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    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Derek Roberts AKA [email protected]

T

TommyD35

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Has anyone dealt with Mr Derek Roberts 9095 N. Oracle #2210 Tucson, AZ 85737 ?
  I responded to the following link below and sent the funds via Money order as per his request over 1 week ago. However I have yet to receive a follow up e-mail from him. I have tried to contact him with no success. Any advice would be welcomed as this is only my 2nd purchase and it appears I have been ripped off.
  I just did a search on Kingsnake.com and have found his link is no longer on there. I do have several e-mails I have sent to him to back up my side of the story so to speak.
  Again any info would be welcomed on where to go from here.
  Thanks
  Tommy Dowling
 
Tommy,

I have never heard of this individual, personally, but I do have a few suggestions for you:

First, try to compile all of the information (emails, dates, names, addresses, links, etc.) you can, and place it all in a post under this thread you've started.  That way, each of us will be better prepared to help you and look out for him.

Second, was it a U.S. Postal moeny order?  If so, the Post Office will charge the individual with felonay mail fraud if the deal is not resolved.

Third, since the link was obviously on the internet, contact the FBI internet fraud division.  They live for stuff like this!

Finally, let us know how things work out for you on this, and don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch for you.  There are a lot of good and honest people in the internet herp business.  You just have to look for them and you'll be fine with your purchases!

Hope this helps!
 
Here is the address for the FBI's internet fraud.
www.ifccfbi.gov
I would contact them with as much information as you have.
Hope this helps!

Dennis Gulla
 
also try to give him time....
there could be a logical explanation as to why he has not gotten back with you.

On a personal experience.
I sold a pair of burms July 31.  My wife had a baby August 1.
My computer crashed because of a storm agust 2.  Then the burms sold two more times by the time I got my stuff back and running on the fifth or the sixth.

he could have just ran into problems....give him a little time.
 
Out of curiosity, have you simply tried calling information and getting a phone number for him?  That might be the simplest solution to getting in touch with him.

John Schmtt

Suncoast Herpetological
 
Thank you all for your ideas, and support. Derek did respond to a letter I sent him the same day I posted in here. it reads as follows:
I am sorry for not getting back to you, but my friend/partner and I were in Florida for the show all week.  I was not planning on going but went as a last minute decision.  I did receive your M/O for the annulata sometime last week.  We just arrived home not more than an hour ago.  I can ship the pair of Mex. milks that you paid for out on Thursday for Frida delivery to your door.  Please let me know if this is OK with you.  And please accept my apologies for not keeping in touch.  Thanks again for your business.  Derek
520-544-7730
 Via e-mail I told him the Thursday ship for Friday was fine by me. It is now Saturday morning, still no snakes. So I have requested a confirmation the snakes were sent Thursday. Also asked for a tracking number.
 Time will tell.
  Tommy
 
Hello,

My name is Derek Roberts.  I am the person who Mr. Dowling is/was doing business with.  I was informed by a friend who frequents these classifieds that my name had come up about possible fraud.  I would just like to say that I was supposed to send Tom his Mexican Milksnakes out on Thursday but was unable to as the carrier did not pick them up for delivery.  I was also unable to contact Mr. Dowling as my computer at home is at the least unreliable.  I apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused him.  Unfortunately I am a little upset over being accused of "possible" fraud and being a rip-off artist.  So I have decided to send Mr. Dowling a money order for $100 ($30 more than the original payment) for his inconvenience.  I would hope more patience would be called for when dealing with people in different parts of the country and send things back and forth through the mail instead of dealing face to face.  Mr. Dowling, before you deal with anyone else over the internet and cash is involved, please get plenty of references.  Again I apologize for any inconvenience, but I would not like to do business with you (Mr. Dowling) at this time.  I purchased the money order at Safeway grocery store @ 1759 E. Prince Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719.  The M/O # is:7649933481, 8/24/02, for $100.00.  Please let me know when you receive this.  Thanks for your time.  Derek Roberts
 
Derek, I intend no offense in the least and this, of course, merely an opinion but... If he had cause to question your shipping practices or the validity of any transactions that were underway due to lack of communication and a problem with your carrier (it does happen sometimes, patience is usually warrented but then, keeping the buyer informed of all situations is  as well) and you wish to clear your name of any possible patina of suspicion...

Is the descision not to send the snakes at this point truley the best course of action with the options presented before you?

