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Bad Guy Mark Venhorst nearly ruined my business

I have other cages, but I was expecting the ones I ordered and paid for to be here when the person I bought them from told me they would be. I made arrangements to have those specific cages in a specific place. I moved things around and prepared for their arrival when the person I bought them from told me they should be here, which would have been today. Mark almost ruined my business because this has had a negative affect on my business relationship with the gentlemen who are holding my dragons and without them I don't have a business. It's funny how you post a thread to warn people that a vendor is not conducting his business with professionalism and you get slammed for it. I will remove this post as soon as possible. Once again, immaturity prevails in the forums!!
 
I ordered a cage same time frame, It was delayed a weeks time without notice due to out of materials and said his Machine broke. I got the cage a week later and I posted about it in another thread, that the cage was completely horrible cut out for CNC milling.

Ive never got a reply to my emails until there was a problem. He did end up refunding $40 on the cage. But the guy is taking on more than he can handle, since his cages are machine cut there is only 1-2 day lead time to get them cut and packed up.

He cant be compared to other companies that have long lead times since they dont do CNC milling. Either way, my last 2 cages were horrible, and was blamed on the New Worker for cutting wrong.

Only down side on the refund is he sent it as a Payment though paypal rather refund. Which that pisses me off
 
This thread cannot be removed. It's here for the community to base if they wish to do business with him in the future. We, who've posted here, don't think he's a bad guy. Perhaps a little less professional but it's your immaturity we've seen on display here.

But I reiterate, what ifs and almosts. You say yourself you don't have a business yet. So, nothing to be ruined.
 
rasleigh76 said:
I'm sorry, I come from a military family. I served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. I expect people to conduct business with a certain degree of professionalism. Name a business where it's okay to take someones money and then just disappear. Mark never once made contact with us. He never returned our calls. All communication was initiated by us. I guess it's easy to comment when it's not your money.
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Everyone is entitled to a differing opinion when the problem is brought to a public forum.

These opinions, MUCH of the time will differ from yours in one context or another. Should he have maintained a level of communication? Absolutely. That is his major failure in this circumstance.

But, you have a culpability to some extent as you moved to quickly on animals that you were not prepared to receive. If this assumption is wrong, please correct me. Your responsibility is to the animals, not to Boa Master.

I appreciate your service, but if you live in a world where there has never been a delay or issue... I would love to join you. He DID at least email you on the 4th, which is a credit to him.

He DID have a responsibility to follow the proposed timeline of completion and delivery, but circumstances do come up whether within our control or not. It happens at some point to everyone.

Can I ask, what cages did you get that replaced the Boa Masters?

Everything happens for a reason and maybe you will be more satisfied long term. Look at it as a cup half full, not half empty. Just MHO.
 
Lucille, I meant no disrespect at all, I was being honest, it is different when it isn't your money. If I told you the whole story about why my wife and I started this business, you might understand a little better. Unfortunately, it's personal, but I did tell Mark at the onset of our business. Again, I meant no disrespect.
 
rasleigh76 said:
Mark almost ruined my business because this has had a negative affect on my business relationship with the gentlemen who are holding my dragons
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I do not believe you. If they have high end dragons and might have been doing future biz, a little customer service by holding the critters is not going to ruin your name. You are doing a good job ruining your name with no help from anyone else.



rasleigh76 said:
I remove this post as soon as possible.
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You cannot remove this post.
 
As Rich stated above, you may have been lucky. Keep that cup half full! Good luck to ya and thanks again for your sacrifice for this country and its people.
 
I didn't have any issue with the animals until he told me the cages were shipping on the 3rd or 4th, then I made arrangements for them to be here tomorrow, the cages were to be here today.
 
hhmoore said:
That is irrelevant to this thread - PM him if you want to know those details.
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For the sake of clarification.... Why? He stated he had a failed order and then stated he received cages from an alternate source. My question was in direct response to statements he made that are the basis of this thread.

Not making an argument in any context, but i'd just like a PM'd reasoning so I can alter future responses.

The only reasoning I can come up with is "soliciting/advertising" on BOI threads. Either way, apologies. Not with malicious intent was the response made, obviously.
 
Again, I do not care that my cages are not here. It's the fact that I was kept in the dark, not knowing if my cages would be here when I was told they would be and not knowing if I needed to make other arrangements.
 
rasleigh76 said:
I didn't have any issue with the animals until he told me the cages were shipping on the 3rd or 4th, then I made arrangements for them to be here tomorrow, the cages were to be here today.
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And that would be the cart before the horse.

I hope your not taking anything here too harshly (but based on a few comments Im pretty sure you are). As for me Im just trying to provide a little perspective and hopefully you can see how a lot if this could have been avoided with a little more planning
 
rasleigh76 said:
I didn't have any issue with the animals until he told me the cages were shipping on the 3rd or 4th, then I made arrangements for them to be here tomorrow, the cages were to be here today.
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Definitely a good thing you could put a hold on the shipment. I promise that if the animals were purchased from a reputable breeder/seller a couple day or even couple week delay would not put a kink in the over all experience with you.

Hope all's well that ends well.
 
Yes, but the people I purchased the dragons from will not ship them in freezing temperatures, which are starting already in their location, and will continue for a while. That could have been a real problem. Again, Mark didn't mention any delays when he told my wife he was shipping the cages.
 
I have purchased from him twice now. First a 4x2 economy cage, then a herpstat. His strong suite doesn't appear to be communication or fast delivery, but I have been more than satisfied with my purchases from him. If I need something in a hurry I probably won't order from him, but otherwise I don't mind the wait.

I agree with others that you should have the housing squared away long before you purchase the actual animals. I have a full leopard gecko set up that's been sitting around for weeks while I shop around. It isn't the seller's problem that you waited until now to order cages.

Mark should have remained in contact with you, but that's something he just doesn't do. If you want stellar customer service you should not buy from him, but if you can afford to be patient he has good wares for reasonable prices.
 
I understand the importance of good planning, again, though, I went on what Mark told me. If he had shipped my order when he said he would, there would be no thread here. As RichsBallPythons said, these are melamine cages, they are not preassembled. According to Mark, my cages were ready to be boxed, then all he had to do was ship them. From the email he sent me, I don't get the impression that this is the case.
 
Oh, by the way, did I mention that I'm brand new at this and my wife and I started this business to offset the cost of taking care of her mother, who suffered a stroke eleven days after her father passed away and now requires 24 hour care. I guess I let my emotion get the best of me, but because I am the man that I am, I am going to write an email to Mark to apologize for posting this thread and I apologize if I have offended anyone here, that was not my intention, I realize now that I was in the wrong as well. I'm not saying Mark was right, but I will admit that I was wrong. Hope all of you have a great holiday!
 
Mine were PVC not Melamine. All his wood cages and racks will have the black edge look cause of the Laser cutting/Burning it! They all have a odd odor from the laser burning the wood.

If i still had the video of what my recent PVC cage looked like id post it. His communication sucks, cages are okay but not stellar.
 
For whoever asked, I picked up a bunch of 4 ft critter condos. They're heating now and awaiting my dragons arrival tomorrow for all who were concerned. I also just sent Mark an apology for posting this thread and assuming some of the blame as well, so I hope this satisfies everyone. I guess I'm one of those people who can't stand it when people are disappointed with me. Again, I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn or offended anyone, that was never my intention here. I hope all of you have a great holiday season!
 
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