southernstates exotics?

[reptileszoo]

hello. i im thanking about geting a bearded dragon one day and a sand boa from southern states exotics.com
have any one goting anything from them? or thay good ?

thanks
drew guidry

 

[Sean Belanger]

Steve Smith of Southern States Exotics won three of my auctions on FaunaAuction.com recently and never paid. After quite a few emails telling me payment had been sent and not receiving it, I notified Rich Z. who sent a notice to Steve Smith and finally got a reply as to why I never received a payment. Steve said his wife had left him and took off with the MO he supposedly gave money for her to buy. Since I never received payment from Steve and he stopped replying to my emails, I will never do business with him again.

 

[reptileszoo]

so thay are not good? so do you thank i shod not get anything from them? i dont know the names of them i just now thay e-mail and web site.to me thay been saonding good i was going to buy from them. so you thank i shod not buy from them right?? plz write back thanks..

 

[ms_terese]

so thay are not good? so do you thank i shod not get anything from them?

Hi Drew, and welcome to Fauna!

It's important for you to remember that all the members here can do is share their experiences and advice. You have to decide if you want to do business with Southern States or not. It depends on what your criteria is for making a purchase!

If you don't get enough feedback here from people, you should be able to ask them for some references. Their website shows some "past inventory" or something to that effect, so I'm sure they can provide you with some references from previous sales.

 

[SthrnStExotics]

References

I will supply a list of references to anyone who requests them. The comments made by other members about 1 past incident which os resolved should in no way reflect the way business is conducted now. All that has been taken care of now. If Sean had been a little more patient and understanding everything could have been worked out. Anyone needing references feel free to contact me....


Thanks

Steve Smith

Southern States Exotics

Southernstatesexotics.com

 

[reptileszoo]

thanks u all ...in a way i just dont whont a reptiles that is sick and cant move and all. becouse once i gotinh some snakes from a web-site and thay wher WC's and wher sick and all.i just dont whont to lose anything! and to me i like southern states exotics. thay got nice reptiles and i did here alot of good things about them in a reptiles chat someone sad thay goting a few snakes from them and thay wher nice! :scatter: well thanks for all the info. in a way thay do sond good thanks!!!



oh :::sorry::: about spelling:

 

[ms_terese]

Good luck with your collection, Drew. Please give us your feedback if you decide to buy from Southern States.

I know all about being gun shy once you've had a deal go bad. You seem to be on the right track by looking for references and asking questions. Just make sure you get any guarantees in writing (or at least print them from a webpage) and get all your questions answered!

Steve, I can understand that you want to put a bad incident behind you, but remember that we all make our own reputations every day. Just as a good deal from months ago would be welcome feedback on an inquiry, a bad deal has just as much credence. I'm glad things are straightened out for you, and I hope that in a few months this thread will be full of good reports on Southern States! Good luck!

 

[reptileszoo]

well thanks ms_terese for all your help! i will let you know or (u all)if i do buy from hem.but i do thank i will and when i do i will tell u all (you) know! and i like thse web site very nice people welling to help! :scatter:

 

[gila7150]

clarification

The comments made by other members about 1 past incident which os resolved should in no way reflect the way business is conducted now. All that has been taken care of now.

Steve,
When you say the situation with Sean has been resolved do you mean he received payment from you? Sean is a really good guy and I would be reluctant to do business with you until I know he was taken care of.

 

[SthrnStExotics]

Snakes Resold

No,

He resold the snakes. So I was not given the opportunity to pay him....

Steve Smith

Southern States Exotics

 

[Sean Belanger]

He resold the snakes. So I was not given the opportunity to pay him....

Actually, I think I gave Steve more than enough time to pay. All three auctions on FaunaAuction.com ended on May 26th. Steve emailed me that same day wanting to know payment methods. I emailed him back and then 3 days later, Steve replies telling me he would send payment out the following day.

From: [email protected] | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 19:59:20 EDT
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




Yes...I am sorry for not getting back to you. I have been at war with Airborne. They have intercepted some of my packages and returned them back to sender. I have frogotten all about the your snakes. I will get a money order out to you tomorrow. Also I will foward shipping information to you..Again Sorry...Steve

By June 3rd, I stil had not received payment and emailed Steve to find out if it had been sent or not. I get this reply from Steve.

From: [email protected] | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2003 17:58:31 EDT
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




Let me check with my wife when she gets home. She handles the money.I will let you know when it was sent tonite....Thanks

On June 4th I emailed Steve asking if he had found out anything yet and get this reply from him that same day.

