David Randall (shellsandscales) Caution?

David Randall recently responded to an ad I had listed looking for a Brazilian Black Tarantula (Grammastola pulchra). When he contacted me, he told me he had one available for $300, a cost I expected, as they're pretty rare.

When I told him I was specifically looking for a male, he told me he thought it was, but didn't have a recent molt, and would have it verified. He later said that his friends at tarantulas inc had checked, and they were all pretty certain it was a male.

I have dealt with tarantuls inc, and had a great experience with them, so I figured I'd drop them an e-mil to verify things. That's when things started to seem fishy with David. I will list e-mail exchanges with a timeline.

Response to original ad:

Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 2:07 AM


*************
NOTE: This message was sent to you via the insecthobbyist.com Classifeds. If
you feel this message is fraudulent or abusive please forward it to
classifieds@pethobbyist.com.
NOTE: DO NOT flag this message as SPAM/JUNK as your ability to receive
legitimate messages from insecthobbyist.com Classifeds may be compromised
*************

I have one unsexed a little over 3" for $300. Can get a picture sent to
your email early next week I just don't have my camera right now.

----------------------------------------------
Click on (or cut and paste into you browser's
location window) the URL below to view the ad that
this message is in response to.

http://market.insecthobbyist.com/det...e=204523&cat=8


----------------------------------------------
This message was sent by the user: shellsandscales

Sent 09:07 PM, Sep 04th, 2008 from I.P. Address 140.95.225.46From: drandall80@yahoo.com <drandall80@yahoo.com>
Subject: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: curtinherps@yahoo.com

My response:

From: Mike Curtin <curtinherps@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: drandall80@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 8:29 AM

How old is it? I should have specified in the ad that I'm looking for a male, so if you have any molts and/or know someone capable of sexing it, I'd be interested.Thanks,Mike

His:

From: david randall <drandall80@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: curtinherps@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 4:51 PM

Pretty sure it is male let me have that verified and I'll get back to you.

Mine:

From: Mike Curtin <curtinherps@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: drandall80@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 4:56 PM

Thanks...I appreciate it.

His:

From: david randall <drandall80@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: curtinherps@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008, 5:15 PM

I checked it and had my friends at tarantulas inc take a look and we all believe it to be male. I don't currently have a molt to verify that but the three of us are very certain.

My e-mail to tarantuls inc:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: David Randall - Grammastola pulchra
From: <radasi67@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, September 06, 2008 1:44 pm
To: <Sales@TarantulaInc.com>

Hi- I was recently contacted by David Randall w/ regards to an ad I had posted wanting a Brazilian Black. I was told that both he and you had checked to determine sex on this T and that you were pretty sure it was a male. Can you please verify this for me? I'm a little gun shy when it comes to online dealing (I was scammed once), so just want to double check. Also, I see that you have an unsexed pulchra available as well. If you didn't, in fact, sex David's, would it be possible to attempt sex determination on the one you have listed, insofar as you are xx% sure? I have dealt with you before, in buying a group of genticulata's, which are doing well, but I am using a computer at work. Please contact me by phone (732) 773-8081 or via e-mail at curtinherps@yahoo.com or valhalla9477@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance.

Their response (copied the header the only way I knew):

RE: David Randall - Grammastola pulchraSunday, September 7, 2008 3:59 AM
From: "sales@tarantulainc.com" <sales@tarantulainc.com>Add sender to Contacts To: curtinherps@yahoo.com

The G. pulchra on Justin and my list sold this weekend, and Justin and I cannot guarantee sex until we have a molt as, we cannot be guarantee a ventral sexing on immature tarantulas. Ventrally Justin and I had thought it was probably a male.

I am not sure if Dave also has a pulchra, or if he was trying to sell you ours as he lives in Omaha, Nebraska which is very close to Justin and my facility.

If you are in the market for a pulchra Justin and I can add you to a list and let you know when we get another, which may be awhile as they are rather rare. Justin and I have a friend whose female is holding onto a sac, but we do not know if it is viable as of right now.

Thank you,
Theresa Westfall
Justin Hiykel

www.TarantulaInc.com

Note: Please leave the previous messages attached when you reply, it makes it easier on us to answer your e-mails. Thanks!

My next e-mail to David:

From: Mike Curtin <curtinherps@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian Black
To: drandall80@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, September 7, 2008, 7:38 AM

Who checked it at tarantulas inc, so that I can verify? Mike

His response (again, with header copied as best I could):

Re: Message about: *WANTED* Grammastola pulchra: Brazilian BlackSunday, September 7, 2008 11:04 PM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified "david randall" <drandall80@yahoo.com>Add sender to Contacts To: curtinherps@yahoo.com

Theresa


This has not cost me a dime, however, in my opinion, he has misrepresented this animal. If he lied to me so easily and casually about the sexing of this T, he could be lying about having the T in the first place. Tarantulas Inc was great to deal with in the past...even went beyond their TOS when a T arrived DOA on the second attempt (my fault). They have nothing to gain here, and were quite helpful to even respond to an inquiry that was not even directly sales related.

I will send David a link to this thread as the reason for declining his offer.

Am I off base here? Did I jump the gun? Any and all opinions are welcome!

Originally Posted by captnemo

Am I off base here? Did I jump the gun? Any and all opinions are welcome!

I don't think so. Theresa didn't sex his T as obviously she wasn't even aware he even had one. The only one that was a probable male was the one they owned and had already sold. To me it seems without doubt that it was the same one he was going to try to sell you.

You covered your ass pretty good on this one as far as I can see. Good work!

Thanks, Chuck!