Reptster.com experience with show sponsorship not good

[Bill Stonegate]

You know, trying to find other ways to attack this person than the one this thread was started to address just brings in a lot of irrelevencies and pointless rumors. It's not doing the thread starter any good, and as a tactic, it leaves a lot to be desired. In the interests of not having to roll my eyes every 15 seconds, I'll just go ahead and answer this one.

Since requiring folks to purchase their own boxes, the discount offered by Reptster on shipping was increased to 20%. The total savings is actually greater than when the free box policy was in place.

And how is this relevent in ANY WAY to the situation with Kelly? It isn't. It was created to cast doubts about David's business, and there wasn't any reason whatsoever to be casting them. Whether Reptster's shipping is or is not a good deal has NOTHING TO DO with the situation of show sponsorship the thread is about.

I can see digging into that situation as deeply as possible to uncover the truth, but side-tracking with purely stupid questions that could have been answered in 15 seconds by glancing through the Reptster forum (and don't excuse this by saying you don't want to go there--if you're going to complain about something, you ought to know what it is you're complaining about) just makes YOU look bad. The accusatory tone was particularly ridiculous, in light of the answer. It was PURE politics. Any reader who hadn't been there and didn't know the answer would walk away nodding their head and thinking what a terrible deal was being offered there. That behavior sickens me when actual politicians do it, and I see no reason to put up with it here.

So again--we have no idea what the actual situation between David and Kelly is. Clearly David isn't handling it properly, or he would have spoken to Kelly by now. That's all we actually know. Until he actually resolves the situation with Kelly, or so much time passes that it becomes clear he never will, there isn't any conclusion to be drawn other than 'David handled this business transaction very poorly'.

So, he doesn't like the BOI, and is never, ever going to tell you what he plans to do about this situation here. He isn't going to speak a civil word to anyone posting here. If that's how he feels about the BOI, then that's what we should expect. Whether he resolves the situation itself remains to be seen--but my guess is that he would rather the BOI be the last to know about it. That, in itself, is not an attack on the herp community, nor is it an attack on any individual posting here...nor is it an admission of guilt, nor does it make him a bad person.

Seeing how he resolves the situation will Kelly will reveal a lot about his business practices. Nothing else makes any difference. And even that isn't relevent to whether or not Reptster gives good discounts or is a good service, just whether or not you ought to trust its owner to uphold a deal before cash changes hands.

Which reminds me...since Reptster goes through Fed Ex, and Fed Ex labels are printed, and since the boxes used come from Superior directly and no longer have a Reptster logo on them, how does anyone propose to actually tell whether or not someone is using Reptster to ship? I guess you could rely on people to tell you in advance, but if people start talking about boycotting folks using Reptster, why should they? Out of the goodness of their heart, so you can properly boycott them?

I can say I'd much rather receive a snake shipped legally via Reptster fed ex (no matter how heinous its owner is) than shipped illegally via UPS. I mean, call me silly, but dealing with a shady business guy just MIGHT be the more appealing option there. Of course people should get their own Fed Ex account set up to ship legally, but as things stand right now, just from my own experiences, more than half the community is still shipping snakes illegally. That's one hell of a lot more shady than a disowned sponsorship payment. Isn't it? Anyone?

In the short term, I care, because I'm still relying on Reptster to legally ship, and unlike a staggering portion of the community, I refuse to ship illegally. Silly me, I actually mark the boxes with what is inside of them. In the long term, I don't really care as much, as I'll be getting Fed Ex approval to ship anyhow. I'll even be getting a Delta account eventually--always a good idea to have a backup.

I'd like to see this resolved the right way. For folks to learn what actually happened here, and how David is going to make it right--or how Kelly is, since I still believe a two-way miscommunication is at the heart of the problem. Perhaps David needs to apologize for his behavior, but I don't think he needs to apologize to anyone other than Kelly.

ALL the rest of the stuff here...well, it fertilizes the flowers. And maybe that's beautiful, but it sure does stink.

Try to stay on-topic folks.

And yes, my entire purpose for posting this was purely as a reaction to the use of a psychologically manipulative tactic being used to attack the subject of the thread. Dishonesty is dishonesty--and that is a dishonest tactic. It has no part in a thread created in the interest of promoting honesty. It doesn't make the people who are engaging in it look any better than David.

Donna, your posts have always seemed well thought and reasonable to me, but I think you are missing the boat with this post.

The conduct of this individual (David Young), is getting its 15 minutes of fame. People are simply looking deeper into the issue than they otherwise would have, based on his behavior.

These are important questions to people who ship thru Reptster, and Pandora's Box has been opened.

To say that people should not wonder, or ask, those questions, is ignorant at best. Mr. Young has had plenty of opportunities to resolve these matters, privately or publicly, and has done nothing but acted like an ass.

I do not believe in witch hunts, either. That doesn't mean anyone taken to task on the BOI is a victim.

