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Info Ben Siegel Reptiles

I agree he would make it right. It was so cut and dry and he agreed with the mistake. No reason he shouldnt. He Just didnt say sorry, instead he got defensive and talked down to me.
There are a lot people that have that impression about Ben. IMO, his attitude is that he, his animals, everything is better than anyone elses. I have personally heard him at shows talking trash about other peoples (smaller vendors) tables. Ben expects people to agree with him always, no one elses opinion matters or makes sense.

His animals are by in large Nice, He has a succesfull business, I do not think he will or has ever ripped someone off but I for one choose not to do business with someone who talks to me the way he did..

Agreed, The OP was pretty much wrong. Probably a little on the emotional side which she admits but, whatever she did (other than commiting a felony) she didnt deserve to be talked down to. Even if Ben was right he is supposed to be the profesional he is dealing with an emotional person. Rise above it. Sorry to say Ben being right or wrong thats just not in his nature.
 
whatever she did (other than commiting a felony)
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Ummmm....what?

So, does she deserve a free animal? As others have pointed out (ad nauseum), if she is to attempt to take the high road ("I don't want a refund"), she could always refund some of what he credited her.

As for my humble little opinion...she won't do that...and that screams 'guilty as charged' to me.
 
laterrob. Your missing the point. I agree. She is wrong, she should send the snake back and accept her refund. She can not keep the snake and the money period. No matter what Ben says to her, yells at her makes her cry et.. She can not keep the snake and the $.... Should she take a verbal beating in attempting to get her money back from a Profesional store.. NO . From first hand experience there is no reason for Ben to berate her which I know he did. I have been there.
Shes a customer, maybe a bad one but still. He is smarter than that or at least he thinks so, take the high road. In anycase, my post was more about Bens attitude towards me, vendors at shows and and the way he perceives himself. Hearing this Ladies story just brought back bad memories and my dealings with Ben.. Maybe I should have started a new thread on the subject instead of posting here. I dont know
 
I have received MANY MANY animals from Ben in the past. I have also shipped numerous animals to him in the past.

I have just recently started up my collection again. Once I get going, our relationship will be where we left off.

See you next season Ben.

P.S. Hey Ben, I think now you have an opening on FB so add me already.
 
herper1384 said:
laterrob. Your missing the point. I agree. She is wrong, she should send the snake back and accept her refund. She can not keep the snake and the money period. No matter what Ben says to her, yells at her makes her cry et.. She can not keep the snake and the $.... Should she take a verbal beating in attempting to get her money back from a Profesional store.. NO . From first hand experience there is no reason for Ben to berate her which I know he did. I have been there.
Shes a customer, maybe a bad one but still. He is smarter than that or at least he thinks so, take the high road. In anycase, my post was more about Bens attitude towards me, vendors at shows and and the way he perceives himself. Hearing this Ladies story just brought back bad memories and my dealings with Ben.. Maybe I should have started a new thread on the subject instead of posting here. I dont know
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If Ben was talking about other vendors...no big deal maybe he knows something bad about their business practices that you don't. Most all breeders have talked negative about another breeder at some point in their career. If Ben thinks he's better than someone, no big deal maybe he's right maybe he's wrong. I consider myself superior to cheats,scammers and thugs guess you could say I also put myself on a pedestal. Having confidence in ones self is a positive thing, most successful business people have this trait. As far as her crying, (if she really was) I think it's because she's needing money in a bad way and spent more than she should have. On Tuesday the day before the snake arrived Candace posted this on her facebook page:
Cold, tired, headache, HUNGRY, could use a punching bag and about a grand and I think i'll be alright. Cant wait to get home so I can finnish feeding the snakes.
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Looks to me like someone needing money.
 
Theres confidence and theres cockyness. Ben in his dealing with me went way beyond confidence. I am sure we all know someone like this in our lives. Always bragging, thinking they are better than others.

