Info Mike @ Outback Reptiles

[nickolasanastasiou]

These recent post are the reason I feel the BOI might have lost its usefulness and will most likely go the way of the dodo bird at this point. I for one love this site and became a contributing member once I heard it was in trouble because the BOI has been a great tool in the past. Unfortunately it seems people can't have different opinions on here anymore without someone questioning their motives. I have done business with Outback reptiles in the past (Ian mostly) and have never had any issues.

My perspective is that the goings-on within the BOI enable people to feel more informed when making a decision. By that standard, I feel nothing has diminished regarding its usefulness (for the way I view and use it). It is infrequent for me to stick a whole person into an entirely bad or entirely good bucket.

 

[Lucille]

It is infrequent for me to stick a whole person into an entirely bad or entirely good bucket.

I LOVE that perspective and it is so good to be reminded that it is true. I think Mike lets his butt show sometimes, the rest of him is probably in the good bucket. But you know, walking into a room or a thread, if the first thing one sees is his ***, that can really kill a sale. He was apparently banned from another group and it sounds like he poked his butt out of the bucket there too.

I hope that he sees that almost everyone agrees that he has plenty filling the good bucket, but takes to heart that he is the only one that can control the side of him we don't want to see.

 

[Lucille]

I agree Mike's posts were WAY out of line and totally unprofessional, however it should only reflect on him as a lame, unprofessional representative and NOT the company.

That is not reality, anywhere. Companies in the U.S. and all over the world vet their reps carefully, because (as the word representative might hint at) the person does represent the company.
All sorts of behaviors have come back to bite companies whose reps had a hand in various indiscretions.
And the first thing the company usually does is to issue a statement of apology so that any silence is not seen as tacitly accepting the offensive behavior.

 

[Lucille]

mike wasn't going to be a contributor

Payments for classified sites would be in my opinion a deductible expense. But seeing as how Mike was a company rep that sort of expense would normally be paid by his company anyway, and then the company would deduct it as a business expense.
If Mike wanted to be here, most likely it would not cost him anything, his company would take care of the expense.

BTW, although lots of people own reptiles as pets, those who buy and sell even on a relatively small scale can certainly learn about and take fully legal deductions for various expenses associated with their businesses.
Ask your accountant but I would expect memberships here could be a qualified deductible business expense if your business had anything to do with reptiles.

 

[JimM]

it would not cost him anything, his company would take care of the expense.

LOL, I don't see it costing anybody anything as it is ..... it's TWO F***** dollors a month ! This is about as close to 'free' as you're going to get with anything ... WTF