 

[Cat_72]

I can say I'd much rather receive a snake shipped legally via Reptster fed ex (no matter how heinous its owner is) than shipped illegally via UPS. I mean, call me silly, but dealing with a shady business guy just MIGHT be the more appealing option there. Of course people should get their own Fed Ex account set up to ship legally, but as things stand right now, just from my own experiences, more than half the community is still shipping snakes illegally. That's one hell of a lot more shady than a disowned sponsorship payment. Isn't it? Anyone?

Shipping via Fedex without a waiver to do so is not illegal, it is simply against "company policy". Same with UPS. The USPS is a different story.

And no, honestly, I do not feel that shipping against a company policy is more "shady" than not paying money that is owed to someone....or profiting from overcharging someone for shipping.

I can understand that in terms of asking a question about the company's integrity...but if you're asking about its services, why would you not go to the site itself? Wouldn't you get much better information that way? Particularly since you know David isn't going to have any civil discussions on the BOI?

David had no trouble with having perfectly civil discussions here, in fact, he told us all how he was looking forward to doing business with the Fauna community (paraphrased)....until issues with him were raised. Several issues. We we valuable customers until then. And if his integrity has been called into question, that would mean that perhaps we cannot believe everything he says, therefore it MAY be better to go to someone else with firsthand information.

 

[Dennis Hultman]

I can understand that in terms of asking a question about the company's integrity...but if you're asking about its services, why would you not go to the site itself? Wouldn't you get much better information that way? Particularly since you know David isn't going to have any civil discussions on the BOI?

Integrity and service are intertwined. There was someone here stating information that could answer my questions which prompted the posts and questions I made here tonight.

Originally Posted by DJSlurp1200
Jamie we have shipped over 4600+ packages and not one DOA that has been reported to us. The only problems that have occured are the standard ones with any live fedex account because some employees do not know that fedex ships live reptiles...

Question all you want!

It's funny how many people came up to us this weekend at the show and told us how much of a joke this thread is and asked us if there was anything they could do to help... Why? Because most of them have already been using the service and have had ZERO issues whatsoever and enjoy continuing to save themselves more money!

That would be like going to a good-guy thread for Graziani, and asking how he guarantees his animals. The place to get that info would be Graziani's site, not from random people who might've bought from him. Second-hand information is NEVER the best idea.

Why, a representative of that company took the time to post degrading the members and the site here. I figured he had enough time to stick around and answer some questions that I had in regards to the company.

He stated they shipped 4600 packages, since that isn't true, I wanted to know what services they do offer. The services where being paraded in this topic. I asked where the company posted what services they offered.

 

[jayefbe]

Which reminds me...since Reptster goes through Fed Ex, and Fed Ex labels are printed, and since the boxes used come from Superior directly and no longer have a Reptster logo on them, how does anyone propose to actually tell whether or not someone is using Reptster to ship? I guess you could rely on people to tell you in advance, but if people start talking about boycotting folks using Reptster, why should they? Out of the goodness of their heart, so you can properly boycott them?

OK, so why aren't you willing to get FedEx certified?

Pros:
Possibly cheaper
get to speak directly with YOUR REP, and not having to deal with a middleman should an issue arise

Cons:
It takes a couple weeks

I understand that it is a hassle to get fedex certified, but to me, the benefits are worth it. A few phone calls, a test package, and you're on your way. You don't have to deal with a middleman EVER. Reptster has had so many boxes and no DOA's, but are they arriving to your door, keeping them in a carefully controlled environment and coddling them to your door? No, it's the same FedEx service one way or another. In the end, the lower prices (which a number of people have attested to) and ability to deal directly with FedEx instead of relying on a third party is worth the minimal amount of work that's needed to get certified.

 

[dutchallison00]

You know, trying to find other ways to attack this person than the one this thread was started to address just brings in a lot of irrelevencies and pointless rumors. It's not doing the thread starter any good, and as a tactic, it leaves a lot to be desired. In the interests of not having to roll my eyes every 15 seconds, I'll just go ahead and answer this one.

Since requiring folks to purchase their own boxes, the discount offered by Reptster on shipping was increased to 20%. The total savings is actually greater than when the free box policy was in place.

And how is this relevent in ANY WAY to the situation with Kelly? It isn't. It was created to cast doubts about David's business, and there wasn't any reason whatsoever to be casting them. Whether Reptster's shipping is or is not a good deal has NOTHING TO DO with the situation of show sponsorship the thread is about.

I can see digging into that situation as deeply as possible to uncover the truth, but side-tracking with purely stupid questions that could have been answered in 15 seconds by glancing through the Reptster forum (and don't excuse this by saying you don't want to go there--if you're going to complain about something, you ought to know what it is you're complaining about) just makes YOU look bad. The accusatory tone was particularly ridiculous, in light of the answer. It was PURE politics. Any reader who hadn't been there and didn't know the answer would walk away nodding their head and thinking what a terrible deal was being offered there. That behavior sickens me when actual politicians do it, and I see no reason to put up with it here.