My personal feelings on the matter would be to apologize for the delay and explain the situation, easily enough accomplished and people are quite willing to allow for minor mishaps, send the animals anyway as that is what the gentleman wanted in the first place and delivering it would bring greater satisfaction than a bit of extra money and, if you feel like going that "extra mile" to ensure customer satisfaction after a deal that had an unfortunate problem beyond your control, add in that money order or another animal or a few supply items of some sort as a means of offering repayment for inconvienience.

Just a thought and just a metter of personal perspective... But failing to send the animals after a minor difficulty can often turn it into a major difficulty for the purchaser. Barring of course, health issues that may arise.

It seems as if fully two thirds of the posts on the BOI involve a miscommunication somehow and many of them would be entirely preventable if sellers responded a bit faster and buyers were slightly more patient. I'm not going to place a strict time regulation for an e-mail response... But hearing back within two or three days certainly seems reasonable most the time, even if the ideal would be instantaneous communication.
 
Seamus.... I applaud you! I couldn't have said it better myself! You hit the nail on the head, and you are absolutely correct in every statement you made!

Now, if I can somehow change your mind about some of the other things you've said...? lmao ....Neil
 
It all comes back to the very same problem that we see on here all the time, communication, communication, communication.

Its truly amazing that folks cant find 2 minutes in a given day to communicate with each other during a sale.  OK maybe not be able to reply in 30 minutes or less, but certainly within a day or most of the time less than that even.

A little patience and communication could very well eliminate many of the posts on this forum and go a long way in alleviating stress on both ends of a transaction.

Quite simply there is no viable excuse to not inform the buyer of a delay or problem within a reasonable time frame.  And the buyer should have the patience to give him time to respond to them before blasting them on the net.  Especially if a problem has come up and the buyer tries to contact the seller.  Give it a day or even 8 hours before you try to ruin them on the net.  They me be at work or even in bed or out to dinner.  See my point.

Not that that is the case here, just going off on a tangent of sorts.  I always try to go the extra mile in communicating with  all my customers.  I always try to contact them as soon as anything happens (i.e. check arrived, change in shipping dates, anything that is relevant to the sale).  But some of you need to be patient as a buyer too.  

The inability of anyone to respond in 30 minutes is not a reflexion on quality, just means they might be at work and will get to you as soon as they get home and realize they need to contact you.  So again, communication and patience.

OK, I'm getting off my high horse now.  LOL
 
"Now, if I can somehow change your mind about some of the other things you've said...?"

The silence on the matter either due to a resolution or just a kind of uneasy truce is slowly altering my views on that matter.

Without opening it up entirely again I will state that I stand by my opinion that more damage was done by the fighting and interpersonal battles by the willingness of those involved to participate on the levels that some of them decided were warrented in a public forum without any distinct and tangible proof (Police reports, arrest reccords, AVID chipped animals being dicovered, etc.)

I know that my manner or writing is far from perfect, wracked by spelling and grammatical errors but one must acknowledge that the manner in which someone writes will have an affect on any opinions formed. Personally I tend to avoid people who are overly profane, beyond that required for adding emphasis (Example: "Damn sure." "Hell yeah.") to a statement or commit the level of personal attack a few people perpetuated when that subject was hotly debated. Gross misspellings tend to make me suspicious as well. I will not purchase "egwannas" "berms"  or "bald pythons" no matter what sort of deal is offered.

Essentially, provide me with facts (or founded opinions), not "name calling" and I will formulate a more concrete opinion, negative or positive.

I pesonally would still be wary sending any money to the area, not being able to 100% verify I'm not recceiveing stolen or misrepresented animals but the mature attitudes that seem to have been taken up in simply letting it drop until something a bit more incriminating arises are bringing that confidence level back up substantially.

The above statements were not directed at any particular individual and if any offense was taken I apologize and assure the reader it was entirely inadvertant.

And as a personal matter if you really want to gain my trust back for Tampa... I suppose you could offer me a 75% discount on those carpets, frillies or ackies listed on your website... ::grins innocently::
 
To add a final post to all this.
  Today 8-27-2002 I received as advertised the refund from Mr. Derek Roberts.
  Thank you for the additional 30 dollars. It was not necessary, but it was a very nice gesture. Derek, I wish I would have known all the details before this deal was un done. For example I wish I had known your computer was un reliable at best. Considering this was our only form of communication it definitely aided in the confusion. Perhaps in the future I will send along my phone number to would be sellers to make sure the line of communication is always open.
 So the long and the short of it? Other then some time wasted there was no Harm done. Mr. Roberts stood by his word and went above and beyond his refund.
 Thank you Derek and all the best.
 Tommy Dowling
 
I am sure that if Derek would have sent the snakes, perhaps with a 20.00 MO for the inconvenience of the whole misunderstanding, Tommy would have turned this into a good guy post.  Miscommunication, or lack of communication can lead to all sorts of problems.

