Strange Cargo Invertebrates (www.strangecargoinvertebrates.com)

[Arachnoboards]

Older reviews of Strange Cargo Invertebrates, from before they had a website, can be found here (http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=41880).

The Arachnoboards Team

[misfitsfiend]

POSITIVE!

Just ordered from Strange cargo a week or two ago and it was one of the best buying experiences I've had. Great pricing, Great service, and speedy communication.

I give Graham a 10 out of 10!

[Div1nE]

POSITIVE

excellent communication, excellent animals, and very patient with me. Even threw in a freebie and a lollipop! great guy.

[DavidBeard]

I've ordered spiders a couple times from Graham, and they were packaged superbly and were in excellent condition. I highly recommend him!:D

[cacoseraph]

I have dealt with Graham before he became SCI and knew i would not be disappointed when i saw he got the website up.

He recently had a sale i was unable to resist and so i bought 3 S. morsitans and 2 S. heros castaniceps. Graham also sent two very cute freebie centipedes! All the centipedes are obviously well cared for and well fed, and i was lucky enough to pick up some long term captives that graham has had and a B-grade that was missing a terminal leg for a discount :)

Both times i received things from Graham he used awesome packaging. He lined a box with impact and temperature insulating foam board, and then pads out the seperate containers with newspapers. And since it has been hitting ~100*F in my part of California, and SCI is based in Texas, he included a cool pack, installed very securely and very cleverly. I'm definitely going to reuse the method and materials :)

Graham was also very willing to work with me to ship the bugs so that they would arrive on my day off of work. It's nice not to worry about having to have someone to receive them or to take a day off. Thanks Graham.

Once again, i will DEFINITELY be ordering from Graham and StrangeCargoInvertebrates.com in the future!

p.s. I also think Graham has quite good prices, but didn't mention that anywhere else in the post :)

[Mandi]

positive

I absolutely love odering from graham! He always gives me incredible prices, and great little surprises!

Everything is in excellent condition, packed well and everyone was extremely healthy!!

I ordered 2 a. versi's 1. a. bruahansi & 1 desert hairy & I got 3 az bark scorp's as a freebie!!

the desert hairy is the biggest I've seen in a long time!!

I'll definately be using him as my crack... erm i mean invert dealer in the future!

[surena]

positive

I ordered some Ts from Graham and they were Shipped on time, packed great. He gave me a great deal. He also send some freebies. He is a professional seller. Very good communication. I would defiantly buy from him again.

[cryptly]

I ordered 3 C. vittatus from Graham. He answered all my emails quickly, and was patient with my endless questions. :) He shipped when I had asked, and his packing was superb. The scorpions arrived healthy and energetic. Very well cared for. He even included 3 teeny-tiny C. vittatus scorplings as freebies! {D

Dealing with Graham was a plesant experience, and I will be ordering from him again. :clap: :clap:

[Eurypterid]

POSITIVE

Second order from Graham. Geat guy, very professional. I ordered 2 scorpions of an unidentified species. Graham not only handled the order in his usual professional manner, packing everything well, shipping promptly, and communicating well through the whole transaction, he also sent me copies of emails between him and the person he had sent specimens to to have keyed out. He also sent the usual freebie sling. I have nothing bad to say at all about Graham. Two orders - two perfect transactions.

[Conan]

Positive

I ordered three dozen lobsters with cash in the mail and recieved about 50. Great with communication, and great packing. Cant wait to order from him again!

[Captante]

Positive! - I placed my first order with Graham last week for a Haitian Giant Centipede & a Giant white-knee 'sling, all were packed very well & arrived healthy, plus instead of
one White knee he sent me two, a nice surprise.
The 'pede was larger then I expected, all communication was answered promptly and professionaly, really not much more I could ask for!

[surena]

POSITIVE

This is my second transaction with him. I have recently purchased some avicularia versicolor from Mr. Criglow, and I received them today in excellent shape. They were packed very well. He also throw in an extra. The price is unbeatable, and the communication is very good. That's what keeps me wanting to do business with him. Hope to buy more spiders from you soon.

