rsellers44
New member
Hello all, i was just wondering if anyone has had any good/ bad experiances with them. Ive found a few threads about theyre questionable actions but really nothing on any animal purchases. Thanks in advance.
-
Responding to email notices you receive.
**************************************************
In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.
-
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed
=====================
Posted 08/15/2025
=====================
Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.
Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."
Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....
=====================
Addendum: 01/10/2026
=====================
Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....
Inquiry Backwater reptiles?
- Thread starter rsellers44
- Start date
longfeather99
New member
i ordered some geckos from them not too long ago. They had them listed as one thing but they turned out to be something else ( site said Australian marbled geckos, but were actually butterfly geckos). I contacted them and they actually called me back the same day. They refunded the money, and actually took my suggestion and changed the name of the gecko on the website to show the actual species. Overall it wasn't what i would call a great experience, but they guys are honest and make good on mistakes.
rsellers44
New member
Im still torn about ordering. Theres soo many good and bad reviews on them. I've heard there a drop shipper but they're the only place I can find selling cuviers caimans. Ill just have try and see I guess. Anyone else...... any thoughts?
hhmoore
tired & cranky shadow
You've "heard" they're drop shippers? Please clarify.
*To be clear, I understand the term drop shipper; I'm asking where you got that information
*To be clear, I understand the term drop shipper; I'm asking where you got that information
rsellers44
New member
It was a term that seemed to come up quite often when researching them, a site that uses the term and mentions fauna is: http://www.reptilewebsitereviews.com/, I hope that helps, I tried to copy and paste the url.
hhmoore
tired & cranky shadow
The reason I was asking, of course, is the rule against anonymous third party quotations. If you are posting information you get from other people (as opposed to your own experience), it has to be attributed to the source (with real names - not a website or screen name).
consider this your warning, and a suggestion that you better familiarize yourself with the rules for posting on the BOI
The claim I saw here about Backwater being a drop shipper was made by a staunch proponent of a competing company...a person that made the same claim about a couple businesses. That doesn't make it untrue, necessarily, but it raises enough doubt that I would consider it suspect if I couldn't confirm the information via other sources.
consider this your warning, and a suggestion that you better familiarize yourself with the rules for posting on the BOI
The claim I saw here about Backwater being a drop shipper was made by a staunch proponent of a competing company...a person that made the same claim about a couple businesses. That doesn't make it untrue, necessarily, but it raises enough doubt that I would consider it suspect if I couldn't confirm the information via other sources.
bobtard
Rishadan Geckos
Would you put your money at risk dealing with someone with a bad past?
hhmoore
tired & cranky shadow
If that is directed at me, no, I wouldn't bother with Backwater. The fact that they created an account here under a fake name/location in order to post a bad guy thread against competitor showed enough about their ethics to keep me away. Granted, they were first maligned by the proponent of that competitor; but that doesn't make their response any more palatable. (and, yes, I feel confident that the bad guy thread was purely retaliatory, and false) One could argue that it was simply bad judgement, and lots of new companies do the same stupid things; but until they have a proven track record they wouldn't see a dime of my money (assuming that my interests changed enough that I would be interested in the animals they sell).
Johnenewt1
Member
Yeah, I've asked them many times to send a pic of the animals they have for sale, but they just plainly refuse to do so. How do they expect to conduct business in this manner, if we can't even see the pet that we're purchasing? I'm not taking the gamble.
hhmoore
tired & cranky shadow
If they are drop shipping, as has been claimed, they don't have the animals in their possession...so sending pics wouldn't be possible.
Johnenewt1
Member
Exactly.
StarDustScales
New member
Ordering
I tried to order from them.... They had the Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko listed as available. They charge significantly more for a female and dont guarrantee the sex, but I was willing to give it a shot. I was weary of them, since most websites that dont show the individual animal are of no interest to me, but they seemed to keep a stock of unusual and hard to find species.
I was very disappointed with what happened.
I ordered two Satanics, two croc skinks and a couple hundred dollars in feeders and such. My order was well over $900... I normally wouldnt risk such a high amount. But I was trying to get the geckos as a birthday gift for my FIANCEE. (which made this whole thing SO much more frustrating and disappointing because I already told her they were purchased)
Money left my account and the next day, I got an email... apparently they had no satanic leaf tailed geckos. "Sold out." The website did not indicate this anywhere at this point or when I ordered. They asked if I still wanted the rest of my order shipped....and I told them the entire point of my order was for the Satanics, and I wanted the entire purchase refunded and asked when they would have them in. They canceled the order and said, "in a few weeks."
