Terri Sommella Fire and Ice Dragons -- Nightmare

[salito718]

Hey salito I did not say to spend $500 blindly , I spent $250 and got to know her over a few hours over the phone,(which is rare for a breeded such as herself)and told her to surprise me, and I will never go anywhere else with my buisness. You call me insane salito 718 but you dont seem like to much of a mental giant yourself. And as for the question about legal issues , It is not important how I know ,what will that change. All that is important, is that it is known.

with love
Matt Pittman

mental giant? anyways

i can tell you this much dude. the reason she is renigging on her
garantee is because she will never find another person to pay 500 dollars for one of her dragons. she pulled a fast one period.

 

[CheriS]

3 post and all on this thread... almost looks like someone asked him to come here and defend them

Matt, its nice you are happy with what you purchase, at what you paid.. that's what it should be about for you

But others are not, and got ripped off. They bought something, based on what they were told, including the experience of the breeder, lines, genetics, etc. They find out that is not so, the reptile is having problems and in a timely manner request a refund AS PER THE GUARANTEE... and are denied.

Someone is only as good as their word and in this industry that means a lot, when it is evident their word is no good or false, others should know about that and be warned so someone else does not get taken in by the same gimmick.

There is nothing wrong with being a breeder for only 2 years, but there is when you lie to people and claim it is 15 to make sales.

Nothing wrong with selling a dragon by any color phase you want to make up... you can call 'em Einstein dragons if you think they are so smart.... but there is when you misrepresent yourself as a developer over generations of a color phase or line... when in actually you bought it 2-3 years ago and just renamed it. Your stealing from the person who did work had to breed that line.

AND, baby dragons do stress when in new environments, but experienced breeder can lessen that problem with how they handle raising those dragons and prepping for shipping.... when some request a refund as per your policy for whatever reason, and you renege, then change the policy on your site to cover it up...... well, all the above have a name for someone like that

 

[matt pittman]

Cheri s., I very much agree with your above post, you are very well spoken and respectable, you have already earned my respect. I just hate to see someone like terri's name be butchered because of a negative story that someone posted on this site, I could post anything I wanted to on this site , maybe out of frustration, hatred ,or jealousy, who knows. but I guarantee about 90 percent of these people would take it to the heart and believe it. I really respect Terri and her biz. I just hate to hear that. All im trying to get across is dont just jump on every negative thing you hear, thats all, these people are like the press, twisting and contorting everything they hear. I hope she is not a liar like you say she is. That would be a big slap in the face.


matt pittman

 

[jmkhet]

Thanks for all the love Matt glad you feel that way....but you can give it to Terry she seems to need it more than i. Josh McDermott

 

[CheriS]

Matt,

This thread has been opened for over a month for her to state her side. Even a post from her that said "I am addressing this and there other factors involved, we are concerned when someone is not satisfied, but there are other things going on" or "our attorney advised us not to discuss this.....anything...but left unresponed to, all anyone can think is this person got ripped off. Combine that with the other things she states that are not true.... personal conversations with her in Daytona about her plans, etc......put yourself in another position... that you never bought from her and were happy with your purchase... then read this, what would you think?

She has not been honest to people, she has made up her years of experience, claimed generations of breeding a line that is someone else's work and failed to honor a guarantee. That's is not someone that has integrity, honesty or a good reputation.... even if they claim it and others believe it when they do.

I am very glad you are happy with yours, and I am sure the dragon is glad the owner they got cares for them like that....but this is not about that. Its about someone's verasity in an industry that too many come up with get rich schemes, abuse and walk on others to get that, its called greed.

Sometimes even when in the right, as a reputable breeder, you need to go the extra steps to keep harmony and put the needs of the animal first. I have even refunded full purchase price and paid shipping back when someone's circumstances changed a month or more after the sale and it was not in the dragons best interest to stay with them.

Too often people get into this industry for the wrong reason, or forget why they got involved with reptiles to begin with. Watch a child's face when he handles his first reptile... then we remember, and you know, that joy is worth more than any dollars

 

[Lucille]

Cheri

That is an eloquent post you just wrote. You do sound like a wonderful, caring breeder.

