Reptster.com experience with show sponsorship not good

[Southern Wolf]

Sorry to hear that, BT. It really goes to the main point of each of the individuals, businesses and shows that have come forward. No follow-through with his word.

And because of this type of actions I have to make this specualtion... Since he want address any questions, or when he does it comes in the forms of bogus emails.

It would not surprise me that he saw some UPS guys at a show... started talking them up with that silver tounge of his..... got a tid bit of info from them and ran with it.... and is now trying to take credit for everything. He WAS seen as a good guy with the FedX deal and the shipping program... he screwed that up... now he wants to be seen as the good guy with UPS.

That fact that Robyn@PE stated this was a pilot program and they were the charter member leads me to believe that this has taken several months of hard work and working side by side with UPS.

So how exactly is RIPster putting in this same kind of time... when all he can do is go to shows, put fake tattoos on babies, fix portal problems, fix FedX problems, duck the phone and emails. And wouldnt working with UPS on a program also entail shipping animals? How is he shipping animals when everything was done thru the FEDX PORTAL?

Sorry.... but at this point... his word means nothing to me. Id take the word of my little niece before Id take his... at least she tells it like it is... she says Im fat and gray.

IF PE states that they are the ones working with UPS... them Im gonna have to believe that... until Im proven wrong.

 

[MohrSnakes]

But personally, even if UPS does now authorize the shipping of snakes through them, I would not choose them over FedEx. UPS kicked me below the belt a while back and I'm not likely to forgive nor forget that anytime soon.

Sounds like another BOI thread needs to be started......

 

[GottaLuvHerps]

Yep - It's in the achieves...Just curious though - Why would you be surprised to see our support for Reptster end after this mess? It's quite obvious that things didn't add up with David's story to say the least...When Reptster first came out with the whole FedEx shipping program we thought the concept was a great tool for the industry...You know - For the shippers who weren't verified that had to fib about what they were shipping...Add on the free boxes and 20% discount - We thought it was great so we promoted it...I used the program myself to ship out around 20 animals and I never had a problem with FedEx - My packages were never late or lost - No problems whatsoever...After this whole mess came to light it wasn't hard to figure out that continuing to promote Reptster was not the right thing to do...I said on the show that I could not, with a clear conscience support Reptster if this is how David handles business...We still hold that stance...As a matter of fact it's looking like we're going to take it on the chin from ol Dave too...Long story short - We had a Reptile Radio table at Daytona...I had to leave by noon on Sunday to drive home...Larry left later Sunday afternoon to catch his flight home...We wanted to leave our banner up all day Sunday so David said he would ship our banner and banner stand to us...Guess what? Still haven't got our banner and stand...So we're out around $500 - I guess that's the punishment we get from Reptster for doing the right thing and ending our support...To be honest - I haven't keep up with this thread after the first 150 pages and hadn't even really looked at the thread on the BLBC - I figured it was the same old thing as over on the BOI...People that know us - Really know us - Know we don't and won't support bad business - Not on the show - Not on the forums - Not anywhere...So no - Our stance has not changed about Reptster...If anything it's gotten worse - Hell we can't even get the guy to answer his phone to see what's the deal with our banner and stand...I added my 2 cents on the thread over at the BLBC after I read this thread tonight - Feel free to add yours too...The biggest shock to me was Robin's post about PE's UPS pilot program...I believe Robin said he wasn't aware of another company working with UPS...Huh - Imagine that...

Almost forgot - (Sorry Rich) The BLBC is not only about BP's...I do Jungle Carpets, Woma Pythons, Borneo's, Hog Island Boas, Corn Island Boas, Sabogae Boas and Panamanian Boas...Even Crested Geckos - So I'm a lizard person too... Larry's even hooked on the Leos...LOL...The BLBC is about reptiles from Leos to Corn to BP's to Boas and everything in between...Good luck and if your show ever needs a little free promotion - Drop us a line - We'd love to do what we could to help you out thru Reptile Radio...

I wanted to check with Rich first before responding to BT's questions to make sure it was considered on topic, so this is my response. I basically copied and pasted what I posted on BLBC.