[Python]

There's not much I can say that hasn't been said already so I will reapeat other's comments. Truly a pleasure to buy from Graham. Well packaged, well cared for specimens, I don't think it get's any better than this. Plus the little extras like the freebie and the hand written note. That says alot right there. He cares and it shows!

[Eurypterid]

POSITIVE

3rd time's the charm. This is my 3rd order from Graham, and once again I was quite happy with the results. Got his last 2 Chilean thick tails and a good size roach colony + a nice freebie. As always, animals were well-packed, delivery was fast, and Graham was great.

[ScorpDemon]

Just completed my second dealing with Graham, and as usual, it was a pleasurable experience.. shipped when he said he would, remained in contact throughout the whole deal, excellent packing.. i love my orange isopods. Thanks Graham.

[darkeye]

Well, here I am again raving about Graham and his service. Not that his animals aren't fantastic, but it is service that makes the difference. I ordered and received a beautiful 2" Scolopendra heros arizonensis and received exactly the animal I have longed for - ever since I passed up one from him at the ATS conference (duh!). It is stunning, even if it is only 2" or so! Also in the box was a very unexpected surprise... a 3"+ S.polymorpha!

Both animals were well packed and in perfect health. As always, Graham provided a hand-written note on his wonderful letterhead.

I look forward to the next package...

m

[brigebane]

Graham is definitely A great guy to deal with. His correspondance is unreal, packaging great and he makes you feel very important as a customer and hobbiest. I recieved some amazing pedes from Graham; all in perfect shape, fat, active, and ravenous. As well as some great freebies. The man's illustrations are pretty good too. Thanks Graham

[arachnofreaks]

Strange Cargo Inverts.

Great to deal with, terrific product. Customer comes first in their eyes! A pleasure to deal with. Would recomend them for sure.

[Brian F.]

Just got my C. vittatus scorplings from Graham. This wasn't my first time ordering from him and it likely won't be my last.

[Tityus]

POSITIVE !!

WOW amazing I get today a package from Graham he send Wednesday and I recieved it today Saterday WOW it looks he send it with a space shuttle :Dance: Very Very nice species Centruroides exilicauda "Gertschi Morph" and Centruroides vittatus as extra gift free into my package also some gravid females !! I'm very happy. :worship: {D It was very well packed and very fast.

I highly recomment Graham he's a good person very quick with his email and he give's many information.

Thank you Graham Thank you :clap: :clap:

[Lycanthrope]

Positive

Received my package from Graham yesterday. Everything was packed good, shipping was prompt, freebies were awesome. He was informative and quick to answer messages, and he was tolerant of my payment being delayed twice before the transaction. I will deal with him again in the future.

[TheNothing]

POSITIVE

Yesterday was the conclusion of my second deal with Graham at Strange Cargo. One of the greatest people I've done business with. Superb communication, shipping and packing.

The captive born scorplings I got in the trade even came with birth certificates!! :D

[Viridis9]

I did a trade with Graham a while back, roaches for pedes i believe, and he was great!
He is a great guy to deal with!
He is honest and one of the most down to earth people you would ever want to do business with!
Graham, sorry this took so long, but i had trouble finding your reviews for the longest time.
Glad i found them!
I consider Graham to be a good friend of RoachDomain!
Thanks Graham!
KEN
www.roachdomain.com :clap:

[arachnofreaks]

Graham is awesome., quality products, good price, very friendly and helpful. And his freebies are crazy!! :-)

[Centruroid68]

I recieved my second order from strange cargo inverts yesterday.I had ordered v.carolinianus in the past and got a c.vittatus freebie.This time I ordered 6 adult c.vittatus but he only had 5 so he sent me 7 cb c.vittatus scorplings in place of the missing adult,on top of that he also sent an mini meal worm colony incase I didn't have acess to pinhead crickets.Superb quality service.I will definately buy from him again.A++++
James Ford

[Aru]

100% POSITIVE

Graham is absolutely recommend for everbody,who surch nice and healthy scorpions and spiders. The trade with him was great,. Thank you Graham. :-)


Best regards
Daniel

[dotdman]

POSITIVE

I ordered several Centruroides exilicauda and two dozen lobster roaches from Graham. Everything arrived carefully packed and in perfect condition. He was kind and courteous throughout the ordering process and I have no doubt that he'll be getting plenty of business from me in the future.

