Reptster.com experience with show sponsorship not good

[Serafim]

I just checked and my account there is still active. Since I was the first to request it be closed, I can only assume that david does not want to see his membership stats go down. Anyone who has requested that their account be cancelled, check preiodically to see if he complies with your request.

Till then, I have a neeat new avatar that everyone is welcome to use.

Ill plaster that logo up where I can. Can ya make it fit 68x468 LOL

 

[Gary O]

Gary,
I just wanted to clarify something.

I mentioned in one of my posts that I DID mention a $250 level of sponsorship, but that Mr. Young agreed to the $750 for several reasons. I actually believe it is somewhere in the beginnings of the story. Also, I have stated that the conversations that Mr. Young claims happened where we agreed to $250 were not true and never happened. If you would like, I will gladly go back and find the exact post numbers where these things were said, no problem.
Kelly Kordek

Not really a big deal as the value of the package he bought does not alter my thoughts. In no way was I thinking you made up anything.

No worries

 

[WingedWolf]

Honestly, I'm just ticked off that community Drama may wind up costing me money. Reptster saved me from having to go through the long process of becoming fed ex certified, plus offers big discounts over what most people will be able to get shipping through them on their own.

Without them, I couldn't ship at all, at this moment. I'm not Fed Ex certified. That process takes a long time.

Now I see folks talking about a general boycott of anyone USING Reptster just because they believe the guy running it treated one person badly. There's a lot of he-said she-said going on here. Someone obviously made a mistake. BOTH of them probably made some mistakes, not the least of which was David's being overly sarcastic and rude in his responses.

Ok, fine--that has to do with an agreement over a show promotion. It went badly. Most everything else has been going well, and I'm not personally prepared to write someone off completely over a single incident.

What's more, I can't AFFORD to at this point. Why do I, and others like me who don't have a Fed Ex certification yet, deserve to be penalized because you don't like the guy running the Reptster shipping service?

THE ANIMALS ARE STILL BEING SHIPPED FED EX. What Reptster or its owner does in no way affects animals shipped through their service.

Basically, I'm suggesting you think about how this is going to affect OTHER people, not just Reptster. I use the BOI to judge who to make purchases from, but things aren't as simple as you're trying to paint them here in this case!

I'm still using Reptster because I HAVE NO ALTERNATIVES AT THIS TIME. Have I committed a crime by not already having a Fed Ex certification to fall back on, and do I deserve to be boycotted because I can only ship through Reptster?

 

[homegrownherps]

I really do not know how to piss up a rope but I am sure many here are experienced enough to teach me.Anyway I have to go now, I have a show tomorrow and will be passing out Reptster flyers if any of you need them let me know.Have a nice day.Terry

If your just going to be handing them out at your "show" , you won't have to print many of them.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

Honestly, I'm just ticked off that community Drama may wind up costing me money. Reptster saved me from having to go through the long process of becoming fed ex certified, plus offers big discounts over what most people will be able to get shipping through them on their own.

Without them, I couldn't ship at all, at this moment. I'm not Fed Ex certified. That process takes a long time.

Now I see folks talking about a general boycott of anyone USING Reptster just because they believe the guy running it treated one person badly. There's a lot of he-said she-said going on here. Someone obviously made a mistake. BOTH of them probably made some mistakes, not the least of which was David's being overly sarcastic and rude in his responses.

Ok, fine--that has to do with an agreement over a show promotion. It went badly. Most everything else has been going well, and I'm not personally prepared to write someone off completely over a single incident.

What's more, I can't AFFORD to at this point. Why do I, and others like me who don't have a Fed Ex certification yet, deserve to be penalized because you don't like the guy running the Reptster shipping service?

THE ANIMALS ARE STILL BEING SHIPPED FED EX. What Reptster or its owner does in no way affects animals shipped through their service.

Basically, I'm suggesting you think about how this is going to affect OTHER people, not just Reptster. I use the BOI to judge who to make purchases from, but things aren't as simple as you're trying to paint them here in this case!

