PAUL EDWARDS- peherps@comcast.net

I have never bought a rack from paul, but I did have a bad experience with him dealing with reptiles. early last year I saw one of his ads on kingsnake and notice he lived in the same area in SC as I do. He had an ad that was about selling animals for people kingsnake for a 25% fee(i think). We talked on the phone about me doing some business with him and he asked me what kind of snakes/turtles I had and that he might be interested in buying some at wholesale from me. I told him some things that I had for sale at that time and that was all. He never said he was going to buy anything or wanted anything at that time. I ended up selling the eastern King pair I had a couple days later to a local guy. about a week later Paul tells me that he needs me to bring those eastern kings to him. I told him that I had already sold them and he told me I needed to get him some cause he had posted them and had a guy pay for them. I never gave him permission to post anything and I told him he shouldnt be selling animals that he didnt have in his hands. he got mad at me and told me that is how the reptile world works. I have not spoke to him since though. I dont know how you can sell animals that you dont have or have any clue as to the shape they are in.

Hi,
This is Paul Edwards of Paul Edwards Reptiles. I have been a cage connesuer for a few decades now and it has always been my dream to make cages, racks and incubators for a living, and now that is what I do, almost exclusively. However, as I will explain in a bit, it is not a full time living...yet.
First off I'd like to say that you can do no better than to have Tom Weidner of Habitat Systems making cages for you. Yes, Tom and I go way back, and I'm sorry he feels the way he feels about me (I had no idea I offended his daughter though...my sincerest apologies). I'm sure he is mad at me for using what he thinks is his material, but Henry Ford didn't want Chevy around either. I realized Tom Weidner is not going to put money in Paul Edwards pocket, Paul Edwards has to do that, so I decided to use the skills that I have and the knowledge that I have in using this material to make affordable, yet high quality cages, racks and incubators for herpers and breeders, not effecting Habitat Systems markets, which are primarily zoo's. I have no interest in going into their markets, and don't have the infrastructure to do so even if I wanted to, and I have no interest in stealing their company or harming them in any way, and don't believe I have. I in fact pray for their prosperity and abundance on a continual basis. I have been a HUGE supporter or theirs ever since they found out about this material from a friend of mine. They did not discover it and they are NOT the first to make cages out of this material. But the fact is most people can't afford to pay $1000 for one arboreal cage. That's where I come in. Except for an extremely few, like Rico Walder, the people that I do business with are simply not HS customers. I use the same hollow core material as they do, all of my stuff is made with an awesome adhesive I found, so everything is adhered together. I do use rivits a lot on the face frames and doors. I use a process of adhering these things together that utilizes 2 seperate types of adhesives and I frankly don't know if Habitat Systems does it the same way or not...I have my own process and it took me a long time to figure out how to go about working with the material and a lot of trial and error and research on my own...and it is a tricky material to work with for sure and I am getting better at it as I go, kinda like anything else that is manufactured. I am always improving my products. But my product will hold up just as well as Habitat Systems and will last a lifetime. Myherp room is filled with my racks and I've never had an animal escape. Nothing is better than H.S. though in my mind as they are the top reptile enclosure manufacturers on the planet...bar none. And they should be, they've been doing it for over 10 years. I've always said success with animals is all about the facilities. I'm a facilities guy all the way. I'm trying to bring to the herper/collector/breeder a superior product that they can actually afford. I'll never be as cheap as most out there and I don't want to be.
I want to explain why there are some people on here calling me names like liar and thief. I am none of those things, never have been and never will be. the people who know me know that. You can say a lot of things about me, like not getting people products out in time, but I am not a liar and I am not a thief. Everyone has got their products they have ordered from me and I have many testamonial letters to prove how happy they are with their products. Some are on the BOI in fact, including a doctor who ordered just one cage. Some however have not gotten their products in a timely manner and I don't blame them for being upset, I would be too. The short explanation is, the business is not fully supporting my personal expences and business expences, and so I've done some things so that very little of my personal expences are paid from the money that comes in for the business now. Before it all went into one account and there was more outgo than income frankly and it got me into a little trouble in buying materials for projects. Plus, I don't know how many of you have actually ran an actual full time business before, but it's hard! I've learned so much in the last year, you have no idea! When I tested Rico's rack there was one box that was a little tight and I told him about it. And I did not know it was for Chondro's. Kyle will get his money, I built him the incubators and have shipped him the heat shelves for them yesterday, and I built the rack in question but it did not get sent out in time so he wants a refund. I have always told them I will give them a refund, just haven't yet, even though he and Santo have called me every name in the book. We have a date promised that he will be receiving his first payment. This was set yesterday and I have the email to prove it, before all this began. He promised that he would not post on here if I did what I said I was going to do, but I guess he did anyway.
I don't know if everyone who see's this saw that there have been several inquiries and Good Guy posts about me over the years, but I went back and read them and I would like to ask that you do too. There are some pretty good things said about me. I have been breeding and selling what I bred since the mid 1980's and I have an excellent reputation. I have bred not only Emerald tree boas on a consistant basis, but Amazon tree boas, various other pythons and colubrids and easy to breed things, and also panther chameleons, Kimberly Rock monitors, Red Ackies, cave dwelling rat snakes, and tons of ball pythons. I have spoken at 5 different states herpetological societies and at the MidWestern Herpetological conference, have had my photographs published in reptiles magazine and even won the 1996 reptiles magazines photo contest.
In short, I'm here to stay.
Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards Reptiles
843-224-8985

