Sunflower Hollow Farm Old Orchard Farm, Whisteria Lane Poultry, Garden Guru, Thomson Moore, Robert Fortenberry Sold partially cooked "hatching eggs" through eBay, then harassed me when I demanded and was awarded a refund South Carolina

FI bought some eggs from this seller on ebay. Later on I thought they werent from the breeding farm as the ebay ad stated, I miss understood the email I recieved from the original breeder. I was wrong they were from that farm. But the original breeder of the seller stock did tell me via email that they suggested that one of the birds they sold Sunflower Hollow Farm not be bred, again that was there opinion. They "never" told SunFlower Hollow farms they couldnt or shouldnt breed the birds they sold them. They said the chickens they sold Sunflower Hollow farm were high quality from good lines and they stand behind them. I believed them, since Ive boughten chicks from them before.

Regardless of where the breeding stock came from. The eggs I received where inferior and not suitable for hatching in my opinion. The eggs were nicely packaged and shipped promptly, however they were "very very small" for being a large fowl breed, they were almost bantham size.  By what the seller told me via email his hens where 8 months old. Seems to me he rushed to breed them in my opinion.  I took pictures and measurements of the eggs for future reference. Im an animal science major at the local univeristy so keeping records and data on my animals is something I just do out of habit. 2 of the 8 eggs were fertile but did not make it to term. the rest were not fertile. After candling them and seeing they were not growing I broke them up to see if I can find the embryo dot that you can see in fertilized eggs and I saw none. They werent fertile to begin with.

I know it wasnt my incubator shorthly there after just for fun I bought fertile eggs from "Trader Joe's Market" and placed them in my incubator to see if they would grow and they are growing. Ive spent months calibrating my incubator to where it works like clock work.

I contacted the seller requesting a refund beause of the quality of eggs I receieved and " at that time ME thinking they werent from the breeding farm as mentioned in the ebay posting" ( again they are my mistake")

The seller sent me a copy of the buying discloser and nothing more. I was upset and I responded by saying that Im upset with the product I got and I was not happy and that I found out about their unethical business practices and how they treat customers. I mentioned I would post on my facebook poultry groups about my expereince so far with them and that they should make things right.

The sellers response was " thank you for providing proof of blackmail and slander and they would be contacting the local police".. In that response he included my name, address, phone number. I was shocked, what ever happen to customer service. The main thing they emphazie in business is the key to a succesful business is customer service (busines minor as well) So i couldnt believe i recieved this type of response.

To start I'm a United States Marine Veteran, after multilple deployments not much phases me. I laughed at the sellers response, I wrote back that I heard that they do that, using legal intimidation to shut up their unhappy customers. Well it didnt work with me. I wrote back that I would give them my updated address and the direct number to the local police. Needless to say the threat of legal action ceased as soon as I made them realized it wont work with me.  I thanked the seller for sending me that response because it showed proof of a consitant business pattern of using legal intimitation to deal with unhappy customer.

After being called everyname in the book and being insulted by the seller, I got tired of the bickering back and fourth via email. So I decided to let eBay handle it, I did open a case with eBay and when I called I was told via phone that there are files on this seller and that they are being investigated and I had to wait a certain period of time before they can interviene.

At the end, I past the 30 day mark for the customer protection from ebay and I was told there is nothing they could do. But they are aware of the seller and there will be a continious investigation from ebay.

Regardless of where the breeding stock came from or the quality of eggs. This seller should not treat unhappy customers this way. It concerns me on how they react to these type of situations. Its very hostile and untheical.  I have no idea how they stay in business.

Note:  I did talk to the orignal breeder of the sellers stock and I was told via email. That they suggested/advise the seller to be honest about his chickens espeically with the egg color. They too have heard stories about this seller as well.

(personal opinions and thoughts)

-  I coudnt not find them beloning or registered to any reputalbe breeding orgainzation.

-  In my opinion they seem to over price their chicks on their website. They were 2 1/2 more expensive then the original breeder and other reputualbe breeders  as well, who belong and are registered to breeding oragainziations and are found in their breeding directory.  

- In my opinion and feeling. I think they are in it for the money and not the love of animal husbandry or improving the breed of chickens they breed. Based of my personal experience with them and the treatment I recieved, also the price of their birds on their website comapre to other reputalbe breeders.  

- I would be surprised if they have somehting to say since I disclosed everything even the mistakes I made from my part. Everything I said, has behind it documented proof, emails and pictures.

- Im not here to slander anyone, this review is based of my personal experience with Sunflower Hollow Farm and the documented conversations Ive had with the seller and different parties

- I'm way more upset with sunflower hollow farm from the treatment I got from them and their customer service, then the quality of eggs I recieved. I especially enjoyed being insulted by a supposably reputuable business. They acted like a bully in a school playground.

- I will never ever ever do business with them.

- My mother once told me that when you say something to someone about themselves and they get mad, its because its usually the truth.

