• 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....

Beware of Jeane Best & Wendy Childs

EriksReptiles

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
463
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Denver, Colorado
OK, before you read this please note:
NAVY highlighted words are ME (ERIK STRAIT, Owner of ERIK'S REPTILES)
RED highlighted words are Jeane Best & Wendy Childs
GREEN highlighted words are from my WEBSITE ( www.EriksReptiles.com ).
Here are the facts:
On June 19th 2006, Jeane Best & Wendy Childs email me asking what kind of deal I can give them on some pinstripe cresteds..
--I told them and everything and they decided on 6 pinstripe geckos (MY BEST ONES) and they gave me a $50 deposit on June 29th 2006.
--Then paid the rest ($550) on July 5th 2006.

We BOTH agreed that I would ship them the cresteds on July 10th 2006. I emailed them the tracking number through UPS and they emailed me saying that they didn’t get the number. So I sent it to them through my own email.. Here are those emails:
Jeane Best & Wendy Childs :
Just checking if they are on the way tomm???? I didnt get tracking info.


Thanks so much,
Jeane Best & Wendy Childs


ME:
Hmmmmmm......... I had UPS send it to you but here is the tracking number: 1ZXV05292497076211 .

Please let me know when they arrive!

Thanks Erik



Jeane Best & Wendy Childs :
You did? Ok, well I will be upstairs then tomm till they get here :) Ill email ya as soon as they do!

Thanks so much,
Jeane Best & Wendy Childs



So THEY KNEW that they would need to sign for this package! I also did send them this email on July 6th 2006.

ME:
Hey, I just got it! I will ship your order out on Monday for a Tuesday Delivery!! The package should be their by 10:30 or noon (which ever UPS offers, although I always do the earlier time!)

Oh-ya, The package will need to be signed for too...

Thanks Erik


To that they replied:

Jeane Best & Wendy Childs:
No problem. Sounds good. Although I have won multiple bets with everyone and some free cresties betting that our UPS driver is a piece of sh**(I edited this because of the cus-word). LOL He drops and runs. Never even rings. I havnt signed a package in 2 years, no matter how many stickers and stuff say he has to get it. He is worthless! I just hate that guy. So now I will have to wait upstairs so I can listen for his truck on Tue :( By all mans if you ever use a different shipper, feel free to do so!


So This morning when I went to check all my packages (I shipped out 9 cresteds, 2 Williamsi, and 2 Henkeli Leaf-tail geckos yesterday) I saw that everything arrived BUT the 6 cresteds I sent to Jeane and Wendy UPS.com said that they tried delivering at 9:35AM and no-one was home to sign for it...

------ Also ALL my other shipments arrived just fine and I have been shipping the same way for 3 years and NEVER had any kind of problem…..

So I emailed Wendy and Jeane this:

ME:
Hey, UPS says that no-one was home to sign for the package............ It says that they are going to try to deliver tomorrow though.. Please be sure to be home to sign for them tomorrow.......

Thanks Erik


So Wendy or Jeane called me (im not sure which one) and said that they will try to track down UPS and what not and that they heard the truck and looked out side and saw him and then he went down the road, so they looked on their door to see the slip saying that they missed the package and all that. Wendy or Jeane also said that they didn’t hear a door knock or bell.... BUT for one I find it kinda hard to believe that the driver would go and put a note on the door saying that they missed the package and not ring to door bell or knock...

But I guess Wendy or Jeane (not sure which again) went and was able to get the package later today (July 11th 2006).. And they said that there was one gecko dead and all this and that and just made me feel like crap. She had also accused me of sending skinny and dead geckos.. WHICH I would never do. They also kept using Foul language and kept picking out things that I did wrong (that aren’t wrong) and kept accusing me of being a gecko killer and everything but they WOULDN’T take responsibility for not being there to sign for the package....

I was at work when they called so I had to go back to work but I was to angry to stay at work so I talked to my manager and she said I could leave and take care of this...

BUT I asked for pictures and Wendy or Jeane (again I can’t tell the two apart) said that the batteries were dead and that they needed to get all their shipments out and.