Heres the best part.
I had been watching their site for months, along with many others, and as soon as they were marked available, I purchased them. I find it HIGHLY doubtful that they "sold out" in less than a day. (but I guess it's possible)
But if they did, they should have marked them as sold out. I checked back a few days later. Still listed as available. I emailed them again, trying to make the sale work somehow and maybe get my hands on a couple of these little lizards... I asked if the availible status was a mistake or if they actually had some in now. They responded saying they hadnt updated their site yet.
More days went by.... Still listed as available.
I felt cheated. Like they tried to play me by tempting me into ordering a lizard they KNEW they didnt have. And didnt even bother pulling the available status, to avoid that problem for others. It wasnt till several days later that they updated it.
I dont know what really happened on their end, if they are that slimy, or if they are just REEEAAALLY slow to update their site... but either seemed really inappropriate to me. It's misinformation at their advantage. Of all the reptiles, the Satanic Leaf Tailed is one of the most hard to find animals on their site, it wouldn't surprise me if they listed it to get people interested only to claim they "sold out" in a matter of hours.
I tried to explain how disappointed I was as a first time customer, and that I didn't want to pay for shipping if I wasnt getting the 2 of the 4 lizards I ordered. They offered no solution and did nothing to make me EVER want to use them again.
If they had covered the shipping cost, I would have approved the rest of my order. Still well over 500 bucks worth.
Just felt like bad work ethic to me all around.
I tried to order from them.... They had the Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko listed as available. They charge significantly more for a female and dont guarrantee the sex, but I was willing to give it a shot. I was weary of them, since most websites that dont show the individual animal are of no interest to me, but they seemed to keep a stock of unusual and hard to find species.
I was very disappointed with what happened.
I ordered two Satanics, two croc skinks and a couple hundred dollars in feeders and such. My order was well over $900... I normally wouldnt risk such a high amount. But I was trying to get the geckos as a birthday gift for my FIANCEE. (which made this whole thing SO much more frustrating and disappointing because I already told her they were purchased)
Money left my account and the next day, I got an email... apparently they had no satanic leaf tailed geckos. "Sold out." The website did not indicate this anywhere at this point or when I ordered. They asked if I still wanted the rest of my order shipped....and I told them the entire point of my order was for the Satanics, and I wanted the entire purchase refunded and asked when they would have them in. They canceled the order and said, "in a few weeks."
Heres the best part.
I had been watching their site for months, along with many others, and as soon as they were marked available, I purchased them. I find it HIGHLY doubtful that they "sold out" in less than a day. (but I guess it's possible)
But if they did, they should have marked them as sold out. I checked back a few days later. Still listed as available. I emailed them again, trying to make the sale work somehow and maybe get my hands on a couple of these little lizards... I asked if the availible status was a mistake or if they actually had some in now. They responded saying they hadnt updated their site yet.
More days went by.... Still listed as available.
I felt cheated. Like they tried to play me by tempting me into ordering a lizard they KNEW they didnt have. And didnt even bother pulling the available status, to avoid that problem for others. It wasnt till several days later that they updated it.
I dont know what really happened on their end, if they are that slimy, or if they are just REEEAAALLY slow to update their site... but either seemed really inappropriate to me. It's misinformation at their advantage. Of all the reptiles, the Satanic Leaf Tailed is one of the most hard to find animals on their site, it wouldn't surprise me if they listed it to get people interested only to claim they "sold out" in a matter of hours.
I tried to explain how disappointed I was as a first time customer, and that I didn't want to pay for shipping if I wasnt getting the 2 of the 4 lizards I ordered. They offered no solution and did nothing to make me EVER want to use them again.
If they had covered the shipping cost, I would have approved the rest of my order. Still well over 500 bucks worth.
Just felt like bad work ethic to me all around.
rsellers44
New member
Well as it turns out, i never did order from them, mostly from all the information you guys have told me, im glad i didnt. Im sorry to hear about what they did to you.