Shipping Beardie - Help

[BeardieT]

hey y’all this is my first post on here so bear with me! Me and my girlfriend have several pet dragons and are getting into breeding as well. However, we recently purchased a White Zero dragon from a personal add on TheBeardedDragon, and paid $150 total. However they just sent me a super long message from some transport company that’s saying it requires $350 to get through to even have her ship, but the $350 will be given back to us open shipment. We’ve never heard of this before and certainly do not want to pay that and potentially lose it, on top of the $150 we’ve already paid. Has anyone else heard of this before? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Shani]

havent purchased from that site but usually if they asking for money that they will return to u it’s a scam. I would go onto google and google the transport company does it even exist do u have a ref number and are there other people complaining about this etc

 

[BeardieT]

havent purchased from that site but usually if they asking for money that they will return to u it’s a scam. I would go onto google and google the transport company does it even exist do u have a ref number and are there other people complaining about this etc

I’ve seen one other person complaining about it but never truly found out if it was a scam, he just got his money back. There was another account on that website who had the same picture of the dragon I wanted from the other person so I emailed them and they said they knew the two people I was in contact with and have worked with them for about fifteen years which is why they help advertise for them as well. It sounds like they’re trying to genuinely help, I just don’t have the $350 for shipping which I’ve never heard of before

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

Sounds sketchy to me. The shipping costs should have been made clear *before* you paid any money for the animal. Honestly, I would request a refund and find a verifiably reputable source.

 

[BeardieT]

Sounds sketchy to me. The shipping costs should have been made clear *before* you paid any money for the animal. Honestly, I would request a refund and find a verifiably reputable source.

That’s probably what I’m gonna do. However there’s been an update and I contacted another seller off that site who had the same picture as her and she said she helps them advertise and likes them a lot. Today the shipper said that she would pay the $350 because of help from a friend. So currently I’m not sure if it’s a scam or true

 

[Shani]

So if she is willing to pay the shipping fees then that’s great, means u won’t lose the money u have already spent
I don’t understand though if they are sellers for such a long time how they wouldn’t know about the shipping fees in advance anyway hope it works out.

 

[BeardieT]

So if she is willing to pay the shipping fees then that’s great, means u won’t lose the money u have already spent
I don’t understand though if they are sellers for such a long time how they wouldn’t know about the shipping fees in advance anyway hope it works out.

Well my fear is that potentially she is saying she’s gonna pay the fees in order to drag me on so she won’t have to repay the $150. However I’m being an optimist and hoping for the best here! Lol

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

Can she explain *why* the shipping would cost $350? Are they flying the dragon to you and giving it a seat on the plane? I still think something's off with this deal. It makes no sense that she'd pay fees that are more than twice what she's getting for an animal she could easily sell without doing that. She wouldn't be in business long.

 

[HoopDiddyDiddy]

IMO the whole thing is just a little too sketchy for my taste. There are plenty of breeders around that have excellent reputations and will disclose all costs before you commit to one specific dragon. I would insist on getting my money back and then go with a trusted source.

 

[BeardieT]

Can she explain *why* the shipping would cost $350? Are they flying the dragon to you and giving it a seat on the plane? I still think something's off with this deal. It makes no sense that she'd pay fees that are more than twice what she's getting for an animal she could easily sell without doing that. She wouldn't be in business long.

She sent me a long invoice and there’s a $350 insurance deposit for “live animal guarantee” and said I’d get the $350 back when the animal arrives

 

[BeardieT]

IMO the whole thing is just a little too sketchy for my taste. There are plenty of breeders around that have excellent reputations and will disclose all costs before you commit to one specific dragon. I would insist on getting my money back and then go with a trusted source.

Yeah same here. I’ll give it a week to see if she actually “pays” it and/or I get the dragon. If not I’ll try to get my money back

 

[bugman]

I may be a little late on this, but in the words of famous sportscaster the late Keith Jackson... "WHOAAAA NELLIE!!". That sounds a LOT sketchy to me. There are numerous reputable shipping companies that could ship a full grown beardie for about a FOURTH of that cost. I happen to own one of those companies (Reptiles2You), and sure - I'd like to have your shipping business - but even if you DON'T use MY company, PLEASE do a little more research and choose a company that is reputable - I hate to see anybody get scammed (and it sounds to me like that could be the road you're headed down). Good luck!

Clay Ghann
Ghann's Cricket Farm, Inc... Reptiles2You, LLC

 

[BeardieT]

I may be a little late on this, but in the words of famous sportscaster the late Keith Jackson... "WHOAAAA NELLIE!!". That sounds a LOT sketchy to me. There are numerous reputable shipping companies that could ship a full grown beardie for about a FOURTH of that cost. I happen to own one of those companies (Reptiles2You), and sure - I'd like to have your shipping business - but even if you DON'T use MY company, PLEASE do a little more research and choose a company that is reputable - I hate to see anybody get scammed (and it sounds to me like that could be the road you're headed down). Good luck!

Clay Ghann
Ghann's Cricket Farm, Inc... Reptiles2You, LLC

There’s been an update to the happening, she paid the $350 for it to ship to me so all was well and good, but then she “got called into their agency” and got an email from them saying the beardie escape and they lost it so they’re compensating us “as to not tarnish the name of their company.” The shipping company is Wa Transport and Logistics (WATL) and their email is [email protected] and I’ve been in contact with them but they seem very sketchy as well.