So again--we have no idea what the actual situation between David and Kelly is. Clearly David isn't handling it properly, or he would have spoken to Kelly by now. That's all we actually know. Until he actually resolves the situation with Kelly, or so much time passes that it becomes clear he never will, there isn't any conclusion to be drawn other than 'David handled this business transaction very poorly'.

So, he doesn't like the BOI, and is never, ever going to tell you what he plans to do about this situation here. He isn't going to speak a civil word to anyone posting here. If that's how he feels about the BOI, then that's what we should expect. Whether he resolves the situation itself remains to be seen--but my guess is that he would rather the BOI be the last to know about it. That, in itself, is not an attack on the herp community, nor is it an attack on any individual posting here...nor is it an admission of guilt, nor does it make him a bad person.

Seeing how he resolves the situation will Kelly will reveal a lot about his business practices. Nothing else makes any difference. And even that isn't relevent to whether or not Reptster gives good discounts or is a good service, just whether or not you ought to trust its owner to uphold a deal before cash changes hands.

Which reminds me...since Reptster goes through Fed Ex, and Fed Ex labels are printed, and since the boxes used come from Superior directly and no longer have a Reptster logo on them, how does anyone propose to actually tell whether or not someone is using Reptster to ship? I guess you could rely on people to tell you in advance, but if people start talking about boycotting folks using Reptster, why should they? Out of the goodness of their heart, so you can properly boycott them?

I can say I'd much rather receive a snake shipped legally via Reptster fed ex (no matter how heinous its owner is) than shipped illegally via UPS. I mean, call me silly, but dealing with a shady business guy just MIGHT be the more appealing option there. Of course people should get their own Fed Ex account set up to ship legally, but as things stand right now, just from my own experiences, more than half the community is still shipping snakes illegally. That's one hell of a lot more shady than a disowned sponsorship payment. Isn't it? Anyone?

In the short term, I care, because I'm still relying on Reptster to legally ship, and unlike a staggering portion of the community, I refuse to ship illegally. Silly me, I actually mark the boxes with what is inside of them. In the long term, I don't really care as much, as I'll be getting Fed Ex approval to ship anyhow. I'll even be getting a Delta account eventually--always a good idea to have a backup.

I'd like to see this resolved the right way. For folks to learn what actually happened here, and how David is going to make it right--or how Kelly is, since I still believe a two-way miscommunication is at the heart of the problem. Perhaps David needs to apologize for his behavior, but I don't think he needs to apologize to anyone other than Kelly.

ALL the rest of the stuff here...well, it fertilizes the flowers. And maybe that's beautiful, but it sure does stink.

Try to stay on-topic folks.

And yes, my entire purpose for posting this was purely as a reaction to the use of a psychologically manipulative tactic being used to attack the subject of the thread. Dishonesty is dishonesty--and that is a dishonest tactic. It has no part in a thread created in the interest of promoting honesty. It doesn't make the people who are engaging in it look any better than David.

Not quite a thousand posts total, and this is the only one worth reading...

 

[hhmoore]

Not quite a thousand posts total, and this is the only one worth reading...

I think there are many that would disagree with that statement...but you are certainly entitle to your own opinion.

Personally, I found some aspects of that post to be off the mark - unfortunately, I don't have the time to spend on it right now.

 

[WingedWolf]

OK, so why aren't you willing to get FedEx certified?

I'm perfectly willing to get FedEx certified. I admit I resent being forced to do so when I had a viable option. But that doesn't have anything to do with my complaint either. My complaint was that all the digging going on here isn't into the issue that was raised, it's into myriad other things--and the questions being raised all have answers that are perfectly easy to find. The problem is that the tremendous waste of space going on makes it hard to find any REAL issues.

And honestly, if people are going to talk about launching a boycott of a service, and it turns out to be impossible to do so, I figured they ought to know about that. I have no intention of lying to anyone--I'm just starting out, and I want to build the best reputation possible. I'm not about to keep my mouth shut or play politics to achieve that, though. It was just a thought that occurred to me. So I checked a label of a snake I receive that I believe was shipped to me via Reptster, and sure enough...there isn't anything on it that says Reptster. That means Fed Ex is Fed Ex, whether you ship it on your own account or theirs, and your customers aren't going to know. I freely admit I'm still using Reptster now. I produced 3 clutches of pastels this year, and I've only got 2 left from those. I don't see any particular reason to say they aren't available for 3 weeks while I get certified. David isn't exactly raking in the moola from his shipping service, so I hardly think it makes any difference--particularly with the situation unresolved.

