From: ruska@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Dave Ruska)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: A tale of two Herp book orders...
Date: 13 Oct 92 18:32:53 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA


Having had two very different experiences in ordering HERP books mailorder,
I thought I would share them with the net. Realize that these are ONE
person's experiences with one book order per outfit. Your mileage may vary...

I found the name of both outfits from ads in the Vivarium magazine.

I called THE PET BOOK SHOP and they sent me a catalog out in a few days. 

I sent a letter to BUSH HERPETOLOGICAL SUPPLY, and they sent me a catalog.
(It took a week or two to arrive)

I placed an order first with THE PET BOOK SHOP, and having later received
the BUSH HERP catalog placed an order with them.

Each order was for $120 to $130 dollars worth of books.


    BOOK ORDER   # 1                              BOOK ORDER   # 2
-------------------------------------   --------------------------------------

 Ordered from: PET BOOK SHOP  (NY)       Ordered from: BUSH HERP. SUPPLY (CA)
               === ==== ====                           ==== ===== ======

 Day 1 - sent order in mail.             Day 1 - called in order (credit card)

 Day 5 - check clears my bank.           Day 4 - All but one book arrives 
                                                 (UPS) invoice says last book
                                                 to ship within a week.

                                         Day 6 - Last book arrives (UPS)
                                        --------------------------------------
  ......

 Day 35 - I call them up. They say the
          order is waiting on a few books
          which should be in within a few 
          days, otherwise they will ship 
          a partial order.

 Day 55 - I call them up. They say "We tried
          to ship the order twice, but each
          time it returned undeliverable."
          "Is your address  xxxxxx?", they said.
          Nope, My adress is yyyyyy. 
          "Great, we'll ship it out tomorrow"

          (Note: My address was listed on the
          order form on a BOLD printed
          address label. I also listed home
          and work phone numbers...)

 Day 72 - I call them up. They say the order
          is waiting on a $3.75 dollar book,
          but don't feel bad, 'cause there's
          a $700 order here waiting on the
          same book! ... We'll ship your partial
          order out tomorrow....
          
 Day 82 - Order finally arrives (UPS), with 1 book
          back-ordered.

---------------------------------------------------

  You can probably guess who I'll buy my next order of books (and
other Herp supplies) from (and it's NOT the PET BOOK SHOP!!!)

 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

For anyone interested, here is a list of comparison prices on a few of
the larger herp books.... ( I wish I had this data BEFORE I bought
half a dozen books from my local pet shop....)


                                 local       The PET     GLADES     BUSH
BOOK TITLE                       pet shop   BOOK STORE    HERP    HERP SPLY
-----------------------------   ---------   ----------  --------  ----------
Atlas of Snakes                 $129.95      $129.95       -         $75
  T.F.H - 1991

Reptile Atlas                   $129.95      $129.95      $99        $75
  T.F.H - 1988 (830 pgs)

Living Snakes of the World         $75        $55         $49        $40
  Mehrtens   (480 pgs)

A-Z of Snake Keeping                -        $24.95       $25        $18
  Mattison   (143 pgs)                  

Reproductive Husbandry of           -         $85         $75        $70
 Pythons and Boas - 1990           

All of these prices are recent (August or newer), and hopefully I didn't
make any typos.

Well, I hope this info helps someone.

Regards,
Dave                                               (daver@hpgrrd.gr.hp.com)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp,rec.pets