Tom,

Thank you for clarifying the relationship between you two guys. So far my incubator works ok...although, nothing has hatched out yet. So, we'll see. Either way, when I do need something else..I will be buying from you!

Leslie

Hey,
This is Paul Edwards of Paul Edwards Reptiles. I have been a cage connesuer for a few decades now and it has always been my dream to make cages, racks and incubators for a living, and now that is what I do, almost exclusively. However, as I will explain in a bit, it is not a full time living...yet.
First off I'd like to say that you can do no better than to have Tom Weidner of Habitat Systems making cages for you. Yes, Tom and I go way back, and I'm sorry he feels the way he feels about me (I had no idea I offended his daughter though...my sincerest apologies). I'm sure he is mad at me for using what he thinks is his material, but Henry Ford didn't want Chevy around either. I realized Tom Weidner is not going to put money in Paul Edwards pocket, Paul Edwards has to do that, so I decided to use the skills that I have and the knowledge that I have in using this material to make affordable, yet high quality cages, racks and incubators for herpers and breeders, not effecting Habitat Systems markets, which are primarily zoo's. I have no interest in going into their markets, and don't have the infrastructure to do so even if I wanted to, and I have no interest in stealing their company or harming them in any way, and don't believe I have. I in fact pray for their prosperity and abundance on a continual basis. I have been a HUGE supporter or theirs ever since they found out about this material from a friend of mine. They did not discover it and they are NOT the first to make cages out of this material. But the fact is most people can't afford to pay $1000 for one arboreal cage. That's where I come in. Except for an extremely few, like Rico Walder, the people that I do business with are simply not HS customers. I use the same hollow core material as they do, all of my stuff is made with an awesome adhesive I found, so everything is adhered together. I do use rivits a lot on the face frames and doors. I use a process of adhering these things together that utilizes 2 seperate types of adhesives and I frankly don't know if Habitat Systems does it the same way or not...I have my own process and it took me a long time to figure out how to go about working with the material and a lot of trial and error and research on my own...and it is a tricky material to work with for sure and I am getting better at it as I go, kinda like anything else that is manufactured. I am always improving my products. But my product will hold up just as well as Habitat Systems and will last a lifetime. Myherp room is filled with my racks and I've never had an animal escape. Nothing is better than H.S. though in my mind as they are the top reptile enclosure manufacturers on the planet...bar none. And they should be, they've been doing it for over 10 years. I've always said success with animals is all about the facilities. I'm a facilities guy all the way. I'm trying to bring to the herper/collector/breeder a superior product that they can actually afford. I'll never be as cheap as most out there and I don't want to be.
I want to explain why there are some people on here calling me names like liar and thief. I am none of those things, never have been and never will be. the people who know me know that. You can say a lot of things about me, like not getting people products out in time, but I am not a liar and I am not a thief. Everyone has got their products they have ordered from me and I have many testamonial letters to prove how happy they are with their products. Some are on the BOI in fact, including a doctor who ordered just one cage. Some however have not gotten their products in a timely manner and I don't blame them for being upset, I would be too. The short explanation is, the business is not fully supporting my personal expences and business expences, and so I've done some things so that very little of my personal expences are paid from the money that comes in for the business now. Before it all went into one account and there was more outgo than income frankly and it got me into a little trouble in buying materials for projects. Plus, I don't know how many of you have actually ran an actual full time business before, but it's hard! I've learned so much in the last year, you have no idea! When I tested Rico's rack there was one box that was a little tight and I told him about it. And I did not know it was for Chondro's. Kyle will get his money, I built him the incubators and have shipped him the heat shelves for them yesterday, and I built the rack in question but it did not get sent out in time so he wants a refund. I have always told them I will give them a refund, just haven't yet, even though he and Santo have called me every name in the book. We have a date promised that he will be receiving his first payment. This was set yesterday and I have the email to prove it, before all this began. He promised that he would not post on here if I did what I said I was going to do, but I guess he did anyway.
I don't know if everyone who see's this saw that there have been several inquiries and Good Guy posts about me over the years, but I went back and read them and I would like to ask that you do too. There are some pretty good things said about me. I have been breeding and selling what I bred since the mid 1980's and I have an excellent reputation. I have bred not only Emerald tree boas on a consistant basis, but Amazon tree boas, various other pythons and colubrids and easy to breed things, and also panther chameleons, Kimberly Rock monitors, Red Ackies, cave dwelling rat snakes, and tons of ball pythons. I have spoken at 5 different states herpetological societies and at the MidWestern Herpetological conference, have had my photographs published in reptiles magazine and even won the 1996 reptiles magazines photo contest.
In short, I'm here to stay.
Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards Reptiles
843-224-8985

