High End Herps (Inquiry)

[fuscusking13]

Bobby..

Was that last question in your post for me?? If so I do not know who is in the picture. To be honest I have only been in the online herp world for a little over 18 months, and fauna since March of 06, so I really dont even know the whole Damon story at all or who he was. Apparently he has some enemies, that much I can tell, lol. The new bigger pic is too blury to be of help in my opinion. Anyway back to work.....Dan M.

 

[varnyard]

There are some things that I find a little disturbing about HEH, they haven't answered the questions asked of them, David may, or may not be someone else, not sure if I even care about that. We all have baggage.

I noticed a number of members voting negatively on HEH's Fauna Good Guy Certificate. To me that spot is reserved for members who have done business with an individual, or if the individual had done something so egregious that you don't want Fauna's stamp of approval on them(as in the case of TSE). HEH isn't there yet, IMO. In fact I've only seen good comments from the ones that have actually done business.

I diagree, your trader rating is for people that has done business with you. This can be seen on every post.

The GGC is more for what people think about how you run your show. JMHO.

 

[varnyard]

Was that last question in your post for me?? If so I do not know who is in the picture. To be honest I have only been in the online herp world for a little over 18 months, and fauna since March of 06, so I really dont even know the whole Damon story at all or who he was. Apparently he has some enemies, that much I can tell, lol. The new bigger pic is too blury to be of help in my opinion. Anyway back to work.....Dan M.

Well sure, but you are trying to tell us that by that picture that you do not have a clue who it is? All I can say, if it was me or someone I know, I could tell.

Also, IMO you seem real fast to answer the questions posted for David. Why?

 

[Donnie Smith]

I do not have a dog in this fight. I am attempting to stay neutral in this one.

The way I see it:

David and Tawni appear to feel that they don’t HAVE to answer any questions as, in their opinion, the accusations have no merit. I can fully understand how they feel. It’s never a good day when your business practices are called into question. If you feel that you are being unfairly singled out, oftentimes, it is advantageous to simply not respond to any accusations or questions. I can absolutely see how this would infuriate an honest business person and make them wish NOT to provide any answers to any of the questions being raised.

Even so, the party in question has expressed interest in protecting their good name. They have repeatedly posted that this is “hogwash” and other descriptive terms as well. If it were me in their situation, I would want to do everything within my power to prove the naysayers wrong. I am proud that my small business is relatively untarnished and I would like to keep it above suspicion. If someone were to say that I were a well known “Bad Guy” and not who I say I am, I would go out of my way to prove otherwise.

David and Tawni, this website was not put up to drag good people down. It was created to expose the bad people to the rest of the community and protect Us from Them. You can see why it is a concerning thing for one person to hide behind an assumed identity. In the past, you have even been involved in helping to expose someone who may have been posting under a false identity (see http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=426731#post426731 for details). I feel that it is in your best interest to stop evading these questions and answer some of them… Starting with Ritchie’s. Otherwise, people are going to start making assumptions based on the information given. Currently, the way I see it: the “against HEH side” has amassed a fair amount of circumstantial evidence linking you to a shady character. You have rebutted by stating that you really are a nice guy. Unfortunately that places your word against their evidence.

Please reconsider your statement that you are “done with this nonsense”. I don’t think it’s nonsense… I think that this board exposes many bad guys. Right now, public opinion is leaning toward you being one of them. Maybe it’s time to make an attempt to reverse this.

 

[Wilomn]

There are some things that I find a little disturbing about HEH, they haven't answered the questions asked of them, David may, or may not be someone else, not sure if I even care about that. We all have baggage.

I noticed a number of members voting negatively on HEH's Fauna Good Guy Certificate. To me that spot is reserved for members who have done business with an individual, or if the individual had done something so egregious that you don't want Fauna's stamp of approval on them(as in the case of TSE). HEH isn't there yet, IMO. In fact I've only seen good comments from the ones that have actually done business.

Some of us are sure that this guy IS damon henyen. Do a search on brian smith too, another of his aliases. You may change your mind if you too decide it's the same person.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Kevin,
I am going to have to lean with you regarding the GGC. In my book, the "C" stands for Certification, and I can't certify based on a hunch, etc. This has come up before regarding the outing of dubious folks who had an otherwise GGC, where some seem to have voted just for lack of any bad dealings, without regard for lack of any good ones too. I would suggest to all that a "GGC" is a specific award, which as HEH has done, can then be posted as a medallion on a website. I am not a fan of the process, have only voted 2-3 times where I had specific dealings and additional knowledge, and I see it as more than a trader rating, not less. To each his own though.

