Jake Terry(Jake the snake) Really Bad Business deal so far.

I recently responded to an add placed by Jake Terry for a cbb female ball python. The picture looked good, and the price was fair so I contacted him, and sent him the money the next day.
I got an e-mail two days later saying If I still wanted the snake, I had till that evening to send the money. I replied and told him that the Money order was on the way, and gave him the tracking number.
All of a sudden, the snake was sick, and it was being sent from Another state, and it was being referred to as a male. I clarified all of this several times, that I was to be getting the female posted, and I was not interested in a male at any price. And Jake referred me to Kim and John. herpsnmore@yahoo.com Seems as if jake was now selling the snake for them, and all his information was second hand. To make a long story short, I got a skinny male wild caught ball via UPS yesterday and e-mailed both Kim and Jake with pictures of the snake and (HER)hemipenes requesting my money back. No reply from Kim and John, And just a note From jake "I am trying to get ahold of Kim."
I have all the e-mails sent back and forth, and Both the tele# jake gave me for himself, and the tele# on the UPS label are no good. Not in service...
Looks Like I got scammed for 100.00 Yes, I am filing with the postmaster general in the morning, and getting a police report made. in all three areas. Omaha nebraska, Where I sent the Money order, Lousiana where the snake was shipped from, and here in FL where I got the snake, But. I just wanted to warn any of you who are thinking of doing business with Jake or his cohorts, Watch OUT. This is way Bad Business........
I will re-post if I hear more from Jake the Snake

Michael,

Is this the same Jake Terry who goes by the alias "Reptile_Addict"? If so, he replied to one of my want ads for Eastern Hognose snakes. He stated that he had a 1.1 04 pair that a friend of his was trying to get rid of and that I could purchase them if I wanted. I agreed to purchase them and asked for pictures, which he said in the reply to my ad that he could provide. He seemed extremely impatient throughout the transaction (almost as if he sat in front of his computer all day eagerly awaiting a response from me), eventually leading me to renig on the deal. I had e-mailed him on Sunday stating that I could have a money order out by Wednesday and that I would let him know when it was sent. He agreed to this. Come Monday evening, I checked my e-mail inbox and had received two e-mails from him. The first stated that Jake was going to give me until Friday for me to let him know if I still wanted the snakes before he offered them to someone else who was interested in the pair. The second e-mail stated that I had until 10:00 pm *that evening* until he sold them out from under me. I cordually e-mailed him back to let him know that I didn't appreciate his haste nor the tone he had taken with me and that I would be taking my business elsewhere. From the look of things, it's a good thing I did. Jake never sent any pictures of the pair and would only answer a few select questions I had about them as well. Even if he does provide the animals he offers for sale, he has poor business ethics to say the least. I will definitely be steering clear of him in the future and would advise others to do the same.

Best of luck getting your snake and/or a refund.

Jennifer Webb
(Jungle Gems)

Michael.... If you sent him a BANK money order, there is still a GOOD chance that you can have it STOPPED.... call your bank first thing tomorrow and find out.... If you sent him a POSTAL money order, you are probably SOL....

Neil

Yes, I am sere its a good thing you did not do the transaction. Its looking real bad from this point of view. Still no reply from this guy, or his "alias" and I cant believe he is not watching the computer, as you stated, He was all over the responses when we were making the transaction.
Neil, Thanks for the input, I am going to the bank this morning to try and stop the Money order

Michael.... Just wondering if you were able to stop the money order??.... Hope so....

Neil

Looks like Jake is going to try to get this cleared up. He has contacted me, and we will see how it goes from here. I will re-post if there is a successful resolution to this problem

I am happy to say that Jake has resolved this issue. I honestly think, after talking with him extensively, that Jake has been as big of a victim in this instance as I have. I hope that Kim and John , or whomever Jake was dealing with in this transaction either goes out of business, or just
goes away. One thing is for sure, I will deal with jake in the future, but NOT Kim annd John, and I don't think Jake will ever deal with them again either.
Thanks Jake for the resolution.

...however, I would never deal with Jake again due to his unscrupulous business practices. You cannot treat people badly and expect them to want to purchase from you in the future. Good business just isn't conducted in that manner.

*How* was the issue resolved? Did you receive a refund or the correct snake? Many breeders/dealers will talk of resolving an issue once they find out that their name is up in a less-than-flattering account on the BOI, but very few will actually follow through.

This issue also proves that Jake should not advertise, much less sell, animals that are not in his possession. Secondhand information is oftentimes misleading, and then there are issues of quarantine, health, feeding, sexing, etc. that just cannot be guaranteed when selling an animal that has never been seen by the dealer. Why take the risk?

Hopefully Jake will weigh these issues and make better decisions in the future, but I would need to see a hundred "good guy" posts on the BOI about him to even consider not avoiding him at all costs.

I hope that Jake did, indeed, right your situation and I wish you the best in your future dealings.

Jennifer Webb
(Jungle Gems)

jennifer,
The resolution of this problem is that Jake refunded me the price I paid for the animal plus shipping, and let me keep the snake that was shipped as a female but was a male. Like I said, I after talking to jake extensively am sure that he learned some valuable lessons and is going to be a better dealer because of this incident.
A wise man told me that those things that we hate to happen, yet do all the time can either be Great learning tools, or, a hole to fall into to never come out.
I think Jake is still learning how to be successful, and with a little time and experience, he could be good at this business.

It appears as though Jake has gone above and beyond fulfilling his obligation to you. His willingness to right the situation in this instance shows real character. It is good to know that he had the integrity to follow through and not only issue you a refund, but let you keep the animal he sent you as well. Thank you for posting the outcome of your situation. I'm sure all who read this will take your account of Jake's business practices into consideration when comtemplating a future purchase from him. It is a rare instance that a dealer will admit that he is in the wrong and learn from his mistakes.

Jennifer Webb
(Jungle Gems)