Scams and Illegitimate Breeders

[twas brillig]

I figured we could start a sticky listing all the scammed and breeders that are less than ideal. Feel free to post websites, text screenshots, etc. Anything it takes to keep you from losing money, tears, etc.

 

I also would like this to be a thread where one can post suspicious or peculiar activity for all of us to investigate if the said breeder is legitimate.

 

I'll go first.

 

Company/Breeder: Parrots Home

Location: Cameroon

Phone Number: 6016003128

Website: http://www.parrotshome.com

What their email looks like:

Hello, Thanks for contacting me about my parrots for sale.* I am based

in Cameroon,CMR and I'm currently running a family parrots farm which

I inherited from my late father after he passed away 2 years*ago.So*I

have a variety of parrots & eggs available. My parrots are well

socialized, smart and inquisitive. They love the company of children

and other pets such as dogs & cats. Eat almost everything. They love

apples, melon, grapes, palm nuts, peanut etc.I have more than 2

already weaned parrots which are ready for sale. Both young and adults

are available. The parrots ages range from 12 weeks old - 9 years old.

 

WEBSITE:*http://www.parrotshome.com

 

Note: SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE IF NEEDED!!

 

So let me know the sex and age of parrot which you want and I will

give you the price. Also when do you need this parrot? How many do you

want?

 

 

Thanks and waiting for your reply

PARROTS HOME

 

As you can see it looks very legitimate to the naked eye or unsuspecting people. I've bought enough things on the Internet to know what to look for so I hope this post helps someone else.

Edited March 11, 2014 by twas brillig
Added Email Transcript

[Dave007]

I figured we could start a sticky listing all the scammed and breeders that are less than ideal. Feel free to post websites, text screenshots, etc. Anything it takes to keep you from losing money, tears, etc.

 

I also would like this to be a thread where one can post suspicious or peculiar activity for all of us to investigate if the said breeder is legitimate.

 

I'll go first.

 

Company/Breeder: Parrots Home

Location: Cameroon

Phone Number: 6016003128

Website: http://www.parrotshome.com

[ATTACH]25028[/ATTACH][ATTACH]25029[/ATTACH]

What their email looks like:

 

 

As you can see it looks very legitimate to the naked eye or unsuspecting people. I've bought enough things on the Internet to know what to look for so I hope this post helps someone else.

 

 

First off , nothing about that Email answer you got looks legitimate or even close to legitimate and just about everyone here knows that. Any place that is selling eggs is a no no.

 

 

The types of info you would like to be posted is very subjective and possibly even illegal.

If people are scammed , they can report it to the proper authorities. Some do, some don't. Listing different businesses on a public board (like this one) without absolute proof can possibly result in a libel suit. If people are scammed, they can come to bird boards and tell other members about the scam and warn them to stay away from that company. There may not have been a scam but maybe a misunderstanding or maybe it was a scam. Subjective. Proof?

 

 

 

Illegitimate Breeders. What constitutes illegitimate breeders? There's a wide variety of information available concerning the purchase of any animals including parrots. All people are told to go through a variety of steps when buying a parrot. That's if they're looking for that advice. There's guarantees, warranties, refunds, basic vet visits. If the person wants to avoid or really doesn't show interest in any of those things but instead decides to purchase a much less expensive parrot and the parrot is not good quality and has health issues, that's the buyer's fault. The seller can't be faulted. The seller is a scumbag for selling inferior animals that don't come with guarantees, warranties, refunds, exchange clauses. Some people may get the said items when buying a bird but feel like they've been cheated because the bird isn't banded.The buyer is simply an idiot for not looking into things. Putting the name of that seller on a public list( especially a sticky) is illegal. There's even a possibility that the said person may change their selling methods. We tell people here to see the animal first before buying. Sight unseen is not good. We give a basic set of questions to ask before purchasing a parrot. First and foremost, the bird should be fully weaned. At least 85% of problems can be avoided. We tell people what basic questions should be asked concerning the parrots that are being sold. If they don't wanna do that it's their problem.

As far as Cameroon, Africa, it's a very well known fact that birds can't be imported from one country to another no matter what country it is unless there's a law that has to do with extreme quarantine by either country. Africa is excluded. That also includes all other animals. BUT, if a person doesn't know about these things, it's up to the person to find out about it. That's part of what bird boards are all about. We can help people about going forward but we can't tell them to go to the left or right.

 

 

In your very first post, you asked about buying a parrot online------That comes under the category of sight unseen. If you did that and there was a problem, we can't classify that seller as being bad or good nor will we post the seller's name. Another person may have done the same thing and gotten a great bird from the same seller.

 

 

Even though you're visually impaired or blind, you should have another person with you and then shop around. Another person can greatly help. You can get help here on how to shop around and what questions to ask etc etc.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Dave007