• 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
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    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....

Chris Johnson and Top Shelf Exotics A++++

dmasio

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This goes without being said but I had to at least post something. I just recieved my 2 100% het albino female BP's from Chris and his gang and I am absolutley floored. These females are great looking. I had no problems with Top Shelf they are the way to go. Thanks
Damian Macioce

:firedevil
 
I whole-heartedly agree. I just completed a transaction with Chris and couldn't be happier with the outcome. He was actually the buyer, but he was very helpful with some questions that I had.

A well-deserved reputation.
 
Me Too!

I received my pair of 100% het for albino BP from TSE today also.....beautiful animals, very fat, healthy, and active. The packaging was super....what more can I say, other than I look forward to doing business with TSE again! If everyone sellings herps was this professional, the BOI would be extinct.

Thanks again Chris!! :)
 
I appreciate all of your patience and kind words guys! I know some of you had to wait so very long for your orders due to VERY in climate weather conditions here in New York, and your patience, understanding, and patronage is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
 
I must not be on the prefered customer list.....

I have repeatedly e-mailed Chris regarding snakes hes had for sale and most of the time my e-mails have gone unanswered. Still waiting to hear back from two I sent last week regarding his het pied females. I did complete a transaction with Chris, I received a beautiful het clown female. After waiting about a week for him to return my email I was able to purchase the snake, which I received well packaged and in good health shipped when weather permited. She is actually the most agressive ball I've ever owned and strikes at everything, since I took her out of the box, but I'm not sure I can blame Chris for that. It seems to me like he has more time to nit pick everyone here on the BOI than to actually answer his customers e-mails. But maybe I'm just not on his prefered customers list - anyway his loss I spent my money elsewhere.
 
Thats unfortunate, I know we've been rather slow on emails lately since we've been cranking out pending deliveries but searching through our emails I find absolutely nothing from you recently. Perhaps they got caught in a spam filter or something. I delete the spam & junk folder daily, just for arguments sake send us another email to see if we receive it. I am glad you found what you were looking for elsewhere and apologize your inquiries went unanswered. I am glad to hear your previous purchase arrived healthy and to your liking. I'm sure she has a wonderful feeding response, the majority of our specimens are fed thawed from tongs to ensure a healthy response. I'm not really fond of lazy cage floor feeding specimens :)

Personal preference I guess. Thanks for your imput and send me a PM thru the forum when and if you send the "test" email. Thanks.
 
ToshaMc said:
It seems to me like he has more time to nit pick everyone here on the BOI than to actually answer his customers e-mails. But maybe I'm just not on his prefered customers list - anyway his loss I spent my money elsewhere.

I'd also like to add that your hostility is not needed and misguided. I would have welcomed your business, and I do not consider your purchase elsewhere a loss. Frankly as long as you acquire what you seek I am quite happy for you, no matter the source.

As for your "rude" remarks..... I forgive you. :raspberry
 
I can't help but think there HAS to be a reasonable explanation for Chris not returning your emails....every email I sent was answered in a timely, friendly, and professional matter. He seems like the kind of guy who would have been straightforward and told you if there was a reason he didn't want to sell to you if that were the case. I've never had a smoother deal.....perhaps tosha, you would have been better off inquiring as to if there was a legitimate reason before seeming so hostile. No offense intended, just MHO.
 
Explanation

Over the past three months I have emailed Chris at least a dozen times, inquiring about snakes. He has returned about 4 of my emails (so yes they are getting thru) and his return time runs between 4 and 7 days. IMO bad customer service right there and yes I am allowed to have an opinion and this is the place to post. I was not being hostile just stating the facts. A majority of these were placed during January and February when he was not shipping do to weather and I had received read receipts but no response. There is no "reasonable excuse".

As the self proclaimed BOI Nazi - Chris needs to accept critisism if he is going to dish it out plain and simple. And he needs to take responsibility. Just because you can ridicule people on the BOI does not make you important, it just makes you another nerdy herper with too much time on your hands. Y'all can defend him if you want, but someone with good customer service skills wouldn't have responded to that post the way Chris did.

Thats all I've got to say on the matter.
 
I had received read receipts but no response. There is no "reasonable excuse".

