Rare Earth Inc.

I was not impressed at all. Back when Joe Lewis owened Rare Earth, I purchased 6 Blotched Blue-tongued Skinks from through a broker, simply because Joe's prices would change from day to day, and it was like pulling teath to get a call back and even harder to get a straight answer about the Skinks history (The backgroung info from that I got from Rare earth was unconfirmable and left me at a dead end). I was less than happy with what I received (one had a stub tail, one was very thin, and one died). I have a friend that purchased some a pair shinglebacks from them. One had an RI and died soon after. They did not do anything about it. However, I am told that Joe recently sold Rare Earth to a new guy (Jason?) and I have not ever done a deal with them under the new ownership (still have a bad taste in my mouth). I sincerly hope Jason does better than Joe did with the business.

I can't speak of "Rare Earth" under Joe Lewis's or anyone elses direction/mgt. But I have known and dealt with Jason Kaline for about 2-3 years now. I've mostly sold snakes to Jason (prior to his ownership of Rare Earth). But I've also purchased one as well since his new ownership. He was very professional during all deals (as buyer and seller), did what he said he was going to do, and communication was what it should be with any deal - buying or selling. The specific animal I received was and continues to be TOP-NOTCH in quality. And considering the hap-hazard way some sellers treat their customers, I'm usually a little dissapointed about how they conduct business. This was not the case when I purchased from Jason. I was happy from start to finish.

My oppinion of Jason, from my experience, is that he's a responsible guy. He's undertaking someone else's business. And when that happens, the new owner also has to deal with any baggage that the prior owner may have made mistakes with in the past. Joe Lewis or anyone else has nothing to do with Rare Earth anymore. Whatever may have happened with those guys is in the past - history. This is Kaline's gig and his business now. I wouldn't hesitate to put my trust in him again, or spend my money with him. Just my $.02.

My name is Jason Kaline and I am the current owner of Rare Earth, inc. I purchased the company from Joe Lewis last year when he sold out to pursue other business ventures. This email will be long but I should cover all questions being raised.

First I want to bring up that the original post and most of those that followed are now almost 3 years old. All these transactions, good and bad, occurred while Joe Lewis was owner.

Having sold Millions of dollars of reptiles I can pretty confidently say that Joe Lewis had a very good reputation in this business. The positives far out numbered the bad. I can take credit for neither Joes many, many good sales or his bad ones. I still get emails weekly from satisfied customers of Joe's.

I know nothing about the pet store mentioned in this old thread but can say that none of the animals I acquired with the purchase are pet store quality.

One post in this thread was correct - Joe did scale way back in the number of animal species he dealt with a few years ago. His focus was mostly on dwarf monitors and some Aspidites. I purchased this company to focus mainly on the dwarf monitors. I am still working with some Aspidites and hope to build the numbers back up to where Joe previously had them.

I am committed to continuing Rare Earth's tradition of high quality dwarf monitors. I believe I have one of the nicest collections in the world and hope to continue to build on that.

Now to the recent post that brought this thread "Back to the Future". I can wholeheartedly agree with what Matt is saying - that we had a bad transaction. It was bad. But since he posted that he didn't want to go into details I will.

Having a few extra male Pilbara Rock Monitors that I had no use for I decided to make them available at a VERY reasonable cost. About $1500 less then a baby sells for. I did this so others could enjoy this species as much as I do.

Matt inquired about them, asked for pics, how to care for them and information on how to pay me. In my response back I included all the above information saying that we provide care for them just like we do ackies but that a detailed care sheet was included below in the email. The email was sent on Tuesday, March 22nd.

Matt used the paypal information from that email and sent me the money. This is when problems began.

I got an email from him on the day it arrived, after ups dropped it off at his house and did not knock (his words). He said that the Monitor was frozen. I then received another email saying he was just cold and that once he was back in the heat he was fine. He did say I didn't use a heat pack in one email but then later said that he didn't receive it. The animal was packed correctly with an insulated box and the proper heat pack.

I emailed him letting him know that I would give him a week’s guarantee on the animals because of it arriving "frozen", just to keep me informed.

I then received another email from him on Saturday saying he was concerned about the animal. His email to me:

<b> Hey Jason, I'm a little concerned about the monitor.
He's in a ten gallon tank with a hide and water bowl.
I used crushed walnut bedding (no sand available)
the temps are 77-89 ambient and 115 in the basking
spot. He hasn't eaten yet I offered him two 1/2
crickets and they're still in there.</b>

I emailed back and told him his set up was totally inappropriate. And gave him the care sheet again. He emailed me back and said I hadn't sent him the original care sheet and I told him to set up the animals like an ackie. He said he set his cage up like Pro Exotics recommended for an ackie.

Note: Reading Pro Exotics care sheet on ackies I saw no where does it say to keep ambient as low as 77 or as high as 89. I was also a little puzzled how a 10 gallon tank could accommodate a hot spot of 155 and still have a temp gradient of 77-89. I let that go though.

After a few more days had passed with him in possession of the care sheet again I got another email saying it still hadn't eaten and he was worried and wondered if he should send it to back to me. I said sure, send it back and I'll get him eating again and reship or refund the money. He said he wanted him back.

