Terri Sommella Fire and Ice Dragons -- Nightmare

[Morticia]

Ooo sorry April, I'll edit my post.

Woops can't do that in BOI, I just woke up. Ugh, my apologies.

 

[Dragonseeker2017]

Breeder recommendation

If you have breeder recommendations just pm me

 

[thatgirl16]

I'm a newbie beardie owner (but have had Veiled Chameleons and Leopard Tortoises and grew up on a farm/ranch, so lots of animal experience in general.)

I came here to say that my experience with Terri was excellent. I also want to say, as a fellow self-employed business owner, that a lot of people's complaints here seem to stem from her unwillingness to give free information. Honestly, if you have ever run your own business that thrives on hard-earned information, you'd understand. I imagine she has lots of folks that jerk her around asking questions and then never buy an animal. I'm a photographer, and I used to do hour long consultations with people who never booked, they just wanted me to plan out their entire shoots for them and then take the ideas to their neighbor with a camera. It's a HUGE waste of time and money--I know people think "Well, I MIGHT buy a dragon, but now I'm not going to because she didn't answer my inane questions." And that's honestly incredibly selfish, if you want a consult from an expert, then pay for it. End of story.

Anyway, I came across Terri's site and noticed she had two clutches that hatched around my birthday, so it felt like fate. I emailed her and we worked everything out and I paid for the little guy in full. She then gave me a shopping list (which seems again like a resource everyone wants for free) and answered all my questions. When it came time to ship, I was going to end up leaving the country for a bit the week after my little guy's arrival, so she kept him for TWO extra weeks, no charge (again, small business owner mind at work--she PAID for his food and stuff for two weeks beyond the agreed upon ship date without any problem at all. It cost her money to be accommodating when she didn't have to be.)

Upon his shipment, I immediately received tracking numbers and info for his care. She also asked for photos of the dragon and his box (I imagine to see how he fared on the trip). The little guy is beautiful, and a little piglet. He arrived only yesterday and is eating up a storm.

So end of story, a lot of the complaints in here are because people are asking a small business owner to either give them something for free (because we live in a world now where everyone thinks they deserve stuff for free) or doing something that cuts into her profit because they are being wishy washy about their purchases. Sure, there are some actual complaints in here I imagine, but this is the bulk of them. I'd already paid for my dragon without reading this thread, and then when I was looking around for other beardies from her to find photos I came across this thread and was terrified something would go wrong. It didn't. Moral of the story is, just follow directions, and don't bother her unless you want to pay for her time. That's not being a bad breeder, that's being a smart businesswoman.

 

[Lucille]

Sure, there are some actual complaints in here I imagine

I see. So you haven't actually read this thread through?

Moral of the story is, just follow directions, and don't bother her unless you want to pay for her time.

Is there a per hour charge, or does one have to buy a $500 dragon before you get to have answers to any questions?

 

[Snake-Queen]

I see. So you haven't actually read this thread through?


Is there a per hour charge, or does one have to buy a $500 dragon before you get to have answers to any questions?

$500 for a dragon she picks for you, not one you chose.

 

[elena]

Let's not forget about the people who got unhealthy dragons, and/or horrible service AFTER they'd paid. And in my case, threats of character assassination based on nothing, with no transaction having taken place.

 

[Lucille]

Leslie, if you came here to report your personal experience that is one thing. But if you then give this seller a whitewash by telling us what is going on in a thread you have not, apparently, read completely, that seems unethical to me.

 

[Akiranar]

Just FYI, I recently bought the first and second edition of The Bearded Dragon Manual by Philippe De Vosjoli, and Terri is a co-author of the second edition. I am very wary of reading it after reading this thread and other threads about her, with her replies. I figured that people would want to know.

 

[Herpin Man]

Moral of the story is, just follow directions, and don't bother her unless you want to pay for her time. That's not being a bad breeder, that's being a smart businesswoman.

Providing poor or non-existent customer service simply because you assume that everybody is out to steal your information most assuredly is NOT "being a smart businesswoman". Smart business people are those that are able to provide service, provide a product that is satisfactory to the customer, and make the sale without either party feel like they were taken advantage of. It does not appear that Terri Sommela (or you for that matter) have figured that out just yet.

