Is it just me or.......

Is this business getting worse and worse each day? You can hardly trust anyone anymore. Everywhere you look someone is ripping another person off. This people who do this obviously do not care about herps, only about money and it is a shame. If anyone wants to post good and bad guys below for reference be my guest.
Steve Bates

Actually it just seems that way because of two things.

1. More people are learning about the BOI so more people are reporting things that go wrong.

2. There are many transactions that go on with no ill effects that are not posted about on the BOI. "I ordered, he shipped, I received" is kinda bland and most people don't take the energy to post about it.

For the record here is a list of people we've dealt with that we'd do business with anytime:

RK Reptiles (Rob Trenor)
Sundial Reptile (Dana and Loren Pennebaker)
LLL Reptile (Loren and Jessica)
Boaphile (Jeff Ronne)
Pro Exotics (Robyn)
SilkWorm Farm (Joe)
Zoological Imports (Mario)
Urotopia (Lindsay Pike)
Serpenco (Rich Zuchowski)
Cheryl Marchek
The Creature Company (Jean and BK)
American Cricket Ranch (Bill and Mark)
Utah Wasatch Show (Guy Versluis)
Just to name a few....

Is this business getting worse and worse each day? You can hardly trust anyone anymore. Everywhere you look someone is ripping another person off.

I think this applies to life in general, not just the herp business. It is indicative of a basic erosion of morality (not necessarily religious) but a basic falling apart of the distinction between good from bad. It is not just in this country either but seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. I think it is the reason that such hard line groups as religious extremists are being succesful in many countries. Even though I dissagree with most of their messages, and even though I am quite the agnostic, I do agree with there being a need to have a firm distinction between what is right and wrong. They offer that to people, and people jump on their band wagon. In this country though, for the most part, it seems the people who want that distinction and they who don;'t care to have it, are miles apart; and the people who don't want the distinction far outnumber they who want it. This goes across political lines and is not at all a political thing, but a life style. This cannot last all that long before the pot boils over one way or the other. The result could be total anarchy, total control, or something more down the middle.

I think if more people watched Leave It To Beaver we might be in better shape.

I don't think the fault lies with this business in particular. I think that the more widely known the herp business gets, due in large part to the internet, the more people will be attracted to it, both good and bad.

The bad ones are mostly the ones we hear about, just like in the newspaper. You would never read a headline that said "5 million children crossed the street without incident today." You would read about the one who got hit by a truck.

While the internet does make it easier for rip-off artists to take people's money, thanks to the BOI, it also makes it easier for the victims to let honest people know what happened to them so others can avoid the rip-offs.

I think scammers and rip-off artists will be attracted to any business where large sums of money change hands. Unfortunately, the high price tags on some reptiles see to it that the herp business gets its share of them. We all just need to exercise due caution when dealing with an unknown person. Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) is not a new saying. Only the criminals' methods have changed.

Basically, I think like in any area of life, we have to take the bad with the good. We do have to realize that just because we don't always hear about the good side as much as the bad, that doesn't mean it isn't there. The fact that a smooth transaction is not considered noteworthy should indicate that it is the norm rather than the exception.

If Leave it to Beaver influenced my life, my days would be spent cooking, cleaning, and sewing, and I would scream at the sight of a snake.
Get real.

Isn't that about some kid always getting into trouble? I dont see how that has anything to do with this. Oh, I guess we have to put it into your perspective. Not to be rude in any way. Does anyone deal with ball pythons in PA?
Steve