Selling tarantulas to strangers?

Joanie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
205
I am usually more of a lurker than a poster, but I had a weird experience today.

While I am not a dealer, I do occasionally sell and/or trade tarantulas. I typically arrange these deals through arachnoboards. Today I was at a local reptile and exotics show and I found a spider that had formerly been mine at a rescue organization's table. The spider was recognizable due to the home-made caging and hide which were very clearly the ones I'd made. I asked the rescue organization about it and it turns out I'd sold several spiders to a drug dealer, who then was busted and had his animals confiscated. He also was apparently keeping the tarantulas in an unheated storage unit and some of the slings were dead when they were found.

I feel really weird and bad about this, though obviously there was no way I could've known that the guy was a drug dealer or that any of this would happen. Does anyone here check out the people they sell to?
 

tarantulaeddie0

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
87
Ab buisness

Wuts up man. For me i research, ask others on the board, look at how many reviews they have. It is pretty crazy that u sold them to a drug dealer. Even the hobby has crazies.
 

Musicwolf

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
283
Did you buy them back? I would have just for the story value :D. not too much you can do to research people when you're selling them over the internet, but certainly if I had any bad indications or "red flags" about someone, I wouldn't sell to them.
 

Raine

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
10
I think in most cases you can't know who it is you're really selling to. Even people online can appear to be great but unless you meet them and see where they live etc. you're not really going to know. The same problem is found in the reptile community. A lot of times people who buy from others online go and sell them to just about anyone at a higher price. Or some 'rescues' are actually being used for breeding so that they can profit from the babies. A lot of times these people do drugs. Some of them are even poor owners who care for the animals badly. There is really no 100% way to know unless you are selling to personal friends of yours or people you have met and been to their home.

It really stinks that a drug dealer who obviously didn't take care of the Ts was sold one of yours. But it was no fault of your own. There was zero way you could have known even had you spoken to him via email or phone. So don't feel bad. I once sold one of my Iguanas to someone who I believed would be a great owner from our talking over phone and email. Turns out he was an idiot who, even after very well laid out instructions on how to care for her, only fed her iceberg lettuce and carrots with the occasional piece of fruit thrown in there. I ended up getting a call from his ex who said he was out and asked if I wanted to come get her back. I left the money and took the lizard back, feeling like crap because the time she'd been with him she had gotten mouth rot and had turned a dull grey brown where she was a lovely bright green specimen. It took me six months to undo the damage he had done and later I sold her again to someone I knew. I had to sell one of my iggys due to space requirements as I already had one and they did not get along! So I kept the one I'd gotten first.

But again: not your fault. :)
 

Joanie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
205
Thanks for the feedback. :)

And heck yes I bought my tarantula back, and I'm going to get involved with the society/rescue group besides. It IS a good story, I'm just sorry I put my spiders in that situation and that in a roundabout way I gave the rescue group more work to do with animals they weren't very familiar with.
 

starlight_kitsune

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 9, 2010
Messages
197
Thanks for the feedback. :)

And heck yes I bought my tarantula back, and I'm going to get involved with the society/rescue group besides. It IS a good story, I'm just sorry I put my spiders in that situation and that in a roundabout way I gave the rescue group more work to do with animals they weren't very familiar with.
At least not your T can have a nice peaceful, Drug-free life,
and it's awesome that your getting involved in the rescue, rescue societies need all the help they can get. I help out at the small one here in my hometown when I can.
 

PrimalTaunt

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
467
Hope you enjoyed SEWERFest. Sadly I ended up not making it. Technically the review section here can also be used for buyers but few people use it for that reason and it really doesn't say anything about how well they keep their tarantulas/otherpets.
 

JimM

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Messages
880
Yeah there's no way you can 'shop for buyers' really. Frankly the whole concept with regard to T's and this board sounds silly. There are wack jobs out there, when you sell you take the chance that your customer might be one, the end.
 

briarpatch10

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
67
Amen

Yeah there's no way you can 'shop for buyers' really. Frankly the whole concept with regard to T's and this board sounds silly. There are wack jobs out there, when you sell you take the chance that your customer might be one, the end.

I see this kind of stuff on craigslist all the time. People selling pets that want to come to your home and see your living arrangements, asking financial questions. I will never understand trying to shop for a buyer! :wall:
 

Raine

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
10
I can actually understand why some people (mostly rescues or shelters, sometimes dog or cat breeders) want to ask about your financial situation or see where you live. If you can't afford to spay/neuter (which is on most contracts), to feed your dog decent food, or get shots? I wouldn't be giving dogs from my lines to anyone like that. Someone could say they own a house and really be living with other people and renting or in an apartment too small for the breed they are wanting.

But with Ts? Minus the 'whack jobs' I'm sorry, but who can't afford a T? I'm on a single person's budget and buying a few crickets here and there costs nothing. Buying a critter keeper is even so inexpensive. Ts are probably (aside from snakes!) the cheapest and easiest on the wallet--not that this makes them any less important than any other pet--IMO.
 

JimM

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Messages
880
I see this kind of stuff on craigslist all the time. People selling pets that want to come to your home and see your living arrangements, asking financial questions. I will never understand trying to shop for a buyer! :wall:
I can understand asking questions in the case of dogs, cats, birds...to some extent. When I worked at a fish store back in the day, and someone was wanting to purchase either a species of fish that got large, or was delicate, I questioned them about their tank, setup, experience.
 

endoflove

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
270
LOL hey i remember u!!!! i was the asian guy at Will's table...at least i saw that that versi was going to a good home.
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,956
I see this kind of stuff on craigslist all the time. People selling pets that want to come to your home and see your living arrangements, asking financial questions. I will never understand trying to shop for a buyer! :wall:
That sounds VERY painstaking if that route was taken with selling an egg sac. :eek::rolleyes:{D Well the slings of one anyways. Can you imagine checking everyone out selling Lasiodora slings!?
 

Nomadinexile

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
2,674
This is a simple situation.

You never know who someone is and what they will do, even if you sell them something face to face. It just happens to effect us more in this situation because these are living.

But what if you worked at/owned a grocery store? People come in a buy booze for teenagers all the time. Sometimes they buy it to take advantage of teenagers or adults. You don't know and you never will.

That's part of selling things. You don't know what will happen after, and you can't control it either. But when it really comes down to it, if you don't sell it, someone else will.

The best thing here is that you are selling cb slings (I assume since they are slings). That is better than this guy buying WC and doing the same thing. It may not feel like it now, but it is.

You can't ever stop this from happening. Unless you only sold to people you've known for 20 years. But then the jerks would just buy WC destroying local populations. You did the world a favor selling to this guy.

Don't feel bad. There's nothing to feel bad about, except the humanity of some people. But all we can do is educate and influence the best we can, and hope the people of the world improve.

~Peace~
 

Joanie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
205
LOL hey i remember u!!!! i was the asian guy at Will's table...at least i saw that that versi was going to a good home.
well, it went back to the home that it evidently should have stayed in to start with--it's been named Prodigal and won't ever be sold again. :rolleyes: I've got two of its siblings, too--guess they weren't meant to be separated.
 
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