He wasnt talking bad about breeders or other vendors he was talking down about them. " look at the crappy table" or "man that guy doesnt even know how to sex a snake properly" stuff like that.. In anycase, its only my opinion in dealing with this man.
 
herper1384 said:
Theres confidence and theres cockyness. Ben in his dealing with me went way beyond confidence. I am sure we all know someone like this in our lives. Always bragging, thinking they are better than others.

He wasnt talking bad about breeders or other vendors he was talking down about them. " look at the crappy table" or "man that guy doesnt even know how to sex a snake properly" stuff like that.. In anycase, its only my opinion in dealing with this man.
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...and there's jealousy, envy, and the petty nonsense people like you carry around. Ben handled this matter admirably considering what he had to deal with... The OP is an extorting scammer. "Do this or I will cost you your reputation." is basically what she was doing. On what planet do you get a refund AND get to keep the goods? Not this one. Yet... the man let the OP keep the snake AND his money? And you have something bad to say about it? Wake the **** up!

I don't know when our great country got saturated with the "I'm Entitled" flu but this is old. The OP should be slammed for another week for being a little scamming leach. If you are keeping the animal, the OP should NOT be keeping the money period.
 
The Bearded dragon store. hahahahah- Envy, jealousy not even close.
Once again MISSING MY POINT entirely.

I agree with you about the OP and the situation about the animal. She can not keep the animal and the money which she did. Bad bad bad

My point- TO me he was condescending, conceited and acts above all. He was wrong in my case and wouldnt say sorry. He couldnt its not in his nature ... He thinks he is always right because he is Ben how could he ever be wrong. When she said she was brought to tears and posted how he berated her it struck a nerve. He also did it to me. Was she right NO. Does he berate and act above all. YES.
 
Things I have learned in this thread.

1. Buy from Ben Siegal and pray that his wife or sister makes a mistake.

2. Candace owings does believe in a free lunch and dinner if the cook over cooks her food. And, a free snake that will heal up almost like new and her money back.

I was only thinking about buying some King snakes from Ben or waiting for the reptile show. Now I know I will be calling him.

Thanks Candace for making up my mind.

Ben please please have your wife or sister pack the king snakes so I can get 4 for the price of two.

Fatman
 
herper1384 said:
The Bearded dragon store. hahahahah- Envy, jealousy not even close.
Once again MISSING MY POINT entirely.

I agree with you about the OP and the situation about the animal. She can not keep the animal and the money which she did. Bad bad bad

My point- TO me he was condescending, conceited and acts above all. He was wrong in my case and wouldnt say sorry. He couldnt its not in his nature ... He thinks he is always right because he is Ben how could he ever be wrong. When she said she was brought to tears and posted how he berated her it struck a nerve. He also did it to me. Was she right NO. Does he berate and act above all. YES.
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When an individual has been involved in an industry as long as Ben has (and yes I've dealt with him too), they tend to have more knowledge than the average anyone standing around them. If you take that knowledge for what it is worth... you'll learn something. If you take offense at his advanced experience and knowledge in this industry... that's your damage. I'm not trying to make an enemy out of you. But really... the generalizations regarding Ben's character, conduct, and knowledge need to get tossed. He's an excellent person to deal with. So you don't like him. Oh well. He has more knowledge in his pinkie joints than most have in their entire brain. :NoNo:
 
Where to begin...

The way I feel has already been expressed by many people on this thread. I see no reason to beat a dead horse and bash the OP. Instead, I wanted to share with everyone my first transaction with Ben Siegel Reptiles and hopefully continue steering this into a Good Guy thread.

Admittedly, I was apprehensive about the FB auctions. I had never participated in one, so I must have read the rules at least a half dozen times before even bidding. Once I felt comfortable, I started bidding and within a couple of days won my first auctions for an Amber Corn Snake and a "dinker" male Ball Python. Shipping day arrived and I watched the clock as the 10:30am ETA came and went. Obviously, I was concerned, so I called BSR and spoke with Stacey. After checking the tracking info, we saw that the parcel had been marked as undeliverable. Stacey immediately got on the phone to track down the animals. She called me back very quickly and let me know that the driver would be coming back to my place.