From: [email protected] | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2003 17:23:39 EDT
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




Sorry. The money order was sent to your address on Thursday Of last week via USPS. It was a postal money order. I am waiting on confirmation with the Post Office on status of money order. That is why I have not gotten back to you as of yet...Steve

On June 5th, I still had not received payment and emailed Steve asking him if he found out anything on the status of the MO and how he sent it. He replies the same day with this email.

From: [email protected] | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 20:01:11 EDT
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




The money order was sent out one week ago by. the United Postal Service. It was a United Postal Service Money Order. I was waiting on confirmation with them on the status of the money order. It came back as being uncashed. This is why pay pal is much better than using a money order. You see they will not replace the money order until it remains uncashed for a period of 60 days. Then they will issue a replacement money order. This usually takes 3 days. I hope the money order dose turn up there. It will be a lot easier ....Sorry Steve

So I reply to Steve on June 5th letting him know that I'll give him until June 9th to make payment or I have to relist the snakes. And that I will post negative feedback on FaunaAuction for non-payment. Steve replies the same day with this email.

From: [email protected] | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 20:19:44 EDT
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




I dont take threats well. Tell you what. You list negative feedback. Then I list negative feedback. Then you relist your snakes. Then I get my money back in 60 days..Everyone will be happy then.....

This was the last email I ever received from Steve Smith.

I reply the same day with this email.

Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 17:37:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Sean B" <[email protected]> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: Auctions
To: [email protected]




Steve, It is no threat. I am giving you more than
enough time to pay but I will not wait 60 days for you
to get your money back from an uncashed money order. I
am giving you until Monday June 9th which will be 2
weeks from the end of all three auctions. I feel that
is quite fair. Once again, your choice.

Sean

Over the next couple of days, I send several emails asking Steve for the receipt number of the MO he sent so I could confirm it myself and I never get a reply. June 9th comes and I still had not received a payment from Steve so I contact Rich Z. to let him know about the situation. On June 10th, Rich Z. forwards this email to me.

From: "Rich Zuchowski" <[email protected]> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
To: [email protected]
CC: "Sean B" <[email protected]>
Subject: Nonpayment of won auctions
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 16:35:29 -0400




I have received a notification from Sean Belanger that you won three auctions he posted on FaunaAuction.com and you have not provided payment for those animals. Please tell me what happened from your perspective. Have you paid for those animals to complete the transactions?

Please do not ignore this email.

Thanks.

Rich Zuchowski

Later that day, I get another email from Rich. Z.

From: "Rich Zuchowski" <[email protected]> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
To: "Sean B" <[email protected]>
Subject: Fw: Nonpayment of won auctions
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 23:47:14 -0400




Sean,

Thought you might want to see this....

Rich Zuchowski
[email protected]
(850) 926-6248
http://www.SerpenCo.com
http://www.FaunaClassifieds.com
http://www.CornSnakes.com
http://www.FaunaAuction.com
http://www.HerpShows.com
http://www.FaunaTopSites.com
http://www.HerpChat.com
http://www.FaunaNet.com
http://www.KingSnakes.com
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Nonpayment of won auctions


I'm sorry about this. I had told him that my wife sent the MO out last week, when in fact I found out that she never did. She bought the MO and gave me the receipt and waited until just the other day and cashed it....I found this out when I came home to find out that she had left me, as well as cleaning out the bank account. I was not trying to avoid Sean or ignore him, but he hasn't really been my top priority these last few days.

Again, I'm sorry about the confusion and all.

 

[reptileszoo]

humm i dont know what to say about that??? humm i have been talking to hem (SthrnStExotics) and he seems to be a nice guy and all.i have been talking to hem for 2 weeks nows and i im going to buy from hem.and i have been copying all E-MAILS and when we talk thow IM. in cass he rips me off and all. and i have talk to outher people about hem thay all sad he is a good guy and thay seen the ad up in here to about hem (SthrnStExotics) in here. and thay sad that he is still a good guy and he has nice reptiles and all.but so for if i get more people saying he is a bad guy then i will not buy from hem but for now i have been here 9 out of 10 he is a good guy

 

[JasonBrennan]

Just completed a deal.

I would have to say Southern State Exotics is good in my book! I just purchased an albino burm (het lab) from them. Animal was exactly as represented. They didn't have papers on the snake being het for lab, and were very up front about that fact. Since I was not interested in the het lab part (just needed an albino burm), that didn't matter to me...but I am grateful that they were upfront about the status.

He negotiated a VERY nice deal, was very pleasant to speak with, and was very professional. Shipping and packaging were excellent, prompt (shipped the very next day...would have been same day had we made the deal earlier in the day, but it was late in the day when I originally spoke to him). The burm appears to be very healthy, is bright, alert and active....very nice animal (wish I could keep it, but I ordered it for a local customer).

Based on this experience, I would have no problem dealing with Southern State Exotics agian in the near future.