Well I hate to say it, but thats a lie considering ALL of our email clients are set NOT to send such receipts. Even if your emails WERE received you would not have received any such receipt. This is simple fact and cannot be disputed. We receive hundreds of emails daily and can only get to so many in any given time, especially recently with all the attention that has been placed on shipping pending orders. I felt that such receipts without an immediate reply in most cases could possibly cause conflict. When a customer receives such a receipt they usually expect a reply within minutes. You can see where this would cause problems.... And this is why no one who mails ANY address associated with TSE receives read receipts. Sorry.

As the self proclaimed BOI Nazi

Really? Lie number two. Please show me where I called myself the BOI Nazi and I will send you a complimentary cookie. Free of charge. I really do not appreciate the fact that you feel you must lower yourself to this level in order to express disatisfaction. Do you feel lying about simple trivial matters will further some imaginary cause? You did not get a reply to emails you sent and all of a sudden you are acting like a child. I gave you a possible explanation and told you that we did not receive your emails. I'm sorry but I'm not going to admit to fault when there is none to admit too. If I or anyone else here had received your emails and they were not replied to I would be MORE than happy to apologize. You were also told that I am quite happy you received what you were looking for from another source. I do not see how I have done anything to wrong you but if that is the way you feel, so be it. You obviously do not want to listen to fact or any explanation. You sound as if you feel you were not a "priority" to us and that is the furthest from the truth. Had your emails been recieved you can rest assured we would have been more than happy to provide you with what you seeked if available. With all of this said previously you still continue with your attitude ignoring everything I have said and running with your emotions. So be it.

I do suggest you read my previous statements before making matters worse, at this rate I am expecting to see another individual turn into a "Jim Sharphorn"

Hopefully this is not the case.......

Chris needs to accept critisism if he is going to dish it out plain and simple. And he needs to take responsibility.

I welcome critisism, and I do not tolerate lies made to suit a persons frame of mind or current argument. If you are upset you did not get a reply I apologize, but as I stated earlier, no such emails were received. You are also under the sad impression that I am the one who personally reads hundreds of these emails. Again, you are wrong. It is simply impossible. There are four total individuals who read sales emails but I would be more than happy to be your target. The fact remains no such emails were received, and if they had been received you would have gotten a response. Simple as that. We sold to you once, what makes you think we would refuse your business again? Your previous statements regarding me not considering you a priority are absolutely ridiculous! LOL But again, if that is how you feel, so be it.

Until yesturday I have heard nothing about this matter and frankly I'm shocked that you would resort to such hostility over such a simple matter. I guess your reaction shows your true character and your inability to listen to logic. You could have also sent an email to my personal address, [email protected], called, sent a PM thru this or any other forum I frequent, etc. etc.

Unfortunately you did not.

Y'all can defend him if you want, but someone with good customer service skills wouldn't have responded to that post the way Chris did.

Interesting. In my first two replies to your "hijacking" I was under the impression that I had handled this situation as anyone else would. Please show me where my customer service skills are lacking in my previous posts, if you can.

Thats all I've got to say on the matter.

Thanks for the manipulated and emotionaly tainted insight. If you wish to respond again I would suggest keeping an open mind and actually considering the fact that things DO happen. We dealt with you before, there is no reason we would not have welcomed your business again. Try thinking things through before jumping to conclusions or assumptions. I'm very sorry, but you were wrong. I'm very sorry that you feel you have been wronged over something as trivial as a un-returned message. You were given an explanation and it is more than obvious you do not want to hear it. If you change your mind and wish to act as an adult, you know where to find me. Have a great weekend.
 
And I'd also like to note that I am GUILTY AS SIN for not returning many emails in my day, especially recently with how busy we have been and my two weeks out recently due to a back injury. Unfortunately these things happen, especially when you deal with a high volume of inquiries. No one is perfect... And I have no problem admitting to such faults. If you are unable to accept that these things happen you must have a very deep issue understanding humanity. I would be the first to admit things have suffered with how busy we've been when good weather arrived and we began shipping again, unfortunately in this SPECIFIC case I cannot admit guilt no matter how much I would like to. (And trust me, I would if my morals did not interfere. I will not admit guilt to satisfy a customer, that is where I draw the line in customer service. Sue me.)

