Scams

Lego man

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
36
Has anyone come across ads for tortoises that were scams ? My son and I really would to have an Aldabra. We can't really afford the dealer prices so we have been checking the web occasionally. We have actually have contacted a couple of people who have Aldabras listed for sale only to realize it's a scam. One wasn't far from me so I told them I'd like to make the drive and pick it up. They said they could only ship and I had to send them the money for the tortoise plus shipping. I think I remember seeing an ad on here not to long ago for Aldabras in Baltimore. I believe it was a scam also and soon it was removed. It's sad people have to be that way. I'm sure some people fall for it and send money but never get a tortoise in return.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,661
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
All the time. If an Aldabra is listed for under 1900.00 it's probably a scam. They just aren't cheap and you won't find one that is cheap, not a real one that is. Also, most scammers have a lot of species listed and a lot of rare ones listed dirt cheap. All scams
 

naturalman91

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
2,015
Location (City and/or State)
Medford Oregon
yeah unfortunately if it sounds to good to be true or to rehearsed it probably is a scam.

a legitimate breeder will have no problem taking the time to answer your questions
 

Lego man

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
36
Some have prices that are really cheap and it's obvious it's a scam. Then there are some that list prices cheaper than normal that are questionable.
 

cmacusa3

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
3,191
Location (City and/or State)
Bixby
Cheap prices mean 2 things in my mind. Scam or a sick tort that someone is selling cheap to give problems to someone else. I wouldn't go cheap on such an expensive tort. Best advice I can give is don't get one of these if you can't afford a dealer price.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
you're going to have to pay full price for one if you want one I don't see any other way around it
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,391
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
the reason you can't come pick up the tortoise is because the seller isn't in "Baltimore" or "New York" or "Timbucktoo." He's in Cameroon. Almost ALL the tortoise scammers are in Cameroon.
 

saginawhxc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
897
Location (City and/or State)
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Say you do get your real low cost albabra deal, life time cost for care will make the difference between free and $2500 negligible. Basically if you can't afford the tortoise you can't afford the post purchase care.
Everything thing about this comment is dead on.

If you can't afford $2000+ for a tortoise, how are you going to feed and house it? What are you going to do when it gets sick?

One of my least favorite sentences ever is "Oh my (name any pet) is sick, but I can't afford to take him to a vet."

Maybe I'm coming across here poorly, and if so then I apologize.
I really don't want to drive you away from the forum, but this is too huge of an issue to not point out to you.

Plus is anybody honestly selling their aldabra on Craigslist?
 

tglazie

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
631
Location (City and/or State)
San Antonio, TX
Tortoises are expensive to set up. Feeding a tortoise is cheap if you have the land to produce the bulk of it's food, and hay isn't especially expensive, but the activities involved in the procurement of these items are certainly more costly than picking up a bag of dog food at the grocery store. That's the thing. Tortoises aren't just going to cost you money. If you're smart and save money on them by growing much of the food yourself, you will end up spending a lot of time tending the soil in the fall and spring. You will either have to know some carpentry/construction skills or know someone who does, because no commercial reptile enclosures can accomodate the spatial needs of tortoises, especially the giant ones. When I consider how much I've spent on my animals, it really blows my mind. But, the thing is, it's worth it. If you can afford it, you should do it. And it does get easier as you go, given that you will find keeping tortoises is like anything else. The more you do it, the better you are at doing it. You'll learn general principles that apply to virtually all species, more specific principles to pertain to the species under your care, and minutely specific principles that pertain to your particular tortoise or tortoises. But yes, if you can't afford an aldabra, consider another tortoise that fits more easily within your budget.

T.G.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,939
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Cheap prices mean 2 things in my mind. Scam or a sick tort that someone is selling cheap to give problems to someone else. I wouldn't go cheap on such an expensive tort. Best advice I can give is don't get one of these if you can't afford a dealer price.
True. My sick "bargain" Redfoot Bertha was very ill and tacked about $2,400 onto her true pricetag.
 

Holly'sMom

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
136
A lady was just scammed on two Sulcata hatchlings on FB the profile was deleted so I can't find it in my messages but I'll ask her for the name
 

Holly'sMom

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
136
The best way to avoid any scam is to use PayPal and NEVER USE FRIENDS and FAMILY the fees are only about 4% of the total (including shipping in that total plus 30cents for every 100$-that's how figure out what to add for fees onto items I'm selling)
 

Holly'sMom

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
136
Martin Garcia was the FB profile scamming for Sulcatas idk if I was blocked or it was deleted. (It's telling me on here I don't have permission to upload the pic of messages/profile from FB)
 

Walter1

New Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Has anyone come across ads for tortoises that were scams ? My son and I really would to have an Aldabra. We can't really afford the dealer prices so we have been checking the web occasionally. We have actually have contacted a couple of people who have Aldabras listed for sale only to realize it's a scam. One wasn't far from me so I told them I'd like to make the drive and pick it up. They said they could only ship and I had to send them the money for the tortoise plus shipping. I think I remember seeing an ad on here not to long ago for Aldabras in Baltimore. I believe it was a scam also and soon it was removed. It's sad people have to be that way. I'm sure some people fall for it and send money but never get a tortoise in return.
that is so sad :( I hope you find some honest people
 

TheSulcata

Active Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
Messages
209
All the time. If an Aldabra is listed for under 1900.00 it's probably a scam. They just aren't cheap and you won't find one that is cheap, not a real one that is. Also, most scammers have a lot of species listed and a lot of rare ones listed dirt cheap. All scams
Wow... that is crazy priced... I got my sulcatas for free, but there were multiple deals on sulcatas under $200
 

saginawhxc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
897
Location (City and/or State)
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Wow... that is crazy priced... I got my sulcatas for free, but there were multiple deals on sulcatas under $200
You might have missed it, but that price he gave of 1900 was for a aldabra not a sulcata. Sulcatas are fairly common, but aldabra's are a bit rarer to come across. 1900 is cheap for one.
 

New Posts

Top