FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So, I've learned a valuable lesson in life, the same lesson that I have learned in other walks of life, but now I'm learning it in CP World. I was so eager to get new rare varieties of Flytraps, that I threw a bunch of money at a stranger expecting value in return. I may still get something, maybe everything, returned, but for now I have opened a dispute with PayPal over the pathetic excuse for flytraps that this person has shipped to me, after claiming that the clones he was sending were "young adults near flowering size, some have already flowered." Of course the seller stopped communicating with me once I rec'd the plants and complained about their size, (not as advertised), general condition (looked like they were growing in a dark basement), and the fact that they were indistinguishable as the variety they were supposed to be. Any merchant worth a *%$@& would have offered to take the plants back and give a full refund. Through PayPal, he offered $20 back of the $171 I paid for three clones: supposedly Jaws Smiley, Angel Wings and Moon Traps. See if you can tell which is which. Or if all three are just lanky typicals:




So, I took a chance, and got burned, and now I feel really stupid, and I wonder how many others CARNIVOR has ripped off here recently. If you plan on buying from this shyster, run far away. If you have already ordered from him, and feel ripped off, and you paid with PayPal, open a dispute. The more complaints he has against his PayPal account, the stronger the evidence will seem against him regarding his product sold through PayPal. Let's face it, PayPal will probably understand very little about VFTs and their quality. Perhaps Matt, or some other expert on this site, would be willing to give their assessment of these plants, and I can give that statement to PayPal, (if such third-party documentation can even be used in such a dispute, I don't know). I am by no means asking for much of anyones' time in that regard, maybe a quick few lines regarding their assessment of the plants. Again, this guy claimed he was selling "young adult plants, near flowering, some have already flowered". Do these look anything close to flowering adults? Do they look healthy in any way? We'll see what PayPal decides. Meanwhile, hopefully this clown's days of clownin' with peoples' scratch are done. I notice that his account has been banned, I PMed Matt to ask why.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. That would be incredibly frustrating. I would hope they are the real deal, but the fact that the size and maturity was nowhere near correct is disconcerting. Is be furious, and i was probably close to being in the same boat. I inquired about Jaws smiley and Raptor from CARNIVOR and said I would buy them in the morning and once I got home from work they said they were sold so I didn't get anything. So it seems I lucked out. If they did screw you I'm sorry there are jerks out there like this. I'm praying for you to get your money back. Were they labeled when you got them? Just curious. Have a good one.

Thanks, Droseracloner. Yes, they were labeled. The smallest one is supposedly Angel Wings, the biggest one is supposedly Moon Traps, and the one with the super fat leaves with the microscopic traps in the tips is supposedly Jaws Smiley. I appreciate any responses on this, I may be able to use it as documentation in this dispute, since, again, I doubt PayPal has much of a handle on Venus Flytrap varieties/size/quality.

Did anyone buy from CARNIVOR and feel they got the quality they paid for?

Man that epicly sucks and I'm sorry to hear :\ good thing you sent out a warning I was about to PM him for a few.

Did you ask him for photos before sending money? Maybe it's my paranoia but I'm a stickler for photos of the plants (and mother plants when applicable) I'll be sent and as much history about it as possible.

Hoping you'll get all your money back though!

Matt and Leah certainly didn't build their "empire" by ripping people off. I don't understand living this way, when honesty and good customer service are much more profitable. Now, this guy has given himself a bad reputation. Good business practices are always much more profitable. I wonder where he will resurface now, attempting to hock his tawdry wares......

Thank you a lot, I was about to buy a d. regia from this vendor:) I wonder how it could've turned out. BAD.

Yeah, those are most definitely not worth the price that you paid for them, even if they're the right cultivars. I couldn't fathom Matt selling plants in that kind of shape, and nowhere near blooming size, for that kind of price. Then to turn around and only offer a tiny fraction of the full price, knowing full well that those weren't anything close to the description given. On top of that, ceasing any and all communication with the buyer? If the Flytrap Store was operated like that, it wouldn't be the success that it is today, with a top notch reputation for quality. I hope you get all of your $$ back. Good luck!