:)
 
ToshaMc said:
As the self proclaimed BOI Nazi - Chris needs to accept critisism if he is going to dish it out plain and simple.
Puh-leeeeeeeeeze, Tosha. If it was a joke it would have marginal (at best) comedic value. As a flame it's beneath anyone to throw.

Seems to me that your e-mails didn't get through. Chris's company is busy but that's life. That's not a reason to flame him. And this is at best a "he said, she said" so let's call ot a draw.

Did he send you a sick or dead animal? Did he not provide proper support for the animal(s) he already sent you?

I'm in the property management business. I keep my places nice and always have them rented before they are even empty. I might literally get 100 calls after a deposit has been accepted and a lease signed. Do I return every one? No. I can't. When one of my tenants calls with no heat, do they get a quick call back? You bet that they do! And it gets repaired before the sun sets if at all humanly possible. Sometimes priorities need to be set as there are only 24 hours in a day.

If Chris cannot get to all of his e-mails, it is his loss for losing the sale. Before making a public complaint like this, I would suggest that you pick up the phone and try to resove it. The toll free number is on the web site.

Maybe I'm one of the "preferred few" (though I doubt it) but I PM'd Chris about an animal that I wanted a day or so ago. He answered promptly. I PM'd him again and asked for a call. He called both of my numbers within the hour. And this was for an $80 snake. Hardly going to be lunch money after all is said and done.

I did buy the snake and expect it to be shipped Monday. I fully expect to post a "good guy" here on Tuesday.
 
Tosha I will be the first to admit that Chris could have cut the deal he had with me for the simple fact was I was trying to sell the hets I purchased from him before he actually shipped them, which now the way he explained it to me was not good business on my part but hey Im am new to this and realize the folly in that. The reason for that was I was trying to buy a albino retic but I got a killer deal on a male albino BP so I changed my order with Chris from a 100% het male and female and a 50% het female to just a 0.2 pair of 100% het females which he changed and shipped perfectly after the weather permitted him. But like I said before hes a great guy. Thanks again Chris the females are great looking. And people be looking forward to some albino and 100% hets from me in the next few years and also some other things. :firedevil
Damian Macioce
 
Thanks for the kind words Jim, I am certain you will enjoy the new Savu.

As for Tosha, I know alot of you will probably take this opportunity to flame or unload on her.... I would appreciate it if you refrained. She can make all the remarks she likes, the situation is fairly simple and if she wishes to lower herself a level to express her dissatisfaction so be it. I'd rather not see you guys stoop to her level.

I've been fairly open and honest about the situation even though it is quite trivial, if she does not like it.... Tough. We would have loved to keep her as a customer but apparently her attitude and demeanor has changed over a simple matter of flawed correspondence and she is compelled to place blame to satifsy her assumptions. Too bad those assumptions were wrong. In this situation it is indeed her loss, we will never consider selling to this individual again, a week or ten years from now. I can admit to faults, but wont give in to delusional accusation. She must be out of her mind to think we were refusing her business for some reason. We sold to her the first time around and the transaction was flawless, she was an absolute pleasure to deal with. The accusation that we had more "prefered" customers to deal with than her is absolutely ridiculous, if that were the case why would we have dealt with her initially? Things like this I find rather amusing, but I'll leave it at that. I appreciate the support guys, but its not needed.... It's fairly obvious that her motivation and actions are flawed at best. I do hope if she replies she reconsiders her assumptions and thinks logically before making herself look worse though....
 
Really my final word

I wanted to point out that I had no intention of "flaming" Chris simply stating that his e-mail skills were not what the business world be considered good customer service, since that is what the BOI is about. It was turned into a flame by you all and I responded to as such. Chris has admitted he isn't the greatest with emails, which is all I was saying, future customers you may want to call him if you don't get an answer back to your emails. As far as the "self proclaimed Nazi" thing admittedly "proclaimed" wasn't the word I was looking for more like "appointed" - as is more than evident by his posts. I also wanted to state that I did receive read receipts (if I remember correctly 2 from email and one thru a faunas message center) and find it hard to beleive that Chris with all certainty can say they absolutely were not sent when there are 4 other people answering e-mails for his company, how can you be 100% certain you or one of the others did not hit that ok button instead of the no button when it asked to transmit the read reciept. I wasn't making it a big deal and you can flame me all you want, I don't care. I'm not lying. And I'll leave it at that.
 
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