Pros:
Possibly cheaper

Dramatically unlikely. I sincerely doubt I'll somehow manage to get better than 20% off. I'm not that much of a people person, and I'm no good at sweet-talking.

get to speak directly with YOUR REP, and not having to deal with a middleman should an issue arise

Grant you that one. I'm not sure it's worth losing 20% off is all. Do you have any idea how much that would add up to over the course of a year, if you're shipping large numbers of animals? This isn't chump change we are talking about. I BADLY want David to resolve this in a way that satisfies the community, because if he goes down, a LOT of us lose out in a big way--in the pocketbook. I've never been rich--I've never even managed more than scraping by, and I could sincerely use that extra 10 to 15 bucks off on shipping when I BUY a snake.

Sure a few people may have been able to cut a sweet deal with Fed Ex, but most obviously haven't managed to do that.

Cons:
It takes a couple weeks

Yes, it does--and I could sell my animals tomorrow. I'm not going to miss those sales over all this it at this stage--not when it's not resolved. I'd like to have enough money to pick up a nice pin at the show here. That's on the 5th, so I don't have a couple of weeks. If I can sell them now, I will, and I'll ship the way I have been shipping. The animals are just as safe, it's legal, and if David turns out to be a poor businessman, that will eventually become clear. It's not impossible for him to resolve this still.

I understand that it is a hassle to get fedex certified, but to me, the benefits are worth it. A few phone calls, a test package, and you're on your way. You don't have to deal with a middleman EVER. Reptster has had so many boxes and no DOA's, but are they arriving to your door, keeping them in a carefully controlled environment and coddling them to your door? No, it's the same FedEx service one way or another. In the end, the lower prices (which a number of people have attested to) and ability to deal directly with FedEx instead of relying on a third party is worth the minimal amount of work that's needed to get certified.

Sure, and I'll be certified by the time next hatching season rolls around--but I'm not, at the moment. I'm not going to ship illegally or make a potential customer wait 3 weeks for their animal while I go through the certification process. I've seen people here in this thread saying they'll stick with UPS, and then claiming that shipping snakes through UPS is not illegal.

That's actually completely untrue. Failing to correctly label your box is illegal. If you correctly label your box and you're shipping a snake, UPS will not accept the package. Therefore you cannot legally ship a snake via UPS.
(Yes, you have to mark the name and species of the animal ON the box, along with the fact that it contains a live animal. You cannot just put 'live harmless reptile' and nothing else. It isn't legal. You CERTAINLY cannot just mark it 'perishable, this end up', and leave it at that).
I've made the mistake in the past of not asking a seller how they were shipping animals to me, because they had a good reputation. Imagine my surprise when they arrive in a box NOT EVEN MARKED TO CONTAIN LIVE ANIMALS, via UPS?!
That's so very much more uncool than all of this. And yet people say nothing about it on a regular basis--they even defend it. So I'll stand by my opinion that Reptster is a great deal less disreputeable than shipping illegally.

If it proves out that David Young IS factually an unreliable business person who doesn't treat his customers fairly and rips them off, then I will stop using Reptster. But until that's actually resolved, I'm not going to boycott him 'just in case', or inconvenience myself over a maybe. As I pointed out once before, it's not as if Fed Ex itself has a spotless business record. The way people talk, you would think Fed Ex has never ripped anyone off.
We all know that's not true. There's no company available to ship through that has a pristine reputation.

So this is just a matter of switching from dealing with a middleman with a reputation that's come into question to direct dealing with a company that's proven to NOT always treat its customers fairly. And that's why I'm not going to blow my reaction to this way out of proportion at this stage.

 

[jayefbe]

I have no problem with you shipping via reptster at the moment. I mean, it's your decision and I understand if you need to get a package out. I personally would never ship through them, accept shipment from them, and would be fine paying a few extra dollars out of my pocket to do so. I'm not trying to make money, and while saving money is great, I'm not willing to do so while filling the pockets of someone dishonest.

As far as I've seen in this thread, everyone that was already fedex certified received better discounts than reptster had to offer. Your mileage may vary, but if you're so intent on saving the bucks it's at least worth a shot.

If you feel that FedEx treats it's customers unfairly than what would be better than having your own rep that you can contact and bring any issues to?

Are the animals really just as safe with reptster? What if you have the same situation arise as happened with forkedtongue (I believe it was him)? Are you going to wait for David to finally call you back while your snake is being held at a Fedex facility?

Anyways Donna, you're giving off the impression that you're supporting reptster because you're all about the bottom line. That's fine, and you can run your business that way, but your customers may choose not to deal with you for it.

What kind of proof do you need that David is an unreliable business person? For him to personally screw you over? For five, 10, 15 more people to show up with their own issues? How about the fact that someone who was previously fedex certified tried out reptster's services, and encountered problems. And when he encountered these problems he was unable to reach David and did not have his calls returned in order to fix the problems.

 

[Dennis Hultman]

Donna, during your long rambling about how stupid my question was you posted this with my quote attached to your post.

