Backwater Reptiles

I just to say thank you for my 2 Male Chinese Water Dragons, they arrived to me safe and sound! Most importantly they are friendly and very friendly! I also want to thank Abbey and Amanda you 2 are awesome! Backwater Reptiles is best place for reptiles and I recommend them for everyone.

This was my first time ordering from backwater reptiles & it definitely won't be the last time. My little snapping turtle arrived healthy and beautiful! Just wanted to give a good review, Thanks! :)

Review: I am emailing you this complaint, because I purchased two red claw female scorpions, from an online website called backwaterreptiles.com. I purchased them exactly on 01/01/2016 new years, right after 12am. I never received a bill of sale, with either an order number or tracking number. I emailed them quite a few times, before I ordered, because I heard from some other online sellers, that this was a bad company to buy animals from, but any business would say things like that, to throw of another other business, so I gave backwaterreptiles, the benefit of the doubt, they answered all of my questions. I did warn them that I had contacted you guys in the past, so I hoped I hoped for the best, but right after the purchase. I never heard from them since, and they took out the money from my gift [redacted] account

$39.99 for two female red claw scorpions $19.99 a piece(live animals)

and $39.99 for overnight shipping, this is my address, but I use my PO BOX instead for letters and non live packages. This is their address I got from the credit card company, they took out my money, but never sent me my merchandise or a email with a tracking number, or bill of saleDesired Settlement: Please help me. I want my money back and no animal should have to suffer any of the reviews I've read online, as soon as I hear from you I will call you and give you my phone number by voice and not email or text, its for safety reasons, due to telemarketers

Business

Response:

This customer did place an order then later contacted us to refund it. We had at least 20 e-mails back-and-forth with her, so it's odd that she would've filed a Revdex.com complaint rather than simply e-mailing us to mention she hadn't seen the refund hit her statement. Our newest employee had been communicating with [redacted], and simply did not process the refund correctly. I have gone ahead and refunded the order just now, so the customer will see the credit hit her statement within 2-3 business days.Still somewhat baffled on this one--we were even wishing each other Happy New Year in e-mails with this customer, and our response time was very quick. The customer has been emailed a copy of the refund.

I ordered a hard to find treefrog through backwater reptiles. They were able to find, and deliver us our frog before a very important deadline (daughters birthday). They kept in touch with me everyday to keep me informed. They were very diligent on finding the frog. I will continue to use backwater reptiles for all our new pets.

Great company and excellent customer service. Very professional package got there lighting quick. Animal was healthy and energetic.

Exceptional quality pets offered. On-time delivery of critters, only one minor glitch in habitat delivery. Customer service was on the ball when contacted. All in all, satisfactory experience. Thank you.

This is the first time I have ordered from Backwater Reptiles and the experience was excellent. The quality of the reptile I received was top notch and arrived in quality packing. The most impressive thing is that, while the do not offer a telephone number (as they use multiple distribution sources to cut down on overhead), they do respond to questions in a very timely manner. Overall, BWR seems to be a very professional operation.

They are wonderful to work with and keep things legal. Upon shipping they supply a tracking number and you have to sign at delivery. They do keep touch in emails back and forth and are always on track to answer and respond immediately. My female arrived healthy as promised and alive they were a pleasure to work with and professional! I will do buisiness with them again. They are willing to answer any question you have.

Review: Ordered an iguana for my son. It arrived dead while I was at work and my son received the dead animal. Backwater required a photo to prove the animal's expiration. They responded to my son's eamils and made deals with him despite the fact that I also emailed them and that my name was on the invoice, order number, and credit card. I received a later email with a very nasty tone and it stated that now, my live animal guarantee was void. I requested a full refund, and received no further reply. Following up with my credit card company.Desired Settlement: full refund of $54.98

Business

Response:

This customer ordered a baby Green iguana, which we shipped to her and she received. Unfortunately it was apparently DOA, although the customer never e-mailed us proof per the website instructions (we require a picture of any dead animal, for our records). Despite the fact that the customer's local temperatures completely voided our live arrival guarantee (anything below 40F), we still offered our guarantee program which means the customer could either:

Have bought feeder crickets from this company 2 times, the first time had no problems but the second time almost half of the 500 animals that I bought ended up dead on arrival and by the end of the next day all but maybe a dozen were dead. Talked to a person named Abbey on Friday July 18 2014 and was asked to provide pictured of the dead animals which I did and now 4 days later can not get any contact with the company.

I ordered two baby geckos from them, a little worried at first of course! But I recieved my geckos safe and sound in less than 24 hours from the time they shipped it out! My geckos were so happy and healthy when I got them! I'll definitely buy from them again !