A couple of hours later, I heard the unmistakable rumble of a diesel engine. Looking out the window, I was disturbed to see the package sitting on the dash board in full sun as the truck pulled up. I immediately unboxed the animals and was upset to discover that the Amber Corn had unfortunately passed due to the extreme heat of a Florida afternoon. The Ball Python, however, was still alive, despite the 100+ degree temperature inside the box. I contacted Stacey and let her know what happened. She was immediately sympathetic and continued to apologize as she had been all morning. She did ask for a picture of the dead animal (obviously). Before I even sent the picture though, she gave me the option of a refund in auction dollars OR a replacement Amber Corn. I was shocked by this considering that I had paid maybe 1/3 of the snake's retail value. As if that wasn't considerate enough, she also offered to take back the Ball Python if I was worried that the heat exposure had caused neurological issues. In the end, I decided to keep the Ball Python as his behavior appeared normal and opted for a replacement corn.

Since then, I've added 6 other animals to my collection via BSR's FB auctions and anyone who claims Ben's animals are subpar has obviously never done business with him.
 
Bearded.. Assuming ben has more knowledge than me or anyone else on this thread or in the business (which is very debatable) why use the knowledge to talk down to me and talk down about smaller vendors. Why not use it in a positive way. Does him having Knowledge give him the right to be condescending, rude and have a god complex. I do not believe so. Spin my comment however you like. The fact is he is not someone I would do business with or be friends with.
If your dealings with him and your impression of him is positive I am happy for you and glad you and others have had a good experience. I also am not trying to make an enemy However me and others I know do not have a favorable impression of him as a person. There are people who know him when he was small time and he still had this way about him. Its his personality and it carried over to his business and just rubs Some people wrong.
The OP is wrong but she has a point about his mannerisms. Maybe ben will learn from this which a knowledgeable person should do and handle his communications with people better down the road. He may even take that next step from big vendor to Huge vendor
 
herper1384 said:
Bearded.. Assuming ben has more knowledge than me or anyone else on this thread or in the business (which is very debatable) why use the knowledge to talk down to me and talk down about smaller vendors. Why not use it in a positive way. Does him having Knowledge give him the right to be condescending, rude and have a god complex. I do not believe so. Spin my comment however you like. The fact is he is not someone I would do business with or be friends with.
If your dealings with him and your impression of him is positive I am happy for you and glad you and others have had a good experience. I also am not trying to make an enemy However me and others I know do not have a favorable impression of him as a person. There are people who know him when he was small time and he still had this way about him. Its his personality and it carried over to his business and just rubs Some people wrong.
The OP is wrong but she has a point about his mannerisms. Maybe ben will learn from this which a knowledgeable person should do and handle his communications with people better down the road. He may even take that next step from big vendor to Huge vendor
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What are you? The personality police? Get off your high horse and learn that others are simply not going to change who they are to suit your idealistic drivel. You don't like him? That's your right. But why are you continuing to spew your generalizations and nonsense about the man?

So there was a guy at a show who didn't know how to sex a snake properly. And? Someone set up a bad display and he said something about it. And? This makes him 'the devil' in your eyes? Ok whatever. Shut up about it already, really. This isn't high school. You don't have to buy from him. And you certainly don't need to keep defaming him. You're almost making yourself look like as stellar as the OP.

Your 'suggestions' regarding him going big to huge are off as well. I don't know about anyone else, but when I first got into this industry Ben's name was one of three people that instantly came up when I was looking for green tree monitors. When I was looking for special locales of leachies... guess whose referral hooked me up? When I was looking for a particular morph in beardies... Ben. He's already huge. Under which rock do you reside?

He did MORE THAN RIGHT by this scammer OP. She got a free snake. He paid her to accept it... he refunded her in full. So he ate the snake. He ate the shipping. He ate the entire transaction! That in and of itself is a testament to the moral fiber which governs the manner in which this man does business. If you can't see that, step over the stupid line and stand there until you get it. :angry:
 
Ok Herper... that was harsh. I apologize. I just don't believe that a BOI thread is where this should have ended up. Like I said, I've had nothing but ultra positive experiences with him. And as a previous poster stated... this thing should be turned into a Good Guy thread. I don't believe the people who run this site intended for the BOI to be used by people like the OP to accomplish what she did. It's just wrong and I'm completely offended/put off that she got away with it. Lashing out at you was wrong. Again, I apologize.
 