Originally Posted by Paul Edwards

I don't know if everyone who see's this saw that there have been several inquiries and Good Guy posts about me over the years

Apparently Tom Weidner is no longer a fan of yours after he helped you along and you turned around and tried to use the very info you got from him to compete with him.

There are 2 kinds of bizzes. Both seek to make money and there's nothing wrong with that. One fits into the community, developing relationships and helping others.

The other is the rip and tear kind of competitive, bottom line based biz. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that either.

But don't turn and try to rip and tear and out-compete a former buddy, and then try to make like you are the cuddly kind of biz that is helpful and considerate.

If you rip and tear others in your attempt to get to the top, don't expect cuddles and hugs from anyone when you stumble and fall and head back to the bottom.

What goes around comes around.

Actually, Tom is not the one who discovered this material. A very good friend of mine did. And it was that gentleman who started building cages out of it with the vinyl plastic fencing for face frames. Tom took the idea from him frankly, and built his company around it and my friend has never got a dime out of it. Not even a discount. Yes, Tom has helped me a lot with reptiles, general herping, photography, veterinary care, all kinds of stuff over the years, and I have more respect for Tom and what he has achieved in his life than probably anyone. I've also bought thousands of dollars worth of reptiles from him over the years, and have promoted their company in talks I've given and in countless personal conversations simply because I believe in this material. When I wanted to do this, we talked on the phone, and we talked about him getting either a piece of my business, or to become a franchise of their business and they declined, based mainly on the fact that I would be out here selling cages made out of the same material, at a much cheaper price, even though the vast majority of their business does not come from the herp world, it comes from the zoo world, because they are the only ones who can afford their products.

I'm not trying to come off as all warm and fuzzy as you say, I am trying to be professional. I appreciate everyones opinions that have been voiced here, and their rights to do so, even those who know nothing about me, or my business, or my products. I run a respectable business, I work hard, and I am working hard to make this the best company I can make it. I am a one man show and I am always trying to make what I make better, and get things out in a timely manner. Has there been mistakes made along the way? Sure there has, but I have always stood by my products and I always will.