I do not know why Terri stopped corresponding with me, and I do wish she would show up and say something. I got involved in the first place because I think it is only fair for anyone accused of misdealings to have notice and an opportunity to be heard.

I think some good did come of all this- your posts showing your feelings and beliefs. It benefits the whole reptile industry each time someone comes on a public board and reiterates the kind of philosophy you have.


Lucille Hollander

 

[Rockford]

Yep!!

Cheri

That is an eloquent post you just wrote. You do sound like a wonderful, caring breeder.

I do not know why Terri stopped corresponding with me, and I do wish she would show up and say something. I got involved in the first place because I think it is only fair for anyone accused of misdealings to have notice and an opportunity to be heard.

I think some good did come of all this- your posts showing your feelings and beliefs. It benefits the whole reptile industry each time someone comes on a public board and reiterates the kind of philosophy you have.


Lucille Hollander

I couldn't agree more. There are plenty good ones out there. But it's a shame not everyone shares Cheri's beliefs.

Like I said before, If you are going to have a guarantee you really should stick by your word. It says alot about someone that can bite the bullet on a $500 animal. And it's not really biting the bullet either. Im sure it didn't cost her that much to produce the little bugger. At the very least 90% profit.

There is a saying.."What come around goes around". She may not get it, but she will eventually.

Bthacker

 

[Paperkid]

Payment method?

How did you pay the $500.00? If you used a credit card then I would contact them and see if you are still covered by their buyers protection. I have had to use them before and unlike Paypals one month cover a credit card can have a six month cover. Even if you did use a credit card but used it through Paypal you can still give you credit card company a call and start the legal action against this business. Paypal has it written on their site that doing something like this might limit your use of Paypal, but they never do if the transaction was with you credit card company through them.

David Gaithe
Razorback Exotics

The mind is it's own place and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell a Hell of Heaven.

 

[CheriS]

Jonathan,

You might want to check her guarantee on her website, she has changed it again.

There are also addtitonal directions for buyers using the voice mail and directions after the sale. I think you should store all these changes coming right now, with what is going on with you and some others.

Also, I need your email to send you the communication info on the person who's dragon did not survive after it arrive from them.

Remember, all guarantees and changes are recorded in archived, at the URL I posted back on page 8 or 9 should you need them in the future

 

[jnewsome26]

'nother update,

The dispute is proceeding apace. Thanks a lot Cheri for your help, and to the folks who've shown support, or just listened to what I had to say. To those who doubt me, I fully understand, and you raise some salient points. But, I stand by my words and, I believe have demonstrated a willingness to go on record, elaborate on, and own up to my words. That in and of itself says a lot.

Jonathan Newsome

 

[CheriS]

I wish you luck, like I said and that email shows, you are not alone in the same problems.

Some times the credit card compamies come back and say the amount was for an item and you received that item, anything after it is civil. Many sellers count on that. That is not a reflection on the merit of your claim. But I have also seen them reverse charges on a sale that was not as presented, with the willingness of the buyer to return what was purchased, and you have already stated that was not a problem.

 

[CML724]

Bad for buisness...

I recently purchased a Flame X Blood cross from terri...last night actually! It's supposed to arrive within the next 12 hrs, so I'm pretty excited. I am, however, worried by this thread. I read every page in the hopes that terri would at some point give her side, make a formal apology, or something....

We all make mistakes...it's no big deal. So far my dealings with her have been great. She offered me a hold-back quality for the breeder quality price, admitting that it lost the tip of it's tail before telling me about the quality. I had planned on later on purchasing a female (have another baby dragon, but it's looking like I got a male at home and another on the way now) but am unsure about purchasing one from her after all this. Hopefully it all gets resolved before I'm ready to make my purchase.

Chris

 

[Rockford]

Holdbacks?

Is it just me or does it seem like every breeder term their offspring as "holdbacks"?
I am not saying that you aren't getting a "holdback" quality animal. I just think the term is overly used. I am a salesman by trade and "holdback" to me is just another sales tactic. I may be stating the obvious but we need to come up with another slogan or term, like "I would keep it myself but I really need the money". Just my opinion.

