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keene reptiles

george sampson

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Bristol, CT
i bought a tang.honduran milksnake from mrs.keene on 3/1/03 it arrived on 3/4/03 the animal was dead i was instructed by ms.keene to put it in with regular mail for return in order to get refund this was done the same day 3/4/03 an they say it still hasent arrived at the last time we spoke .now i have called an heard ms. keene tell small child to say she she is not home.now for one that is not good bus.plus teaching a child to lie thats real bad but any way mr. keene is now involved he has assured me that i will get my full amount back .but when?i have no control over postal service i have my reciept from when i mailed animal back, i filled out package trace form ,postmaster kinda told me good luck in so many words or less.now my whole purpose of getting snake in first place my 12yr old son an i have started a couple reptile projects .i am not here to bash the keenes but i just want my money back so we can purchase from some else.please can we work this out PLEASE this is not by any means to hurt the keenes (hey that ryhmeslol) thanxs george the snakeless collector
 
i was instructed by ms.keene to put it in with regular mail for return in order to get refund
This is disturbing, if true. Actually, it would be downright sickening if Ms Keene indeed instructed you to commit a crime in order to obtain a refund.
 
well Ken ,.this is true not only am i out of my cash but thanks to ms .keene i have broken the law .(thanx teresa)so what do i do now ?maybe they need my money more than i do!any suggestions,thoughts,and ideas are welcome!!!!!!please anyone HELP.the fact that it is against the LAW would almost explain where the package is.
 
Ken,

Maybe someone can answer this question. I know it is illegal to ship live reptiles through USPS, but does the law specifies it is also illegal to mail a dead honduran snake?

Regards,
 
Interesting question

Daniel, so I called the USPS toll-free customer service line to ask. I was told that it does not specify LIVE, only reptiles. So yes, it is also illegal to ship dead snakes (so I was told).
 
Thanks Melissa. It's good to be aware of those things.

Regards. :)
 
Yep, two items make it non-mailable as per postal regulations. The first is the noxious odor from the decomposing animal. The second is that a decomposing animal matter would be classified as a hazardous material. These are two independent regulations that are applicable.

As an aside, have the Keene's been made aware of this thread? I am of the belief that when someone posts negatively about a person/business, they should give that person/business the courtesy of letting them know that a post has been made/will be made on the BOI.
 
well spoke to mike keene today an i was told i would have my refund by monday noon.so ill just keep my fingers crossed.i would like to thank those who offered help an answers THANK YOU,i must say i did learn a very important lesson though ,this is for all those new hobbyist "reptiles are like lays chips you really cant have just one but always remember that hast makes waste"so when making purchase take your time NEVER settle just to feed the fever......thanx George
 
Dead Snake

Actually he was told to freeze the snake and return it at least thats what I was told and he elected to mail it back. He also was abusive to the Keenes kids on the phone.All kinds of yahoos out there so anyone doing business with this gentleman should be careful--Jim Bond
 
lets set the record straight before we start the he say she say,yes i was told to freeze the dead snake ,which was done on 3/4/03 the out side temp in CT.was in mid 20s which is to my understanding below freezing which, is 32 in case you didnt know!so dead animal was place on window sill of exterior porch where window is open at all times for catsso it is the same temp as outside .as far as the child goes what i said was"kid i could hear her telling you to say she is not home may i please speak to her"now if that is hostle how should i have said it ?as far as you calling me a yahoo ireally dont think that is an adult statement or maybe your a cyber gangster ,whatever the case my fellow herper always remember there are two sides to every story!
 
Quite frankly, I would like to read the Keene's side of this transaction and recolection of events rather than to hear a "at least thats what I was told" from someone who is obviously not a memeber of the Keene household. As George states "there are two sides to every story!"
So before we turn the BOI into a place for name calling can we get all the facts?

Lastly, since all I ever read in here is how not to ship animals (snakes inparticular) what is the proper way to ship them? From what I have found in my own limited research USPS, UPS, FedEx, nor Airborne will accept them for shipment. If there is another shipper out there that I missed that will legally ship a snake, which by all the snake sales that go on there must be one, please share that information with us rather than just tell us "that method of shipment is against the law."

Uriah Walker
 
Keene's

LOL--I am not a member of their household only a customer. I purchase all my mice /rats and an occasional snake from them and see them weekly. Their computer is fried and I dont think they know yet this has been posted --going to pick up mice and Rats today so they will when I get down there. Jim Bond
 
well it is a done deal iwas robbed by teresa keene.Her husband mike said he would handle everything not to worry i would get a check in the mail an ask me to post new mess.on BOI saying i am sorry (for what getting robbed by you NEVER!!)this was a week ago no money yet ,i tried to call tonight but was hung up on .i dont get it, how can you be more upset than i am ?iam the one who was robbed.as far as keene reptiles go you people are in the wrong profesion give it up .so i guess you needed the money more than i needed a live animal but you dont worry momma always says "what happens in the dark will come to light"so go ahead keep the money you can buy a book on how to run a business.... KEENE REPTILES,STAY AWAY FROM THEM DANGER DANGER ,oh 007 since your so good at giving news make sure the keenes get this!!!!! before making your next purchase at keenes reptiles just hope you get a live animal ,an there is a chance your payment could be a donation . george sampson
 
I also had a bad experience with Teresa Keene. I never recieved any type of refund for my shipping costs when the Keenes sent me a sick snake that I returned. To see my full explanation go to the General Business Discussion Forum under the post "Shipping Refund, Am I right or wrong?" dated 04/01/03. I wanted to get some feed back before I named the party involved. I won't do business with them again.
Tom Marello
 
Refund and USPS

Communication is always the key when two people are doing business. If the Keene's could not do a refund right away, then they should simply pick up the phone and disscuss when they could do so. Do not avoid calls. However, we would require proof as well. I would not ask anyone to return a dead animal for any reason. A pic with dorsal, ventral and lateral views would give all the info you need. There are a lot of scammer's out there! Therefore this would be a reasonable request. I had a customer recieve a shipment that was mishandled by Airborne. One of the specimens was dead. I requested pics of the box, specimen and all labels. This was so we could file against the carrier for their error and confirm the loss as well. NEVER ship snakes through the United States Postal Service. It IS against the law. Dead or alive. Some offices will accept them, only because they are not aware of the regulation or know the shipper. Still I would not adivse to do so. You CAN ship turtles, lizards and frogs. They must be clearly marked. My other concern is that the specimen was dead....odor, bacteria etc. !! Every time there is an incident involving herps in shipping, it give those in power more ammunition to limit or outright close that option. Not good business practice. Well, that's just an opinion. Thanks , Ray Goushaw Herpetological Breeding Research
 
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