Originally Posted by WingedWolf View Post
Which reminds me...since Reptster goes through Fed Ex, and Fed Ex labels are printed, and since the boxes used come from Superior directly and no longer have a Reptster logo on them, how does anyone propose to actually tell whether or not someone is using Reptster to ship? I guess you could rely on people to tell you in advance, but if people start talking about boycotting folks using Reptster, why should they? Out of the goodness of their heart, so you can properly boycott them?

Just so it is clear, I haven't made one comment about boycotting reptster or anyone using them.

Your post was pretty nasty to my questions to Reptster. But I'm glad James thought it was the only post worth reading.

Originally Posted by WingedWolf
I can see digging into that situation as deeply as possible to uncover the truth, but side-tracking with purely stupid questions that could have been answered in 15 seconds by glancing through the Reptster forum (and don't excuse this by saying you don't want to go there--if you're going to complain about something, you ought to know what it is you're complaining about) just makes YOU look bad. The accusatory tone was particularly ridiculous, in light of the answer. It was PURE politics. Any reader who hadn't been there and didn't know the answer would walk away nodding their head and thinking what a terrible deal was being offered there. That behavior sickens me when actual politicians do it, and I see no reason to put up with it here.

Sometimes we should check ourselves before we post, I know I do a lot. I'm sure glad I posted what I did explaining my position.

Donna, Apparently you missed the question mark. I asked how does it work and benefit the customer since David posted that the only difference was that you receive free boxes. Just going by what he posted. It really is a fair question considering nothing else has been presented here. But thanks for telling me.

Instead of this one

I find your accusatory tone ridiculous and insulting. I didn't complain about them because I don't use them. It just makes YOU look stupid for not knowing the difference between a complaint and a question. It was a legit question as far as I am concerned. Who is playing politics? You are the one depending on them. Who has something to gain or lose? What do I care if someone uses Reptster or not. It doesn't have any consequences for me. I just want to make sure any reader understands that fact before they walk away.

And yes, my entire purpose for posting this was purely as a reaction to the use of a psychologically manipulative tactic being used to attack the subject of the thread. Dishonesty is dishonesty--and that is a dishonest tactic.

Wow, you sure did read a lot into my question.
I have long history giving my view points on a situation regardless if it meets majority opinion or not. That was a honest question that came to mind while I was reading the posts. Dishonesty? My history speaks to my honesty. I may not be right a lot times but I'm not dishonest. I find your entire post lacking and off base. Psychological manipulation?

But, heck there it is anyway. That dishonesty bull is garbage.
My reputation and my honesty has been out there on the table for a long time. " If you're going to complain about something, you ought to know what it is you're complaining about) just makes YOU look bad."

 

[Cat_72]

I've seen people here in this thread saying they'll stick with UPS, and then claiming that shipping snakes through UPS is not illegal.

Shipping through UPS is NOT illegal.

So this is just a matter of switching from dealing with a middleman with a reputation that's come into question to direct dealing with a company that's proven to NOT always treat its customers fairly.

No....you are STILL using the same company who has proven not to always treat its customers fairly....you're just now going through a middleman with questionable ethics to deal with that same company.

Have you actually noted all of the separate complaints here? It's not like Kelly's complaint (which he still has not taken care of) is the only one. I was more than willing, at the beginning, to give David the benefit of the doubt, but he hasn't given any of us much to work with. Perhaps some have different standards than others, but I'm not going to work with someone who is willing to screw people over, just for a few bucks.

 

[dsirkle]

Not that I doubt Kelly's version of the events, but the old adage "a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush" seems to be apropos. "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" shouldn't be enough if you don't know and trust the person that you are dealing with. This agreement is only worth the paper that it was written on. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned also seems to apply here. This is a ripe opportunity to utilize cliches!

I want to clarify the meaning of my quoted post for the benefit of Jayefbe as he expressed his inability to see any relevance to this thread and saw fit to give me negative karma for it. It means that Kelly really shouldn't have counted on this money before she had it, and that she should have gotten an agreement in writing before posting the banners of somebody that she didn't know personally and had never done business with. It also means that while the aforementioned statement is true it also appears that David is going to pay the price in both damage to his reputation and a certain amount of loss of business as a result of this situation as Kelly is not just going away quietly.

 

[Seamus Haley]

Shipping through UPS is NOT illegal.



No....you are STILL using the same company who has proven not to always treat its customers fairly....you're just now going through a middleman with questionable ethics to deal with that same company.

Have you actually noted all of the separate complaints here? It's not like Kelly's complaint (which he still has not taken care of) is the only one. I was more than willing, at the beginning, to give David the benefit of the doubt, but he hasn't given any of us much to work with. Perhaps some have different standards than others, but I'm not going to work with someone who is willing to screw people over, just for a few bucks.