Kindest kindest,

Kevin P.

[BaronFel181]

Graham is a great person to deal with. Good quick communication, great packaging of the animal, and a very friendly guy.

100% positive.

[brigebane]

As always Graham comes through with stunning efficiency. I love my new scorps Graham, thanks a bunch.

[Michael Jacobi]

I've been in the herp and invert business a long long time. Unfortunately, both hobbies attract a lot of questionable characters and some of them make an attempt as "dealers". Fortunately, word travels fast and the undesirables are weeded out sooner or later. Over the years I have dealt with hundreds of other dealers, both professionals and part-timers. The majority of them do a good job and even now when I am dealing with colleagues they all do a very good job. However, some go that one extra step. And when I received a package from Graham at Strange Cargo this morning I recognized quickly that he was giving it that extra 10% that most of the well known dealers fall short of. Doing a good job and satisfying customers isn't that difficult, but adding special attention to detail takes a certain mindset and Graham has it. His communication was excellent; his packing and shipping very good and the little touches like a thank you card, freebies, a nice invoice/letter and very cool labels on the vials gave that extra professionalism that leaves a lasting impression. I highly recommend him.

Cheers, Michael

[cacoseraph]

POSITIVE!

Packaging: Excellent
Communication: Very Good
Animals: Very Good
Price: Excellent!

Packaging:
Graham packs like the professional he is. As long as i keep buying from Graham, i don't need to buy any more packaging supplies! His standard packaging (at least, in the ones i keep getting) involves a cardboard box, inside of which are panels of 1/2" styrofoam, making another nested box. The bugs are nested in newspapers or packaging styrofoam. The bugs themselves are well packed in vials, or smallish tupperware for centipedes. During hot times of the year, he ships with cold packs, but the neat thing is the cold packs don't directly touch the bugs. Nice touch!
Another really nice touch to the packaging: all the bugs have very cool labels, with little bits of bonus information. Some tell where the bugs were collected at, some tell who the mother is, etc. I am a big time geek and love that sort of thing!

Communication:
I can only get packages on Wednesdays i don't go to work... which is only ~ 2/month. This makes getting bug shipments tricky, sometimes. Graham is always willing to work with me, so he ships out an order to make it likely to get to me on Wed. He is also very cool about me changing/adding to an order... something i am admittedly bad about.

Animals:
I like to buy from Graham, as i have never gotten a scraggly, underfed, or sick bug from him... and i've gotten lots from him :)
His LTC (Long Term Captives) are ALWAYS a great buy!

Price:
While price may not be the MOST important thing... i see no reason to pay more when i can avoid it. Graham's prices are very competitive, and since his animals are top notch he is always the first place i look when i want to get more bugs. Since he is one of the only suppliers of certain more rare species i find it highly commendable that he has kept his prices reasonable enough for me to continue to buy from him!

Order:
1 Euscorpius flavicaudis (woohooo!!!)
2 Tityus bahienis (woohoo times two!!!!)
1.1 Florida Bark Scorpions (Centruroides gracillis) LTC Adult pair...Female Gravid
1.1 Centruroides vittatus
2 Devil Scorpion (Vaejovis spinigeris) Adults/sub-adults

5 African Giant Yellow Leg Centipede (Scolopendra sp.)

Chinese Shield Huntsman (big true spider!)

Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea)
Green Banana Roaches (Panchlora nivea)


And there was some very nice suprises when i opened the package... stuff i didn't order, but Graham thought i would like :)

Always a pleasure to talk with and do business with... looking forward to picking up some more super scorpions from him!

P.S. the Tityus bahiensis are even better than i thought! Imagine a C. vittatus but make it MEAN looking... and i personally think the colors and markings are even better and the bahiensis... the legs have the cutest stripes/rings on them!

[Deadly1]

Graham,
Id like to thank you for very beautiful scorps. Your packaging is as amazing as your scorpions are! I recieved very active and healthy ultra rare scorpions that are eating as a type this. Thanks a lot and I plan on doing other business with you my friend!!

Gordon Reilly

[BurrowDweller]

I just received the first T's I ever bought online from Graham and am very happy indeed! Communication was great, packing was excellant, T's were healthy, and he even through in a free book! I would definately buy from Graham again.

Anthony

[brigebane]

POSITIVE!

Another stellar shipment from Graham that left me salivating with anticipation and luckily not from a scorpion sting ;) Thanks again Graham.

[SamtheMan]

Positive
I ordered from Graham for the first time and it was great. He goes above and beyond what is necessary to get the job done. The animals were well packed and healthy, he is generous with the freebies and is great with the communication. I will definately look to him in the future for my invert needs.
-Sam

[cacoseraph]

POSITIVE!

Packaging: Good
Communication: Very Good
Animals: Very Good
Price: Excellent!

Packaging:
There was the tiniest little snag with packaging this time, but i think Graham and i worked out what the problem is. I had to tell him multiple times not to refund me money or take any other steps, as i would actually feel guilty if he took any further steps to correct. The freebies/overcounts provided more than covered the loss!

Communication:
Perfect as always. I can only get packages on Wednesdays i don't go to work... which is only ~ 2/month. This makes getting bug shipments tricky, sometimes. Graham is always willing to work with me, so he ships out an order to make it likely to get to me on Wed.

Animals:
I like to buy from Graham, as i have never gotten a scraggly, underfed, or sick bug from him... and i've gotten lots from him


Price:
While price may not be the MOST important thing... i see no reason to pay more when i can avoid it. Graham's prices are very competitive, and since his animals are top notch he is always the first place i look when i want to get more bugs. Since he is one of the only suppliers of certain more rare species i find it highly commendable that he has kept his prices reasonable enough for me to continue to buy from him!

Order:

10 Tityus bahiensis
4 Tityus serrulatus
3 Centruroides exilicauda
1 Vaejovis spinigerus
6 Smerigerus mesaensis
1.1 Mesobuthus martensii
Lost of millipedes :)

This time i am ordering in part for a local petstore. Not only did Graham send some freebies for me, but he specifically sent some freebies for the petstore too!

Always a pleasure to talk with and do business with... looking forward to picking up some more super scorpions from him!

SERRULATUS!!!! partheno-what!? ;P {D :D :drool:

[mostasteless]

Very Positive!

Great communication, great price, great packaging, great animals, very helpful with setting up a shipping day that I was available meet the postman, and even freebies. What more can I say. :)

Thanks again

[chris73]

POSITIVE
This is my third dealing with Graham. I always get a great deal, great freebies and most importantly, superior communication. From care tips after the sale to updates on my shipment. Packaging was perfect. Styro lined box and a heat pack. The animals themselves are in such A1 condition, you can tell this is a professional who cares about his critters and is a hobbiest first and a dealer second.

I wish you all the success in the world - you deserve it.

Recommended 150%.

[YJHB]

Absolutely I would recommend Graham 150%. All the positive stuff about him is true. I ordered some orange roly polies, and they were packaged so well!
Shipping was fast, and he even gave me $$ off unexpectedly because he happened to have a lot at the time.

An enthusiastic thumbs up!

[brigebane]

Recieved another excellent batch of scorpions this week. Thanks again Graham.