Did you make mention of this thread when you dealt with her? You mention in your post "we all make mistakes... it's no big deal". It is a big deal when your mistakes are not admitted or corrected. I am sure if what happened to Jonathan... happened to you, it would be a big deal. Hopefully you get a healthy, quality animal.

Happy Holidays!!!

Bthacker

 

[DragonCharm]

Guilt by silence. An innocent person would plead their case, no?

 

[CML724]

Did you make mention of this thread when you dealt with her? You mention in your post "we all make mistakes... it's no big deal". It is a big deal when your mistakes are not admitted or corrected. I am sure if what happened to Jonathan... happened to you, it would be a big deal. Hopefully you get a healthy, quality animal.

Happy Holidays!!!

Bthacker

That was pretty much what I was thinking when I said we all make mistakes. As for "holdback quality"...I'm in sales too, and completely agree with you on that. The REAL problem is though, there's really no standard to judge animal quality. It's all breeder P.O.V. A holdback quality with one breeder is an animal another sells to a petstore for $30. Since I'm paying $100 for my dragon, it's not too big a deal to me that I couldn't see a pic of the actual dragon...but if I'm paying more than that, you better believe I see the dragon before I pay for it.

Happy holidays
Chris

 

[CML724]

Guilt by silence. An innocent person would plead their case, no?

To me, this is simply a clear-cut case of somebody unwilling, and unable, to own up to their mistakes....it's really sad actually.

 

[CheriS]

Not all breeder play that everything I sell is a "holdback", I think in the last five years we have sold 3 as that, and purchased none as that.

I do find it interesting that according to the above, a breeder quality is not a hold back quality... I know the ones we DO hold back are BECAUSE they are breeder quality and we keep most of them! Thats why we hold them back.

BTW, this is a non hold back dragon, from the same line your getting (not one of Fire & Ice!) and he is flawless, pictures provided before he was shipped and was well prepped for changing and adjusting to new people and enviroment.. around the same price your paying for yours. Here he is 6 months old, 512 grams and 21 inches <--that speaks his genetics!

I still wonder why people would pay that or $500, sight unseen when there are such nice quality dragons out there from reputable breeders that are honest and have integrity for the same or less, that you know what your getting when you buy it

 

[Rockford]

Cheri-

Good looking Dragon. I don't have any Dragons myself right now. The first and only got eaten by one of my favorite Kingsnakes. Please don't hold it against me it was 11 years ago and a big booboo on my part.

As far as the "holdback" thing goes, I just think that some brokers wrongly/overly use the term and some breeders seem to use it too much as well. I have seen the term used properly when not referring to animal they just recieved or a neonate. Maybe putting the word quality after it might help.

If I am ever in the market for a Beardie...I will definitely see what you have(if you'll sell one to me!!).

Happy Holidays!

Bthacker

 

[CheriS]

Brett,

I did not produce that little guy, he came from Matt @ mystical-dragons.com. I was showing him as an example from that same FlameXBlood line, but crossed into a really hardy large line. Not considered a hold back, the same price or less and also with a breeder that takes the time to make sure they are ready for change in homes so they do not stress. He came out of the box fired up and always is, ready to eat and never missed a meal. Never been a moments problem or concern. He's hearty like bearded dragons should be, no these sickly, failure to thrive babies.

It's not just the breeding, its the care/ time they receive those first few months from the breeder. To me that makes or breaks the dragon... no matter what color, phase or price on them. If you lack that, your off to a rough start that may never improve.

The boy pictured above is a grandson of Chris Allen's dragon "Flame" that the line was named for, out of his son Foster. I followed his parents since they were hatchlings and waited to get one of the babies from the first clutch... for 2 years!

You can find these beautiful, healthy and well cared for babies online for between $100- $200... and they are not called holdbacks, just quality dragons.

 

[CML724]

Got my dragon

I got my FlameXBlood today and it's eating fine...a perfectly normal dragon. Overall, no complaints and had a very enjoyable experiance buying from her. I don't forsee any problems arising, but if they do I'm sure it'll all be taken care of. If not...she loses a repeat customer. no big deal to me.

Chris