Eh... I think the point that's being made is that only one company has a policy of allowing snakes to be shipped door to door. In order to ship legally, one must comply with the labeling requirements of the lacey act. Complying with the labeling requirements of the lacey act will cause packages to be rejected by shipping services other than FedEx and Airport to Airport services. The series of conclusions drawn then being Having a shipment accepted by UPS means that it wasn't labeled in compliance with the lacey act means that it wasn't shipped with a legal disclosure of it's contents.

While technically accurate, I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with the customer service issues Reptster has had; late payment and non-payment for services rendered, double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages, failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal (and rejecting other offers) after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase, failure to correct an issue OR communicate appropriately with a customer when there was an issue with a package being accepted by Reptster's shipping agent. Since a few of those issues have been shown to have happened to multiple individuals or in multiple instances, it's not a small list of problems at all and that list ignores a secondary less of slightly more ambiguous conduct and professionalism issues that do relate to their customer service and community relations.

 

[Seamus Haley]

and that list ignores a secondary less of slightly more ambiguous conduct and professionalism issues that do relate to their customer service and community relations.

Secondary LIST*

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

Without actually seeing a copy of Repster’s shipping agreement, (and I think that is unlikely since Mr. Young and crew won’t even answer simple questions and have provided zero documentation of anything to date) my assumption is that he has simply negotiated a large volume discount with them like any other large volume shipper. The dollar levels to get above a 40% discount are not all that high. He is getting a considerably higher discount than 40% and the overage constitutes his profit for offering his service. Nothing wrong with that....but.... It would be interesting to know at what level the agreement was reached. As others have mentioned. it is strictly against Fedex Policy to allow anyone to ship under your account. It is entirely possible that he has another type of agreement that allows unverified, unapproved shippers to utilize his account but it is surprising that Fedex, who has always been very stringent in it’s verification process would be that sloppy. I wonder if the approval goes above the sales rep level? This does not sound like something that corporate would approve IMHO

The liability end is interesting as well. Since individuals are not using their own accounts, my assumption is that Repster would be liable for anything that was shipped against Fedex policy, not the actual person shipping. As an example, we have all heard of instances where idiots shipped venomous through the major carriers in unlabeled boxes. If something of that sort were to happen, who would Fedex look to? The shipper or the actual account holder it was shipped under? I wonder if liability was a reason that Repster’s name no longer appears on the shipping boxes.

All food for thought. Given the ethically flexible manner in which Mr. Young has handled the situations outlined in this thread, the specific details of the overall arrangement he has with Fedex should be of acute interest to anyone utilizing his service.

 

[ToshaMc]

While technically accurate, I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with the customer service issues Reptster has had; late payment and non-payment for services rendered, double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages, failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal (and rejecting other offers) after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase, failure to correct an issue OR communicate appropriately with a customer when there was an issue with a package being accepted by Reptster's shipping agent. .

1. Late payment transaction -- this is a third party complaint - if the negotiating individual would like to take the time to address the issue then it will be a valid complaint but last I checked third party complaints even against bad guys aren't BOI allowable.

2. non-payment for services -- this is still negotiable as there was no proof of set price or contract or even services rendered.

3. double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages -- Where is your proof? This happens with FEDEX and is not just a Reptster issue -- do you know what constitutes some packages being charged actual weight versus those charged dimensional weight? If it cannot be proven as a fact it should not be spoken of as one on the BOI.

4. failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase - Come on really?!?!?! This is business as usual in this industry not a BOI offense - if it is you might want to open up a subforum cause the lists will be long and distinguished.

5. communicate appropriately with a customer when there was an issue with a package being accepted by Reptster's shipping agent - I saw one complaint --I'm sure there is more but if you've ever dealt with Fedex even when you have your ducks in a row things happen -- David has bailed out people that have had troubles shipping, Repster has been reasonably good with solving issues but some have slip through -- no one denys that - it is unfortunate when that happens but it happens in all walks of life. Davids made no qualms with admitting that he is a startup site and bugs are getting worked out - that's not a hanging offense.

If this doesn't sound like the makings of a witch hunt I don't know what does.

 

[GottaLuvHerps]

So again--we have no idea what the actual situation between David and Kelly is. Clearly David isn't handling it properly, or he would have spoken to Kelly by now. That's all we actually know. Until he actually resolves the situation with Kelly, or so much time passes that it becomes clear he never will, there isn't any conclusion to be drawn other than 'David handled this business transaction very poorly'.

Donna, I am just curious to see what it would take for you to "actually know" what happened here. When is it considered enough time for Mr. Young to respond to me, OR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS ISSUES HERE, to actually make it clear he is not going to respond. This thread was started 13 days ago. He has yet to resolve anything except the issue with Repticon and their non-payment issue from something 3 months ago. In 3 months if he contacts me, does that make all of this ok? And when I say ALL OF THIS, I mean exactly that - EVERY ISSUE RAISED HERE.
The conclusion at this point is not "David handled this business transaction poorly" but a simple statement of "Mr. Young has yet to pay ANYTHING for services rendered, no matter what the agreement". I ask you, as others have raised in this thread, if he thought the agreement was $250, and AGREED TO SEND A CHECK (see the email on 9/3 he sent me on his Blackberry), then why did he not send that check? Why have I not received ANY payment, much less the agreed upon amount of $750? If all he gets for that is a "poorly handled business transaction," that, to me, is a sad statement coming from you (or anyone else for that matter).

