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Beware Of Tony Winkle

T

tbyrdlogger1

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Tony Winkle of Winkle Reptiles sold me an adult 1500 gram female pastel ball python that is really a male adult pastel ball python. He has refused to cooperate with any options I have given him. Tony Winkle replied to one of my emails about the pastel being a male and stated that since the amount of time has lapsed there is nothing he can do. Tony Winkle also told me in the email that he knows the pastel ball python is a female because he sexed her the day he shipped the snake out.

I had David Thomson properly sex the snake and show me the sperm plugs and hemipenis on the snake that was supposed to be an adult female pastel ball python (1500 grams). I wanted to share this with the rest of the people out there in the reptile market so you don't get taken in a deal with Tony Winkle. Beware of Tony Winkle and I would never do business with him again!

- Tracy Taylor
 
I have had the snake in my possesion since 9-26-06 and the reason why is because I didn't sex the snake when it came in, I trusted Tony Winkle and took his word for it. I was cleaning tubs and placed the snake that was supposed to be an adult female pastel ball python and the snake tried hooking ends with another female ball python so I had David Thomson properly sex the snake and it turned out to be a male adult pastel ball python. As for the emails he replied to one email. Here is Tony's reply followed by the original email I sent him.

Tracy,
I know the snake I sold you was a female as I sexed her before she was shipped out. Also if you look at the bottom of your invoice it states "I must be notified within 24 hours of arrival of any problems." The snake has been in your possession for 7 weeks now and you are just now telling me that the one I sold you was a male. I am sorry but with the amount of time that has past there is nothing I can do.............Tony

Tracy Taylor <[email protected]> wrote:
Tony,

I purchased this 05 pastel female (1500 grams) from you on 9-25-06 and it isn't a female. Earlier today I placed it in with another pastel female and it right away tried hooking up with the other pastel female. It isn't a female pastel and it could be a simple mistake on your end, I need to have shipping instructions to send this snake back as soon as possible. I want to handle this in a professional manner, I do have a reliable witness that seen the pastel try to hook up to the other female and it's the same snake you sent me pictures of. Please send me your phone number and address, you can call me as well, if I don't here anything from you in the next 48 hours I will assume that you aren't going to handle this professional then I will have to take it to another level. I'm wanting to work this out as a simple mistake on your end, I'm not the type of person that wants to conflict with you.

Thank you,

Tracy Taylor
518 S. Evergreen
Chanute, KS 66720

(620)212-0337
(620)431-6441

That is the last I've heard from Tony Winkle and I gave him my cell and home phone number and since then he has dropped off the face of the earth. I was willing to ship the snake back to prove it's a male but he won't cooperate at all and like I said he has basically dropped off the face of the earth.

Thanks for the reply,

Tracy Taylor
 
In my opinion when you sell an animal as sexed the guarantee should not expire. It doesn't matter how much time has gone by. A female pastel is worth more than a male so if you sell female for male it's misrepresentation no matter how much time has elapsed. There are people who think the buyer is responsible for sexing the animal upon arrival. In my opinion the seller is the one responsible for sending what he was supposed to.

Regards.
 
Agreed. "Any problems" doesn't necessarily mean incorrect sex. It's not like the snake can suddenly develop a case of "the hemipenes". To me, "notify within 24 hours any problems" means if the snake is sick or injured.

When a person hides behind their terms of service, especially when they have made a mistake, it's pretty obvious that they do not have customer service as a priority. Of course, terms of service are necessary to prevent claims due to poor husbandry, but in this case, the seller inaccurately described the snake. It wasn't the buyer's fault.

Were there photos taken before the animal was shipped to you, to prove that the snake is the same snake? You might want to have the person who sexed the snake come here to confirm in case Tony questions that.

Hopefully Tony makes it right after seeing this thread. You should email him of its existance.
 
I would consider our guarantee on genetics and proper sexing is valid as long as the original purchaser owns the snake.

As stated in a previous post, it's not like the snake took ill under your care and grew hemipenes.

Alex Tanner
 
If Dave Thompson sexed it I would take his word as law. I know Dave thru a mutual friend and met him in persona finally at the new Indy Expo this November where he had a nice set-up. But I also had the same problem just about a month ago I bought a female pastel that turned out to be a male and the guy (Noe Luna) asked if I wanted one of the other female pastels he had, so he sexed them and found out all 3 were in fact males so he refunded my money on the spot even before he recieved the animal and I have no quams about dealing with that guy again. But as stated by others no matter how long ago it was he should replace the animal if it was mis-sexed. Tracey I think you and I both have learned to sex the animal as it comes in. Just my 2 cents.

Damian Macioce :firedevil
 
Wow, it wasn't that long ago either. By the way you said "because of the amount of time that has passed", I somehow thought it was a much longer time frame (like a year or something). Not that it would make it right of him to refuse to right his mistake....but I could have seen it being a bit more believeable that he would have issues with doing so, if that were the case.

I agree that there should be no time limitation on correct sexing of animals, this isn't something that is going to change once the animal has been received, or at any time down the road....as long as you can show that it is indeed the same animal.
 
Sexed Animal is the Sellers responsibility

When you buy a car you purchase all the extras with it. You don't see the demo and get one shipped later without everything you ask. It is a verbal agreement when you purchase a SEXED animal that is what you should receive. I must tell you about a situation that happened to me. Dragon Whispers offered a female dragon I wanted and purchased from Rhea. Well her brother was in the bin with her (hatchlings) and was mistakenly grabbed. Upon delivery I noticed it a male and called immediately. Rhea checked and discovered the mistake. She offered for me to send it back and she would pick up the shipping and send the right one. Well her brother was to pretty to send back and I didn't want to put the animal through the stress of mailing again so I chose to keep it. Rhea then sent me a beautiful hatchling from another clutch (female) and no charge. That is how business should be. Verbal agreement and product delivered as said. Now Rhea nd her husband are well known in the dragon business so I expect good customer relations but this should carry over to other dealers. You were promised something and did not receive it. If you have an invoice that states this I think you can persue legal action. (3000-600 = $2400) That can buy a good lawyer and on top of it bill Mr. Winkle you legal fees. Problem this creates is people will stop using the internet to order and then wel will be back to shows and chain stores to get our animals (We know the qualities of these). Mr. Winkle you need to come out of hiding and ante up. 7 weeks is not long enough to rest your laurels on. Get it right unless you sold the female to someone else and that would be down right deceitful and you don't need to be a business man at all. Unless of course you are a used car salesman in your day job :rofl:
 
I want to thank all of you for the support and advice, I really needed to know what direction to go at this point. I have sent an email to Tony Winkle letting him know I've reported him. Tony did know that I was going to report him from a previous email I sent him which he didn't reply to. I'm going to try to speak with an attorney if Tony doesn't respond by Friday.

Thanks again,

Tracy Taylor
 
It is absolutly the responsibility of the seller to keep track of the sexes of the animals..

You deserve retribution...
 
Tracy, I am sorry to hear that anyone else has to put up with this guys antics. I hate to say it but he will probably crawl back under the rock. I believe a breeder/seller has the responsibility to represent there animals as what they truly are, if a mistake is made (sexing) that should never be blamed on the buyer, you had no part in the popping/probing. Tony come out from under that rock and make this right.
 
I want everyone to know that I have given Tony Winkle several oppurtunities to contact me and make this situation right and he hasn't. I have no other choice but to hire an attorney in Kansas City, Kansas, and file a civil suit against Tony. I'm filing this suit against not only for the value of the investment I put in but also for respect for me and other people who don't need to put up with scammers like Tony.

- Tracy Taylor
 
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