Africanreptiles.4t.com INQUIRY

Has anyone ever delt with africanreptiles from Cairo Eqypt? Does anyone know if I need any permits to take delivery from Europe?

Robert,

In order to import any animals you must be licensed to import from USFW. There are quite a few requirements to meet in order to import reptiles into the US. You must have C.I.T.E.S. documents, USF&W must inpect the shipment when it arrives, it must arrive to a designated port of Entry, In most cases you must have a Broker to handle the shipment and clearing of, depending on where the port of entry is the shipment must be forwarded to you. Importation is not an easy thing to accomplish and it does not happen quickly. Yes I import from many different countries and in most cases it is a real headache even for me and I know exactly what I am supposed to do and can usuallydo it in my sleep. I hope this gives you a better idea. Also there was another thread on this company already here. It was titled African Reptiles.

well here is my story with them.
after 3 weeks of going back and fourth through e-mails we finally came to a decision on shipping to me.i ordered a little over 500 animals and they came back and said no i needed to place a smaller order for the 1 st order.so i said ok.i reduced the order to 150 animals and everything was good to go.i got an invoice via e-mail to wire the funds to a bank in egypt..we had discussed cod for 3 weeks and they agreed to ship this way.now they want it 100% pre paid.this was not an option..i told them we had been discussing this for nearly a month now there changing ther mind.i contacted them 1 time.every other attempt at doing business was initiated by them..they did come back and tell me they would do a cod for a very small order.yes there prices are low if you do indeed get anything which i am now convinced i would not have.what they neglect to tell you is that there is $200.00 in shipping charges.a minimum of $100.00 for paperwork plus handeling fees.plus i was told they could ship direct to my airport form africa.i have since been told from importers that this is not true.i never checked into this myself.all these charges are for 10 or 500 animals it's all the same.i am very much a gambeler but these odds seemed far worse than the casinos i visit regulary.so if you elect to procede i will say good luck i think you are gonna need it..
jim burns

Jim,

If you are not a licensed importer and have no idea about importing reptiles why even try? I am not saying anything bad about you nor anyone else that wants to order from these exporters but what most do not understand is the price of the animals is not the only thing you have to pay for. Most exporters charge a minimum of $100 for paperwork, freight depends on weight usually about $10 per kilogram and some freight carriers have a minimum charge, The Inspection from USF&W runs between $55-$115, the Brokers fee runs about $150-$250, plus the shipment must be forwarded to your airport which will cost another amount. So technically for a $500 shipment of animals you are looking at about $1000+ If you need animals you are better off just purchasing from other importers.

I may have come across harsh in that last post. I am sorry if I did. It just drives me nuts that some people think they can just import animals without knowing what the requirements are. If it was that easy everyone would be an importer in the reptile community. Also if a person imports C.I.T.E.S. animals and does not have the USF&W license to do so, the entire shipment can be confiscated, and that person can face up to a $5000 fine for illegal importation without a license. Importing is a large risk to begin with and I do not suggest anyone get into it. Not because I am afraid of competition (which I am not) but because of all the headaches that are involved with Importing. Hell if you guys want to start importing, get all the information and do it all legally and I wish you the best of luck with it.

They stole my photo of a male Chamaeleo jacksonii merumontanus!

http://www.africanreptile.4t.com/cgi...0jacksonii.jpg

Here is my photo

http://www.intenseherp.com/images/malemeru.jpg

When you work hard to get such a great picture from an animal that took months to get to look that good it really pisses me off that someone steals it and represents it as their own. Do not trust this company!
Thanks
Justyn

I can't stand picture thieves! Another company/person to add to the "never do business with" list!!!

Wow I didn't realize it was this hard to import animals. I think I will leave it to the pros. I am glad I posted this inquiry!!! Sounds like I probably would have made a bad mistake. Thanks to all who replied and Thank God for this BOI!!! I must say this is the first time I have posted and not gotten my butt jumped over one thing or another. This is a nice change. I apreciate the Help.

yep rob..i guess i didn't word it very well.i do know it's not an option to do what i was told by them that they would do.
i guess what i really meant to say was that if i would send them $3,000.00 or $4,000.00 wired direct to an account in egypt that they would send my order almost to my doorstep.yea right.
jim burns

Here's my invovlment and experience with this; I received one of two shipmments from A.R. so far, animals I got were fine and exactly what I ordered, haven't gotten the 2nd yet. His english is very bad, on the phone is a little better than his writing. If you have never imported, this may not be a good place to start, partially due to communication problems you will surely encounter. As far as his credibility and honesty, I know he was having some problems with another importer who was dissatisfied with his shipment and A.R. tried to get me involved in it; I refused, and I actually baited/provoked him to cancel my order and keep my money(I assumed he would based on past experiences with other exporters and I wanted to get it over with), but he maintained through the whole thing that he was a professional and would not do that. This is NOT a recommendation, just an observation that in my opinion, he is not any worse than any other Guyanan or other exporter I've dealt with; if you are not aware of such unmentioned things like handling fees, box fees, shipping rates, travelling expenses, advance document fees, you will be in for some expensive surprises. The other end expects you to know the law, and be able to tell them exactly how you want them to proceed-at least that's the approach I have. If you are willing to gamble on an importation, it is critical that ALL money, shipping dates, substitutions be agreed on before beginning.

He asked me to correct his spelling/grammar on 2 ads he posted here, I did it with his password, then realized I might be breaking a rule (I recently notified the webmaster I did this). Like I said before, it's a gamble, it's stressful. I prepaid a guy in Guyana with the highest recommendations $2500 4 years ago and will never get an animal for no apparent reason, yet I paid $75 the next year to someone new, and got a stubby gravid emerald tree boa (the first scenerio is more prevelant!).

I've been getting e-mails asking me to import for some people, explain the process, or help them through it--I don't do any of those. I think you will see more and more exporters advertising on the net, trying to sell animals direct, African Reptiles is one of the first of many to come I think. Proceed with caution!

Kerry Swan
El Lagarto Farm