When I posted that question, I guess I realized after BT's response that it did seem that I was saying that Reptiles Radio/Larry/BT were changing their stance on Reptster. That is NOT what I was trying to get at, but my thoughts were just not making themselves clear that morning. I guess I was curious as to why they had both been quiet on THEIR site about it, and questioned IF their stance had changed. Obviously, it has not, and I am now aware of that.
My main reason for wondering was simply because it was such a shock to Matthew and I that someone as respected in the industry as Reptiles Radio/Larry/BT would go public with their feelings on the show, then keep quiet on the forums. As I said to BT in a PM, the reason for my shock about their stance was simply that we NEVER expected the support from the community that we received. Reptiles Radio is a big thing, so it was a big thing for them to say what they said. I guess, even though it is proven time and time again on the forums, although the "little guy" and the "nobody's" get as much support in their issues as the well-known big guys, when YOU are the little guy going up against someone with a good reputation, you get scared about what support might come your way, or if you should have just kept your mouth shut and faded into the background with something so simple as a reneged agreement like we had happen to us and our show. I told BT, I sat for an hour after that show ended (which meant until 3am EST) freaking out that it was even brought up, and that it was now much bigger than we ever expected, and that the support from the community just went well beyond what we ever dreamed of. That was proven to us time and time again in the BOI thread as well, and in many other ways over time. I mean, if you look at it clearly, Matthew and I came out of nowhere, announced we were starting this show, and THEN we came out of nowhere for the majority of the community and announced what happened. No one really knew us, no one had any clue who we were, and everyone (well, most everyone) really showed us personally what this community is all about.

 

[homegrownherps]

Incase anyone is interested, heres a screen shot of a rotating banner on K-snake.

 

[Southern Wolf]

I have been chatting with Roybn@PE in PM over at the BLBC. I did ask him If I could post some of the info and he gave me the go ahead to post this. Since it was in Private Message and not open forums I was not gonna post anything without permission.

Rich Z is sort of right about UPS shipping snakes, they have pretended not to see it for many years, but it is against their shipping charter, and they could pull any account for shipping snakes at any time, it has happened. What the pilot program is doing is working to establish it as a part of their official charter, to officially acknowledge the business, and to make sure shippers are doing it safely and legitimately. It is indeed a very big deal for the hobby and industry, and it is great to be able to get to that point.

Pro Exotics is in the UPS non venomous live snake shipping pilot program, we are currently shipping non venomous snakes with the full cooperation and blessing of UPS, and we expect the pilot program to run its course by the end of the year. The purpose of the program is not to specifically benefit PE, but to explore the possibilities of opening up non venomous snake shipping to UPS qualified businesses and breeders in the reptile industry.

This pilot program was supposed to be kept under wraps until we were much further along in the process, but we felt we needed to clarify the nature and origin of the program after recent posts by Reptster claiming participation and credit for a program that we do not believe them to be involved in, at all.

Ask David at Reptster to clarify their participation in the pilot program, the significance of Nov 17, or the wrap up date of the program. He doesn't seem to actually post much, and his mods seem frustrated and under-informed, it is unfortunate to see them catch so much public heat for something they don't have any control over.

There are more details to the UPS pilot program, and we can make those available as they become relevant. The snake shipping volume in this hobby is significant, it is great to see UPS positioning to be able to serve that market, we are doing our best to facilitate it!

Robyn@PE

My guess is the only way that we have found out about what is really going on with UPS and snakes is because RIPster got wind of the deal between PE and UPS... and is trying to take credit for it since it was so hush hush and noone really knew.

Once he started spreading the rumors it got back around to PE and/or UPS (which Im sure didnt make either happy) and they finally decided to make some of the details known to try and set the record stright. Im sure there is alot of details that we will never know until the deal is done and over with.... .but if it helps out the reptile community... then I can wait for all the details.

 

[GottaLuvHerps]

Well, after claims of the UPS shipping being up and running by Mon-Wed at the latest this week, I decided to check since it is Thursday afternoon. Take a wild guess at what I found...

Nothing.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

But personally, even if UPS does now authorize the shipping of snakes through them, I would not choose them over FedEx. UPS kicked me below the belt a while back and I'm not likely to forgive nor forget that anytime soon.

FedEx took the risk with us first~ now UPS sees a profit Fedex is making and they want a peice of the pie. Well~ then they should have been the one to stand up and take the risk.

 

[pfan151]

I don't know whose fault this whole fedex thing is. I would just like to be able to get my money back for the two shippments that I printed labels out for on the morning that the fedex account was apparently deleted. I went to fedex later that day to drop them off and the packages were refused. One shipment cost me $45.99 and the other was $48.49. Luckily, I have my own reptile approved account through fedex and was able to get my packages to my customers but it does kind of suck to pay to ship the same packages twice. Since then my calls have gone unanswered, and the voice mail is apparently full.

