contact us via phone to discuss the problem. I know that you know how to contact us because that is how we first talked about the boa when you purchased it.

This boa is very unique, and we picked it up from a private collector. When I spoke with you on the phone I provided you with all the information that I had on the snake. When I looked at the snake, because of the unique color and pattern on the snake, I did not recognize the scarring as scars, and thus overlooked them. However, you knew about the scars on the snake because you had personally looked at it at the Anaheim show. If you knew about the scarring then, and if that was what kept you from purchasing it at the show, then why didn't you bring the scarring to my attention or ask me about it while you had me on the phone? There was no intent to sell you an imperfect animal. Had I recognized the marks as scars I would have told you about it and offered to shoot a close-up picture of the marks so that you could have made an informed decision. If I ever notice any slight marks, whether they are scars or irregular scales or anything, I let the customer know and I show them a picture of it. Some customers do not care about scars or marks, no matter how big or small because they are going to breed the animals and the scarring is not a genetic trait that is passed onto offspring. In your case, I believe that you were planning to resell the animal, so I can definitely understand why the scarring would be such a big deal to you.

Upon receiving the boa and noticing the scars you contacted me about it, and I told you that I was not aware of the scars, and if I had been I would have notified you about them. So, since you were displeased and you contacted me immediately, if you remember correctly I offered to have you ship the snake back. Upon receiving the snake I would have sent you a refund for the cost of the snake plus the cost of shipping there and back. However, you wanted to keep the snake and said that you would rather have some sort of compensation, so I asked you to email me with what you had in mind, and once I received the email I would show Jay and we would come to a solution. Because of a technological mishap, that phone call is the last contact that I had with you.

Now, I find out today from someone who heard from someone that you have decided to express your frustration publicly instead of contacting me or Jay personally to tell one of us how much of a "Bozo" I am or how poor our service was. Had you contacted me to complain, then at least I would have known that you tried to send the email, and we could have possibly solved this problem like adults.

Anyway, I have said enough, and I want you to know that at least NOW I know that you have tried to contact me. For whatever reason the emails did not come through. I still wish that you would have called me to let me know that you sent the emails after we did not respond for one month. We were not trying to blow you off. Despite how long it has been and dispite what has happened, if you feel so inclined you may ship the snake back to me for a full refund of the $200 for the animal and the cost of shipping both ways. If you do decide to ship it back, you may call me to discuss it, or if you do not wish to speak with me or Prehistoric Pets you may just ship it back. If you do ship it back and do not speak with me, then please include the shipping receipt or a copy of it so that I know how much it cost you to ship it and I can refund the correct amount to you.

Patrick "The Bozo" Powers
Prehistoric Pets

PrehistoricPets.com said:

Mr. Riso,

Let me first start off by telling you that I NEVER received any emails from you regarding that boa, and I am the one who handles 90% of the emails, checking it multiple times a day.

I understand your frustration and I can see why you would be upset with me and Prehistoric Pets as a company, but I am also disappointed that you did not, after not hearing back from me or Jay, contact us via phone to discuss the problem. I know that you know how to contact us because that is how we first talked about the boa when you purchased it.

Click to expand...

Mr. Riso, you did NOT contact them...

Upon receiving the boa and noticing the scars you contacted me about it, and I told you that I was not aware of the scars, and if I had been I would have notified you about them. So, since you were displeased and you contacted me immediately, if you remember correctly I offered to have you ship the snake back. Upon receiving the snake I would have sent you a refund for the cost of the snake plus the cost of shipping there and back. However, you wanted to keep the snake and said that you would rather have some sort of compensation, so I asked you to email me with what you had in mind, and once I received the email I would show Jay and we would come to a solution. Because of a technological mishap, that phone call is the last contact that I had with you.

Click to expand...

Mr. Riso, you DID contact them...

Now, I find out today from someone who heard from someone that you have decided to express your frustration publicly instead of contacting me or Jay personally to tell one of us how much of a "Bozo" I am or how poor our service was. Had you contacted me to complain, then at least I would have known that you tried to send the email, and we could have possibly solved this problem like adults.

Click to expand...

Mr. Riso, you did NOT contact them...

Anyway, I have said enough, and I want you to know that at least NOW I know that you have tried to contact me. For whatever reason the emails did not come through. I still wish that you would have called me to let me know that you sent the emails after we did not respond for one month. We were not trying to blow you off. Despite how long it has been and dispite what has happened, if you feel so inclined you may ship the snake back to me for a full refund of the $200 for the animal and the cost of shipping both ways. If you do decide to ship it back, you may call me to discuss it, or if you do not wish to speak with me or Prehistoric Pets you may just ship it back. If you do ship it back and do not speak with me, then please include the shipping receipt or a copy of it so that I know how much it cost you to ship it and I can refund the correct amount to you.

Patrick "The Bozo" Powers
Prehistoric Pets

Click to expand...

Well, we all now know that you know that we know you do not know that you cannot keep your facts straight.

Thanks Michael

You saved me considerable time and effort with your analysis of Patrick's post by showing the discrepancies in his statements. My incident happenned over a month and a half ago and I had no intention of posting anything about it here at the BOI. I thought it was appropriate to post my recent dealing with Prehistoric Pets after I noticed there was a new thread here highly recommending them. Contrary to what Patrick has stated, however, I was indeed totally blown off which I find unacceptable. I called Patrick to let him know of my displeasure due to the obvious scarring and followed up with at least two more phone calls (I left messages for him to call me back but he never did) and sent two e-mails to which I also NEVER had any response.
When I initially spoke with Patrick over the phone about this animal, I thought I remembered it from the Anaheim show in September since it had rather unusual markings. After having seen thousands of other animals since that time and two months having passed, I did not remember seeing any scarring along this particular animal's back. If I did, then there would have been no surprise when I opened up the package.
My issue is not so much that I was sent an animal with obvious visual flaws. It is how my complaint was handled (or wasn't handled in this particular case) that is my concern. I'm fairly certain the only reason Patrick posted here is because he was TOLD to do so for obvious reasons. I met Jay Brewer who is the owner of Prehistoric Pets in person at Daytona in '03. I had talked with him on the phone many times prior to that when I helped him recover a very valuable stolen animal. I actually happen to like Jay and I am glad I was able to help him out. I'm sure I could have contacted him directly concerning this situation but did not feel it appropriate to use that card to get action. I do not believe Patrick ever spoke with Jay as he promised he would to "see what he wants to do." Some people's idea of customer service when there's a problem is to turn a deaf ear and hope it will go away. The animal I purchased is eating great, is very healthy overall, and is doing fine. The mites have been treated and the scars are cosmetic and should not effect future breeding. The value and marketability is depreciated considerably, however, should I ever choose to sell it though. This is the only reason I wanted an adjustment because I bargained for an animal that I thought was flawless. I'm not really going to worry about it at this point because it's not a lot of money involved.

just to let you guys know i had very little contact with pat... and when i requested to talk to him he called me asap!

also - jay's cell phone number is all over his website... i have never had any problems contacting him. i even called him one morning when he was in Hawaii on vacation, and he answered his cell phone... it was like 8:00am!!!

anyway i don't know about any past dealings... my overall impression of jay and his employees is a good one.

my satisfaction with his RETICS is 210%

let me ask you - have you ever seen a tiger het that looked like this?



take a look at this albino tiger... it looks like a friggen amel, with benefits!!!



now i am just a retic guy... i don't mess with anything else. its rare that you see high end retics that are not in proper health.

and to be honest, i could care less how much of a {bleep-bleep} that person selling me retics is... as long as their product & services are worth the money, and they respect me.