I knew Tom wouldn't like me out here making cages out of this stuff. But you don't not go into business because someone is not going to like it. Anytime someone goes into business, there are going to be some that don't like it. Is everything we as consumers purchase a total 100% original? I don't think so. Look at the Freedom Breeder knock offs, or all the sheet goods manufacturers out there selling cages and racks. The clothes you wear, the electronics you enjoy, the cars you drive, to the hamburgers you eat - somebody else did it first. I'm making products simular to theirs at a fraction of the cost...I've heard that called "the American way". My goal in all of this, and the reason I started the company, is because I don't think it is fair that you can't get cages made out of this material unless you are willing to pay an exorbitant price, and so that people can get this level of quality that I'm able to produce at a price that is reasonable. Otherwise it is simply not available, unless, again, they want to pay literally 3 times what I am charging. That's it. That's what I am trying to do, and make a living in the meantime doing something I love. My only offense is not getting some customers products out in a timely fashion. Everything else is simply not true. All of my customers have got what they paid for. Even Leslie.
I did a little survey 2 nights ago. I got on the phone and called almost everyone I had done business with since I started this, just to find out if they were happy with my products, and to the man, everyone I talked to is extremely happy with what they bought from me. The incubators that Kyle Millsap and Santo got from me that they are complaining about, are the exact ones pictured in my adds (3'x2' and the 3'x3'). Everyone else that has got those sizes from me report them working fine. If not, like Kyle and Santo, I will take care of it.
Thanks,
Paul

Originally Posted by Paul Edwards

Actually,blah..blah....blah....mumbojumbo.
Thanks,
Paul

Talk is cheap.

Put your money where your mouth is.

There are some people out there who just talk and talk and talk---but never actually say anything. I'm not saying that's you--because I'm just skimming your emails for $$$ signs and talk of REFUNDS.

Can you get a credit card to pay this gentleman back?

I understand that this is a free market---by all means--build a better mousetrap---more cost effectively with long-term customer service. So far, I've seen none of those qualities exhibited here, although--you really can go on and on!

Your personal impromptu poll doesn't pull much weight about the $1100 REFUND YOU OWE YOUR CUSTOMER.

Lastly, since you tossed it out there---It is my belief that it costs waaay more than $1000/month to have a kid. To look at it as money you'd use on something other than the kid is ridiculous.

Please refund this money so we can let this thread die. It's really bothering me that you can say soooooo much but never give specifics about the RETURN OF THE OTHER PERSON'S MONEY THAT YOU HAVE.

