Info ScalesNskin Reptile Auctions and Off The Ark Exotics

[jj-mitchell]

Seeing as this is an informational thread... I do have a story I could share regarding these auctions... but I am quite hesitant seeing as I was unable to obtain any screenshots before I was blocked and to be honest, I am not sure I feel like digging up something I buried a few months ago. Not sure that it's worth it... as I am not the confrontational type, but if anyone is really interested... I can throw it out there. if not... I do not wish to intrude.

If it is relevant to this thread post it up. It may help me to make my decision

 

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Well, it's relevant to this thread as in, it's specifically about this seller. It's not related to your transaction... it was merely a display of this seller's true character in my eyes. Long story short, they tried to force a friend and customer of mine to buy a snake he was outbid on after the high bidder retracted their bid. Of all snakes, an adult snake that was being advertised as CBB that I SERIOUSLY doubt was CB, especially since they could not give me more info than "their friend" produced it when I inquired about it's origin. I do oddball snakes like it's no one's business and I know when something sounds too good to be true. (Kinda like the time a vendor tried to tell me his emaciated imported rhabdophis subminiatus are entirely harmless and were feeding on live pinkies. (lol).) He had already decided to get some garter snakes from me once he had been outbid... and he was quite thankful for having been outbid once I had warned him that this auction seemed shady. He was accused of being a liar and conspiring, I stepped in to back him up, asserting that he was telling the truth and asking why he is to be held responsible for a snake he has been OUTBID on and why he is supposed to be responsible that another buyer backed out. The entire story would take some time for me to write up, but I suppose it can be done if it needs to. It ended with them blocking me, probably out of embarrassment... wanting to silence me before I made them look bad... not that I was even trying, as they did a good job themselves.

 

[Sub Jungle]

Justin, you bought the orig female albino because your wife liked her color and pattern. The animal you received, regardless of sex and condition, is not what you wanted or paid for.

Yes, sending the male albino back poses a huge risk...but at this point, considering your collection plans, I would take the risk to get your money back...$ 400 is a lot of money on a snake that didn't really want in the first place?

Bottom line is, the animal purchased in the auction was not available to send to Justin. Money should have been refunded immediately along with an apology. Sh*t happens, animals get sick...but the lack of responsibitlity taken by the auctinoeer is disgusting.

This is the exact reason why people/customers have issues buying animals online...you never know what your'e going to get...and generally speaking there is no recourse to recover your money in a sour situation like this.

In my opinion, funds should be sent to Justin to compensate him for the incorrect sexed animal...at that point he can keep or sell the male albino...this way, there is no opportunity for further delay in re-compensation.

Sad thing is that Justin still loses out on the original albino he and his wife wanted. And his time and efforts wasted in this nonsense.

 

[JudyC]

Well, it's relevant to this thread as in, it's specifically about this seller. It's not related to your transaction... it was merely a display of this seller's true character in my eyes. Long story short, they tried to force a friend and customer of mine to buy a snake he was outbid on after the high bidder retracted their bid. Of all snakes, an adult snake that was being advertised as CBB that I SERIOUSLY doubt was CB, especially since they could not give me more info than "their friend" produced it when I inquired about it's origin. I do oddball snakes like it's no one's business and I know when something sounds too good to be true. (Kinda like the time a vendor tried to tell me his emaciated imported rhabdophis subminiatus are entirely harmless and were feeding on live pinkies. (lol).) He had already decided to get some garter snakes from me once he had been outbid... and he was quite thankful for having been outbid once I had warned him that this auction seemed shady. He was accused of being a liar and conspiring, I stepped in to back him up, asserting that he was telling the truth and asking why he is to be held responsible for a snake he has been OUTBID on and why he is supposed to be responsible that another buyer backed out. The entire story would take some time for me to write up, but I suppose it can be done if it needs to. It ended with them blocking me, probably out of embarrassment... wanting to silence me before I made them look bad... not that I was even trying, as they did a good job themselves.

At the very least, I think you should be more clear on which "they" you are talking about. You use a lot of vague personal pronouns without actually naming a single name...including your friend...and I believe giving someone else's story without their name is not allowed.

If you DO want to share something negative about one of these businesses mentioned in this thread (and this would be the proper place to do it) then you need to be a lot more specific and just give the whole story. But as I said, at the very least, please be clear on who you're accusing and don't use anonymous third-party references.

 

[JudyC]

Sad thing is that Justin still loses out on the original albino he and his wife wanted. And his time and efforts wasted in this nonsense.