I'm still using Reptster because I HAVE NO ALTERNATIVES AT THIS TIME. Have I committed a crime by not already having a Fed Ex certification to fall back on, and do I deserve to be boycotted because I can only ship through Reptster?

Not at all Donna. Fedex certification is free and takes about two weeks to attain. You may not get quite the discount David is touting but you can negotiate it as has already been pointed out. If that is your only issue it is very easy to fix.

 

[LakesideBoas]

Donna, I'm not going to boycott anyone. I just won't utilize David's service for my business. You should not be penalized because of someone else's lack of integrity. To put it mildly, I just don't trust the guy.

 

[Lucille]

Now I see folks talking about a general boycott of anyone USING Reptster just because they believe the guy running it treated one person badly.

Much more than that. Reread post #182 where he insulted the BOI and then simply leaves. He comes onto this site, does not address the issues that need to be addressed, and spouts an insult.
I can't see myself doing business with someone like that and yes, I would not purchase any animal from any vendor if it was shipped Repster at this point.

 

[homegrownherps]

We are trying to figure how to delete ourselvies from reptster.com
been trying for some time now and I need help.
anyone please
thanks
Matthew

Try using this as your Ripster Avatar ... I bet you get the boot real fast
THANKS JOHN

 

[frankykeno]

Donna, like you I'll be using Reptster for an upcoming shipping this week, actually my first snake shipped through their system. At this point it's a bit late for me to be able to do much about that arrangement.

However, from what I understand getting FedEx certified is not a long process nor does it cost anything other than your time to pack and send a sample box (which shouldn't be at all difficult since it's what you'd be doing anyways except for placing the snake in there). I'll be starting that process next week in order to be ready for future shipments.

Until this situation came up with David/Reptster in this thread I really never sat and thought about how using his, or anyone's shipping system, puts my own reputation in the hands of another. I've worked too long and cared too much to allow someone else's dismissive, unprofessional attitude to affect any part of this budding dream my family and I have put so much of our hearts into. If it costs more to ship, so be it. There's a lot more to this hobby/business than just the bottom line dollar.

 

[dragonsr#1]

Honestly, I'm just ticked off that community Drama may wind up costing me money. Reptster saved me from having to go through the long process of becoming fed ex certified, plus offers big discounts over what most people will be able to get shipping through them on their own.

Without them, I couldn't ship at all, at this moment. I'm not Fed Ex certified. That process takes a long time.

Now I see folks talking about a general boycott of anyone USING Reptster just because they believe the guy running it treated one person badly. There's a lot of he-said she-said going on here. Someone obviously made a mistake. BOTH of them probably made some mistakes, not the least of which was David's being overly sarcastic and rude in his responses.

Ok, fine--that has to do with an agreement over a show promotion. It went badly. Most everything else has been going well, and I'm not personally prepared to write someone off completely over a single incident.

What's more, I can't AFFORD to at this point. Why do I, and others like me who don't have a Fed Ex certification yet, deserve to be penalized because you don't like the guy running the Reptster shipping service?

THE ANIMALS ARE STILL BEING SHIPPED FED EX. What Reptster or its owner does in no way affects animals shipped through their service.

Basically, I'm suggesting you think about how this is going to affect OTHER people, not just Reptster. I use the BOI to judge who to make purchases from, but things aren't as simple as you're trying to paint them here in this case!

I'm still using Reptster because I HAVE NO ALTERNATIVES AT THIS TIME. Have I committed a crime by not already having a Fed Ex certification to fall back on, and do I deserve to be boycotted because I can only ship through Reptster?

I am sorry I just can not let this one go.
You say one person done wrong.


