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Todd Gearhearts Tarantulas--Buyer Beware

Having recommended that Brad post here after seeing him ask for help on another forum I feel I should at least say that I have to disagree with the idea that he should "deal with the mites". If he had put the animal in a cage and left it alone for 72 hours like is recommended by many breeders he could have ended up with a more severe problem. Having caught in the first few hours of receiving the animals and contacting the seller, he should have at least received a apology.

Personally , I had the misfortune of finding mites in my collection within a week of sending out 3 shipments and I contacted all three people to tell them to check their collections. I offered to pay for PAM, and to pay any shipping charges on the next order if they choose to deal with me in the future. I felt that was the least I could do. This guy seems to be saying that this was a good deal so any problems are null and void. First, it is not that good of a price on a male woma and about average on a female unless it is super clean. Second, no mater what the price, the seller should have concern for the person who just gave them money. This goes for any sales position above a gas station clerk. Lastly, you don't get just one mite.

I can see where Brad felt slighted and like there is a lacking in customer service. I have seen things with way less merit get all sorts of steam because one of the parties involved had history here, but I don't see why this post would not hold water. It is after all a warning post and not a bad guy post.

One other thing, the cost that was listed on another site and included multiple products costing over $30 plus the hassle. learning on the fly about mites is never fun.

Jason Hood
 
I have to agree with Jason, this thread is absolutely valid and deserving of being on the BOI.

The Buyer bought a misrepresented animal, that came with mites, was charged an extra 3% for that privilege, and was then told to sit down and shut up by the seller because he got a good deal on a "rare" animal.

What part of that doesn't deserve AT LEAST a "buyer beware"?

Sounds more like a Bad Guy to me.

1) the animal was represented as "perfect", its got cuts on it

2) it came with mites, so there's no telling what else it may have come with. IBD? Internal parasites? Not that mites alone aren't enough of an inconvenience. And there is no such thing as a "perfect" animal with mites.

3) Seller charges 3% for paypal, which is at the least a violation of Paypal rules, at worst a criminal act.

4) Seller fails to provide any compensation, or even show regret for any of the above. That's just plain bad customer service.

5) and the buyer should be grateful he got such a "rare" animal? There were at least 20 of them on either Bob Clark or Mike Wilbank's table at the Arlington show two weekends ago.

Definitely not someone I'll be doing business with any time soon.
 
I would post this on arachnoboards since he advertised them there, just make sure you do not post a link to this thread. They will ban you and delete the thread if you do. Also do not pay attention to Todds threats as they hold no merit.
 
SnakesUnlimited said:
One other thing, the cost that was listed on another site and included multiple products costing over $30 plus the hassle. learning on the fly about mites is never fun.

Jason Hood
Click to expand...

Yes, I have actually spent $47 and some odd change on different remedies to try to get rid of the mites. I went to walgreens at midnight, as all the pet stores were closed, and got betadine and mineral oil the night I got him. I Figured that these probably wont do anything, but at that time, I was desperate. So the next morning I went to the petstore for prevent-a-mite and reptile relief. I didnt have anything on had as I have never had to deal with mites.
 
John Apple said:
I would post this on arachnoboards since he advertised them there, just make sure you do not post a link to this thread. They will ban you and delete the thread if you do. Also do not pay attention to Todds threats as they hold no merit.
Click to expand...

In order for me to post about the deal on arachnoboards, I have to get admin permission first. It is supposed to be for invertebrate deals only.
 
mites

you should always be prepared for mites .......those rascals pop up at the most inopportune times....i'm told that mice can introduce mites to a collection also.....i just found mites in my "mite-free" collection.....every few years it seems to happen....don't forget you could bring a few eggs after a show or visiting a collection....i hate them muthas :angry:
 
i dont care if you pay $5 or $5,000 if he said the snake was in good health,is mite's on a snake considered good health?

i dont think it is right he said just deal with it.
 
Don't even bother posting about this on Arachnoboards....you'll just get a gag order like I did when I tried to speak out against the almighty Todd Gearheart.

I saw his advertised price of $750 for an '06 male Woma and chuckled to myself lol. I hate that this happened to you, Brad, but you could've got a much healthier animal for much cheaper from a much more reputable source.
 
David,
I know i made a mistake. I have since been contacting several breeders and I am going to be looking for a female from a REPUTABLE breeder this summer. This was a big learning experience for me. I will never buy from Todd again nor will I buy from someone with out contacting the BOI. Even though there wasnt anything written about Todd Gearheart on here, I could have atleast asked what you guys thought of him. I guess as soon as I saw an ad for a woma, I jumped on it and didnt want to "lose" the chance to get one. That was my mistake. Even though womas are "rare," I am still finding quite a few ads for them as well as good breeders with excellent specimens. From the research I have done, the male I bought does have known bloodlines, if Todd was honest to me about it. I dont see this guy as a "morph" like he stated in arachnoboards. He just looks like a nice male to me, with nice coloring.
 
I have seen '06 males for as low as $300 in some places....females typically around $700. Good luck with your male though, and don't worry....everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect. You did the right thing by coming here and sharing your experience.
 
monkeywrench133 said:
I have to agree with Jason, this thread is absolutely valid and deserving of being on the BOI.
Click to expand...

You and I disagree. Based upon the original post, no, I do not believe it was worthy of a BOI thread. Now, based upon additional information provided by others as well as the original poster, yes, the post has more creditbility.

monkeywrench133 said:
The Buyer bought a misrepresented animal, that came with mites, was charged an extra 3% for that privilege, and was then told to sit down and shut up by the seller because he got a good deal on a "rare" animal.
Click to expand...