Acknowledging that he had never shipped ups I talked him through the process. My next contact from him is an email saying it had been shipped. Later that evening a tracking number arrived. I tracked the package and saw that it was going to an entirely different state. What he had done was found an old address that was on the gateway page that Kingsnake hosts. He had not bothered to ask me where to ship so I assumed he had used the sent from address on the package I sent him. That was not the case. While it is true Kingsnake did have a very old address posted on their page (which is now removed) a simple email to me confirming where he was supposed to ship the animal doesn't seem unreasonable. In a follow up email he admitted shipping to the wrong address.

Any how the package couldn't be stopped and took 2 days to get back to me. Upon opening the package I saw this:

<center><img src="http://www.rareearthinc.com/tailcaught.jpg" border=1></center>

He had shipped him back with his tail caught in the container. The poor monitor spent two days in a shipping box attached to his container. He denies that he did this but can offer no explanation on how it could have happened. Also note that he sent him back in a container marked "Bronze Mantella". After questioning him about the use of a dirty container he said he had cleaned it before use.

He then proceeded to tell me that this was the worst deal HE has been involved with and didn't want the monitor back now! He asked what I could do for him.

Now here I am with a monitor that has a kinked tail from his shipping him back to me, a monitor that has possibly been exposed to other reptiles in his collection and a monitor sent back in what could be dirty frog container. If I hadn't thought that the monitor would have died in his care I would have just insisted he take the monitor back. I offered him $300 of his $550 purchase back or he could have the monitor back once it was eating again, He said that he'd take the $300 as that is what he wanted.

So in the end I ended up with a monitor that has a kink in its tail and has to be quarantined from the rest of my collection. I can't take the risk of putting it back in with the main population. I can't sell him to anyone until I am sure he is not diseased. I probably won't at that point any how. One good point is that he began to feed the very next day after I got him back and set him up properly.

I have now sold over $30,000 worth of monitors since taking over Rare Earth. Other then Matt's "situation" I have had 100% customer satisfaction. I do believe I was more then fair in dealing with the problems that came about in this transaction

As I move forward with Rare Earth, Inc. I hope to provide customers with both excellent customer service and excellent reptiles. Realistically, as with all businesses that do a high volume of transactions, there will occasionally be set backs. I can promise that when these circumstances arise, hopefully very infrequently, I will be as fair as I can.

I look forward to doing business with many of you in the future.

Thanks,
Jason Kaline
Rare Earth, Inc.

P.S. For all of you who email me about the new rareearthinc.com web site I promise that it is coming. I have just been so busy with taking care of the animals I haven't gotten around to finishing it up yet. Thanks for being patient.

Proof reading a little too late I notice the following error:

OLD:
Having sold Millions of dollars of reptiles I can pretty confidently say that Joe Lewis had a very good reputation in this business. The positives far out numbered the bad. I can take credit for neither Joes many, many good sales or his bad ones. I still get emails weekly from satisfied customers of Joe's.

NEW:
Having sold Millions of dollars of reptiles I can pretty confidently say that Joe Lewis had a very good reputation in this business. The positives far out numbered the bad. I <b>can't</b> take credit for neither Joes many, many good sales or his bad ones. I still get emails weekly from satisfied customers of Joe's.


I just wanted to make sure that I was clear. Joe built his customer reputation and I want to build mine.

Thanks,
Jason Kaline
Rare Earth, inc.

Glad to hear you are doing well...be sure to drop a thread on the main boards when you get your website up, so we can all take a gander!!
greg

Well stated Jason. Based upon your explanation, it sounds like you did more than should have been expected of you.

I have done a few trades with Jason Kaline. I have two pairs of gorgeous and healthy leachianus from him. He was completely professional in all of our deals and if he had something I wanted (and I could afford it!) I would not hesitate to buy.

I ordered a pair of red ackies from Jason back in december , and i have to say , it was quite possibly the smoothest transaction I have ever had the honor of being involved with. The animals arrived in great shape , other than being a little cold , but i believe that to be because shipping was rough and the heat pack was moved away from them. They are thriving , beautifuk creatures , and It was definately worth the money. I am very glad i purchased from him. thanx

From what I am seeing, it looks like Rare Earth has taken a turn for the better and is in good hands. I am glad to hear it.

Originally Posted by moreliamaniac

I recently dealt with Jason Kline of Rare Earth. It was a bad experience that I won't go into details about but I wouldn't deal with them again unless you can pick up the animals in question. I would also note they are no longering in Richmond Va. and have moved to Glen Burnie , MD. There reputation for being a leader in dwarf monitors has certainly deminished in my mind.

My opinion is that the devil is usually in the details. When somebody publicly trashes someone else and refuses to provide details, usually that's where the devil lies.

Seems Mr. Kaline is the good guy here. The problems of poor husbandry, inadequate quarantine, and terrible shipping by Mr. Traficante resulted in a huge loss for the seller. That UPS may or may not have rung the bell, the buyer should have been on
the lookout for the package. I always am when receiving a live animal door to door, especially an ectotherm during winter. That can hardly be blamed on the seller. The seller then agrees to take the monitor back and receives a now deformed animal that has been exposed to who knows what. And he most generously refunds him back more than half of the purhase price!

And then the buyer makes a post omitting the crucial details but impugning the seller's reputaion. Pffffft!!!!!!

I know which one I would do business with, and to whom I would never sell. I care too much about the animals that I produce.