I am no fan of any alias, running from the law, etc. If David is Damon, I have no trouble with it being a concern to others, and I would not do business with someone in hiding regardless, if I knew it to be so. There is also a certain amount of hypocrisy in anyone with an alias belittling anyone else, and I would find it unwise for any such entity to be active in any forum. I believe that I have read the entire thread, and if someone could put a link to any scamming etc activities (not the legal issues), or a post number indicating where David or Damon etc has ripped someone off, I would appreciate the effort.

 

[Griz]

There are some things that I find a little disturbing about HEH, they haven't answered the questions asked of them, David may, or may not be someone else, not sure if I even care about that. We all have baggage.

I noticed a number of members voting negatively on HEH's Fauna Good Guy Certificate. To me that spot is reserved for members who have done business with an individual, or if the individual had done something so egregious that you don't want Fauna's stamp of approval on them(as in the case of TSE). HEH isn't there yet, IMO. In fact I've only seen good comments from the ones that have actually done business.

Kevin, the polls are left up to individual interpretation. There are no clear cut rules on who can vote and why. Let me quote Rich here

Well, this is where this section comes in. This is a proactive method for people to know the good guys to deal with by them having a certification medallion displayed on their website that indicates them being in good standing with the members of this site in relation to how they do business.

The certificate indicates that the user is in good standing with the members of this site. CLEARLY, HEH is not in good standing with multiple members of this site due numerous unresolved/unanswered questions. If David would resolve these issues then I will happily remove my vote assuming the resolution proves him to deserve such.

Griz

 

[Griz]

I am no fan of any alias, running from the law, etc. If David is Damon, I have no trouble with it being a concern to others, and I would not do business with someone in hiding regardless, if I knew it to be so. There is also a certain amount of hypocrisy in anyone with an alias belittling anyone else, and I would find it unwise for any such entity to be active in any forum. I believe that I have read the entire thread, and if someone could put a link to any scamming etc activities (not the legal issues), or a post number indicating where David or Damon etc has ripped someone off, I would appreciate the effort.

Jim, there are quite a few threads on Fauna regarding him. Do a google search on this name and they will pop up. He also went by the user name of damon j heynen. Here is but one thread ----> Damon

Griz

 

[fuscusking13]

Well sure, but you are trying to tell us that by that picture that you do not have a clue who it is? All I can say, if it was me or someone I know, I could tell.

I honestly cant tell from the photo, I gave my opinion based on what I can see and that is that they are not the same person, however as stated before I could be wrong. I met the guy once in my life for a couple hours and that is it.

Also, IMO you seem real fast to answer the questions posted for David. Why?

I am not sure what you mean here, I was confused at who the last question was directed at, and answered it either way to save my time and yours. As for the colony thing, I was just trying to help answer one of several unanswered question because truthfully I get sick of seeing the same questions repeated over and over, so I figured one less repeat I have to look at would be nice, and I happened to know the answer. I guess I should try to be less helpful in the future??? Anyway have boats to insure and loans to process, I will check back in after lunch, as soon as I actually have time to heat it up lol. Take care, Dan M.

 

[HerpVenue]

You are right.
small world.

Website is registered in Cali
Damon is from Cali

Damon was last seen going to the south.
you are in the south.

damon pretends to have a big business
you pretend to have a big business.

damon is interested mainly in burms retics and their crosses. (but keeps other snakes)
you are interested in the same.

damon does not answer questions.
you do not answer questions.

damon doctors his pictures
you doctor your pictures

damon builds his enclosures
you build your enclosures

damon offers 4 month guarantee
you offer four month guarantee

damon offers lifetime exchange
you offer lifetime exchange

damon want the little people to afford "high end" stuff
you want the same.

damon had an open colony but claimed to have a closed one
you also have an open colony but claimed to have a closed one

damon always cried that anyone can come here and make accusations on anyone else without needing proof
You had a "friend" tell you the exact same thing and then you proceeded to cry about it like damon does
freind = your alter ego named damon

Damon disappeared
You appeared a couple months later

He hates Bob & Mike
You hate Bob and Mike

he only has one or two customers vouch for him
you only have one or two customers who vouch for you.

damon built his own facility
you guilt your own facility

damon claimed that reptiles was his sole source of income.
you claim that reptiles is your sole source of income

The list above is getting longer

Now to a different topic.

