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A good guy in the reptile business is Ben Siegel

brd7666

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Well I have been doing business with Ben Siegel now for over three years. I have purchased at least fifteen animals from Ben. I continue to buy from him for several reasons. The quality of his animals is always the best. His prices are always very good. I usually buy from Ben at the reptile shows throughout Florida. But when I need something shipped out he delivers when I want it. Another thing that matters to me is cleanliness. After making several purchases from Ben I decided to buy two boas. Rather than ship them on this occasion I decided to drive down to his store and pick them up. Not only did it cost more to drive because of the high gas prices but it was over a four hour drive one way. But I really wanted to see his store. I can honestly say his store was very clean. He even took me in the back room. It was clean back there also. I didn't see anything crawling around that shouldn't have been. Bens store is one of the cleanest stores that I have been in. I have been into reptiles for a long time and I have been in a lot of stores over the years and his was probably the cleanest. So if anyone out there is thinking of buying from Ben Siegel I would have to say, Go for it. I'm sure you will be happy. :)

Brian Dierking
 
I have been dealing with Ben and Stacey for several years and I would definitely agree that he is one of the good guys in the industry
 
Ben is a good guy for sure!! I have dealt with him several times. I spent quite a few dollars as well, but I have always got more than my moneys worth. :)

I have also been on the selling side with him, he is a great buyer as well. I have plans to do more business with him future. :yesnod:
 
I bought a lizard from Ben a couple of years ago. I wasn't happy about the condition of the lizard and notified him upon receipt and attached pictures. He said that he stood behind the health of the animal. Because these lizards weren't commonly available, I wanted to see if the lizard would bounce back; Ben said that he would extend the warranty period. Throughout the period Ben was easy to communicate with, responded promptly to emails and even contacted me to check on the lizard's status. Fortunately, within a couple weeks the lizard was back to 100% and I was able to tell him that all was well. I was very impressed with how the situation was handled. I think that the way a seller deals with an unsatisfied customer is very telling. I would not hesitate to purchase from him again.

-Alice Abela
 
I buy from Ben Siegel Reptiles here and there. They have great prices and wonderful animals. I don't hesitate when they have an animal that I want. I have even bought boas, sight unseen and am still very happy every time. Ben and Stacey are good guys!! (and gal) :)

Amie MacIntosh
 
Yea Ben is top notch, I have had 2 dealings with him and not once has anything gone wrong. I hope to do more business with him in the future.
Damian Macioce :firedevil
 
Ditto, I have a fantastic C. hortulanus from their shop and he's still doing well years later. I would purchase from Ben again.
 
Ben is nothing but the best. We have done several deals and all were excellent.
 
As I have said on his other good guy posts, I continue to buy from Ben with confidence, no matter what it is, what time of year it is, whether it is a wholesale animal for resale, or something more expensive for myself it is always great.

Thanks
ben cole
 
I recently did a trade with Ben. This is the second trade I've done with him and I've purchased animals from him twice. Every transaction has been smooth and the animals are always exceptional. I'm extremely thrilled with the male butter corn I recently got from him and can't wait to breed him next year. I will definitely do business with him again and I'll recomend him to anyone.
 
Ben is the only wholesaler we will buy from sight unseen. Having bought many 100's of animals from him we can honestly say Ben Seigal is the best wholesaler in the biz...hands down!!
 
i on the other hand have had two experiences that didnt go so well, one worse than the other. the first was just a shipping issue due to having to get ready for a show. the animal was shipped late, but got there alive and healthy, but it was not the color he told me he was shipping. i was supposed to get a red amazon tree boa, instead i got a yellow with orange blotches.
nothing was ever done for me on that occasion, i just let it go.
the second issue however was worse, and just recent. i paid 400.00 for a pair of mandarins that were sold as not eating. i understand what i was buying. the female is actually good size active and relatively healthy. the male on the other hand was right on its death bed, it actually died the day after i got it. again, i know what i was buying, but i didnt think someone of bens caliber would ship an animal in such dire condition. it came to me very weak and didnt make it til the next morning. i bought these with the understanding that i would have a chance to work with them for a little while, otherwise why would i pay 200.00 for a basically dead snake, and why would he sell one in that condition. any way i sent him an email and asked him if he could replace it. he replied that he could not back up a non feeding snake. i was told up front that it was non eating, but i was never told that he wouldnt back up his product period. here is a pic of the dead animal. thats my experience with ben, i dont think i will be buying anymore animals from him.
 

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Greg

Greg
come on now--you have to tell the whole story if you want to say something like that. Here is the whole story-gods honest truth as i remember it.

Greg asked me quite awhile ago(months) to put a deposit down on a het ivory female female-one of my nice orange line animals from my 14 egg female. This was quite awhile ago. I held the animal in good faith and continued to feed and house it waiting for an update. Months later he emails and says he is going through a divorce and cannot complete paying for it. He asks for a refund. I tell him that is not our policy, but if he needs more time to pay for it, i would be more than happy to do so. He said that would be great and thanks for understanding and what not. Forward a couple of weeks and he says he still cannot pay for the snake. I offer to give him a male sibling to the female for the same amount of money. This is not our policy either-to not complete paying for an item that is being held, and to just transfer it over to another more affordable item. He agrees to this at first if i remember correctly. A day or two later, he says he does not need a male and could i send him a pair of my baby mandarin rats instead of the male yellow belly. I recomend against them as i have not had them feed since i received them into stock. Not a one of them-not one time. He told me that he does not care and that he will work with them. He contacts me a few days later to tell me the male died and asks for a replacement. I told him i could not do that for him. I was already not getting the remainder of my sale for which i held animals for him-that was $500 down the toilet-i had produced these animals myself, so when i sell one it is a higher profit item then a resell item such as the mandarins which i had to pay for. So now i am using a deposit on an item that i am making much less money on. All of this is irrelevant however. He wanted a replacement on an animal that was sold with no guarantee and non feeding. Even with all that being said, i still told greg that i would do something for him if he saw something that i had that he liked(ie-a sizeable discount to compensate)-and now i am the bad guy.