Also I found it interesting that Wendy or Jeane called and I decided not to answer because of their vulgar language and they kept asking why I didn’t use a cold pack and all and that they cant believe I didn’t use a cold pack and they saw on my website that I will use a cold pack or heat pack if necessary but why didn’t I this time... WELL if they looked at my website and could see the cold pack thing why couldn’t they see this: (this is straight from my website, If someone can tell me how to do a screen shot that would be GREAT!)) :

MY "Terms" Page:

If you are not there to sign for the package Then live arrival and any other guarantees are void!


So they knew if they didn’t sign for the package I can’t guarantee anything...

PS: I also didn’t use a cold pack for the simple reason that the package gets picked up at my house at 6-7 PM my time so it is cool then and it WOULD have been signed for by Wendy and Jeane at 9:35 AM, if they would have been home, and it would have been very cool still then. Since Right now at 5:45 my time it is 86 degrees where she lives. BUT since they weren’t home it had to sit on a truck and I have YET to see ANY pictures of the “dead” cresteds…..

The way that I am taking what they are saying is that they want their money back but in my "terms" it says that all guarantees (Live arrival and Health) are VOID if the package isnt signed for on the first try..

I have ALL emails concerning this matter and will be posting them later but I am going to try to go back into work so im not out too much money…


Thanks Erik
 
Geez, after looking over Wendy's posts here.... she sure has been in a whole bunch of funky deals. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.
 
Erik

How were the animals packaged? Given the temps at her end, that would be the deciding factor on a cold pack.

That aside, the burden definitely falls on her. Don't refund a dime. I got bullied into a refund in a similar situation and have always regretted giving in
 
screenshot of TOS

Here it is:
 

Attachments

  • Image2.jpg
    Image2.jpg
    84.7 KB · Views: 4,102
There is no reason for refunding . Its not your fault Eric that they did not catch the UPS guy on the first attempt. You should have known by that e-mail that you received from them that they were setting you up,saying that their UPS guy was a drop and run piece of s**t. That right there should have turned on a light.And besides , if he was a drop and run then why didn't he drop the package on the first attempt? Sounds fishy to me. And with Wendy and Jeane telling you that maybe you need to use a different shipper ,maybe they shouldn't be running around telling people that it is illegal to ship live lizards via USPS maybe then they would have gotten their package on time if they would have asked you to ship this way.That is unless their postal carrier is a drop and run also. On second thought Jeane is a postal worker so she could have received that package at work at 6:30 AM before it was loaded up on the route truck.
 
I feel it is really easy to be a nice person when everything is going well. It is when things don't go as planned that many show their true colors. We as breeders have a TOS for just this reason. I do not think you owe any refund. It would be different if they signed for the package and then received a DOA. The emails do seem to be trying to build a case for UPS messing up prior to delivery. I agree something does not seem quite right.
 
Erik,
I am a little confused as to why this thread is here. From what I have read, I am going to list some of the possible reasons with a comment:

1) You are upset because she cursed ?

2) She's upset because she got one or more dead animals, and she shouldn't be ? You offer a health guarantee, which while it doesn't cover dead animals not signed for on first delivery attempt, would it not cover animals the customer thought were underweight ?

3) You're making assumptions about how much effort the UPS driver made to insure delivery. You were already told by the customer that UPS was very unreliable there. Maybe they are ?

4) Is it possible that the animals could have been better packed ?

5) Yes, they have some threads here, but I don't think one is about them ripping off anybody. They also have a long history of happy customers.

Were there any phone communications too ? Do they not have a right to be upset ? They went to UPS to get the package after the driver seems to have done something different than his normal leaving the package, same day, with reasonable expectation that the animals should be OK, and here you are ducking behind your "not there to sign for it" aspect of your TOS ! You know, its one thing to have it as a TOS. Its another to run for cover behind it at the first chance. And then its something altogether beyond that to make a BOI post of it. Help me out Erik, I'm a bit baffled, and I wasn't born yesterday !
 
Hey guys ! It Timmy Defrees, the POS from Minnesota !! He's in the thread from a few days ago talking about how he threatens his ex-wife, threatens Wendy, and is a first class horse's ass. How's it going dirtbag !! Beat up any more girls lately !! What a scumbag !
 
