US The Spider Shoppe Negative Trading Experience

[Eden Exotics]

Let me preface this by saying that I don't like leaving negative reviews and only do it if I think it is absolutely necessary. I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm a seller myself and have gotten some unfair negative reviews before that were just a misunderstanding that could have been easily remedied if the seller just reached out to me first. However, this is not one of those instances.

I did a trade with Tyler last June for several tarantulas. The first thing that was irritating is he changed the deal several times, right up until the night before. I was just about to back out just because of that. But anyways, I agreed to his (many) changes, but was not happy with what was finally sent. That's not why I'm leaving a negative review though.
Secondly, one of the tarantulas that he was supposed to send (an A. geniculata) never got sent. Again, I am pretty forgiving with this kind of stuff, so I'm not even leaving a negative review for that reason.
The reason I'm giving a negative review is this:
I got 6 supposedly unsexed 2" I. mira tarantulas, and I just noticed yesterday that they are all male. Now if it were 3 or 4, sure that could theoretically be coincidence. But 6? Highly unlikely. He knew these were males and sold them as unsexed. A couple other reasons I suspect this are because another 2" supposedly unsexed species turned out to be male and he has NO males listed on his site, only females or unsexed. So what he's doing is selling males as unsexed for more money, at least from the west coast location. It's a really lowball thing to do. I would stay away from this guy; I definitely won't be doing business with him in the future.

 

[goldenpumpkin]

Let me preface this by saying that I don't like leaving negative reviews and only do it if I think it is absolutely necessary. I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm a seller myself and have gotten some unfair negative reviews before that were just a misunderstanding that could have been easily remedied if the seller just reached out to me first. However, this is not one of those instances.

I did a trade with Tyler last June for several tarantulas. The first thing that was irritating is he changed the deal several times, right up until the night before. I was just about to back out just because of that. But anyways, I agreed to his (many) changes, but was not happy with what was finally sent. That's not why I'm leaving a negative review though.
Secondly, one of the tarantulas that he was supposed to send (an A. geniculata) never got sent. Again, I am pretty forgiving with this kind of stuff, so I'm not even leaving a negative review for that reason.
The reason I'm giving a negative review is this:
I got 6 supposedly unsexed 2" I. mira tarantulas, and I just noticed yesterday that they are all male. Now if it were 3 or 4, sure that could theoretically be coincidence. But 6? Highly unlikely. He knew these were males and sold them as unsexed. A couple other reasons I suspect this are because another 2" supposedly unsexed species turned out to be male and he has NO males listed on his site, only females or unsexed. So what he's doing is selling males as unsexed for more money, at least from the west coast location. It's a really lowball thing to do. I would stay away from this guy; I definitely won't be doing business with him in the future.

Hey your honesty is much appreciated. The "only females or unsexed" thing is such a big red flag for me. I never trust anyone who has "only females or unsexed". I'm sorry to hear this happened to you.

 

[octanejunkie]

I have raised many unsexed slings from the same and different sacs and can attest to a larger male maturity rate than female in some cases 8 out of 10 were male, others 1 out of 4 and sometimes 50/50.

I've done business with Tyler more than once, including trades, etc. I have not had the experience the OP asserts to have had - did you discuss with him prior to posting negative reviews? Did you give him a chance to address your concerns? Just asking.

 

[Eden Exotics]

I have raised many unsexed slings from the same and different sacs and can attest to a larger male maturity rate than female in some cases 8 out of 10 were male, others 1 out of 4 and sometimes 50/50.

I've done business with Tyler more than once, including trades, etc. I have not had the experience the OP asserts to have had - did you discuss with him prior to posting negative reviews? Did you give him a chance to address your concerns? Just asking.

It's not just that though, it's everything else I mentioned too and the fact that there is just one male listed on his site (there was one that was added after I posted that), but 10 females.
I'm not going to say that this isn't theoretically out of the realm of possibility to be a random event, but in context of everything else, I'd say it's highly unlikely. I would just caution anyone buying from him. He was extremely unprofessional, and I meant him in person actually and he said he has just started doing this as a business last year, just because he thinks he can make more money from this than his old job.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I've also had bad experiences with Tyler... Even though I get my head ripped off anytime I mention anything, god forbid anyone speak out!

 

[Lentulus]

I've also had bad experiences with Tyler... Even though I get my head ripped off anytime I mention anything, god forbid anyone speak out!

Could you elaborate some? I mean saying some person or company blows without explaining doesn’t help. It’s useless for customers like myself because it tells me nothing other than you don’t like their business.

For example, the op wrote a very lengthy review. But the only valid complaint—not getting what they ordered—isn’t what they’re primarily upset about. No details were offered in regards to this. They jumped into hypotheticals and/or what they suspect. That is almost useless. An outsider like myself see little more than sour grapes. Complaining that they met in person and the seller is making the exotic pet business their primary source of income also isn’t a negative. Again, sour grapes. If anything, the OP has displayed a willingness to publicly air a private conversation when things don’t go their way.

I hope this isn’t interpreted as ripping your head off, just a request for clarity. Potential customers love it when people speak out. It makes it much easier for us to choose someone we want to do business with and someone we don’t.