Recent quote All I know for sure is he is definately in Louisiana, and has an established facility there, and lots and lots of snakes. The quick tour I took was at least an hour in just one of his facilities, so he definately has a good sized collection. Take care everyone, Dan M.

past quote I met David at one of his quarentine facilities and was very impressed. He builds his own custom cages and everything was well cared for. No distgusting cages, and everything was well cared for and very tame. There was only one snake I saw that even had a bad attitude. This is one of several of his facilities and there were many snakes there, in the 100's. He also had another facility on the property for the breeding of food animals, which was kept up very well as well as the snakes.

So you only took a tour in ONE of his facilities.
What made you think he had SEVERAL?
Did he drive around pointing to buildings on the street and saying they were his?

 

[Chameleon Company]

Thanks Bob,
I read about 100 posts. Seems Damon made many enemies out West, with possible implication in a theft of Prehistoric Pets. Also may have unloaded a lot of sick snakes. Had a huge ego and loud mouth in many forums, and was prone to seriously threatening a lot of people on-line. While I already had a negative opinion due to the hots and running from the law, it would seem that Damon is an easy person to recommend that others avoid. There may be more, but I read enough. If this is the "new you", seems he could go back and make amends, and to not do it would be to continue in his bad ways. Like they say:

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

He's thin on the former, and has quite a collection of the latter.

 

[Griz]

Jim, there are quite a few threads on Fauna regarding him. Do a google search on this name and they will pop up. He also went by the user name of damon j heynen. Here is but one thread ----> Damon

Griz

Sorry, his user ID name is Josh Burm Guy.

Griz

 

[HerpVenue]

Kevin,
I believe that I have read the entire thread, and if someone could put a link to any scamming etc activities (not the legal issues), or a post number indicating where David or Damon etc has ripped someone off, I would appreciate the effort.

well it really depends.
What is your definition of scammin?

Lying, posting doctored pics, telling stories of how big he is, lying about how his whole collection became diceased (resulting in his "closed" collection), hiding his true identity because the big breeders are just oh so scared of him, threatening others.

My sincere thought is, if you were lying in your posting and such about everything...... how sure are we that you were not lying to your customers.

Sure the customers received snakes. Were they really the snakes they thought they were?

I wonder what happened to Damon. Why won't he come to post? I know he still has snakes.
Oh yeah, I forgot damon was really here. Hi Damon / David / Brian / Josh.
Wonder what your next identity will be.


My other sincere thought if this guy truly is damon. I could not blame him for wanting his identity hidden. It would have been allright if that was all he did. Unfortunately he is back to telling stories and posting doctored pics. Therefore it tells me he has not changed.

 

[fuscusking13]

So you only took a tour in ONE of his facilities.
What made you think he had SEVERAL?
Did he drive around pointing to buildings on the street and saying they were his?

Well here is why I only saw one facility. I left Connecticut on Thanksgiving night at 11pm from Essex. I had to be back to work no later than 8am Tuesday morning. The night I left there was very heavy rain and the going was very slow. I got as far as PA and pulled into to a rest stop to sleep. I left the car on all night and sweated my you know what off, but the snakes were happy. I had to first go do a trade with someone in Missouri and the best day for Dave and I to meet was Sunday morning at 10am. I truthfully fell a little behind schedule and got to Dave's place about 10:50 or so, so that cut into my time right there. Then we took out each snake so he could inspect them. Then he told me he would buy lunch so we ran down the street and had lunch. After that he gave me a tour from about 1pmish till sometime after 2-3pm. Then we talked a little more, and gave him some info on all the snakes, ie what they were eating, how often and who put up with what. I promised to send him all their names, and feed records thru email as soon as I got back, which I did. So point being I did not have enough time to go thru the others and get back up here for work. I drove like 3600 miles in less than 4 days, so I was tired too and needed to catch up on some sleep so that I didnt make any mistakes at work. In my business a sharp and clear mind is very important. Hope that answers your question, Dan M.

 

[HerpVenue]

my point was, you don't really know if he had SEVERAL buildings.

anyway look who went and hid their information

Domains by Proxy Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd. Ste 160 PMB 353
Scottsdale Arizona 85260
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com Inc. http://www.godaddy.com
Domain Name: HIGHENDHERPS.COM
Created on: 11-May-05
Expires on: 11-May-07
Last Updated on: 27-Apr-06
Administrative Contact:
Private Registration [email protected]
it is okay, we already got it before they were able to hide it.