 

[xanaxez]

they went unanswered because david has turned out to be another dead beat scum back crook. he's full of lies and full of crap. i will never use his service no matter who he gets to allow him to ship again.

 

[xanaxez]

BAG*******

 

[Dennis Hultman]

Big Scumbag! He is leaving his mods and admin to hang right now without even a courtesy post to his customers. Same thing from the very first post in this thread.

NO COMMUNICATION! Bad business practices all around.

I've spent all morning replying and emailing shippers that were expecting to ship Monday, Tuesday, today and today is the cut off day for many that do not want to ship Thursday and still nothing!! I was hoping to at least open up Reptster this morning to find Reptster/UPS live or at least some update, anything to pass on to the users!....I'm embarrassed and frustrated and I'm giving up! I text David this morning that UPS at least be up and running within 4hr, this was at 8:00AM. This would have at least allowed shippers enough time to prep their packages and dropped them off or pick up at UPS to be delivered tomorrow.

As I posted earlier in this thread and many times over; I'm out of apologies and won't make any more excuses. If you have another way to ship your animals do not wait any longer and ship them here. UPS ships Bearded Dragons and Geckos direct, you won't save what you may have been expecting, but at least you will get your shipments made and animals delivered to your customers. I'm sorry, but this is not right!

Just like you sir we have many others that are waiting to ship and I honestly don't have a single thing else to tell any of you. Other than what David has told us over the weekend, on Monday, on Tuesday and here we are Wednesday and no Reptster/UPS. It may be up and running by the time I post this up, but I would've preferred to have communicated out to the community that Reptster/UPS will go live next week and have it roll out early Vs stating we go live this week, having shippers hold packages, have users concerned, frustrated, and not meet a timeline.

I'm sorry, but I am not going to provide any more information on anything related to Reptster shipping, this will need to come from David and everyone will need to contact David for this. If he does not answer, replies or responds to you, keep calling/emailing/waiting, or not and take your business elsewhere. I feel as if I personally am letting down a lot of people, as so do other admins/mods here, it's frustrating and I'm done trying, apologizing and making excuses!

I've tried my best to play somewhat of a role of liaison between David/Reptster and our members and get users what they need ASAP, but this just isn't working out. This is not a shot at David and like I wrote above Reptster/UPS might be up by the time I post this, but I personally don't like to communicate information with people depending on it, when I myself can't depend on the information being passed!

No more apologies; at least I should not be the one here appoligizing to you all.

Marcia, none of this should be necessary! Reptster provided a great service, saved people money and worked flawlessly 99.5% of the time for it's users! Reptster worked great for it's users with FedEx and I'm sure will work even better with UPS, but IMHO David needs to communicate with HIS customers much better, and even internally with those who are trying their best to help him and Reptster succeed!

Whether it's FedEx or UPS, Reptster MUST be accountable to it's users! David might be spending 24/7 dealing with UPS and Programmers and Techs and VP's, but he needs to take some time to communicate to HIS customers/members/users and community!

If this problem with FedEx hurt Reptster, David has to understand that it also hurt Reptster's customers and their customers! If there are delays with UPS affecting Reptster/UPS portal start up. Whether it's on Reptster or UPS, David has to understand those delays also impact Reptster's customers and their customers!

David is a very sharp guy and I truly believe he knows all this, God knows I have tried my best to get this across and help him as much as possible! I just feel his biggest mistake is not giving HIS customers the information, attention and the understanding they deserve during these times!

By far the vast majority of Reptster users/shippers would understand the problems David is dealing with, the downtime, the delays, the frustrations, the negotiations, etc, etc. Most from what I have gathered appreciate Reptster when all is said and done, as you have seen a few here. What no one understands and none appreciate; is the lack of communication, lack of information, lack of follow through or anything going toward them from David! I've told David this in private since the FedEx shut down; and I'm just passed disappointed at this time! I'm tired of reading stories like the above with breeders/shippers being let down and left in the dark!

Sorry to hear that; I'm still getting email after email reading the same thing from many users waiting since Monday. I'm sorry I can't help, but all any of us can do with regards to Reptster/UPS is wait on David. My advise after Wednesday afternoon to everyone has been "If you can ship your animals some other way, do it and don't delay your shipments waiting on Reptster!". I know it's costing you more $$ and for some of you a lot more $$$ to ship without Reptster, but there is nothing I can do. I'm in the same boat shipping my packages as are some of the mods here as you all are.