[Luis138]

Ordered some millipedes, Graham sent some freebies and then he sent a second package because the first one took too long to arrive. We need more people like Graham. Thank you Graham.

[Vogelspinnen]

Hi All, This is my first time dealing with Strange Cargo Invertebrates. I purchased and just received three gravid female Scorpions from Graham and am very pleased.

Tityus bahiensis
Tityus serrulatus
Tityus stigmurus

His communication was outstanding and shipped super fast with great packaging. He was also sure to include 2 freebee scorplings, Russ Gurley's T/Scorp book and a T shirt. Who does all of this for a freebee? Thanks again Graham!



WOW!! What more can I say but AAA+++ a seamless and positive experience.


If your looking for Scorpions you cant go wrong dealing with Graham, it was my pleasure.


Thanks, Gabe

[crawldad]

I read all of these reviews AFTER getting my delivery from Graham, and now I am a little upset. When I opened my package yesterday and saw how craddled each T was with their little moss bed, and all the extras and freebies included, I just thought he liked me. But NOOOO! Seems he treats everyone like this! What an awsome person. I look forward to sharing pix of the BEAUTIFUL specimens he sent me. Thank you Graham, you are a true Gentlemen.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[becca81]

My first experience buying from Graham and I couldn't be more happy! Everything was in perfect condition and communication was excellent! :clap:

I'd definitely buy from Graham again and would recommend him to anyone.

[Michael Jacobi]

POSITIVE, again

I recently purchased a starter colony of Porciello from Graham and he took care of me both on price and quantity. Graham's communication and shipping practices are very professional. I recommend few other dealers, but Strange Cargo is one of them.

Cheers, Michael

[Varden]

POSITIVE!

I recently ordered two Ts from Graham. He was going to ship them after the holidays on Tuesday, but since it seems to be a personal requisite that I learn everything the hard way, I said, "No, no. Just ship it overnight to me on Thursday, it'll get to me by Friday."

Ha, ha. It didn't. Some postal worker in Houston, TX, picked up the box and thought, "Hm. This is going to Oregon. I think I'll send it to Hawaii first."

And that's what he did. So instead of reaching me by Friday, my Ts had a wonderful vacation in Honolulu, dancing in grass skirts with the locals, drinking Mai Tai's as they watched the sun go down...while here in Oregon I was calling every USPS customer service rep wanting to know where the heck my box was.

Needless to say, bright and early this Sunday morning, I got a knock on the door and my spiders were delivered. And because of Graham's truly awesome packing, they were alive and well and none the worse for their adventure.

Thank you, Strange Cargo Invertebrates. I will definitely do business with you again.

Maren

[JPD]

Was involved in a transaction with Graham several months ago which lead to the swapping of some Latrodectus.
Graham was very prompt on shipping and the packaging of the widows was outstanding.
I was a bit slow in shipping my widows to him but he was understanding and in retrospect, I think the deal ended well.

[yuanti]

POSITIVE!

Just received my 18 orange isopods today and was very impressed with Graham's service and fast shipping. Excellent packing!

Would definately recommend this seller to anyone!

[cacoseraph]

*sniff*

POSITIVE! of course

i bought Graham's lightsaber off him... and he included a ton of great reading material!!!

Graham was a huge blessing to our hobby and i just want to say thanks for everything man!

[Vogelspinnen]

Positive

I purchased some great Scorpions from Graham a while back and am very pleased with them as well as his generosity. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for top quality invertebrates at a great price - a good guy!

[justinthespider]

I ordered from Graham a 4 1/2 in. female A. chalcodes a while back (sorry I didn't post sooner, forgot), and let me say the whole transaction went smoothly: great price, commucation, packing, and tarantula. She was a little smaller than what was said, but for the price I paid I still got an unbelivable deal. She arrived in perfect health and in a neat little container. She is quite the hair kicker and escape artist. Thanks Graham for a wonderful spider and for the great freebie. I will do business again!!!