Seeing how he resolves the situation will Kelly will reveal a lot about his business practices. Nothing else makes any difference. And even that isn't relevent to whether or not Reptster gives good discounts or is a good service, just whether or not you ought to trust its owner to uphold a deal before cash changes hands.

How he RESOLVES this situation does have nothing to do with their services, and I even said that before myself. But how he handles NOT resolving it speaks of his general business practices, and his general business ethics. Good discounts are one thing, good service is another. And if you choose to do business with someone who cannot be trusted on MANY ISSUES, then that is your choice. This is more than a trust issue about making a deal like he did with me, this is OVERALL trust in his business ethics. Maybe I hold mine to be a little higher than some, but it seems to me that most agree that this is a bigger issue than what I originally started this thread about.

I'd like to see this resolved the right way. For folks to learn what actually happened here, and how David is going to make it right--or how Kelly is, since I still believe a two-way miscommunication is at the heart of the problem. Perhaps David needs to apologize for his behavior, but I don't think he needs to apologize to anyone other than Kelly.

ALL the rest of the stuff here...well, it fertilizes the flowers. And maybe that's beautiful, but it sure does stink.

We would ALL like to see ALL of these issues resolved the right way, but Mr. Young has apparently chosen for some time now (13 days since this thread started, almost 59,000 views and almost 1000 posts later) NOT to resolve this in any way (again, except for Repticon's issue). He can't even take the time to respond to ANYONE in ANY way, public or private, except for his attempt at shady psychology on Kathy Love. This should say something about his general business operation and ethics (see above for that rant).
As far as a miscommincation from both of us, I still fail to see how you can see this. IF Mr. Young had posted some sort of validated proof as I have, I could see your point. I guess I just don't get how long of his refusal to even acknowledge the situation with me or ANYONE ELSE it will take for you to see what is really going on here. So, how, exactly, do you propose that I make this right, since you so obviously believe I have done something wrong in this?
And yes, there is a LOT of other "stuff" here going on. Was I expecting it? Certainly not. Am I upset that this thread has taken off into other issues? CERTAINLY NOT. I just happened to be the first who spoke up in public, now others are able to come forward knowing that they are not the first. Call it me being stubborn, but I have no problem opening my mouth and setting the stage if it is warranted, as this situation was IMO.
The only thing that "stinks" here is Mr. Young's failure to communicate with ANYONE himself, and that it takes certain people getting screwed over themselves before they care enough to see that there IS something wrong.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

1. Late payment transaction -- this is a third party complaint - if the negotiating individual would like to take the time to address the issue then it will be a valid complaint but last I checked third party complaints even against bad guys aren't BOI allowable.

2. non-payment for services -- this is still negotiable as there was no proof of set price or contract or even services rendered.

3. double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages -- Where is your proof? This happens with FEDEX and is not just a Reptster issue -- do you know what constitutes some packages being charged actual weight versus those charged dimensional weight? If it cannot be proven as a fact it should not be spoken of as one on the BOI.

4. failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase - Come on really?!?!?! This is business as usual in this industry not a BOI offense - if it is you might want to open up a subforum cause the lists will be long and distinguished.

5. communicate appropriately with a customer when there was an issue with a package being accepted by Reptster's shipping agent - I saw one complaint --I'm sure there is more but if you've ever dealt with Fedex even when you have your ducks in a row things happen -- David has bailed out people that have had troubles shipping, Repster has been reasonably good with solving issues but some have slip through -- no one denys that - it is unfortunate when that happens but it happens in all walks of life. Davids made no qualms with admitting that he is a startup site and bugs are getting worked out - that's not a hanging offense.

If this doesn't sound like the makings of a witch hunt I don't know what does.

Tosha

While points 3 and 4 might possibly be open to some interpretation, points 1,2 and 5 have been laid out in detail and have all been well substantiated. The late payment issue was not third part. A representative of the company wronged made the post...you need to let that one go...you are simply incorrect there.

Any of those three points, 1 2 or 5 is a BOI worthy offense.

You defense of a company whose services you use is laudable but sauing that they have done nothing wrong after 1,000 posts which include a boatload of proof is simply wearing blinders

 

[Seamus Haley]

1. Late payment transaction -- this is a third party complaint - if the negotiating individual would like to take the time to address the issue then it will be a valid complaint but last I checked third party complaints even against bad guys aren't BOI allowable.