I didnt insult you once you have insulted me 5 different times in the last post alone. I love it when people do this behind a keyboard. In anycase, I suppose I will also play YOUR high school games as you say. Your comments about him being huge (and by the way there are bigger out there) your comment about him having more knowledge than most people in his pinkie finger. Your overall comments about how manly he is, why dont you just get it over with call him up and tell him you are in love with him and can not stop thinking about him and his hugeness. I mean come on dude. You like his animals cool. You like him cool. Do you have to kiss his a**. You make yourself look pathetic. Now I see where he gets his attitude from people constantly telling him how great he is. Similar to some star athletes. He's a man, a human. Not god.
Try talking to him about his python Morphs. Holy cow. Even if I had 5000 different morphs his will always be better than mine and he will let you know that. He did to me.. I could give example after example and the more I give the more it seems to deeply effect you. Like I am insulting your lover or something.
You think Im jealous. You want to put me down, fine. I can tell you I am a millionaire many times over. Look me up.
The board is to post opinions. Mine is he is a narcasist. Yours is different. Respect it dont sling crap at me.
You know why I keep spewing it is because you dont get it. You keep going back to the OP. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with my opinion of the all mighty ben. He talked bad about someone not sexing an animal no. He talked down to them and others. He has done it 1000 times. I am giving you two examples. I am happy to move on, you should too.
 
Uploaded, my post before I read your appology.

I accept yours and I am sorry too. I didnt want this to result in a school yard brawl.

I am sorry. Hope we can leave it at that.
 
Robert
Somehow I think there is more to this story then you are letting on to. I do not remember you at all, but maybe if I met you in person I would. So you know---I have absolutely no issues saying sorry to anyone, nor do I think I am better then anyone on a personal level. I do not think I know more then everyone about reptiles, and I will be the first to gladly admit that I am wrong, or that I do not know something. I have a 15 year old employee at my store, who I will gladly admit in two seconds knows 100 times more about chameleons than I do, and I have a friend who takes care of my tarantulas who knows 1000 times more then I do. I have many mentors both older and younger then me that I call on in many different situations. I dont pretend to be an expert about things I dont know about. I still love to learn about animals and my ears are always open and learning. Your representation of me is way off base. I am easy to talk to and approachable, free with the info and good to my customers.
Wow--I must have had quite an impact on you in my store. Are you sure you werent being a hot head or that it was me that was helping you? If it was--who knows--maybe i was having a bad day---if so I apologize.
If I say something bad about someones table at the show, its got to be bad. If I see someone walking around with a half dead tegu at a show in a cup, and I am going to grab them and tell them to bring it right back to where they got it, and you know what if they want I will walk with them. I AM ALL ABOUT attracting and keeping new hobbyists in our industry. So believe me---if I am walking down a show and I see something that is ridiculously poor---like worthy of being euthanized---not only I am going to say something---I will say something right to the person who has the table. It is unacceptable to bring animals like that to shows and it happens all too regularly. Are you seriously going to defend a vendor that would sell a argentine red tegu that was just about dead to a KID who is 12 years old with his mom as a first reptile? People like that should not be allowed to sell reptiles. It is bad for our entire industry, so yeah--Im calling that crap out when I see it. How about when you walk up to a table at a show and you see mites crawling all over some ratsnakes. THAT personally upsets me---it is careless and dangerous to the other vendors and customers. I am not being all high and mighty like we have never seen a mite, but if you do--take care of it--DONT go take your mite infested stuff to a show. AGAIN_i dont want to give people the wrong idea. There are so many small vendors that I LOVE to death, have done a ton of business with over the years and will continue to do so. I PREFER to buy animals from small vendors and breeders whenever possible so I dont understand that portion of your argument. You seem like a pretty nice guy in your writing, so I dont understand your statements. So again---if I was mean to you or hurt your feelings--I apologize.
 