 

[lunarfelyne]

Concerned

Yikes, I wish I'd found this thread before I placed an order with Fire and Ice. I am hoping that over the years Terri has smoothed out some of the past issues and everything will go okay otherwise for me.

I paid for a holdback snow dragon that is due to be shipped tomorrow. So far, things have been okay apart from not receiving an updated picture of the exact dragon I will be getting. Terri actually asked for a picture of my setup before she would consent to shipping, which I thought was a good sign.

I'll be honest -- I should have researched more about her business, but I haven't had any problems yet. Hopefully things will turn out well.

 

[Ed Clark]

Yikes,

So far, things have been okay apart from not receiving an updated picture of the exact dragon I will be getting.

A big part of selling online is pictures,pictures and more pictures.the fact that she will not provide you pics of the exact dragon that she is shipping you seems like a huge problem, she could send you anything!

 

[Snake-Queen]

A big part of selling online is pictures,pictures and more pictures.the fact that she will not provide you pics of the exact dragon that she is shipping you seems like a huge problem, she could send you anything!

It amazes me how many people will pay $500 (or any amount for that matter) for a bearded dragon without knowing what it will look like. That particular practice of hers bothers me, a lot.

 

[Lucille]

A big part of selling online is pictures,pictures and more pictures.the fact that she will not provide you pics of the exact dragon that she is shipping you seems like a huge problem, she could send you anything!

I agree. I would not buy an expensive critter without seeing an exact picture first.

 

[massconfusion149]

Congratulations Lynden! You've succeeded at posting an amazingly ignorant and short sighted response. I purchased 6 dragons from Terri @ fire and ice this year, she was amazingly helpful and spent a lot of time on the phone with me before i ever bought a dragon or before she knew how many i would end up buying. You should give some serious thought before you slight someone in public just because you assume you have been somehow wronged by what you perceive as "inadequate" customer service. Stop whining and do some research, try asking a few more questions, did it occur to you that there are MANY different ways to set up a tank?? you could make one, buy premade custom, use a 40, 50, 75, 100 gallon fish tank, etc, etc, etc. maybe she was busy and just didn't have time at that particular moment to address all the variables and choices that exist. Did you fail to recognize -judging by the timestamps on your emails- that she responded almost immediately to your emails?? Not to mention it was late in the evening?? And maybe if you had been a little more patient you might have gotten the info you were looking for? Common courtesy goes both ways. In the end...your loss. My Fire and Ice dragons ROCK!!!

Just FYI, Matt - I had the same response from Terri when asked only about food. Then after I paid, I got a very specific list of things I need. Terri is even being particular about me buying an $8 silver lamp from lowes because the 3 black domes I have are "bad" for beardies.

Wendy Schwager

 

[massconfusion149]

Wow do I wish I had seen this thread a few hours ago. I just paid Terry $500 today for a baby that won't be ready to ship for a few more weeks. She wouldn't send me a pic either...but I figured they have been rated #1 in the hypo citrus color morphs do I thought she was on the up and up and could provide me the yellow dragon I desire. Now I am upset...worried and discusted with myself for not doing more research FIRST on this woman!!!

Same boat right now... but I haven't gotten the dragon and requested to cancel. I will dispute the charge if I have to..

 

[massconfusion149]

This is me right now. I typed into google "bearded dragon breeders" thinking the top result couldn't possibly be a bad person.

Now I am sitting here, $215 dollars missing and "too cold to ship". She told me that next week they could ship or she could make me sign a waiver saying that if the dragon comes dead it is my fault, and pay extra for "special shipping", but I looked at the temps they are similar to this weeks, so I'm sure she would say the same thing. Then I stumbled upon these terrible terrible reviews and horror stories which I am now a part of.

I asked for a refund and she posted her policy. I now opened a dispute with my bank on the matter, and also made a thread on reddit in the legal section asking if I would win, only to be told that her policy is legal and I could be the one brought in by her to civil court. How can I not be legally allowed a refund on something I haven't even received yet.. Has anyone else done this and won their dispute? I'm very scared now.

How did your situation end up?

Thanks in advance.
Wendy Schwager