P.S. I've seen Lowes' "Death Cubes" that have looked better than those cultivars. I tried looking up CARNIVOR's profile, and it looks like that profile has been banned?

Sorry to hear about the horrible experience Steve. I only wish that I already had those varieties propagated and could offer them for sale in the FlytrapStore to prevent things such as this from happening. I do have all 3 of those varieties in tissue culture now and will likely have them available in FTS next year.

sbrooks wrote:Perhaps Matt, or some other expert on this site, would be willing to give their assessment of these plants

Though there isn't anything in the photos for size reference, I would say that they are definitely not what I would consider "young adult" sized plants, nor do any of them appear to be flowering sized. In addition to this fact, none of them appear to be Jaws Smiley, Moon Traps nor Angel Wings, though it is hard to tell with 100% certainty due to the condition they are currently in.

Just wondering...does anyone know what happened to the original thread where these plants were listed for sale? I know the user deleted their profile just yesterday, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps another moderator already deleted the thread.

My guess now is that perhaps the entire thread was a scam and the user left after getting some money. The user actually sent me a message saying that he was getting out of the hobby and selling his entire collection because this year has "been the worst growing season ever". I found the message odd and I wasn't sure how this could be deemed the worst season ever considering summer hasn't even started yet.

Thanks Matt. The pot is approximately three and a half inches across. I'll let you guys know how it goes with PayPal. I wonder if he's going to go through the trouble of closing his PayPal account as well. Doesn't really seem worth it to ruin his reputation like that. You could make so much more money with an honest living. By the way his name is Victor LeBron. He lives in Chicago (Cubs fan, of course!).

I showed some interest in the Dracula and DC XL via PM, but when I saw the prices, I figured I would wait for FlytrapStore. He tried to lure me in with free shipping, so I am glad you made this thread. I am sorry to hear about your experience though. Good luck with your case with PayPal!

EDIT:

Matt wrote:Just wondering...does anyone know what happened to the original thread where these plants were listed for sale? I know the user deleted their profile just yesterday, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps another moderator already deleted the thread.

I tried to find it, but all I can see is that the topic has been deleted. I was able to pull a quote of the first post of the topic from my PMs. He was asking for $45 for the "mature" DC XL and $50 for the "young adult" Dracula. Here is the original post:

CARNIVOR wrote:I have the following clones available and for sale so PM if interested. I only ship within the United States

BIG MOUTH
G14
DC XL
ERROR
ANGEL WINGS
VLNKA
DRACULA
JAWS SMILEY
ROYAL RED
MOON TRAP
GREEN WIZARD
LOUCHAPATES
ROSE
PLUTO
RAPTOR
TRITON
FEATHERED
BIG VIGOROUS
MAROON MONSTER
DROSERA REGIA

I PM'ed him and these are the prices he quoted me:

"Moon trap 50, dracula 45, jaws smiley 50, raptor 55, pluto 55, triton 50, and g14 25"

He also told me they were "Young adults near maturity" and "Around 1inch to 2 inches"

I'm so glad I was too broke to fall for his scam. Sure hope you can get your money back, sbrooks. I'll never buy from anyone but Matt & Leah ever again!

I hear ya, Leo, there are some good sellers on EBay as well, but nothing compares to the quality you get at Flytrapstore. If any good came out of this, it's the fact that I may have helped others save more money collectively than what I lost. Not that I'm into the sacrificial lamb thing, but this guy certainly, by his actions, has not been a stand up guy about this, closing his account right after his sales, and he certainly deserves some degree of financial retribution against him for being so misleading and shady. I've also learned that I am one of the most gullible, knee-jerk morons on this website. I don't mean to suggest that there are others, either...... ....And no disrespect to another forum member who did purchase from this guy, saw pictures of his plants ahead of time, and seems satisfied with what he received; at least he did some due diligence before forking out the scrap. If I knew for sure that these were the correct cultivars, I might be inclined to keep them, albeit at about half the price. I'll keep the forum posted on how things go.

Oh wow, that's some horrible lanky typicals right there. Sorry to hear about that, I've been reading a lot latly a out people getting ripped off. That's why it's better to always stick to trusted sellers and never be too anxious to part with your money