ben siegel said:
Robert
Somehow I think there is more to this story then you are letting on to. I do not remember you at all, but maybe if I met you in person I would. So you know---I have absolutely no issues saying sorry to anyone, nor do I think I am better then anyone on a personal level. I do not think I know more then everyone about reptiles, and I will be the first to gladly admit that I am wrong, or that I do not know something. I have a 15 year old employee at my store, who I will gladly admit in two seconds knows 100 times more about chameleons than I do, and I have a friend who takes care of my tarantulas who knows 1000 times more then I do. I have many mentors both older and younger then me that I call on in many different situations. I dont pretend to be an expert about things I dont know about. I still love to learn about animals and my ears are always open and learning. Your representation of me is way off base. I am easy to talk to and approachable, free with the info and good to my customers.
Wow--I must have had quite an impact on you in my store. Are you sure you werent being a hot head or that it was me that was helping you? If it was--who knows--maybe i was having a bad day---if so I apologize.
If I say something bad about someones table at the show, its got to be bad. If I see someone walking around with a half dead tegu at a show in a cup, and I am going to grab them and tell them to bring it right back to where they got it, and you know what if they want I will walk with them. I AM ALL ABOUT attracting and keeping new hobbyists in our industry. So believe me---if I am walking down a show and I see something that is ridiculously poor---like worthy of being euthanized---not only I am going to say something---I will say something right to the person who has the table. It is unacceptable to bring animals like that to shows and it happens all too regularly. Are you seriously going to defend a vendor that would sell a argentine red tegu that was just about dead to a KID who is 12 years old with his mom as a first reptile? People like that should not be allowed to sell reptiles. It is bad for our entire industry, so yeah--Im calling that crap out when I see it. How about when you walk up to a table at a show and you see mites crawling all over some ratsnakes. THAT personally upsets me---it is careless and dangerous to the other vendors and customers. I am not being all high and mighty like we have never seen a mite, but if you do--take care of it--DONT go take your mite infested stuff to a show. AGAIN_i dont want to give people the wrong idea. There are so many small vendors that I LOVE to death, have done a ton of business with over the years and will continue to do so. I PREFER to buy animals from small vendors and breeders whenever possible so I dont understand that portion of your argument. You seem like a pretty nice guy in your writing, so I dont understand your statements. So again---if I was mean to you or hurt your feelings--I apologize.
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I completely agree. Ben has both bought whole clutches from me and traded with me in the past. And in every trade we did, the animals were top notch.

And am I a big breeder/vendor? That's a negative.
 
no its funny he wrote all that as well, as 95% of the cb stock that I buy are from small hobbyists like you. No kidding--I am all about the small guy. I have customers that have been customers for 10 years, that I have paid WAY MORE money to then they ever spent with me, and that makes me happy! I know I am getting good stuff, and it is nice to see people get into this hobby and stick with it. I have a young guy who works at my store. He has been coming in since he was 10 or so? He has made more money selling snake this year then I could have ever dreamt of making at age 21, let alone at 16.
 
Thank you for that. I understand your point
I do not think typing here can really explain what happened or has happened to give me this impression along with other people I know who feel the same. Its something that has to be explained in person. I started typing this whole long post but it just doesnt come across the way I want it to. In short,The sense I have gotten from you is if you do not approve of someones business, or you feel you are more knowledgeable et there is a way about you that comes across as stubborn and arrogant. You bash people people because of a rumor or a dis-agreement. In fact I once called you and asked for a comparison of an animal you had in relation to another suppliers description of the same animal and you went off on them,and trashed that supplier and the reasons were not really valid in my opinion. I dont think its productive to bash another person in this industry unless they have really screwed you over. This coupled with the other things is why I formed this opinion
Look its my opinion maybe right maybe wrong. I am certainly far from perfect. The thread had something to do with your character and communication with the OP so I chimed in. Your last post goes a long way in dispelling my theory about your character so I appreciate that. Good luck in the future and if I have offended then I also appologive.
 
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