LiveHermitCrabs.com

[patchouliii]

This isn't your every day business, this is a live animal business with no one else providing the same service, and probably because of what she's going through now. If she had competition, she would need to tighten up shop a bit, but for now, she knows most of the people waiting on their order will wait for them to arrive.

She definitely has the monopoly here and unless she has competition, she has the upper hand as long as people are willing to wait.

[parrothead]

I copied and pasted her emails EXACTLY as they appeared. In fact, I receive a PM through HCA from a moderator for copying a 'cuss' word into the thread... so yeah...

[kuza]

She definitely has the monopoly here and unless she has competition, she has the upper hand as long as people are willing to wait.

I don't think she's trying to be a pushy monopoly though, she's really at the mercy of the suppliers. Pet stores don't make much off Hermit crabs so they can afford to wait.

[Careyenz]

A lot of people have been happy with it, this thread has brought out all the complaints so it makes it look worse then it really is. If I had no other way to get straws than LHC, I'd wait months if I had to wait on new shipment. To me it's worth it.

I wouldn't have ordered if I hadn't gotten fantastic service through my first order. My small straws have been fantastic. Both have been through two molts with me. They are growing and thriving. And arrived mite free. I am disappointed about hearing about the blues. Not sure what my second choice would be. Maybe pink Indos. I don't know. I'm going to keep positive and hope they come in after all. The whole situation is a bummer. I don't blame LHC about the shipping delay. I believe there is only one supplier available to her, but she could have saved a lot of grief by being up front about it. Then 90% of these posts probably wouldn't sound so negative.


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[parrothead]

I am disappointed about hearing about the blues. Not sure what my second choice would be. Maybe pink Indos.

I wanted pink Indo's and she doesn't have any

[Careyenz]

I'm just thinking of what might be coming in that I could substitute. I wonder if she's followed up with a second order ASAP. The first one will be gone before no time.

[patchouliii]

With a small business, honesty means happy, loyal, and supportive customers.

[Careyenz]

I just wanted to update everyone on my conversation with LHC about blues in this next shipment.

Hi. I'm really sorry, and trust me, I'm not happy about it. We will get blues as soon as they become available to our supplier. He doesn't have those answers and is still trying to get them for this shipment that will hopefully be Tuesday. We would be happy to substitute and offer a free crab for anyone who has ordered blues (as well as the free crab for the delay). Or of course, a refund. Sorry

Thank you,
Live Hermit Crabs

[parrothead]

I think that's nice of her.... just sayin'

[Otter]

I am happy I got my refund the thing that still bugs me is she has not even kept her website updated. You can still order blues and she still has the post about her supplier being on holiday. I think that is kind of deceptive. when I ordered the website said they would be in by end of July. Now look still nothing I don't understand why she can't just stops taking orders until the crabs are in. If she just would post on her website keep check back we hope to have them soon I think she would not have so many unhappy people. When she receives the crabs she wants at least two weeks to de-stress them. Why not get the crabs know what you have available post it on your website let folks here know there in and sell what you have available. Really how hard can it be? So instead she has taken money for crabs that may never show up let people think they will get them in a few weeks keeps money for crabs she may never have for months and months and dose not keep customers updated or even update her own website. I can see that this all may be very stressful for them but really this is very bad business.

I wish you all luck I still would like to get some exotics but man they are making is so hard to trust them. I run an internet business and would never think of treating my customers like this it is so unprofessional.

John

[emberfusion]

I am happy I got my refund the thing that still bugs me is she has not even kept her website updated. You can still order blues and she still has the post about her supplier being on holiday. I think that is kind of deceptive. when I ordered the website said they would be in by end of July. Now look still nothing I don't understand why she can't just stops taking orders until the crabs are in. If she just would post on her website keep check back we hope to have them soon I think she would not have so many unhappy people. When she receives the crabs she wants at least two weeks to de-stress them. Why not get the crabs know what you have available post it on your website let folks here know there in and sell what you have available. Really how hard can it be? So instead she has taken money for crabs that may never show up let people think they will get them in a few weeks keeps money for crabs she may never have for months and months and dose not keep customers updated or even update her own website. I can see that this all may be very stressful for them but really this is very bad business.

I wish you all luck I still would like to get some exotics but man they are making is so hard to trust them. I run an internet business and would never think of treating my customers like this it is so unprofessional.

John

Absolutely. I think that is the biggest issue here.

I mean, stuff comes up. Sometimes your suppliers flake and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. That's not her fault, nobody can blame her for that.

It's the simple lack of communication that is causing all the negative comments. I understand she did not know how long her supplier would have her waiting, so she didn't really know if taking down orders was the right way to go or not, but she needs to keep people updated. Most orders cost a good $100 after shipping charges and that is no small amount for most people.

If she would just keep people in the loop (directly, not through having customers post here for her), a lot of the negative comments would stop and people would be less upset.

[Careyenz]

I just wanted to update everyone on my conversation with LHC about blues in this next shipment.

Hi. I'm really sorry, and trust me, I'm not happy about it. We will get blues as soon as they become available to our supplier. He doesn't have those answers and is still trying to get them for this shipment that will hopefully be Tuesday. We would be happy to substitute and offer a free crab for anyone who has ordered blues (as well as the free crab for the delay). Or of course, a refund. Sorry

Thank you,
Live Hermit Crabs

What she didn't do was answer my question. I asked her if a backup order was already placed. If I knew a second order was hot on the trails of this one, then I would wait for the blues. She doesn't answer that at all. What she does is talk about substitutions. With as many freebies as she's offered, and with all the backlog, this order will be gone in a flash. I'm wondering if I'll even get mine, as I placed it at the beginning of August. I still haven't decided if I'll take a substitution. This order will pretty much max me out after my tank upgrade. I don't want to be disappointed that I didn't get what I wanted.


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[patchouliii]

It's also getting cold here Decisions, decisions....

[wodesorel]

It's also getting cold here Decisions, decisions....

She does (at least she used to) ship with heating packs, and everyone who got orders last Christmas had warm and alive crabs arrive at their door. It's a very common practice to ship live tropical animals during cold weather months with heating packs and generally everything goes according to plan.

The official HCA policy is that we don't encourage or endorse cold-weather shipping since if the package were to get lost for a few days or the heating pack were to fail then you would end up with frozen or severely injured crabs. That's why the Hermit Crab Patch only ships from May to October (or thereabouts based on the weather).

[patchouliii]

I can't speak to the supplier issues or the communication issues but I order stuff all day long from all manner of suppliers and I have never heard of a business that charges your credit card before they are ready to ship. I mean, nobody does this. Every reputable business holds your order, then charges your credit card when the order is ready to ship or upon shipment.

Yes. Yes. Yes.