Plethora Of Pythons LLC
New member
I don't understand why they keep coming back and posting, unless they are trying to bury the facts. They keep saying they have dis-proven all facts against them. If that is the case, here is a short synopsis of the events that they have not disputed. Nowhere, have I seen any of these challenged or spoken to by Ballbids:
-Zach (owner of Ballbids) came to the forums (more than just this one) behaved badly, didn't follow the rules and was banned. On one forum, he kept making multiple accounts, even after repeatedly being warned not to do it by the moderators. On others, he threw temper tantrums, called people names and even threatened them by saying he grew up in a bad part of Miami, implying he was a thug. [Note: If you search member usernames "man-made evolution", ZByers7, then ZachBallBids on the various forums, you can see the behavior for yourself.] Zach and his father are very quick to challenge other's character, however this behavior does show some insight into a person's character. Zach's posts showed he lacked maturity, had a bad temper and displayed a threatening posture. Is this someone you want to give your credit card information to? Is someone who displays this type of behavior to be trusted?
-Zach has limited experience (by his own admission in forum posts) with ball pythons and only months before launching Ballbids thought throwing several snakes together in a single tank was proper husbandry. Is this someone you trust with guaranteeing genetics or health of an expensive exotic animal? The word of the company is only as good as those who run it.
-The original Terms of Service for Ballbids did not provide for any refunds or guarantee of live delivery or of genetics of the auctioned animals. The Terms and Conditions were constantly changing and still contain various grammar and spelling problems, showing very little attention to detail. The current TOS link returns a 404 error, but the last version (week of September 25, 2012) did not state that buyer would receive a refund if not happy with genetics or health of animal, just that they were "guaranteed". The TOS should explicitly state what the guarantee means.
-Avi (another owner, who has now gone silent) attempted to calm the waters by coming on the forums doing damage control for Zach's behavior. He even said it was his idea to create multiple accounts, so it wasn't Zach's fault. Zach never accepted responsibility for his behavior, so why can he be trusted to handle financial transactions with sensitive data?
-When asked about their quarantine procedures, Zach and Avi could not answer the question and instead started answering with information about their heat tape and homemade racks. Again, is this someone you want guaranteeing genetics and health?
-Ballbids claimed falsely to have sold snakes at a fraction of their cost in their advertising banners, when at the time they had not sold ANY snakes. When asked if they had sold any snakes, Ballbid's response was it was just marketing. Yet, they are very quick to call others liars.
-Avi and Zach stated that penny auctions are frequently associated with scams. However, they also continue to claim that Ballbids is good for the reptile community, even though their business model (penny auctions) is associated with scams. How can both of those statements be true?
-Ballbids posted the name of a very well-known breeder of ball pythons on their site and implied there was an association with the breeder (a typical scammer trick). The breeder publicly denied a relationship with Ballbids, other than being a seller, and stated he would no longer do business with them. Ballbids then removed the name of the breeder from their site. Ballbids continues to claim they have contact and a relationship with "large" breeders, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence of it and they will not disclose who those relationships are with.
-Zach has been banned from just about every well-known snake forum on the Internet. So, now his father comes to the forums to defend the company that he does not have any financial interest in or any ownership of. He says he is visiting to combat the lies about the company. Yet, the majority of his posts are attacking others and dodging questions. Instead of ignoring unprofessional posts directed at him, he jumps in and engages in the exact same behavior he says he is combating.
-The original launch of the Ballbid site was a disaster resulting in Ballbids having to refund everyone's money and cease operations for several months.
-The re-launch has been plagued with supposedly "attacks" and server problems that cause their servers to be overloaded or causing the auctions to be halted. No one knows if an auction is going to go through to completion or stop because of delays, errors or problems. These "attacks" seem to happen mostly at a time near the end of the auction. When bidders (their valued customers) ask about the delays or complain that they are wasting their time on Ballbid's Facebook page, the comments are quickly deleted.
-Ballbids claims to be a new major player in the ball python industry, but they have not vended a table at any reptile show (including one of the country's largest in their home state). If they are such a good thing for the ball python community, why don't they participate in it at the Expos?