Without real verifiable details, this all comes off as seller vs seller silliness.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Could you elaborate some? I mean saying some person or company blows without explaining doesn’t help. It’s useless for customers like myself because it tells me nothing other than you don’t like their business.

For example, the op wrote a very lengthy review. But the only valid complaint—not getting what they ordered—isn’t what they’re primarily upset about. No details were offered in regards to this. They jumped into hypotheticals and/or what they suspect. That is almost useless. An outsider like myself see little more than sour grapes. Complaining that they met in person and the seller is making the exotic pet business their primary source of income also isn’t a negative. Again, sour grapes. If anything, the OP has displayed a willingness to publicly air a private conversation when things don’t go their way.

I hope this isn’t interpreted as ripping your head off, just a request for clarity. Potential customers love it when people speak out. It makes it much easier for us to choose someone we want to do business with and someone we don’t.

Without real verifiable details, this all comes off as seller vs seller silliness.

First interaction was that I contacted him probably around a year ago to purchase a female P. ornata he had listed, we made a deal and I paid. A week later he contacted me saying that he was not going to ship her because he heard bad things about me, canceled my order (which then took another 2 weeks for me to even receive my money back). Then I saw him completely making up false claims about me on Facebook recently, which I'm sure he's been doing in private as well.

 

[GrimDad]

He is one of my favorite sellers, also met him in person and had a great experience. Have bought from him many times and will in the future. A good reputable dealer in my opinion. Everyone can have a bad experience but doesn't mean the seller sucks. Lentulus worded it perfectly

 

[ta122]

Just adding input from my own experience...
I've only ordered from them once so far. Out of six spiderlings ranging from .5-1.5", I got three females. I had no other issues and was pleased with the sale. I'm sorry for your experience, though.

 

[PapaSmith]

Let me preface this by saying that I don't like leaving negative reviews and only do it if I think it is absolutely necessary. I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm a seller myself and have gotten some unfair negative reviews before that were just a misunderstanding that could have been easily remedied if the seller just reached out to me first. However, this is not one of those instances.

I did a trade with Tyler last June for several tarantulas. The first thing that was irritating is he changed the deal several times, right up until the night before. I was just about to back out just because of that. But anyways, I agreed to his (many) changes, but was not happy with what was finally sent. That's not why I'm leaving a negative review though.
Secondly, one of the tarantulas that he was supposed to send (an A. geniculata) never got sent. Again, I am pretty forgiving with this kind of stuff, so I'm not even leaving a negative review for that reason.
The reason I'm giving a negative review is this:
I got 6 supposedly unsexed 2" I. mira tarantulas, and I just noticed yesterday that they are all male. Now if it were 3 or 4, sure that could theoretically be coincidence. But 6? Highly unlikely. He knew these were males and sold them as unsexed. A couple other reasons I suspect this are because another 2" supposedly unsexed species turned out to be male and he has NO males listed on his site, only females or unsexed. So what he's doing is selling males as unsexed for more money, at least from the west coast location. It's a really lowball thing to do. I would stay away from this guy; I definitely won't be doing business with him in the future.

I was under the impression most larger organizations were doing this to limit the amount of females out there. Where do you go to get a fair ratio of female to male spinderlings?

 

[PapaSmith]

Let me preface this by saying that I don't like leaving negative reviews and only do it if I think it is absolutely necessary. I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm a seller myself and have gotten some unfair negative reviews before that were just a misunderstanding that could have been easily remedied if the seller just reached out to me first. However, this is not one of those instances.

I did a trade with Tyler last June for several tarantulas. The first thing that was irritating is he changed the deal several times, right up until the night before. I was just about to back out just because of that. But anyways, I agreed to his (many) changes, but was not happy with what was finally sent. That's not why I'm leaving a negative review though.
Secondly, one of the tarantulas that he was supposed to send (an A. geniculata) never got sent. Again, I am pretty forgiving with this kind of stuff, so I'm not even leaving a negative review for that reason.
The reason I'm giving a negative review is this:
I got 6 supposedly unsexed 2" I. mira tarantulas, and I just noticed yesterday that they are all male. Now if it were 3 or 4, sure that could theoretically be coincidence. But 6? Highly unlikely. He knew these were males and sold them as unsexed. A couple other reasons I suspect this are because another 2" supposedly unsexed species turned out to be male and he has NO males listed on his site, only females or unsexed. So what he's doing is selling males as unsexed for more money, at least from the west coast location. It's a really lowball thing to do. I would stay away from this guy; I definitely won't be doing business with him in the future.

Another thing you should consider: if I was doing what you are accusing Spider Shopee of doing to reduce the number of females out there. I would be “smart” and list “assumed males” in my inventor to throw people like you off. All larger tarantula/spiderling breeders do this. Some do a better job to hide it than others. FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

 

[Heretic]

my outsider 2-cents here...
1- The entire experience is the reason for the negative review. You wouldn't share the details if they were not relevant to your displeasure in the transaction.
2- Unsexed, never sexed and confirmed are commonly held terms. I would assume "male" on any "unsexed" purchase especially on a 2" specimen.

As a person reading your review, I take more value in it for the reasons you say dont matter, and frankly as a "new guy here" Tyler needs to take note here because as a new player looking for Ts, he's down on the list now...and again its for the two reasons the Poster said didnt matter to them. They do matter.