Sounds like he lost out on that specific snake even before it was paid for. Doesn't sound like it was ever fit for sale. As you say, stuff happens and sometimes we're out some of our time and effort and even our money when things don't go our way. That's just life.

If I were in Justin's shoes at this point, I'd do just what he's planning on doing...which is accepting SOME money back from the original seller to help offset some of the lost time and frustration, as well as the lesser value of the snake he ended up with. It's the least risky settlement, in my opinion, and also the quickest route to "closure" in this matter.

 

[jj-mitchell]

I have talked to Sarah and she seemed to agree that a partial refund is the most beneficial to both of us at this time. she told me to name my price and she would get me some money and she wished me luck on finding my FEMALE albino. I will not be ridiculous in my request for funds after looking at ads here and on kingsnake I have found an average price of 375-425 on females and an average price on males from 250-325. I requested 125 dollars back on the male albino

 

[Sub Jungle]

Provided you get the refund in a timely manner, I think it's the best solution.

Sorry you went through this!

 

[dustinNMpythons]

Dustin, I understand where you are coming from....but Lucille's last statement is 100% correct. The buyer "bought" from ScalesNskin Reptile Auctions. The transaction is the responsibility of ScalesNskin Reptile Auctions. It sucks that they chose Off The Ark to supply an animal to replace the one they sold (which was deemed to be unfit for sale); but that is not the buyer's problem. ScalesNskin needs to take care of their customer, and then they can deal with Vinny (Off the Ark) themselves.

I do agree Harold, that it comes down to ScalesNskin but I think Vinny has a big role in this too because it's his fault the female didn't come in and would hate for him to get away with it. Here's updates on what's being said on facebook. Troy I don't know why your so hooked on that stupid mite!

Troy Thomas: What determines if someone is telling the truth????? How do any of you know Vinny spoke to Dustin like that. I'm not calling anyone a liar, my thing is a female was sent out. 48hrs later the snake was popped, 72 hrs later someone asked if that was a mite on the snake and all of a sudden the snake has mites. On this same thread Justin wasw asked how was the snake and he replied it was fine resting in the tub. Who says that if a animal came in with 3mites. Then once you see the animal have mites wouldn't you say hey!!!!! Hold up let me pop this snake to make sure no one pulled a fast one. Personally Vinny is my friend but do I know if he spoke to Dustin and Justin wrong NO!!!!!! Is Vinny telling the truth or Dustin or Justin. I DON'T KNOW I WASN'T THERE, ppl always wanna cast the first stone. We where not there, show me the saints and I will point to a million sinners. Its Just crazy ppl play fake detectives, your NOT. Like this is crazy, I can defend him on me knowing Vinny but I can't lie and say I was on the phone. No one has proof hold up the proof is on BOI Right????? Wrong, I met one of Vinnys biggest bashers of his store during the summer and how shocking he never been to the store or met VINNY. I popped an albino female so did Vinny he got a male. I guess we made a mistake right???? I guess I need to re watch Ralph DAVIS videos on how to pop a snake. Point of all this look at facts, all of a sudden the snake has mites but its not a problem. What do Vinny have to gain by screwing Justin??? Oh I know another BOI thread that's it. Seriously ppl take your kids trick or treating and save some of those stones for the next storm.
about an hour ago via mobile · Like

Serpents Den: I noticed a mite from the photo posted in the BOI thread but as stated that is not the OP issue...
5 minutes ago · Like

Dustin B: ‎@Troy- Spoken like a true friend of Vinny's. I'll tell you how you know I'm telling the truth because I have nothing to gain from being mad at the way Vinny spoke to me and Justin has nothing to gain by receiving the wrong sex either. WOW maybe $100-$200 between a male and female! Big deal, I make more than that in one day in the military! If you want to speak on who's believable maybe you should look at Vinny's reputation and compare that with mine and then look at where yours is heading if you continue to be associated with people who do others wrong. Why didn't Vinny offer a replacement for the male in the first place if he wanted to make it right. I'm done with this thread but I think it's funny how Vinny's friends can come on here and fauna but he won't defend himself!

And yes maybe you should watch the videos more because I popped that snake first time, no problem at all!

 

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

At the very least, I think you should be more clear on which "they" you are talking about. You use a lot of vague personal pronouns without actually naming a single name...including your friend...and I believe giving someone else's story without their name is not allowed.

If you DO want to share something negative about one of these businesses mentioned in this thread (and this would be the proper place to do it) then you need to be a lot more specific and just give the whole story. But as I said, at the very least, please be clear on who you're accusing and don't use anonymous third-party references.

