USMANTIS CraigBaker

[TylerHoorn]

My issue with this seller arose from checking two day priority and not overnight shipping. This breeder will only ship your order if you get the right shipping option during checkout. I hope that saves some headaches. 

 

[craigbaker]

Subtotal


$37.88


Shipping
Standard Shipping
1.21 lb


$15.00

As for your first order you have the same issue, you ordered standard shipping and theres no way they would arrive alive.

 

[TylerHoorn]

I ship two day priority all the time and it cost $6.80. Anyways thanks for your reply..

 

[yankeeman1421]

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when my package came. Packing job was downright elite, so of course the mantids came packaged alive and well. Although one of them, the orchid mantis, has a partially damaged raptorial I don't blame that on the seller at all. Also ordered an L3 double shield, I open the box and a pre sub was chilling in there. Came in great condition. Also helped that he happened to be in the same state as me. Very satisfied customer  would definitely order again! 

 

[Sceliphron]

Didn't end up buying any mantises, but I ran into a few issues and couldn't complete a transaction. Even though communication was a little choppy at first, Craig worked with me and gave me a full refund. Satisfied with how the entire process went, thanks Craig!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Tried to purchase some orchids, sent him some questions, but he refunded me without answering them.

 

[craigbaker]

I did answer you and said three weeks. And if you send me messages on forums and Facebook and expect me to keep track of who you are, which ID and especially if you after 3-weeks or more say your going to place and order you can't expect things to still be in stock. I understand your being disappointed. But there is live chat, email, and a toll free number to contact me of you care to make sure I get a message

 

[pgauss831]

Does anyone have recent experience with this seller? I ask because I ordered 2 orchids from US Mantis on March 12, but have not received any communication at all from them. I know there was a snowstorm,  but I 've gotten nothing. No messages(I've emailed him twice and sent a chat o his web site), no shipping notification (i paid extra for express), nothing. My order shows as "unfulfilled" on the web site. Also, my husband ordered a couple of ghosts from another seller (Ohio) that same weekend, and we got them on the 14th, with a little heat pack enclosed. So I'm kinda ticked off, and a little worried that I'm never going to see those orchid mantids (which are hard to find in stock, in my limuted experience). Any comments? Is this a reputable supplier. It looks like they are a member on this forum. I'm about to complain to PayPal in the next day or 2 if I don't get some sort of communication.

Patty
 

 

[roadglide16]

I've tried Chat twice and email but still no answer to my inquiries about my order from March 25th.  I check every couple of days and my order status says "Unfufilled".  Payment has gone thru weeks ago via PayPal.  If is the fact I had the wrong type of shipping checked, I would correct it.  At this point I am just frustrated with no reply to several attempts to contact the seller.

 

[Mantis Life]

I placed an order 3 months ago, paid for $40 express shipping and still haven't received even an email from the company. At least let me know whats going on! I'm a patient person but now I'm starting to get frustrated over the whole thing and just want my money back at this point. I wont be ordering from online mantis companies anymore, just strictly local breeders on this forum from now on. 

 

[roadglide16]

Just to update my post from April.....

I did get my 2 Orchid mantids I ordered and were packed well and in good shape.   I received them almost 5 weeks after I ordered.   I just wished there was more communication like I got from other mantid breeders/sellers, especially after a long delay like that.  

 

[rantology]

Been contemplating posting this for a while but thought might as well just so the information is out there. I seem to have had a poor experience with this seller. I ordered a mantis on 10/26/2017 and was eager to get into the hobby. However a full week later I did not hear anything, no shipment was made. After getting antsy and reading other reviews of apparent poor communication and extremely slow shipping from this seller I decided this wasn't the vendor for me, so I decided to request a cancellation and refund on 11/02. No response. Sent another email on 11/06. No response. Never received a single non-automated email from this seller despite multiple emails (on both of the listed email accounts)....

...Well in the end the only way I got my money back was via opening a credit card dispute with my bank (learned my lesson to make sure I use paypal from now on too). 

 

[Inkerdo]

Got three beautiful  orchid mantis from him. They came  healthy ,  package great . Also answered questions that I had cuz I needed all males! Great job!! I well  be buying more !!

 

[★ Ｔｒａｃｙ Ｇｒｅｙ ☆]

~ I ordered 2 L2/3 Ghosts a while back and they came in perfect condition, He offers a huge selection of different mantids too so I definetly reccommed him!