One, read that one mite per the original post. Not infested. Not covered but one. One mite can be explained a million ways. The issue with Paypal was not brought out until later and that has always griped my rear.

The seller did not tell him to sit down and shut up. Your ad libbing leaves something to be desired. By the same token, I stated it before and am stating it now, Todd should have offered up to reimbursed for the cost of treatment. No Fly Pest Strips are $6 at Walmart and will kill all mites within a 1-2 days.

monkeywrench133 said:
What part of that doesn't deserve AT LEAST a "buyer beware"?

Sounds more like a Bad Guy to me.
Click to expand...

If you were to put Bad Guys on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being TSE, I would say Todd was a 1 based soley upon the authors posts. While he could have handled it better and certainly more professionally, I would not label him as a bad guy. Now, with the information provided from other customers, I would say that Buyer Beware is deserving.

monkeywrench133 said:
1) the animal was represented as "perfect", its got cuts on it[/quote[

The author never stated that it had "cuts" on it in his first post, of which was the basis for my original comments. The author stated "injured scales" of which would heal with shedding. My take is that the "injured scales" were minor.

monkeywrench133 said:
2) it came with mites, so there's no telling what else it may have come with. IBD? Internal parasites? Not that mites alone aren't enough of an inconvenience. And there is no such thing as a "perfect" animal with mites.
Click to expand...

Mite, singular not plural per the authors own original post. To automatically assume that it could have IBD, internal parasites etc is immature logic. The vast majority of reptiles will have some sort of parasite on them at some point during the course of their life. It does not mean you make the automatic assumption that it has IBD etc. If you practice proper quarantine procedures and you'll be fine.

monkeywrench133 said:
3) Seller charges 3% for paypal, which is at the least a violation of Paypal rules, at worst a criminal act.
Click to expand...

Find a DA that will prosecute for that. It is poor business to do such and automatically steers me away from the seller. Then again, that was not brought to light until much later in the thread (ie after my original postings).

monkeywrench133 said:
4) Seller fails to provide any compensation, or even show regret for any of the above. That's just plain bad customer service.

5) and the buyer should be grateful he got such a "rare" animal? There were at least 20 of them on either Bob Clark or Mike Wilbank's table at the Arlington show two weekends ago.

Definitely not someone I'll be doing business with any time soon.
Click to expand...

Asked/Answered in my prior postings. With the additional input from other customers I would say that Buyer Beware is appropriate. However, based solely upon the authors original post, and without the input of other customers, I would say that the original post was still not warranted. However, as is often the case, the BOI works and when the input of everyone is involved you can often times get similar stories.

Griz
Click to expand...
 
Let me add one other thing. Now that other individuals have spoken out about their experiences with Todd, I too, am glad that this post was made. Sometimes things are funny how they work out in the end.

Griz
 
I have to agree with those that feel that a few mites is no big deal. I wouldn't consider the sender a bad guy necessarily. He may have thought he had the infestation under control, or he may just received a new arrival himself, and didn't even know he had a problem.

Now the 3% for Paypal that's another story. I wouldn't deal with anyone that tried to do that. It is just a matter of principal
 
I sit on the fence as to whether this should have been posted in the BOI or not, we've seen lamer threads than this one but.....

While mites suck and as was stated there were only one or two visible it is possible the seller was unaware they had them.. Yeah an apology at the very least would have been nice though maybe a bottle of spray would have been better.

As for Woma's being rare? well a few years back that may have been but they sure seem to be all over the place these days and the prices are way way down from what they were.

I will agree that the seller looks worse the more who come here and post about past dealings with him. As was said a thread asking about him before you bought would have been a good thing but at least it is out here now for folks to see. Randy
 
Rarely do you ever get a snake with "just one mite"....where theres one, theres usually companions that you may not see.

Also, No Pest Strips are a deadly carcinogen and have been suspected to cause Neurological issues with some reptiles. Theres no way I would ever bring one around any of my animals.
 
HerpsinIN said:
Not once has he apologied nor has he admitted to having mites. I know this isnt a huge deal, but I think it is important for potential buyers to be aware of the stock he is selling. I was told that there was nothing wrong with this animal, but there was. Nothing major, but I was lied too. Just saying Buyer Beware!

Brad Selig
Click to expand...


As Brad stated above, it is indeed no big deal, but it could have very well become one. He never said he was a bad guy, he said buyer beware. Now that he also mentioned that there was another add that stated it was a morph????? What the hell. This could get fun all of a sudden. :yesnod: If it was advertised as a morph I would start thinking of sending it back.

In all reality I don't have enough info on the rest of this to go any further with the above, but I ran into Brad looking for help on another forum with the mites and heard how the seller treated him and I thought this was a BOI type of situation. Yes mites are a too common occurrence in collections, but they shouldn't be accepted and it should be common sense to apologize to anyone who says you shipped them one.

One other thing I just thought of here is that the seller is a spider guy first and snake guy second. That means if there is a mite problem in his collection he will be hesitant to treat for it in fear of killing of his inverts. Just something to think about...

Jason

On a totally different note the spell check thing is new to me and much needed for my horrible spelling but.. BOI is not in there and recognized???? :shrug01: :D
 
DavidBeard said:
Also, No Pest Strips are a deadly carcinogen and have been suspected to cause Neurological issues with some reptiles. Theres no way I would ever bring one around any of my animals.
Click to expand...

Key word being suspected and by very few. I know of many people who have used them with great success. Myself included. I have 2 going at all times and have never had even one incident regarding the health of my animals or breeding issues. Where the problem, assuming there is one, may be is when people put them inside of the caging etc. I could see where having them in too close of proximity could cause ill effects. If used in accordance to the directions they're great.

Griz
 
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