That was meant to be a summary and was not the actual story. I have been feeding snakes since my last post, and am still feeding snakes but have stopped to have a bit to eat, rest these swollen pregnant feet and check the e-mail and a few forums, and have not had the time to sit at my laptop and actually write it all up, proof read and what not. Like I said... it will take some time to write up... at least an hour... heck I wasn't even sure anyone would be interested in hearing it, which is why I didn't waste my time before mentioning it first. I was not about to start prematurely dropping any names, especially without anyone's consent first. It IS my story, my experience, about what happened to me and it's the reason I will never trust this scalesNskin auction business or do business with them after witnessing some really terrible customer service. The "they" I am referring to is scalesNskin (I didn't have the patience to type it every time, bad Shannon...I am sorry). Off the ark exotics, I have never dealt with them, I have nothing against them. When I have more time, I can elaborate further... I should have just not said anything until I actually HAD time and for that I apologize. for now I've got 7 hungry masticophis that are about to crawl out of their own skin... they can smell the food, are pacing, and I'd feel bad making them wait any longer

 

[allamericanPD]

Well I was just about to buy some black bloods from them on kingsnake. And people don't think BOI works. Just look here. It lets you know how there customer service works

 

[Focal]

Troy Thomas: What determines if someone is telling the truth????? How do any of you know Vinny spoke to Dustin like that. I'm not calling anyone a liar, my thing is a female was sent out. 48hrs later the snake was popped, 72 hrs later someone asked if that was a mite on the snake and all of a sudden the snake has mites.

Serpents Den: I noticed a mite from the photo posted in the BOI thread but as stated that is not the OP issue...
5 minutes ago · Like

For what it's worth, Justin and I were talking privately about the mite issue BEFORE Steve mentioned anything about the mites and I think Justin could have said something earlier but did not until it was publicly brought up.

 

[jj-mitchell]

So at this time, I am supposed to be receiving 125 dollars from Sarah @ scalesnskin tuesday when she gets paid. So they may have made mistakes but they are doing everything they can to help me get things fixed and finalized.

As far as the reoccurring theme of the mite. Drop it already. I said it wasnt a huge problem, Its like buying a dog with fleas a pain in the ass but not a deal breaker. In fact I stated before that If that was the only problem we had I would have never complained.

I may be naive but I have this general Idea that people should be able to handle small problems like this by themselves. If you want to question my ability to sex a snake, more power to you, I proved I know what I am doing where you were wrong. I have had to set and sex 100 lots of baby boas coming in from South America. I have probed and helped probe everything from smaller anacondas to full grown retics. At this point the mite was a mute point. It really didnt need to be brought up as it wasnt an issue to me. But I am not going to lie about it. Especially for someone that has been as nice to me as the two of you (incase anyone is wondering I am refering to Troy and Vinny)

 

[reptilebaby]

a dog with fleas would definitely be a deal breaker for me...as would a snake, even though I know a quick way to get rid of them.

It's definitely not anyone's choice but yours though, and you've already said that it isn't an issue for you.

 

[dustinNMpythons]

I wouldn't say that a dog with fleas would be a deal breaker otherwise why would you rescue dogs from the pound. That would be pretty heartless to say that puppy is cute but since it has fleas go ahead and put it down! Mites are no exception if I got them in I'm not going to necassarily go straight to the BOI I'll just let the owner know and take care of them myself. I think he is just saying that even though it had mites he wasn't going to send it back, he knows how to take care of them and it wasn't a huge issue. I'm pretty sure if your in the hobby long enough you "WILL" come in contact with mites.

 

[jj-mitchell]

Well Sunday ScalesNskin reptile auction agreed to a partial refund of 125 dollars. Today I checked my email, and they sent me 150 dollars refund! Thanks Sarah.

 

[dustinNMpythons]

Awesome Justin, glad everything worked out for you bud.

I know the earlier comment about rescues was totally beside the point but I just don't think that mites or fleas is necassarily "always" a deal breaker especially when you don't know that they are there until it's too late. accidents are accidents when it comes to mites. Now I have seen cases were the animals were infested with mites and that is a total different story.

 

[reptilebaby]

Every rescue around where I live makes sure dogs don't have fleas before they adopt them out. Because of the possibility that if the dog's going to a home that already has a dog-fleas are a pain in the butt to get rid of. My own reason for not ever getting a dog that has fleas. I have no problems with rescue dogs, I've fostered before.

And I'm very glad that you're getting a refund!