Allen Both - Reptile Kingdom

Hello Lena,
How did this work out for you?
Is it now truly a closed case?

And Adam, did he actually send you the 100% hets or is he still in the process of getting them to you?

Would like to know how this has worked out for the two of you
Thanks,
Mike Derks @ Whitewater Reptiles

we are still working on getting things cleared up, I have asked him for a list of animals that he produces himself and if he is producing something I like the BP's will be reconsidered.
Adam Switzer

As far as Allan's customer service I have dealt with him years ago and had smooth transactions.


I think the most important thing to focus on is it was a wild caught specimen. As far as a guarantee not many people would put that burden upon themselves on an imported reptile. I have made that very mistake myself in the past only to have it bite me in A**. Needless to say a hard lesson learned and never to be duplicated. You can try to be a good judge of the reptiles and make an educated decision based upon ones personal and or professional knowledge but there are always exceptions. Normally I would say this is why buying captive breed is the best route to go. Unfortunately a fire skink doesn't have much appeal to captive breeders making it nearly impossible to get a CBB fire skink mainly because they don't have a great deal of monetary value. However I am sorry for your loss and would like to say I personally admire your passion. Just remember buying wild caught does come with a risk and be prepared to lose once in a while. The conditions some of these animals are kept in by some exporters are very bad not to mention the stress added from transit. Its an unfortunate but necessary evil of the trade. Without it NONE of us would be able to enjoy these creatures we are so intrigued by.

If you do pick up more reptiles at a show, you may want to not handle them so much right after the stress of the show/transporting. That could have led to a stress-induced death.
I hope you resolve all the issues.

Wow!
Adam, 4 years is a long time - you are a very patient man And I do wish you the best of luck.
I'm hoping that Allen will make it right with you.
Mike Derks @ Whitewater Reptiles

I'm slightly inclined to do a dealing with him again. I just got some geckos from another person due to this BOI. I think it might be ok to maybe go on and do a transaction seeing that Allen seemed to change his ways there are even some thread on him being a good guy but most are inquiries that I don't care to look at. I actually want to get some more geckos to make some breeding projects of these rare but interesting geckos that I got a hold of. They would be imports mostly and I want get some before that little bill is passed or before prices rise. This was helpful and I think we can come to the decision at least temporarily that he is a good businessman due to this. If I do make a transaction I will let you all know how it goes.

I don't know if Allen has changed his ways.....I sold him some rosy boas on 17 Feb 09 and the transaction went very good....Then I sent him another package on the 4th of March, he said he would be out of town but someone would be there to accept the package on the morning of 5 March and that he would then send the funds on Friday the 6th.......So here it is the 14th of April and I've been told that 1) the check is in the mail and I will send another one 2) it has slipped my mind....It has been nearly 6 weeks and what he is doing is wrong. He gained my trust on the first transaction and is now giving me excuses and empty promises....We don't need people like this in this business - and for what it's worth - thats' just my opinion....Think twice about doing business with this guy - I'm currently NOT having a positive experience.
Mike Derks
P.S. There have been no complaints concerning the animals that he received from me - they were perfect.

Just today, "paid in full" took about 6 weeks. But it still doesn't change the fact that his communication/customer service skills are lacking.
I understand life gets busy and unforseen circumstances happen - it's part of life....But communication can go a long ways in preventing potential trouble.
Mike Derks

Hmmm...couldn't possibly have been your contribution to this thread that got you paid, could it?

I hope it wasn't my contribution to this thread that expedited the payment in full. I really hope that Allen was going to fulfill his obligation and truly was just really busy - it's still no excuse for taking the time it took to get paid....Making a payment through PayPal can be accomplished in very little time...But it is now a done deal
Mike Derks