09-19-2008 06:46 PMSPJI just pulled my ads on Reptster and emptied the gallery I had set up there.
He obviously thinks nothing of this community.
I will be going back to using my Fed Ex account. The small savings are not worth using the service provided by someone who thinks so little of the rest of the community.
At least now I won't have login issues and screwed up print format on labels or be double charged for shipments, or pay Reptster for a 5 pound box and have Fed Ex rate it (and I assume bill him) for a 3 pound box and never see the difference in what the extra weight cost me versus what they billed at on my end.
I just can't see using Reptster any longer when it appears by his own statements that he doesn't care what we think as long as we pay him to ship packages.

thats 2


Happy Hillbilly
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Murphy, NC
Posts: 6
Name : Michael Sanders

Trader Rating: (0)

I have really been struggling about whether or not to post this. I’ve been following this thread since an hour or two after it began so I believe that shows some restraint/reluctance on my part.

I will be thorough so this may be a bit drawn out, but nothing will be left out. No missing e-mails, phone conversations, etc. I will leave out any of my personal views. Just the facts - You decide.


To begin with, I had someone buying a snake from me ask me to use Reptster’s shipping process even though I was already FedEx certified. I had registered at Reptster two weeks earlier (June 30, 2008) but had to wait for a forum admin to approve my registration, which never happened. On July 12, 2008, I went back to Reptster’s website and logged in to the main page but couldn’t post on the forums. I was able to upload some photos & info to my profile but still couldn’t post on the forums.

Within a few hours of updating my profile I get an e-mail from David Young inquiring about a snake I had placed in my profile photos.

Everything from this point forward is documented below. Messages are posted in chronological order, with first contact being at the top.


----- Original Message -----
From: David Young
To: Nature’s Signature
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 12:56 PM
Subject: Labys

Hello, my name is David Young, I own Reptster.com. I noticed you have laby burms. I have been looking for a female for 2 years now. Do you have any left?

Thanks,
David



----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Sanders
To: David Young
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 1:43 PM
Subject: Re: Labys

Well,...... speak of the devil. Hahaha!!!

Yes, I've got one, maybe two, female labs available.But can I share a problem with you that I'm having with your website first?

I just e-mailed (so and so)[/i) about my account on Repster. He wants me to use your shipping process to ship his (snake) to him. He's the one that told me about your site, which I like, by the way.

I registered for the forums on June 30 under the username: HappyHillbilly and the e-mail address: (removed). I got an e-mail saying that my account would be activated by an admin (or something to that effect) but never heard anything else. (So & so) told me last night he wanted me to use your shipping process so I went to Repster and tried to login but kept getting "Invalid username". I clicked the "Join Now" link & filled out the form, got a confirmation e-mail, uploaded photos & a brief introduction. I still can't post in the forums, though. It keeps prompting me to sign in, even though I'm already signed in to where I can edit my profile, etc. Every time I try to sign in I get the "Invalid username" error.

If you could take care of this minor technical glitch I'd appreciate it. I might even sell you a beautiful female labyrinth. Hahaha!!!

I don't have any photos of the one or two females available but will get you some later on today or tonight. Here's a few photos of one female that's promised already, all but paid for. The buyer's waiting on me, waiting on the snake to eat it's 2nd meal.

I'm asking $430 plus shipping.

Yell if you've got any more questions.

You're more than welcome to try calling me but a word of warning - I can only get dial-up way out here in the boonies where I live & I keep my PC online nearly 24/7. If you call & I'm home, I'll call ya right back. Otherwise I'll call ya back just as soon as I get home (or finished with chores).

Take care!
Mike



----- Original Message -----
From: David Young
To: Michael Sanders
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 3:14 PM
Subject: Re: Labys

I just left yyou a voice message. Give me a call back and I will fix your issue on the site. I would also like to talk to you about the lab.

Thanks,
David



(Phone Conversation)
I called David shortly after he left me a message that Saturday, July 12, 2008. He told me that he wanted a female labyrinth Burmese python but he had a lot of money tied up in Reptster at the moment and was about to head out on a show circuit. He asked if I could hold it for him for a week. I told him I would.

