Konstrictor Specialties/ Brian Shelton

I am posting here to warn you about Brian Shelton of Konstrictor Specialties.
He is a liar and a Con-Artist . He has not kept his word one time with me. Why I bothered giving him second chances is beyond me. Below are all the details of my business with Mr. Shelton.

In the first picture you can read the original e-mail that Mr. Shelton sent me. with the terms and conditions of our deal. This was June 1st 2009.

"HI TED , PER OUR TALK TODAY , I WILL BE PURCHASING FEMALE JUNGLE BOA
#10000384 AND MALE SUNGLOW HET STRIPE #10000463 FOE $1250.00 SHIPPED. A
25% NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT THIS WEEK , WITH THE BALANCE DUE IN FULL WITHIN
60 DAYS. SOUNDS GREAT , BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS ! BRIAN 1-262-442-1988"

Two weeks later, I received a check for 25%. For the next 60 Days I received no other payments. He did not reply to my e-mails, and when he did return my calls he would tell me he was sending payment soon, he never did. His 60 days were up the end of July. I did not hear from him for about 2 weeks during that period, finally he called me August 19th. 4 days before the Daytona show. He said he was really sorry he was on vacation and he forgot about sending his final payment. He asked if he could meet me in Daytona with the remaining money in cash. But he wanted to know if he could have a discount since he was picking them up in person. I said that's fine, bring $800, and I would see him there.

When we met in Daytona he said he didn't have all the money because of expenses. He asked if he could give me $400 Cash and the other $400 in a check. Being the nice guy that I am, I agreed and accepted his check. So I thought the deal was done. Went home deposited his check in the bank. Two weeks later I found out that his checked bounced, twice.

I called Brian and he gave me some bogus story about someone stealing his checks and that that account was closed and that he would send out soon. Of coarse he never did, just more lies. People like Brain Shelton are the ones responsible and contributing to our poor economy.

I forgot to put my info in the thread.

Ted Thompson
Susquehanna Ectotherms
www.s-ecto.com
Ted@s-ecto.com

People never cease to amaze me. You were more than patient. You were generous enough to even work something out after he never responded back. I can honestly say one thing, there might be an economic recession, but there is no shortage of idiots out there...

And people like that are the exact reason you have to walk around with a pocket full of cash at reptile shows. which sucks if u want to buy a few expensive things!! i hate carrying cash but can't blame nobody for not taking a check these days. people like that running around. i think u were more than generous.

Calling him a con artist is a stretch.... and borderline slander..... bad with money.... yes... irresponsible yes..... and posting his account number and routing numbers up on a public forum could get you sued.....

It's one thing to warn people about a problem customer.... it's another to say you've been conned... when you were the one that gave the animal to the person BEFORE the money cleared... NEVER trust random customers.... !!

Sorry to hear about this, Ted. You're definitely one of the good guys in the industry and it's a shame you were taken advantage of...

Max

Originally Posted by Kaiyudsai

Calling him a con artist is a stretch.... and borderline slander..... bad with money.... yes... irresponsible yes..... and posting his account number and routing numbers up on a public forum could get you sued.....

It's one thing to warn people about a problem customer.... it's another to say you've been conned... when you were the one that gave the animal to the person BEFORE the money cleared... NEVER trust random customers.... !!

FYI - Bouncing checks is a crime. Ted is one of the good guys in this hobby, and I don't think for a minute this was an accident. Let this dirtbag sue! I can see it now:

Mr. Shelton: "Um, yes, your honor, I illegally wrote a bad check, thus robbing Mr. Thompson of $400 by deception. He then told everyone about it and posted my check as proof."

Judge:

hahaha...Michael is right. Besides, if you read the email that Ted has attached to his original message, then you will see that guy had wrote that he had to close his account b/c his checks were stolen. So the account number on the bounced check that Ted has posted no longer exists.

Michael is also right on the fact that it is a crime. Why would he sue? It would bring light to the fact that he committed a crime. And it would result in much larger consequences for himself than it would for Ted.

All I can say is Ted is a stand up guy. I've only delt with him for one transaction but all went well and he was patient and informative, also has great animals. Sorry to hear the bad news and thanks for the heads up.

Originally Posted by Kaiyudsai

Calling him a con artist is a stretch.... and borderline slander..... bad with money.... yes... irresponsible yes..... and posting his account number and routing numbers up on a public forum could get you sued.....
It's one thing to warn people about a problem customer.... it's another to say you've been conned... when you were the one that gave the animal to the person BEFORE the money cleared... NEVER trust random customers.... !!

Simply not paying and continuing to drag this out and making no effort to take care of this, makes Brian Shelton a con artist in my book. As well as by any state and/or federal legal system's standard. I am a Fugitive Recovery Agent and in my profession, I deal with scam/con artists of all sorts, every week. This is a good example on how they work. Pay some, and ONLY some. This is how they get an item while ripping someone off but looking as if they had very good intentions of finishing the transaction. If Brian did have good intentions, then why has he not been honest and told Ted his situation? I am sure Ted would work with him the best he could. And Ted has been nothing but generous so the guy has no reason to fear that Ted will not work with him. Regardless of what the mans intentions are/were, what is obvious due to the fact that he is not communicating, is that he no longer cares. He has made no effort at all, so his title of "con artist" is indeed well deserved. And no, this does not constitute as slander. At least not enough to actually win in court. I have made several court appearances on the states behalf where this particular subject was the topic in question. These "slander" suits never bare fruit unless someone has a REAL case. This does not qualify. Lets not forget that BRIAN is the one that deserves to be sued here. It appears Ted has enough evidence to make a very substantial case. But it is extremely unlikely for people in this biz to sue for an amount such as this. Due to the fact that in the end, it may cost more time and money than one cares to spend. Of course, if it were a more substantial amount of money, it would then be worth it for Ted to sue.

Ted, I am sorry you got taken. It has happened to the best of us. Just be thankful it was not for a lot more money than this. If it were, I could help you out and retrieve your money. But at the moment, my 20% cut would not even pay for my plane ticket, lol. Good luck in the future my friend!

Dallas Quarles