I Loved the first order of turtles so much, all the creatures were Healthy and so I had to order 4 more turtles. Southern painted and a couple Eastern painted. So Small, as babies are but Extremely Cute and Healthy! Thank You :) nancy p[redacted]

My lizard arrived on time, alive, and healthy. My red female bearded dragon also has beautiful colors! I was VERY satisfied!!

Ordered two baby turtles from them they look great and are very active.

Was very happy with my purchase of emperor scorpions they arrived in great health and are doing extremely well will be doing my business here from now on!!!!

Review: I ordered a [redacted]'s Chameleon from Backwater Reptiles this past Wednesday, it was shipped Thursday, and arrived promptly at my door on Friday. Upon arrival, I opened up the box to discover that the Chameleon was dead. It was very evident to me why he was dead too. The paper bag he was placed in (which I guess is done for security and air flow) was elevated too high by the packing paper underneath it and so the styrofoam layer that went on top put too much pressure on him, thereby squishing him. His leg was even bent back, which I think is evidence enough that this was not a carrier/shipping problem, but a packaging one. I have spoken with three separate representatives from Backwater, first regarding the refund of the lizard itself due to being DOA (which was resolved), but then regarding compensation for the shipping since it is due to poor packaging that I believe the Chameleon died. While they all have been courteous enough, I have gotten nowhere due to my acceptance of their Live Arrival Guarantee upon ordering. My issue is that this has nothing to do with that guarantee; it violates none of it. I have submitted pictures of the Chameleon and the packaging, all for naught, as Backwater doesn't feel it needs to take any responsibility for this aspect of the process.Desired Settlement: All I want is to be recompensed the $39.99 for the cost of shipping. I don't feel like this is a huge request considering the circumstances.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] ordered a [redacted]'s chameleon from us, which was promptly shipped the following day, and delivered the day after that by 10:28am, slightly ahead of schedule. His local temperatures hit the low 40's, which we still guarantee, but they are not ideal. Shipping live reptiles is a shared risk between the shipper and the receiver. His lizard unfortunately arrived DOA and, while this is fairly rare, it does happen occasionally. Each customer must click, "Yes, I agree to the live arrival guarantee terms" before they can submit an order on our website, and this provides us with a digital signature acknowledging and accepting the straightforward terms. Our guarantee is very clear, and prominently displayed on the top menu of every single page on our site, all 600+ pages. In the case of a DOA reptile, we offer a refund of the reptile less shipping, or we ship another reptile free and the customer only covers shipping. This is the standard guarantee within the reptile industry, and our's in actually the best in the nation as it spans seven days after arrival.We processed a refund for the chameleon ($29.99) per the customer's choice, and while he said, "While I'm disappointed as a whole, I appreciate the fact that you've responded to my concerns" he does believe that he is entitled to a refund for the shipping cost ($39.99) as well. I've explained as politely as possible that we don't refund shipping. In fact, no reptile company in the country does.The customer has threatened to post negative reviews, but we don't make exceptions based upon threats and name-calling. It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but we realize as a business there are certain customers who believe the rules don't apply to them.Cordially,[redacted]While I'm disappointed as a whole, I appreciate the fact that you've responded to my concerns, however, I feel, inadequately.

Review: I ordered a LARGE cage for my chameleon on backwater reptiles and they sent me a MEDIUM cage that was heavily damaged. The cage had tears in the mesh screen and the door latches were broken as well as there being dents all over the cage.Furthermore, the chameleon I received has been displaying odd characteristics that indicate that it may be sick. It has been sleeping during the day, its eyes are almost always closed, has been rubbing itself on things, etc. despite myself providing all the proper equipment needed to care for the animal. I have tried contacting backwater reptiles, but to no avail as they have not been responding.Desired Settlement: I would either want a LARGE, undamaged cage sent to me or my money back for the practically unusable medium cage I was sent.I would also want another healthy chameleon sent to me or my money refunded.

Business

Response:

It's unfortunate that this customer has chosen to be blatantly dishonest in their complaint. They said, verbatim, "I have tried contacting backwater reptiles, but to no avail as they have not been responding." We are attaching a screenshot (below) showing no fewer than 16 responses from us to the customer over the past week. We have offered to send a pre-paid shipping label to have him send the cage back, and we would then send a new, larger one. He declined. So, we said we'd offer a partial refund instead, which we are glad to do. Sometimes products such as cages get damaged in transit--it isn't common, but it happens occasionally. In this case, the screen cage had a tear, and one of the two locks was disabled.

My baby ball python came in excellent health and was full of energy , there was no scratches or any kind of marks on my snake I could tell the animal was takin care of, there are a lot of bad reports/videos on backwater reptiles but they are simply not true

I am very pleased. I ordered a rainbow boa and its beautiful. I would recommend them to anyone.

Excellent customer service. Responded to all my questions promptly. Turtle was shipped overnight with heat pack and arrived safely. Highly recommend this seller!