I explained the problem I was having logging into Reptster’s forum and he said that a few others have had similar problems, for me to try entering the forum by going through the Classifieds webpage.

I told him that I would take some photos of the snakes I had available so he could choose which one he wanted.



----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Sanders
To: David Young
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 3:37 PM
Subject: Female Labyrinth Photos - Finally

David,
Sorry it took me so long, I've got a new camera and still learning how to use it. Frustrating.

The photos are posted to my PhotoBucket account. Here are the links:

Female Labyrinth 01:
Link 1
Link 2

Female Labyrinth 02:
Link 1
Link 2

Photos are unaltered, colors are real close to actual colors. They both have a golden background, which I believe is a strong sign of being het for albino.

You said that you were about to head out on a show tour. If you're going to be in Atlanta (Repticon - Atlanta - Gwinnett County Fairgrounds) the 26th & 27th of this month I can just meet you there since I'm planning on going the 26th (Saturday). That'll save you shipping & give you a few weeks for financial wrangling.

Repster.com
I still can't post in the forums or classifieds, no matter what route I take. I tried logging in to the main site & then going to classifieds and then forums. No go. I've tried other avenues, as well. I've got a slightly older version the phpBB forum. I've got a little bit of experience with it, but not a whole lot. I may be wrong but I believe the problem with my account is that it never was activated by an admin when I first signed up on June 30 under the username: HappyHillbilly and the e-mail address of (removed to avoid spam).

I think when I signed up yesterday I joined the Repster community but not forum community. The two may be connected to where the Repster community recognizes forum members but maybe not vice-versa. I don't know. I don't remember right off hand what folder member accounts that are waiting to be activated are stored. I know you can go into Admin Control Panel, look up users & delete them (their accounts and all). If you can't find where to activate my forum account just delete it & let me know once you do & I'll re-register. That might be the quickest, easiest, solution.

Catch ya later!
Mike



----- Original Message -----
From: David Young
To: Michael Sanders
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 4:24 PM
Subject: Re: Female Labyrinth Photos - Finally

I will work on the site. #1 is gorgeous please hold on to her for me. I will not be in Atlanta, I was going to go but I dont think I can make it. I will get back to you on the site.

Thanks,
David




(Comment)
Three weeks go by without me hearing a word from David about the snake I was holding for him or my forum issues. I still couldn’t log onto the forum account. Granted, I did not try to contact David during this 3-week period. I figured he was busy, had a lot going on and there was no sense in me pestering him. I assumed he’d stick to his word and buy the snake as soon as he could.

After 3 weeks without any contact with David I sent him an e-mail.




----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Sanders
To: David Young
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:44 PM
Subject: Labyrinth Burmese Python

Hi David!
I've been holding that female lab for you for 3 weeks now and I've been waiting to hear from you. It's ready to go. I wanted to give you the chance at it before I offer it to someone else. Unfortunately I can't afford to keep holding it, I need to move it this week. Please let me know if you still want it.

Thanks!
Mike




I have not tried to contact him again. And I will not.

I learned a very valuable lesson. I could have sold the snake I was holding for David Young two different times. I told two different prospective buyers that the only one I had available was on hold for someone. I still have the snake up for sale.

Those are the facts, all of the facts. Nothing missing, nothing added. No personal views – just the facts. You decide.

Have a great day!
Michael Sanders


Thats 3

How many more may there be? How many people are there out there that do not come onto this forum that has had problems like this?


Matthew Kordek

 

[KelliH]

Why do I, and others like me who don't have a Fed Ex certification yet, deserve to be penalized because you don't like the guy running the Reptster shipping service?

Well, here is the way I see it: if they seriously would choose not to buy an animal from you just because you ship Federal Express via Repster's account, then that is a customer you don't need. It's ridiculous.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

I know how to get him to delete accounts.....guess what my avatar is now on Reptster?