Chameleon Company said:
Help me out Erik, I'm a bit baffled, and I wasn't born yesterday !

I wasnt born yesterday either. And I sure see a pattern here where Wendy is concerned. Only thing I am baffled by is your entire take on this thread. But then again it is almost like clock work to see these types of posts from you Jim when it is one of your customers.
 
Well, regardless of how "reliable" their UPS driver is....if he spent enough time to leave a note on the door, there is no excuse for them not receiving the package, IMO. When I know I have an animal coming, I am there at the door BEFORE the driver even has a chance to get out of the truck.

And I think their calling and cussing at Erik speaks volumes....yes, I would be upset if i received a DOA animal, but it's not very professional (not to mention polite) to call and cuss him out. As has been stated on here many times before, people can have all of the happy customers in the world, but the way they handle things when something DOES go wrong says a great deal about a person.

And, Erik's TOS clearly asks for a picture of the DOA....which he has not received. It takes a very short time to grab some new batteries and snap pics of the dead animal, which they have chosen not to do.
 
Cat_72 said:
Well, regardless of how "reliable" their UPS driver is....if he spent enough time to leave a note on the door, there is no excuse for them not receiving the package, IMO. When I know I have an animal coming, I am there at the door BEFORE the driver even has a chance to get out of the truck.

And I think their calling and cussing at Erik speaks volumes....yes, I would be upset if i received a DOA animal, but it's not very professional (not to mention polite) to call and cuss him out. As has been stated on here many times before, people can have all of the happy customers in the world, but the way they handle things when something DOES go wrong says a great deal about a person.

And, Erik's TOS clearly asks for a picture of the DOA....which he has not received. It takes a very short time to grab some new batteries and snap pics of the dead animal, which they have chosen not to do.

*correction*

THe TOS states the animal must be held as proof of death, Erik ASKED for pictures.....which he didn't receive.
 
Now Cathy, you should know by now that Jim only sees things how he wants and not how they really are.
 
Erik, write them off and move on.

You might just be best off not even playing this game right now.

Just let them go their merry way.
 
I think a few things may need to be clarified and we need to hear from the other side. Were there pictures taken of the geckos before they were shipped? Were there pictures taken after they were received? That would go a long way in showing their condition before and after shipment. I always take a few pictures before I send a dragon to their new home, and attach them to the email when I send the tracking number. I do it because I know the customer is excited to receive their animal, but it would come in handy in a situation like this.
 
Hey Jim , Once again , its not your battle , or maybe it is , who knows , maybe you have been up Wendy's skirt an awefull lot here lately. Seems that every time she crys about something you come running to the rescue. Poor poor Wendy, shes being attacked again you had better save her before she goes mental.
 
Sammy,
Most of the time I can respect you. But do not insinuate that I have a take a position on this contrary to what I practice because Wendy bought a chameleon from me last year. Read the threads about me Sammy, and then tell me how I run for cover behind TOS. In fact, you posted in a thread about me applauding how I do not run and hide behind my TOS. Maybe you dart for cover behind your TOS at first chance? I doubt it. I doubt less that you would make a BOI post of how quickly you ran for that cover. Maybe I got you wrong?
Agreed about Erik not owing anything. Also agreed that he would need a picture. But we aren't looking at a thread started by Wendy claiming that Erik did anything wrong. I could care less about folks having a negative view about Wendy based on past threads, etc. She is there to be judged, and she is a hot head. But I am also going to look at a seller who comes here with a pre-emptive thread that has no meat on the bone yet. Kind of makes me go Hmmmmmmmmm .......
 
It's the buyers responsiblitiy to be home when the shipment arrives. Live cargo cant "wait" like a letter can.

I'm sorry to hear they were some of you best :(.

Good luck and God Bless,

PS - I wouldnt have answered them either with so many foul words ;)

--Jacky---
 
Jim,
Erik seems to have some happy customers too. But I don’t see any ‘bad guy” threads for him. I do see a positive good guy certification and trader rating.

I would ask, with as many people here doing business as usual on a daily basis, it does seem that in their very short time here they have amassed considerable negative attention.

It would make some wonder.
 
Back
Top