so that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Ben Siegel
 
Seems like Ben did more than would be expected in that situation. Most people would tell you are out your deposit if you are the one that backs out of a deal. Ben stood up and gave snakes for a deposit when he didn't have to. On top of that, if you choose to take a pair of snakes that you know are not feeding then its on you in my opinion. And then, if Ben offered to give you somehting else on top of that, in my book, that is well beyond what you could expect from someone .... anyone else in the business. Be glad you got what you got because it was you that is in breach of the original agreement. I fail to see where Ben is the bad guy in this deal.
 
first and foremost i never stated that ben was a bad guy. i know that he has alot of repeat customers and is generally great to deal with. here are the emails i have from him. im not trying to argue or start an issue but the only thing that is stated in regards to the mandarins is that they are not eating. nothing is ever stated about any guarentee. i dont know if this is something i should infer. it was also not mentioned that after all is said and done, there was thirty dollars left over from the amount given to him that i said to keep because of what he was doing for me. i also didnt realize that after you put down a deposit, that every payment after that was also considered a deposit. anyway here is the emails, and ben if you still have them please feel free to add anything that i may have missed in regards to where it was stated about any guarentee. and for what its worth, i would have never shipped that snake, even as non-eating in the shape it was in.
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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 19:09:13 -0500
From: [email protected] Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: "greg von bruchhaeuser" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: 500.00 deposit

that will work-Ben

greg von bruchhaeuser <[email protected]> wrote:

>can we ship them next week for tuesday arrival? let me know so i can
send you the appropriate address. thanks greg
>
>[email protected] wrote: yes- we have a pair-Ben
>
>greg von bruchhaeuser wrote:
>
>>any luck with having a pair of these left. thanks, greg
>>
>>[email protected] wrote: Greg
>>i will check on the sexes i have left tonight-i would do that-you do
understand that these are not feeding yet-Ben
>>
>>greg von bruchhaeuser wrote:
>>
>>>i had one more question for you before i had the snake shipped.
you have mandarins up for sale right now. is it possible to get a pair
of these with the 500.00. that would leave you 30.00 ahead after
shipping which i would gladly do. i would much rather have a 1.1 pair of
the mandarins instead of the male yellow belly. hopefully we can do
this, if not i will send the money for shipping later today on the yb
after i hear from you. sorry to be so difficult about this. thanks
for your time, greg
>>>
>>>[email protected] wrote: Greg
>>>we ship monday thru thursday-shipping in the lower 48 is $45--let me
know when you want shipped and what address-Ben
>>>
>>>greg von bruchhaeuser wrote:
>>>
>>>>that would be good. i appreciate you working with me on it. i
need to send you a different address to send it to however. what days
do you normally ship? thanks, greg
>>>>
>>>>[email protected] wrote: Greg
>>>>we do not normally do that--our deposits are nonrefundable unless
the animal we took the deposit on is not available for some reason. I
could do a yb male for the $500 deposit you left if that will work for
you-Ben
>>>>
>>>>greg von bruchhaeuser wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>i still dont feel i will be able to come up with the rest of the
money any time soon. can i apply this amount of 500 to different
animals? thanks and let me know, greg
>>>>>
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12-26-2006 07:57 PM
greg4000 said:
i on the other hand have had two experiences that didnt go so well, one worse than the other. the first was just a shipping issue due to having to get ready for a show. the animal was shipped late, but got there alive and healthy, but it was not the color he told me he was shipping. i was supposed to get a red amazon tree boa, instead i got a yellow with orange blotches.
nothing was ever done for me on that occasion, i just let it go.
the second issue however was worse, and just recent. i paid 400.00 for a pair of mandarins that were sold as not eating. i understand what i was buying. the female is actually good size active and relatively healthy. the male on the other hand was right on its death bed, it actually died the day after i got it. again, i know what i was buying, but i didnt think someone of bens caliber would ship an animal in such dire condition. it came to me very weak and didnt make it til the next morning. i bought these with the understanding that i would have a chance to work with them for a little while, otherwise why would i pay 200.00 for a basically dead snake, and why would he sell one in that condition. any way i sent him an email and asked him if he could replace it. he replied that he could not back up a non feeding snake. i was told up front that it was non eating, but i was never told that he wouldnt back up his product period. here is a pic of the dead animal. thats my experience with ben, i dont think i will be buying anymore animals from him.
Click to expand...

I'm just curious. Yesterday morning you posted this thread.
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92899
non eating mandarins
does anyone out there have any tips on getting a mandarin ratsnake to start eating. if so let me know, that would be great. thanks in advance, greg
Click to expand...
12-26-2006, 08:50 AM
these are captive born hatchlings that are on aspen average temps around 75 to 80 degrees. they have secure hides in a low traffic area. ive only tried live pinks, and am going to try split head pinks next. the only thing im missing is a container with moist spagnum which i am getting tonight.
Click to expand...

So, I'm assuming they were both a live at 8:50 am yesterday morning, then you posted in this thread at 7:57 PM that one died the day after i got it
Considering, the day before was Christmas and the day before that was Sunday, I'm curious as to when you received this shipment.
 
i received them on the 19th and it was dead on the 21st. i should have worded the other post better. i was looking for advice on how people have gotten them to eat. i guess i should have specified that i have one mandarin that i want to get eating. i apologize for that being overlooked on my part. besides all of that, is there a problem with me looking for advice? i dont see quite what you are getting at in regards to that post.
 
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