Um... it's a direct refference to his three month delayed payment to yet another show promoter, as detailed in this thread. Nothing in my list violated the anonymous third party quotation rule. Further, the anonymous aspect is an important one, third party individuals absolutely CAN share information, provided that a source is named.

2. non-payment for services -- this is still negotiable as there was no proof of set price or contract or even services rendered.

It's not "negotiable" in the least. While there is some ambiguity and disagreement over the amount owed, there was never a denial that services were contracted and that payment was never made to the Kordeks.

3. double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages -- Where is your proof? This happens with FEDEX and is not just a Reptster issue -- do you know what constitutes some packages being charged actual weight versus those charged dimensional weight? If it cannot be proven as a fact it should not be spoken of as one on the BOI.

You haven't actually read this thread, have you? Maybe you should stop spewing your blatant ignorance all over the place until you have actually read and comprehended every individual post that has been made.

4. failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase - Come on really?!?!?! This is business as usual in this industry not a BOI offense - if it is you might want to open up a subforum cause the lists will be long and distinguished.

Yes, really. How often it occurs is not justification for it's occurance. Furthermore, I don't think it happens as often as you may believe in the manner that it happened with David Young. He picked a specific animal, negotiated a specific price and a timetable for payment and very clearly stated he was definite about making the purchase and having the dealer earmark the animal as sold- then completely ceased all communication.

5. communicate appropriately with a customer when there was an issue with a package being accepted by Reptster's shipping agent - I saw one complaint --I'm sure there is more but if you've ever dealt with Fedex even when you have your ducks in a row things happen -- David has bailed out people that have had troubles shipping, Repster has been reasonably good with solving issues but some have slip through -- no one denys that - it is unfortunate when that happens but it happens in all walks of life. Davids made no qualms with admitting that he is a startup site and bugs are getting worked out - that's not a hanging offense.

Ah, it was "one complaint" that the customer ended up having to painstakingly resolve themselves because there was zero attention paid to their problem from Reptster. What is even more audacious is that there was no followup from Reptster to indicate that ANY effort was made to resolve the issue. Just how many rejected packages full of live animals rotting in a FedEx distribution center with a customer unable to resolve the issue with the person they paid does it take before you would consider that a problem? Two? Ten? Fifty? Or would it only matter if it happened to you personally?



Tosha, I'm forced to ask, are you functionally illiterate? You clearly don't know the meaning of the word "negotiable" or the phrase "witch hunt" or "anonymous third party" you seem inherently unable to comprehend the laundry list of screwups that have been detailed in this thread by multiple individuals... I'm forced to conclude that you either ain't gots no book learnin' or have some personal investment in promulgating the Reptster agenda. So which are you- stupid or dishonest?

 

[GottaLuvHerps]

1. Late payment transaction -- this is a third party complaint - if the negotiating individual would like to take the time to address the issue then it will be a valid complaint but last I checked third party complaints even against bad guys aren't BOI allowable.

Who is the third party complaining? Isn't Cathy Elrod a part of the Repticon team? She came here, posted what was going on for payment of HER Repticon show that SHE runs, so from my understanding, that is FIRST PERSON account of the situation. Please correct me if you believe I am mistaken (as you no doubtly will on both accounts)

2. non-payment for services -- this is still negotiable as there was no proof of set price or contract or even services rendered.

Mr. Young sent an email on 9/3/08 stating he would send payment in response to an email I sent him spelling out the terms of the agreement we made on the phone on 7/2/08. This is proof of a contract made and agreed upon. As for no proof of services rendered, did you MISS the screenshots and other people posting saying I would do exactly what I promised to do (advertising Reptster's services)? If so, I can point those posts out to you again.

4. failure to communicate with a dealer who was holding an animal after a firm and straightforward instigation of a comittment to purchase - Come on really?!?!?! This is business as usual in this industry not a BOI offense - if it is you might want to open up a subforum cause the lists will be long and distinguished.

Do you need the post pointed out again where Mr. Sanders posted those emails? It is not a "sure I'll buy it" type of situation like most others, he made a commitment on an animal, and then ceased all communication after Mr. Sanders held the animal for weeks at Mr. Young's request.


Tosha, again, I ask the same thing to you as I did to Donna (and that several others have alluded to) - how much time does it take for Mr. Young to be shown a bad business person? How long does he get? How long do you usually give the other "bad guy" posts when the accused does not even take the time to respond before saying that person is indeed a "bad guy" and needs to fix things? 13 days, almost 59,000 views and almost 1,000 posts later, and Mr. Young has yet to make anything right except a $100 payment to Cathy and Billy at Repticon. No contact, no responses, no proof, no ANYTHING. And you still question things?

 

[SPJ]

3. double charging customers for misprinted labels, overcharging customers for the weight of packages -- Where is your proof?

Here you go.

1044 Deven Sympson 36.26 797051738738
1045 Deven Sympson 36.26 797051738852