 

[WingedWolf]

Fed Ex certification takes 2 weeks as a best-case scenario, anyhow. That's if everything goes off smoothly without a hitch. Which it might not. Getting a rep, talking to the rep, and then trying to negotiate a discount isn't exact a quick and easy process. It's not only an unknown amount of time, it's a lot of stress I really didn't need. I have never shipped anything directly via Fed Ex and don't even know how to use their system yet.

If my discount is less, then my customers pay more, and that kind of sucks. I really, REALLY wanted all of this to come out right in the end, because it hardly seems fair that this should happen at this stage. I'm sure I'm not the only one upset over it.

I know how the BOI works...hopefully in the end, the truth will come out. I don't think the full story is here yet. Hopefully David will come around and not treat this as frivolous, because that isn't fair to us--we deserve better than that for supporting Reptster in the first place.

A large part of this right now hinges on who's lying. And the reality is that it might not be either of them...it could just be a massive communication SNAFU that caused the entire thing. But David hates the BOI, and made his contempt for it clear, and made fun of it, thus making himself look bad to the folks here. That doesn't mean he is lying about the phone conversations, as he sees it. Doesn't mean the thread starter is either. They could both be viewing the exact same conversations in two different ways, with faulty memory involved. Obviously at this point they don't like each other much.

I just sincerely hope those two can work it out...selfishly, I hope so for MY sake, because it will make MY life a lot easier if they do. I know I'm not alone in that.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

Well, here is the way I see it: if they seriously would choose not to buy an animal from you just because you ship Federal Express via Repster's account, then that is a customer you don't need. It's ridiculous.

Kelli

I see your point...I do. But every box shipped through Repster puts money in the pocket of someone who apparently is lacking in both integrity and scruples and also looks down on the customers in his own industry. I, personally, find that unacceptable. My personal sense of athics is worth more than a few bucks savings per shipment.

Every one has to make a decision like that for themselves.

 

[KelliH]

I see your point...I do. But every box shipped through Repster puts money in the pocket of someone who apparently is lacking in both integrity and scruples and also looks down on the customers in his own industry. I, personally, find that unacceptable. My personal sense of athics is worth more than a few bucks savings per shipment.

I also see your point but I just think it's silly and not fair for the honest seller of herps that they might be subject to a boycott for trying to sell their animals and maybe save a few bucks on shipping.

Your avatar did make me giggle though, I couldn't help myself.

 

[crotalusadamanteus]

I told you guys earlier on.....he's nothing but a lying deadbeat scumbag.

That may be true, but you have to admit, he did a pretty good Dubya impression.

And to think, I just got a load of boxes from them, just updated my TOS to reflect Repster shipping coming soon, and he thumbs his nose to us all.

At least I can still use the boxes, but now I gotta change stuff again. I don't think I like Davids attitude any better then Matt Graybeals. I'll find other methods for shipping.

Too bad I had to read about 182 posts to figure that out though.

 

[WingedWolf]

Sure, it's great to take the high road--and obviously I'm going to have to get Fed Ex certified at this point, because soon I won't have any other viable option.

But RIGHT NOW, I don't actually HAVE another shipping service available to me. (I also don't think Fed Ex itself has a spotless customer service record--far from it--which is a point I haven't seen mentioned yet).

Hey, if you have to boycott everybody using Reptster, could you at least give us a month to switch over? >.<

 

[GottaLuvHerps]

Fed Ex certification takes 2 weeks as a best-case scenario, anyhow. That's if everything goes off smoothly without a hitch. Which it might not. Getting a rep, talking to the rep, and then trying to negotiate a discount isn't exact a quick and easy process. It's not only an unknown amount of time, it's a lot of stress I really didn't need. I have never shipped anything directly via Fed Ex and don't even know how to use their system yet.

If my discount is less, then my customers pay more, and that kind of sucks. I really, REALLY wanted all of this to come out right in the end, because it hardly seems fair that this should happen at this stage. I'm sure I'm not the only one upset over it.