 

[Kelly T]

Oh dear. I doubt I can add much to what others have said, but I suspect you’re $150 is gone. They tried to see if you were gullible enough to pay the $350 too. When you weren’t, they’ve decided to cut their losses, take what they’ve gotten from you all the while “staying in contact” so you don’t make a complaint. It’s human nature to want to think the best of people. & these people take advantage of that. PLEASE send them no $, & report them! Gone onto Yelp, Twitter, any social media & post your story I bet you’ll find others who’ve been taken by the same method, I’d not the same people. In addition - just a word of causation about buying animals - especially from a backyard breeder. Dragons need to be socialized when they’re little. Otherwise they grow up & still act like the little spaz’s they were when little! Not really - but you get my drift. They need human contact on a regular basis. They have very specific husbandry needs as you already know. Last - genetic diversity is a MUST when breeding & not all backyard breeders are responsible ensuring sufficient genetic diversity to ensure that recessive genetic mutations don’t start matching up with a like recessive gene. Not all breeders care. That’s the bottom line. I have a rescue we pulled out of a pet store. She weighed 5 grams & was supposed to be 3 mos old! She didn’t have enough energy to keep her eyes open & what little skin she had was just hanging off her. I almost got myself arrested that day. The teen was was caring for her said “No... we don’t do that,” when asked if the baby had seen a vet. While she twisted her hair around her finger & stared at the ceiling. The manager said “nobody told me there was a problem.” I ended up buying her just so I could get her to a vet. Her prob? Poor husbandry. She is also, I firmly believe, from an irresponsible breeder. She has several subtle malformations (not MBD) that appear to just be her genetic norm. Anyway. I’ll shut up now. Plz do your homework before buying any animal online! Good luck to you. I would love for all of us to be wrong & you to get your $ back. I just don’t think we are.

 

[Kelly T]

One more quick thing - doing your research & making 100% sure you aren’t supporting irresponsible breeders helps all animals as they won’t do it if it isn’t profitable!

 

[BeardieT]

Oh dear. I doubt I can add much to what others have said, but I suspect you’re $150 is gone. They tried to see if you were gullible enough to pay the $350 too. When you weren’t, they’ve decided to cut their losses, take what they’ve gotten from you all the while “staying in contact” so you don’t make a complaint. It’s human nature to want to think the best of people. & these people take advantage of that. PLEASE send them no $, & report them! Gone onto Yelp, Twitter, any social media & post your story I bet you’ll find others who’ve been taken by the same method, I’d not the same people. In addition - just a word of causation about buying animals - especially from a backyard breeder. Dragons need to be socialized when they’re little. Otherwise they grow up & still act like the little spaz’s they were when little! Not really - but you get my drift. They need human contact on a regular basis. They have very specific husbandry needs as you already know. Last - genetic diversity is a MUST when breeding & not all backyard breeders are responsible ensuring sufficient genetic diversity to ensure that recessive genetic mutations don’t start matching up with a like recessive gene. Not all breeders care. That’s the bottom line. I have a rescue we pulled out of a pet store. She weighed 5 grams & was supposed to be 3 mos old! She didn’t have enough energy to keep her eyes open & what little skin she had was just hanging off her. I almost got myself arrested that day. The teen was was caring for her said “No... we don’t do that,” when asked if the baby had seen a vet. While she twisted her hair around her finger & stared at the ceiling. The manager said “nobody told me there was a problem.” I ended up buying her just so I could get her to a vet. Her prob? Poor husbandry. She is also, I firmly believe, from an irresponsible breeder. She has several subtle malformations (not MBD) that appear to just be her genetic norm. Anyway. I’ll shut up now. Plz do your homework before buying any animal online! Good luck to you. I would love for all of us to be wrong & you to get your $ back. I just don’t think we are.

We know and bought her from a craigslist style website for bearded dragons. She sent me many pictures and she looked big and healthy (about a year old). If I don’t have an update by Thursday I’ll try to see if I can get my money back. Thanks for the help!

 

[Debh27]

havent purchased from that site but usually if they asking for money that they will return to u it’s a scam. I would go onto google and google the transport company does it even exist do u have a ref number and are there other people complaining about this etc

I would DEFINITELY not do it ...

 

[Debh27]

I would DEFINITELY NOT do it

 

[Debh27]

Go to Ryan's Reptiles on Facebook . He is an AMAZING BREEDER , I bought a beardie from him and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND him . The price they were asking seems extremely low ( for the beardie it's self) I also gave a 13 year old Bearded dragon as we as a Juvenile, my newest from Ryan's Reptiles!

 

[BeardieT]

havent purchased from that site but usually if they asking for money that they will return to u it’s a scam. I would go onto google and google the transport company does it even exist do u have a ref number and are there other people complaining about this etc

I haven’t found anyone else online complaining about this and no reference number but I did google the company and there is a website. It honestly sounds like the seller might be getting scammed by the transport company and just doesn’t know it. Since the dragon was “lost” by the company they said they’d reimburse us with a sum of money and she said she’d be contacting her lawyer about it so i don’t even know at this point