It is either David knowing more than he said he did.
Or it was Damon covering his tracks.
or the registrants did not want their names associated with all this mud.
LOL.......too late to hide it.

 

[fuscusking13]

To better answer..

I dont know for sure, but based on the fact that he has been nothing but honest with me thus far I must take his word for it. It wasnt like he said I can only see that facility or something, I just truly did not have the time. Until otherwise is proven I believe he does, since he has never lied to me to my knowledge.

Unrelated topic...(not real computer saavy) how do you get a pic in your profile it always says mine are too many pixels, but they were resized and are very small, anyone know what I need to do? Thanks, Dan M.

 

[Griz]

Daniel, you drove 3600 miles to deliver your animals? Instead of spending a few hundred to ship them you spend close to $1300 to deliver them? It's not that I don't believe you but there seems to have been better options as your disposal that would not have cost you so much. That's a lot of money to waste.

Griz

 

[KelliH]

with regards to the GGC...

Originally Posted by Webslave

Well, this is where this section comes in. This is a proactive method for people to know the good guys to deal with by them having a certification medallion displayed on their website that indicates them being in good standing with the members of this site in relation to how they do business.

Kevin, I agree with you and Jim that votes should be based on the way a person conducts business, and not based on personal feelings or hunches. That is why I gave up my certification, because two members gave me negative votes based on their personal feelings about me, even though they have never done business with me and they know that I am a good businesswoman.

But no system is perfect and we can't expect Rich to go around policing the votes all the time, that would be ridiculous. It's too bad there is not some way around the unfair votes, but such is life.

Now, right now, would I deal with High End Herps? No way! Too many unanswered questions and coincidences going on with them. I am not, however, going to run and go give them a negative vote on their certification. I guess I just take it a little more seriously than that, you know, just because I have a suspicion that someone is not a real great guy (which I always have had that suspicion about HEH), is not enough for me to cast a negative vote.

 

[HerpVenue]

well I have not lied to you.

Therefore I would like to say.
I own Ralph davis Reptiles
I own VPI
I own Bob Clark and Mike.
I also own boaphile
They are just running my business for me.

If you belive that, please send me $1000.95 and your entire collection.
I too promise to keep them forever...

I will take them in and put them as part of my "closed" collection. together with all the trade ins I have receive and everything I import.

just being sarcastic to prove a point

 

[fuscusking13]

Griz...

It actually with gas, food, oil change, and two hotel stays only cost about 700, and for the piece of mind of knowing that they all arrived safely, happy, and the fact that I knew they were going to be cared for I would pay it 100 times over. Believe me, I lost thousands on my collection, but they were like children to me and still are. I sacrificed a lot for them in the past including poor living situations for myself, not eating a few days here and there to scrape the money together to feed them, I even rented a room in a house and gave it to them and slept in my car everynight, even in winter, and I would do it again if neccesary. WHen you take the responsibility of another life you must provide for it by any means neccesary, because that animal, person whatever did not choose you, you chose it. I take that kind of stuff very seriously. I just came to a point financially where I went to feeding every week to almost monthly because I could not afford it. I also became pretty depressed and wasnt checking cages everyday after I lost my female albino burm(the first snake I ever held, and the one that got me over my fear years ago) so I felt it was better for them to get rid of them and get my life on track. Here is why I cant support all those animals: I have -79 dollars in my checking, no savings, an empty tank of gas(more like an 1/8, but in a 10 gallon tank thats not much, and $20 in my pocket to last me till friday. I am not fit to take care of animals right now. Fortunately the 2 balls I have left are both cycling on their own, my burm and my other snake are getting rats from a friend who breeds them so at least they are being cared for, as he is watching them for me while I get it together. I wish I could say I have a drug problem or have even ever done them, I just manage money poorly, and have some less than desired drinking habits I am working on. I have learned my lesson and that is why in part of the deal with David I get babies next year or the year after, whenever my guys breed, and by then I will be on my feet. I have a good job now, stable housing, and a car so I cant wait to get back in to the business of the animals I love so much. To me money is so unimportant and the care of my animals was. Hopefully you understand why I drove them(it may have been crazy to some, but it was the only way for me) instead of shipping them thru some shipper who could give a **** about reptiles on some cold plane, and having no idea what David was like and how his facility was run. Dan M.