I know how the BOI works...hopefully in the end, the truth will come out. I don't think the full story is here yet. Hopefully David will come around and not treat this as frivolous, because that isn't fair to us--we deserve better than that for supporting Reptster in the first place.

A large part of this right now hinges on who's lying. And the reality is that it might not be either of them...it could just be a massive communication SNAFU that caused the entire thing. But David hates the BOI, and made his contempt for it clear, and made fun of it, thus making himself look bad to the folks here. That doesn't mean he is lying about the phone conversations, as he sees it. Doesn't mean the thread starter is either. They could both be viewing the exact same conversations in two different ways, with faulty memory involved. Obviously at this point they don't like each other much.

I just sincerely hope those two can work it out...selfishly, I hope so for MY sake, because it will make MY life a lot easier if they do. I know I'm not alone in that.

Donna,

I felt the need to respond to this directly.
First, there are no personal feelings involved here as far as I am concerned towards Mr. Young. I do not like nor dislike him personally. I do not, however, like the way he handled our situation, and think it is bad business. I would say that about my best friend if they were running things in this way, and it would have nothing to do with anything personal. If Mr. Young doesn't "like" us after all of this, that is his decision. I have actually stated several times I thought he was a nice guy. I have never bashed him personally, I have just said the way this was handled was unprofessional. Huge difference.
As far as weeding out who is in the wrong here, I will say this - we (meaning my husband and I) have provided quite a bit of PROOF to show our side of the facts, and have never once wavered on them. Mr. Young only came here with a HUGE amount of he said/she said things, after stating he had proof with missing emails, but has yet to provide this information he states he has. I for one say over and over that this information does not exist, because things did NOT happen the way he says it did. Sure, that is what I say, but unless Mr. Young has a way to prove otherwise, I am not sure how you can still question who is in the wrong here. Was there a huge miscommunication? No, because the phone conversations that Mr. Young said happened did NOT HAPPEN. Simple as that. For some reason, everyone else seems to be able to come to that conclusion with the facts presented, and hopefully, for your own sake and the sake of your business reputation, you will realize what is really happening here.
My fear is that you are being blinded by a few dollars off of a shipping deal, and the desire not to have to go through the FedEx certification process. Guess what, we have to go through that certification process (well, finish it), as we put that entire thing on hold to use Mr. Young's service. Is it a hassle and an inconvenience? Will we have to put off shipping for awhile in order to do this? Yes, and so will lots of other people. But whether or not we were the ones directly involved in this situation or not, we would do it because of the integrity and reputation of our business means more to us than saving a little until things like discounts can get straightened out. Sure, it is an inconvenience to our customers to have to pay a bit more for shipping until then, but if they want the animal bad enough, a slight savings on shipping is not going to deter them from buying, and they will work with us one way or another until our shipping situation is straight. They will do the same for you, and for everyone else who has to go through this in my opinion.
You are not the only one who wanted this all to come out right in the end, believe me! You have to deal with figuring out your stance on your shipping deal - we have to figure out how to compensate for some serious lost money for our show, figure out the shipping thing, and still be able to conduct business as usual on top of all of this. I am not saying your issue is any less than ours, but it is as substantial in my opinion.
I guess we all have to figure out where we stand on this, and figure out what it is worth to us.

Kelly Kordek

 

[KelliH]

For some reason, everyone else seems to be able to come to that conclusion with the facts presented, and hopefully, for your own sake and the sake of your business reputation, you will realize what is really happening here.

What does WingedWolf's business reputation have to do with any of this?

I'll say it now that I don't think David handled his business in a professional manner at all. That should not affect anyone else's business reputation. Should it?

 

[KelliH]

What does WingedWolf's business reputation have to do with any of this?

I'll say it now that I don't think David handled his business in a professional manner at all. That should not affect anyone else's business reputation. Should it?

That should read: I'll say it now that I don't think David handled his business here in a professional manner at all.