Rat Kingdom : Carl Barker

I have purchased feeder rodents from Carl at a number of the past Steel City Shows and have been happy up until today. I placed an order with Carl last week, for pick up at today's show. Well I drive over an hour to the show today, go to pay him and he tells me that he doesn't have my order and tried to call me this morning to let me know. Well for one, you don't wait till the day of the show to call and say I don't have your order, and two he never even called me. I will not be doing business with someone who doesn't have the decency to not waste my time, and who does business dishonestly. I turned down another offer for feeders (which are now sold out) after I originally spoke to him last week. I did this because I gave him my word that I would take the order, and he didn't have the decency to keep his word or give me ample time to find an alternative. I drove 3 hours round trip, paid to get into the show, to walk away with no mice. I will find a new rodent source after this experience, and I wouldn't be counting on Carl for your feeders as he isn't dependable.

Originally Posted by MrBig

I gave him my word that I would take the order

I have some questions because I don't know about buying rodents at shows. Is it customary to give a deposit or prepay for an order? Did your seller agree to hold an order for you without deposit?
When you got there and he had no rodents for you, did he try to make any sort of amends?
Have you notified him of this thread?

Yeah that's definitely messed up. I always pre-order and pay if I am getting rats at my show. Luckily my rat dealer is a local lady who has been very dependable up to this point. I also agree 100% that you do NOT wait until the day of to give someone a call about the issue...if he even called

Considering you have done business with him before your word should have been good to him even if you didn't pre pay. Regardless though, this isn't you backing out, this is him not having what he said.

It sounds to me like he set you up for failure

Sorry about the hassle. I know it sucks. Having to find "emergency feeders" is NOT cool.

Good luck getting those snakes fed though!

**Keep your friends close, and your rat suppliers closer.

He only takes cash, so no prepay. I have however taken my order everytime that I have placed it, and show up within hal and hour from the approximate time I state I will be there. He did set me up for failure, and I refuse to continue to do business with someone who acts this way. I've already found another dealer, who though low on mice gave me enough adequate sized soft furs. I texted him as notification of this thread being posted, as is only fair. I understand you may sell more then you bargained for, or that maybe not enough dropped a litter; but you don't screw someone who regularly places an order with you and you definately don't wait until the day of to do so. I would rather someone back out on a snake purchase, then I'm only out a snake I dind't have in the first place; screw me on feeders and you are placing my animals at risk and that makes me irrate. Thanks for the comments Amanda.

Sorry Lucille, I totally ignored you when I replied. I would have prepaid, but he is cash only. I texted as notification of this thread. Rodent pro takes prepay, but only deal in frozen which doesn't meet the needs of my live feeders. I'm just saying all I have is my word and my balls, and I'm not breaking either.

Originally Posted by MrBig

He only takes cash, so no prepay. I have however taken my order everytime that I have placed it, and show up within hal and hour from the approximate time I state I will be there. He did set me up for failure, and I refuse to continue to do business with someone who acts this way. I've already found another dealer, who though low on mice gave me enough adequate sized soft furs. I texted him as notification of this thread being posted, as is only fair. I understand you may sell more then you bargained for, or that maybe not enough dropped a litter; but you don't screw someone who regularly places an order with you and you definately don't wait until the day of to do so. I would rather someone back out on a snake purchase, then I'm only out a snake I dind't have in the first place; screw me on feeders and you are placing my animals at risk and that makes me irrate. Thanks for the comments Amanda.

Was this a one time dealing? Are you still searching for a steady connection?

Again, I really hope you can get squared away.

I've had the exact opposite experience with Carl every time I've done business with him. He's always had what I needed and if I had a question about a size of rat or mouse, he's brought more than enough for me to choose from. He's always been more than helpful.
I know he was extremely busy at the show Saturday, and sold out of mice in less than an hour. I wouldnt make any judgements until I heard his side of the story

I can understand being upset because he was not able to provide you your feeders and didnt call you to let you know, but at the same time, you mentioned that you have had past dealigs with him that you were happy with. I can understand that you are upset, but does that warrant coming onto the board and giving him a bad guy because of one issue out of many dealings? Your not out money at all, and you probably would ahve gone to the show anyways, so the drive there is not an issue... the issue was that he failed to provide you with feeders, that you didnt pay for anyways. At the very most, he is guilty of promising something that he was unable to provide. While not a good business practice, he didn't scam you out of money and you suffered no real loss other than having to purchase feeders from one of the other vendors at the show... (ive never been to that show, but I assume like every other show, there are multiple vendors).

In the end, he is guilty of upsetting you and you are guilty of overreacting.

I came and posted because unlike other shows, he is normally the only one with live feeders at this show. I also posted because he flat out lied to me, he said he called (which he never did) and he sold my order out from under me. When I place a decent size order everytime I meet up with him, then I expect alittle more then that. I lucked out that another NEW vendor had something I could take home. I would not have driven to the show if I had known my live feeders would not have been available. I'm alittle confused why people are jumping on me about posting this, I had an agreement with someone and they flat out lied to me and didn't honor the agreement. To me a bad guy is someone who will knowingly deceive, openly lie and will not honor thier word. Yes I've had positive experiences in the past, but if I hadn't found an alternative at the show then I would have been stuck paying 2$ a pc for tiny mice at a pet store and when they sold out then my live feeders would be without food. You stated he sold out of mice in an hour, well that's another lie then as he stated he didn't have enough to bring. Either way we had an agreement and he sold them out from under me, wether you agree or not I refuse to do business with someone who acts that way. Best of luck to you if you choose to, hope you don't get stuck with no food for your animals.

Amanda, yes I am still searching for a reliable connection. I obtained a number of a guy and we'll see if he pans out and can regularly meet my needs. This is not a one time thing as I've ordered or bought from him every single Steel City Show.

Sam my experiences up to this point had been the same as yours when dealing with him, who is to say that it won't be your oder that he sells to everyone else at the next show? It won't be mine since he won't be getting anymore of my business.

Sean, I'm sorry that I overreact when someone threatens the well being of the animals I care deeply about. He is guilty of more then just upsetting me, he lied to me multiple times and placed my animals at risk. That is where I draw the line. To be honest if it was a snake that he backed out on, I wouldn't have posted this.