-When Zach's father or Programmer come to the forums, they quickly turn to calling names, questioning the integrity of anyone who asks them questions and are quick to call people liars and other names. They also claim the only reason people on the forums are against them is because they are jealous of their business model, which the owners of Ballbids acknowledge is associated with scammers.
-Ballbids does not reveal the supplier/breeder of their animals, which is a red flag in itself. Are these breeders careful with their collections, selling healthy animals? Ballbids claim that breeders are harassed, but I've only seen evidence of people directing breeders to the multiple threads on the various forums concerning Ballbids.
-Ballbids states that they are helping breeders by helping them move stock. This implies that it is unwanted or inferior animals that are left over that are being auctioned, since the breeder(s) can hide behind Ballbid's corporate veil. If Ballbids guarantees health, genetics and quality, then what recourse is there against a less than reputable breeder dumping a collection with IBD or other issues? Since Ballbids selects the breeders of the animals auctioned, then we can only trust Zach and company with making good decisions, something he does not have a history of in his other behavior or actions.
-Ballbids created a webpage in their defense that they purport to be an unbiased account of the facts but it neglects to mention any of the items listed above.
The above synopsis does not include other things that Ballbids disputes (such as friends winning auctions, the state of Kentucky shutting down the first auctions, and auctions stopped because they did not get enough profit, etc.). I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and let's forget all of the disputed allegations. Say they never happened. So, leaving all of the disputed claims aside, there are still a lot of issues with the owners of Ballbids. All of those reasons are more than enough to keep me away from them as a seller or as a buyer.
I'm sure this post will get me a response saying that they respect my opinion to not do business with them, and then in the next sentence call me a name, most likely a "hater". I can't understand why Mr. Byers & Marty continue to come to this site and others and stir the pot. If the business model is so good and they are such up standing people in the ball python community, then just go about your business and ignore the forums. If someone is committing tortious interference with your business, you don't debate them on the Internet and call them names, you file law suits.
They have all stated that those of us on the forums are a very small part of the real ball python community (I guess those of us who do Expos are also a very small part). So, it can't be doing but so much harm if we are so small and insignificant. And, if we are so small and insignificant, then why bother wasting time with all of the posts?
-Zach (owner of Ballbids) came to the forums (more than just this one) behaved badly, didn't follow the rules and was banned. On one forum, he kept making multiple accounts, even after repeatedly being warned not to do it by the moderators. On others, he threw temper tantrums, called people names and even threatened them by saying he grew up in a bad part of Miami, implying he was a thug. [Note: If you search member usernames "man-made evolution", ZByers7, then ZachBallBids on the various forums, you can see the behavior for yourself.] Zach and his father are very quick to challenge other's character, however this behavior does show some insight into a person's character. Zach's posts showed he lacked maturity, had a bad temper and displayed a threatening posture. Is this someone you want to give your credit card information to? Is someone who displays this type of behavior to be trusted?
-Zach has limited experience (by his own admission in forum posts) with ball pythons and only months before launching Ballbids thought throwing several snakes together in a single tank was proper husbandry. Is this someone you trust with guaranteeing genetics or health of an expensive exotic animal? The word of the company is only as good as those who run it.
-The original Terms of Service for Ballbids did not provide for any refunds or guarantee of live delivery or of genetics of the auctioned animals. The Terms and Conditions were constantly changing and still contain various grammar and spelling problems, showing very little attention to detail. The current TOS link returns a 404 error, but the last version (week of September 25, 2012) did not state that buyer would receive a refund if not happy with genetics or health of animal, just that they were "guaranteed". The TOS should explicitly state what the guarantee means.
-Avi (another owner, who has now gone silent) attempted to calm the waters by coming on the forums doing damage control for Zach's behavior. He even said it was his idea to create multiple accounts, so it wasn't Zach's fault. Zach never accepted responsibility for his behavior, so why can he be trusted to handle financial transactions with sensitive data?
-When asked about their quarantine procedures, Zach and Avi could not answer the question and instead started answering with information about their heat tape and homemade racks. Again, is this someone you want guaranteeing genetics and health?
