Inquiry: Anyone ever dealt with "The House of Reptiles and Tropical Fish" in Michigan
 

Was thinking about nailing down a deal with these guys, and simply don't know a thing about them. They offered to buy some herps I had available, but red flag # 1 was they expect you to ship first THEN send you a cashier's check after they arrive ok. What's the difference in sending it beforehand? He seemed like an allright guy when I talked to him on the phone, but I've NEVER heard anything about this company on the BOI and I found that a little odd. First of all, it's going to take some FANTASTIC references from a LOT of people for me to be in a rush to send a shipment to them, so if anyone's ever dealt with this company in this fashion I'd like to hear a little feedback. It's a situation where if I was sending animals to a stand-up guy that I knew or had a great reputation (like Joe Reagan, Joe Romely, Terry Heuring, ect.) I wouldn't hesitate in the least to send a box overnight for later payment, but this just seems a tad fishy to me. Like I said, please, if you have any feedback on the company I'd love to hear it. -Eric Lago

Where is the location of this store at? Lots of new pet stores popping up in Michigan right now.

Chris Newton

PAY after getting the animals
 

Eric, some stores are doing it this, getting the animals first and then paying due to a number of rippoffs.

People would pay first and then never get the animals or NOT get what they were told they were. This company isn't the only one using this practice.

Reply
 

To the first post, I don't know the physical address yet, mind you, I was simply considering the deal, to which I'd hoped the thread would help me find a few people who had dealt with them personally. To the second post, I understand companies try to avoid getting ripped off as well, but what about ME getting ripped off by someone saying they showed up dead or not at all being out X amount of dollars with no way to recoup it? I posted to find some people who've dealt with the company directly, and thus far all I have is this email (the source of which I will not disclose):

Email I received around 10 this morning CST

In regards to your post about House of tropical and reptile. I sent him a shipment COD which he was supposed to pick up and pay with certified fiunds. It was a $XXXXXXXX shipment. I sent it on a friday and when it got there he never picked it up When i finally got a hold of him on Tuesday after the animals had been sitting in Detroit all weekend he said he had no money and was wondering if he could write a post dated check for the shipment. Of course i refused his offer and the animals were returned to me by XXXXX. I paid shipping both ways which was over $XXXX. I will be sending him a bill for this if its not paid he will go to collections. I would not ship this guy until you receive payment in advance
regards

With that said,
THAT'S what I call helpful. I posted to hear some personal experiences people had with the company directly. Regardless of what numbers you put into the blanks above, IT'S NOT A GOOD SITUATION. Therefore, with that email alone, this guy doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell to ever receive any animals from me without the funds first, just from one email! It would take a lot of satisfied people completing numerous transactions with them (which was what I was hoping to hear by starting this thread) for me to even consider it, much less do it. If they're a big importer/exporter/wholesaler/retailer like they refer to on their ad on kingsnake: http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=43&de=165627 Then why aren't there a bunch of satisfied (or dissatisfied) posts all over the BOI???? Heck, every business gets put through one way or another through here, why haven't I heard anything about them? Some food for thought. Thanks for your posts but I believe I've found my answer. -Eric Lago

A question, he shipped on a Friday?

Okay, not sure how he shipped, but shipping on a Friday will result in the animals being left at a depot all weekend. BIG mistake on the senders part.

He also rejected a post dated check. He has rejected payment, but is billing the person who was supposed to get them.

The person receiving the animals is obviously NOT to be trusted if he couldn't pay for the shipment he agreed to.

The email you got is hardly a good reference point because both parties made mistakes. You need to lay out your terms of sale to house of tropical fish and they can abide by them or lose a sale. They are your animals, you decide what the terms are and what they are worth.

I also recently posted an inquiry about the same company on the BOI here and got nothing. You may or may not get a reply from someone that has delt with them.

I am also considering dealing with, so I will be interested to see if you get a direct reply.

Best of luck!