 

[Morgsmom]

Placed order from USMantis on January 30 2019. Never received anything: (if) my problem was shipping option as I have seen in other posts, someone should have contacted me. I had tried several times to make contact with them; tried their chat on their website ( offline during their business hours every time I checked) tried emailing them, tried calling every phone number they have listed and left messages. Tried messaging their Facebook. No replies at all! I did see on the Facebook page that Mr. Baker is battling cancer and I sure hope he is recovering and well.  I feel that the site should be temporarily shut down IF no one is taking care of customer service.

 

[x0jennalee0x]

I'm having the same issue. Placed an order on January 6th and have not heard anything. Super frustrating. 

 

[Mantid-Tim]

Hey guys and gals, I am new to the forum (check out my intro post! for pictures) I had some good and positive experiences with usmantis.com recently. I had excellent experiences with them recently and wanted to share:

    I had a great experience ordering from USMantis. The owner of the business, Craig, contacted me and offered any help or advise that I needed from my first order (which was for supplies only); he was more than helpful in assisting me every step of the way on choosing, buying, and caring for praying mantises! I recommend talking to him on the website chat service before placing an order; he seems to always be on the chat service, so I check and make sure what I want is in stock, in case it was sold out but not yet updated. I liked that he always answers and is patient answering questions. You can tell he really cares about his customers and doesn't view the animals as a simple product or good, but as living creatures. For my second order there was a delay (due to COVID) and he got back to me and helped me get my order as quick as possible. I have very recently gotten a Heterochatea orientalis and a pack of 4 ghost mantises that actually came with 6!

    As for that aforementioned second order: I wanted a Sphodromantis lineola in L5/L6, which he was out of and only had L2s. The order came with 4 nymphs in place of one (pre-)sub-adult; he asked if a couple of nymphs would be okay or if I wanted an older one from another species. Also, he threw in some other goodies! (Food, ooth, etc.) Mind you this was to make up for the fact that my order just fell behind, and he didn’t end up having exactly what I wanted. Now, every business makes mistakes; not every business makes up for it. Some give empty apologies; some don’t even give that. But how many times do they make a delay and small error right to that degree!

    I’ve seen some negative reviews, so I just wanted to give another perspective. Too many people only post when there is a problem and I hate to see a good business lose customers from a few possible mistakes. I can say with certainty Craig and USMantis are a legitimate operation and have quality bugs! I’ve since gotten two more orders and bother him with many more questions! A great site and a great resource for information as well!

 

[MantisMart]

I ordered supplies from him. It came in well. Other than the extremely long shipping delay, I have no complaints.

edit: I ordered a mantis ooth from him as well. It was fertile, but I think I dried it out on accident. I still got 1 nymph though. My only issue is that I messaged him that not many hatched, he responded, "How Many" Once I said only 1 he stopped responding.

I answered within 20 seconds of the last text. My only issue here is that he doesn't respond to avoid a bad review i'm assuming. I know he got the text, and read it.

Us Mantis is an ok store. Not bad, not great either.

edit: I'm just editing this so people know not to buy from here. I didn't do any new orders, but anyone who has been in this hobby for a while has come across "Us mantis is a scam." Is it a scam? Well kind of. Yes, he does in fact ship out orders sometimes. Other times he will take the money and run with it. The good reviews are from the people who got lucky. (like me)

I grew a lot with this hobby in the past 6 months and I like to edit my posts that give out the wrong information, because this is NOT an ok store to order from.

Also either way the communication and prices suck. Just please don't buy from him.

 

[lectricblueyes]

Ordered Ghost ooth on March 31, 2020.  Nothing hatched.  Kept it humid and at 75-80F in my bug room.

Attempted to resolve via email.  No response to 3 emails. (UPDATE:  He did respond just now and quickly.  Seeing if we can work something out though he hasn't offered anything)

While ooth can be tricky, there was no communication.  

I would not suggest this seller.

Update 9/12/2020 - He did respond on the 4th email in 6 months.  He didn't offer to replace the ooth, a gift card for his website, or a discount or anything.  Ooths are like a lottery ticket.  You lose and you win.  But how you run a business makes a difference.  A short term profit for Craig is more important than a long term relationship.

 

[n4c]

I ordered A Sphodromantis lineola and I received it very dead. the biggest issue was that USMANTIS.COM informed me they were going to reship and never did. i have received nothing after multiple times trying to reach out regarding the reshipping and shipping number... no answer. i placed the order on Aug 31, and paid for express shipping. it was dropped off at the post office Sept 5th, then was then shipped on Sept 8, and i received the dead mantis on Sept 9th. the mantis had maggots crawling in and out its body, so it had been dead for sometime now. granted probably the post office fault as far as the shipping goes, but USMANTIS.COM should had rectified the issue, especially after notifying me that they were, then they never did. never heard from them again, and i will never purchase anything from here again.