Hi,
This is Paul Edwards of Paul Edwards Reptiles. I have been a cage connesuer for a few decades now and it has always been my dream to make cages, racks and incubators for a living, and now that is what I do, almost exclusively. However, as I will explain in a bit, it is not a full time living...yet.
First off I'd like to say that you can do no better than to have Tom Weidner of Habitat Systems making cages for you. Yes, Tom and I go way back, and I'm sorry he feels the way he feels about me (I had no idea I offended his daughter though...my sincerest apologies). I'm sure he is mad at me for using what he thinks is his material, but Henry Ford didn't want Chevy around either. I realized Tom Weidner is not going to put money in Paul Edwards pocket, Paul Edwards has to do that, so I decided to use the skills that I have and the knowledge that I have in using this material to make affordable, yet high quality cages, racks and incubators for herpers and breeders, not effecting Habitat Systems markets, which are primarily zoo's. I have no interest in going into their markets, and don't have the infrastructure to do so even if I wanted to, and I have no interest in stealing their company or harming them in any way, and don't believe I have. I in fact pray for their prosperity and abundance on a continual basis. I have been a HUGE supporter or theirs ever since they found out about this material from a friend of mine. They did not discover it and they are NOT the first to make cages out of this material. But the fact is most people can't afford to pay $1000 for one arboreal cage. That's where I come in. Except for an extremely few, like Rico Walder, the people that I do business with are simply not HS customers. I use the same hollow core material as they do, all of my stuff is made with an awesome adhesive I found, so everything is adhered together. I do use rivits a lot on the face frames and doors. I use a process of adhering these things together that utilizes 2 seperate types of adhesives and I frankly don't know if Habitat Systems does it the same way or not...I have my own process and it took me a long time to figure out how to go about working with the material and a lot of trial and error and research on my own...and it is a tricky material to work with for sure and I am getting better at it as I go, kinda like anything else that is manufactured. I am always improving my products. But my product will hold up just as well as Habitat Systems and will last a lifetime. Myherp room is filled with my racks and I've never had an animal escape. Nothing is better than H.S. though in my mind as they are the top reptile enclosure manufacturers on the planet...bar none. And they should be, they've been doing it for over 10 years. I've always said success with animals is all about the facilities. I'm a facilities guy all the way. I'm trying to bring to the herper/collector/breeder a superior product that they can actually afford. I'll never be as cheap as most out there and I don't want to be.
I want to explain why there are some people on here calling me names like liar and thief. I am none of those things, never have been and never will be. the people who know me know that. You can say a lot of things about me, like not getting people products out in time, but I am not a liar and I am not a thief. Everyone has got their products they have ordered from me and I have many testamonial letters to prove how happy they are with their products. Some are on the BOI in fact, including a doctor who ordered just one cage. Some however have not gotten their products in a timely manner and I don't blame them for being upset, I would be too. The short explanation is, the business is not fully supporting my personal expences and business expences, and so I've done some things so that very little of my personal expences are paid from the money that comes in for the business now. Before it all went into one account and there was more outgo than income frankly and it got me into a little trouble in buying materials for projects. Plus, I don't know how many of you have actually ran an actual full time business before, but it's hard! I've learned so much in the last year, you have no idea! When I tested Rico's rack there was one box that was a little tight and I told him about it. And I did not know it was for Chondro's. Kyle will get his money, I built him the incubators and have shipped him the heat shelves for them yesterday, and I built the rack in question but it did not get sent out in time so he wants a refund. I have always told them I will give them a refund, just haven't yet, even though he and Santo have called me every name in the book. We have a date promised that he will be receiving his first payment. This was set yesterday and I have the email to prove it, before all this began. He promised that he would not post on here if I did what I said I was going to do, but I guess he did anyway.
I don't know if everyone who see's this saw that there have been several inquiries and Good Guy posts about me over the years, but I went back and read them and I would like to ask that you do too. There are some pretty good things said about me. I have been breeding and selling what I bred since the mid 1980's and I have an excellent reputation. I have bred not only Emerald tree boas on a consistant basis, but Amazon tree boas, various other pythons and colubrids and easy to breed things, and also panther chameleons, Kimberly Rock monitors, Red Ackies, cave dwelling rat snakes, and tons of ball pythons. I have spoken at 5 different states herpetological societies and at the MidWestern Herpetological conference, have had my photographs published in reptiles magazine and even won the 1996 reptiles magazines photo contest.
In short, I'm here to stay.
Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards Reptiles
843-224-8985

I didn't see any proof of refunds in that paragraph.

Nice spew though.

Paul,

You say you are not a liar, I'm interested in your definition of a liar. When you advertise that a product will be in the consumers hands in 4-6 weeks...and then its 19 weeks, thats a lie! Also, you said the incubator would be built to the dimensions I gave you. You never said there was going to be an extra 2" or so for the box of fans and heat. Thats a pretty crucial piece of information to leave out! So, infact it was not made to my dimensions...another lie.

I run 2 of my own business, plus have a full time and part time job. So, I know exactly how hard it is..i've never used funds from one company to another. One company is Aquarium Services Co. When someone pays me to do an aquarium installation, the money is only used to buy the items needed for their job...nothing else! Thats how you are supposed to do things. Just as in selling reptiles, the money should never be spent until you know the buyer is happy with their purchase.


Thanks,
Leslie Steinmetz