-Ballbids claimed falsely to have sold snakes at a fraction of their cost in their advertising banners, when at the time they had not sold ANY snakes. When asked if they had sold any snakes, Ballbid's response was it was just marketing. Yet, they are very quick to call others liars.
-Avi and Zach stated that penny auctions are frequently associated with scams. However, they also continue to claim that Ballbids is good for the reptile community, even though their business model (penny auctions) is associated with scams. How can both of those statements be true?
-Ballbids posted the name of a very well-known breeder of ball pythons on their site and implied there was an association with the breeder (a typical scammer trick). The breeder publicly denied a relationship with Ballbids, other than being a seller, and stated he would no longer do business with them. Ballbids then removed the name of the breeder from their site. Ballbids continues to claim they have contact and a relationship with "large" breeders, but there doesn't appear to be any evidence of it and they will not disclose who those relationships are with.
-Zach has been banned from just about every well-known snake forum on the Internet. So, now his father comes to the forums to defend the company that he does not have any financial interest in or any ownership of. He says he is visiting to combat the lies about the company. Yet, the majority of his posts are attacking others and dodging questions. Instead of ignoring unprofessional posts directed at him, he jumps in and engages in the exact same behavior he says he is combating.
-The original launch of the Ballbid site was a disaster resulting in Ballbids having to refund everyone's money and cease operations for several months.
-The re-launch has been plagued with supposedly "attacks" and server problems that cause their servers to be overloaded or causing the auctions to be halted. No one knows if an auction is going to go through to completion or stop because of delays, errors or problems. These "attacks" seem to happen mostly at a time near the end of the auction. When bidders (their valued customers) ask about the delays or complain that they are wasting their time on Ballbid's Facebook page, the comments are quickly deleted.
-Ballbids claims to be a new major player in the ball python industry, but they have not vended a table at any reptile show (including one of the country's largest in their home state). If they are such a good thing for the ball python community, why don't they participate in it at the Expos?
-When Zach's father or Programmer come to the forums, they quickly turn to calling names, questioning the integrity of anyone who asks them questions and are quick to call people liars and other names. They also claim the only reason people on the forums are against them is because they are jealous of their business model, which the owners of Ballbids acknowledge is associated with scammers.
-Ballbids does not reveal the supplier/breeder of their animals, which is a red flag in itself. Are these breeders careful with their collections, selling healthy animals? Ballbids claim that breeders are harassed, but I've only seen evidence of people directing breeders to the multiple threads on the various forums concerning Ballbids.
-Ballbids states that they are helping breeders by helping them move stock. This implies that it is unwanted or inferior animals that are left over that are being auctioned, since the breeder(s) can hide behind Ballbid's corporate veil. If Ballbids guarantees health, genetics and quality, then what recourse is there against a less than reputable breeder dumping a collection with IBD or other issues? Since Ballbids selects the breeders of the animals auctioned, then we can only trust Zach and company with making good decisions, something he does not have a history of in his other behavior or actions.
-Ballbids created a webpage in their defense that they purport to be an unbiased account of the facts but it neglects to mention any of the items listed above.
The above synopsis does not include other things that Ballbids disputes (such as friends winning auctions, the state of Kentucky shutting down the first auctions, and auctions stopped because they did not get enough profit, etc.). I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and let's forget all of the disputed allegations. Say they never happened. So, leaving all of the disputed claims aside, there are still a lot of issues with the owners of Ballbids. All of those reasons are more than enough to keep me away from them as a seller or as a buyer.
I'm sure this post will get me a response saying that they respect my opinion to not do business with them, and then in the next sentence call me a name, most likely a "hater". I can't understand why Mr. Byers & Marty continue to come to this site and others and stir the pot. If the business model is so good and they are such up standing people in the ball python community, then just go about your business and ignore the forums. If someone is committing tortious interference with your business, you don't debate them on the Internet and call them names, you file law suits.
They have all stated that those of us on the forums are a very small part of the real ball python community (I guess those of us who do Expos are also a very small part). So, it can't be doing but so much harm if we are so small and insignificant. And, if we are so small and insignificant, then why bother wasting time with all of the posts?