This is obviously another attempt by Crystal to keep her bogus claim going. To the previous "scammed consumer" if you would please provide a little more information concerning you purchase I would be more than happy to refund you in full. Just as I told Crystal to call and discuss her refund (which she has yet to call me) you may do the same if you can prove that you truly purchased something from me. I can say with great assurance that you cannot prove you bought anything from me. If you would please call me at (803)997-0435 to discuss you order, and discuss the details of your refund. No need to hide your identity. Shine some light on your situation and give more details please. Why didn’t you file a case with eBay concerning your issues? Surly a real person would have done so immediately, or at least I would think they would. To date we have had only 1 case opened against us (miss.criswell). I have sneaky suspicion that you won’t be able to provide any more details other than the very broad description you just gave.  Crystal, go get a job and leave hard working people alone. If I was SOOOO bad, then my eBay feedback would reflect it. I find it funny that your are hiding your identity and cant show proof of purchase. Until you provide some proof to support your claims it’s obvious that this is Crystal posing as someone else. If this is in fact a legitimate person with a legitimate claim then by all means contact me as I previously stated, and we will discuss the details of your purchase and refund. Thanks so much and I eagerly look forward to your call. 

Unfortunately, I had the same type bad experience with Sunflower Hollow Farm. Bad eggs, was shown what I guess were probably fake pictures of the 'parent stock' prior to bidding and experienced his threatening and harassing replies when I tried to contact him to resolve the issue.

My mistake was putting positive feedback on ebay when I received the package rather than waiting to check things out. After a bit of google searching, which I should have done PRIOR to bidding admittedly, I found a bunch of disturbing things related to Mr. Moore. I decided to just forget the money and move on, so as not to be a target of his. Lesson learned. 

I started not to leave a comment here but then noticed that he had not only responded here but obviously left some very nasty personal attacks against this lady on this site anonymously. I couldn't, in good conscience, allow this to pass without telling the truth about my similar experience. 

Buyer Beware.

I tried uploading pictures to my first rebuttal, but they didnt post. Here are the links to each photo i referred to in my rebuttal.

The ebay case decision: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124766853@N05/14242557663/

The ebay case decision: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124766853@N05/14222178394/

Mrs.Criswell's ebay feedback she left: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124766853@N05/14035730299/

Mrs.Criswell's intitial ebay case complaint: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124766853@N05/14199233396/

Mrs.Criswell's phone call to me: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124766853@N05/14035822037/

Case Details

Case details pic 2

Mrs.Criswells ebay feedback:

Mrs.Criswells Initial ebay case complaint

Mrs.Criswells phone call

  Crystal... I see you are still up to your old tricks/lying.. "When we first decide to deceive what a tangled web we weave." I want to start by reavealing the many lies Crystal has told during this ordeal. First off let me clarify that Mrs.Criswell received NO refund by way of ebay... I have attached a screen shot from the resolution center on ebay. If you would turn your attention to the first picture you will clearly see that both cases were decided in Sunflower Hollow Farms favor. No refund was given to the buyer (Mrs.Criswell)... In a desperate attempt to validate her claims/lies she has posted the link to a forum that is 4 years old. None of which is relevant in this particular case. She is trying to muddy the waters so her untruths will go unnoticed, but I digress.. I would like to take a moment to briefly discuss Mrs.Criswell's feed back she gave. I quote, "Fast ship, eggs intact, 2+. Not blue as hoped (C9), 3 small wont combine ship"(I have postd a screen shot of her feedback). The reason I mention this is to reveal yet another lie told by the  Mrs.Criswell. When she opened a case in ebay her initial complaint was that the eggs were not packaged properly, and because of this the air cells had become displaced/saddle shaped. I have posted a screen shot of her initial complaint as well... If Mrs.Criswell was so dissatisfied with the shipping/air cells -- why then did your feedback not say so. As a matter of fact, Mrs.Criswell's feedback was "Neutral" and complimented the shipping. She even said "eggs intact" which would lead most to believe she was satisfied with the eggs. Now if you were to look you would see that her feedback was removed.. "Why?" you ask... Because both cases were decided in favor of Sunflower Hollow Farm. She was proved to be a liar then and she has proven herself to be lying now. I would also like to address SouthEasternPoultry. Yes, myself(Robert Fortenberry) and Thomson are admins in the group, as well as, Outlaw Farm and Garden. We donot kick people out simply because they ask questions. We do however remove those who seek to harm other by way of causing drama and telling lies. If we were as bad as Mrs.Criswell is trying to project then there wouldn’t be so many members in these groups. (30k in Outlaw and almost 10k in SouthEastern). I would now like to address Mrs.Criswell's absurd "harassment" claim. Mrs.Criswell first called my phone on april 29^th.  She called several times leaving voicemails. I returned her phone call... Yes, I identified myself to her, as one normally does when calling someone, and I tried on multiple times to remedy her problems. I was met with aggression and sarcasm with no intent to resolve anything. It is my belief that Mrs.Criswel has some underlying issues way beyond the scoop of this situation. I would like to say that even after all of the lies, and harassment that Mrs.Criswell has caused I will still stand by my initial statement. I have said and continue to say that I will be more than willing to refund your money in full. Crystal, You may call me anytime to discuss the detail of your refund, but I seriously doubt you will be mature enough to do so. You seem to have a lot to say behind a computer screen.. I have shown how Mrs.Criswell tells lies time and time again. A picture is worth a thousand words and I have quite a few pictures that support everything I have said... Thanks so much and hope to hear from you soon.