I was hoping to see something this morning whether UPS up and running or some communication from David, anything, and yet nothing. Maybe tomorrow, maybe over the weekend, maybe next week, who knows. Everyone keeps asking for an estimate start up date even now! I won't dare give them one!

Any complaints or questions...call or email David. I feel for everyone, but none of us here have anything else to offer anyone on the subject . I personally won't pass it on even if I did have information at this point. Anything regarding shipping with Reptster will need to come from David.

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

Go figure. Too bad the lot of us didnt make bets eh?

 

[xanaxez]

my thoughts to this is that david has screwed himself big time because even if he does get ups up and going then that means customers can do it also. even if they dont get the rates david will i think hes is goign to lose alot of his business since this has begin and when ups sees that david cant produce the people and packages he one could they are going ot start taking away his shipping breaks also. why give one man a break when you can just give the break to others that become certified to ship. hes working so hard to get it up he isnt realizing hes losing customers and thats what hes banking on because the less people using him the less shipping rates he will get and also the less kick backs and postage fees hes pocketing and making a fortune off of the customers. i myself think everyone should stop doing business with him and let him land flat on his arse with nothing to hope for and no money coming in from customers for handling this situation the way he has and not even offered or tried to communicate with US the customers. we are the ones putting the money in his pocket yet he doesnt care enough about his customers to post whats going on or even try to explain and he hasnt since fed ex dropped him.

 

[Dennis Hultman]

Do you really believe he will set up shipping with U.P.S. and they will not allow snakes to be shipped?

Well, that is exactly what he is proposing to do now but he can't even get it set up to ship without snakes. Ignoring the customers that have been loyal to him thus far. People still waiting on refunds they paid him for shipping packages before he defaulted on his FedEx account.

I just don't understand why he can't returned the funds to his customers immediately? I would ask him myself but I've tried calling him on the customer service line, supposable he has customer service "people" but they refuse to answer their phone. The mailbox is full as well.

 

[shrap]

I just don't understand why he can't returned the funds to his customers immediately? I would ask him myself but I've tried calling him on the customer service line, supposable he has customer service "people" but they refuse to answer their phone. The mailbox is full as well.

Oh I am sure Steven "Da Puppet" Kelley will be along soon to sprinkle some "happy dust" on the whole situation and make it all better.

 

[MikeCurtin]

I have been chatting with Roybn@PE in PM over at the BLBC. I did ask him If I could post some of the info and he gave me the go ahead to post this. Since it was in Private Message and not open forums I was not gonna post anything without permission.



My guess is the only way that we have found out about what is really going on with UPS and snakes is because RIPster got wind of the deal between PE and UPS... and is trying to take credit for it since it was so hush hush and noone really knew.

Once he started spreading the rumors it got back around to PE and/or UPS (which Im sure didnt make either happy) and they finally decided to make some of the details known to try and set the record stright. Im sure there is alot of details that we will never know until the deal is done and over with.... .but if it helps out the reptile community... then I can wait for all the details.

Oh, c'mon now! You can't be suggesting that ProExotics could possibly have more credibility than David...surely they're mistaken

 

[Dennis Hultman]

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

Sorry to hear that, BT. It really goes to the main point of each of the individuals, businesses and shows that have come forward. No follow-through with his word.

By the way, I asked David if he had any plans on fixing this over on his site. Since I'm the only person on that site right now who knows if anyone is going to answer.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Oh, c'mon now! You can't be suggesting that ProExotics could possibly have more credibility than David...

Yeah... I can

but then again..... my puppy has more credibility than he does.... and even she is smart enough not to bite the hand that feeds her.

 

[Southern Wolf]

By the way, I asked David if he had any plans on fixing this over on his site. Since I'm the only person on that site right now who knows if anyone is going to answer.

From what I understand from that last set of quotes you put up... he's not even answering his staff.... I wouldnt hold your breath. Your liable to look like a smurf

 

[Dennis Hultman]

From what I understand from that last set of quotes you put up... he's not even answering his staff.... I wouldnt hold your breath. Your liable to look like a smurf

Well, I'm hoping, kind of counting on the staff letting the questions remain until he comes on. Maybe, if a few more questions come on the board he might address some of his customers taking a big hit out-of-pocket right now on shipping quotes they gave their customers because David told them UPS would be up earlier this week.