Definitely agreed
 

Oh, I agree 100% that there were mistakes in both parties involved, but the fact that the guy didn't have the money in the first place when he knew the shipment was coming was NOT a professional deal in my opinion. I already sent my terms to the "House" and am awaiting a reponse from them. I talked to him by phone and he seemed like a nice, pleasant guy, but if they want me to ship them some animals they have to pay first, period. If anything goes wrong in shipping I'd be more than willing to refund them 100% for the animals they purchased, but taking photographs of each individual into the box on my end and them doing the same on the receiving end is MANDATORY. Like I said, I'll let you know what happens with the company. The way I look at it is if they want the animals on my terms, fine, if not, I'm not out anything like I would be if I shipped him animals and never received payment. -Eric lago

OH YEAH!
 

Oh yeah, that guy should of had the money!


I personally would not be sending animals to anyone untill payment was received. Just my way of doing it, regardless of reputation!

If they don't like the terms of sale, there is always someone that will!

I agree totally with what you said!

I Guess my point was
 

I could have totally understood his stance on the matter, and may have been persuaded to do business with the "House" had they had a lot of BOI support and references available for me to talk to. You know, a few people who've dealt with them on occasion under similar circumstances could have possibly changed my opinion! But so far 1 negative email and no positive feedback leans me towards holding out! -Eric Lago

Eric and Scott

First I want to say I have never dealt with or spoken with the "house". However if Im not mistaken I have dealt with both of you guys (my memory on names is bad sometimes). I know your both good guys, and want to be trusting as possible, but in this instance I would take the advice of the email you recieved Eric. No matter IF the sender made mistakes, it does sound to be the exact same situation as you are about to place yourself in.

Sure the sender IN THEORY should not have sent on a friday, however one fact could change my stance on that easily. IF THE ANIMALS WERE SHIPPED DELTA, then I see no problem with friday, saturday, or sunday shipments. That is the beauty of delta, they are a everyday shipper.

Next for the unwillingness to accept a post dated check. To that I would speak of a few of my own personal experiences. I have a shop I sell to that EVERY WEEK pays me with a BAD POST DATED CHECK. I have gotten to the point that I KNOW my money will not be available for two weeks after payment was supposed to be made. Of course everyone asks why I dont pull the plug, well I am slowly, but with that being said Im not repoing animals from his shop to bring home and put my collection at risk (we all know how shops can be). So instead Im waiting for my inventory to run out and not restocking...lol...but anyways. If it were me, and this guy took 3 days to even try and accept shipment, then offered a POST DATED CHECK, on what sounds like THE FIRST DEAL (also an important fact to know, but somewhat irrelavent) I WOULD NEVER ACCEPT HIS CHECK EITHER> Granted the sender knew he was risking the animals more on the return trip, but again if its delta that could have been as short as another 4 hours, well worht sending back in my opinion.

As for billing the "house" for the shipment. I would also. the way it sounds to me, the seller is billoing for shipping costs, not animal cost. In reality the "house" is lucky the shipper wasnt forced to bill for dead animals after sitting for soo long.

Just my 2 cents

Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles

Agreed!
 

Thanks for the input! According to the mail I received today they were indeed shipped USAir. There's just NO WAY I WOULD EVER run the risk of having my precious stock sitting in an airport somewhere waiting on someone to pick them up 2 or three days later. Sounds to me like the company accepts animals, sells them, keeps the profits and sends you your original asking price IF you get anything at all! I think I'll decline, thanks :). Like I said, I don't know the guy personally, but my business decision is $$$ first. It doesn't help on his end that I mailed him my terms today and got no response, but when I was talking about my animals, sending pics ect. last week I had 2-10 minute response times on all the mails I sent, and today, after I told them I would NOT ship until I had the $$$, silence. You tell me what you think? I may be way off, but guess what? It's not going to hurt my feelings either way, I'll just sell my stock and get paid the more roundabout way! At least I'm not out anything that way! Lord knows the herp-world is full of enough scam artists as it is. There are some great guys out there to deal with, but I have a feeling that this company is not them. -Eric Lago