On the other hand, a reaction like the one Derek had can serve to stave off problems before they occur.  I am not putting thoughts into Derek's head, and I am not trying to say anything about Tommy here, but it is obvious that something in the way Tommy reacted that turned Derek off.  Maybe he thought that Tommy would complain about the snakes after he got them, and that making the deal was not worth what he possibly perceived as trouble later on.  

If more people would go with their gut feelings on things maybe a lot of these rip offs would not happen.

Again,  I am not saying that anyone did anything wrong, or intended to do anything wrong.  Just that sometimes little signals should be heeded, and that if you have any reason to think the deal might turn sour, don't go through with it.  Even if that reason is just a hunch.


Steve Schindler
 
I had purchased a jungle x diamond python from him a few months back, and everything went on without a hitch.  No problems with shipping, or communication.  From my experience, I would say that he is a good guy.

bob mendyk
tampa <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
 
Steve, I feel I need to respond, as a buyer, to what you posted.
Forgive the timing, but I just barely read that post.

As a buyer, who buys through "unknowns" I feel we are ENTITLED to contact and communication throughout the entire deal. This Derek's computer is unreliable, he knows that. He could have saved a lot of trouble by simply making it known to the buyer.

By reading this forum, I've become VERY paranoid of everyone I buy from. I've only had 1 semi-bad deal the past year or so. 2 of my animals were purchased through unknowns, and 1 was poorly represented. I dealt with that issue, and did what I could. Certain problems can simply be chalked up to inadequate husbandry on my part, but I started with an animal that wasn't doing so well from the onset.

That's not my point though. My point is, reading this board has made me very paranoid about dealing with people in reptiles. It's natural to "distrust" anyone you've never met, but are sending money to for an animal sight unseen.  

Derek, this guy was an average joe, like me. You never warned him about your computer problems. He was paranoid, like anyone else on this board could have been.  IT was completely your perogative to refuse to deal with him, however, try to look at things from his point of view. He sent you money, and never recieved confirmation from you.
 When I had an animal shipped to me, and the seller didn't get a hold of me to tell me the shipping information, I freaked out! I sent repeated e-mails to them in the hopes of a reply. It was VERY important to me that I know when the animal was expected to arrive here. They did reply, stating that they'd been out the entire day. I was fine with that. But there may be a time when the seller won't reply to me, because they've just taken me for my hard earned money.

Have I made something of a lucid point here? Tommy may have jumped the gun, but it was only to protect his interests, just as you would in the reverse.

Best Regards,
Joshua Gates
 
I understand that dealing with people over the internet is touchy at best.  Especially unknowns like me and most people trying to make a name for themselves.  Unfortunately I would NOT have jumped the gun and posted someone on the BOI after 4-5 days or even 10 as a possible scam artist.  Even if the person in question is not a scammer, people who read this forum may think otherwise.  Those people are potential customers or maybe someone whom I might want to deal with in the future.  If they see my name on here about me being a "bad guy", then I am already in the hole.  And alot of people are leary of people labeled as so.  I did what I thought was right by me.  I am not a perfect person by any means.  That is why I said that ANYONE who buys from someone over the internet should get as many references as they can.  If the seller is a good guy, he will send you good references as well as bad ones.  Just a suggestion to people who are selling and or buying reptiles over the internet.  Please do not jump the gun and possibly hurt someone who might be mistaken or just busy, or maybe even lazy.  All you really have to do is not buy from them anymore if you have a bad experience with them.  Hope this helps!  Derek Roberts  520-544-7730
 
"also try to give him time....
there could be a logical explanation as to why he has not gotten back with you.

On a personal experience.
I sold a pair of burms July 31.  My wife had a baby August 1.
My computer crashed because of a storm agust 2.  Then the burms sold two more times by the time I got my stuff back and running on the fifth or the sixth.

he could have just ran into problems....give him a little time."

I most likely just did that wrong, but I am sure Ritchie won't mind, lol.
If the pair of burms you speak of were the ones that were het for albino (I am pretty sure that is what it was), I am one of those other people that tried to buy them while your computer was down. Of course, a very prompt refund was issued and several appologies where given right away!!

By the way Ritchie, how is the baby? My wife had our fourth child on the 21st of this month.

Still wish I could have gotten those daggum burms.........oh well, maybe next time. Later.

Jason Brennan
 
I bought a pair of pakistani jeweled rats from him a few years. He sent usps, and one was doa. I contacted him, and he said he would reimburse me for the doa. Well he never got back to me for months until a friend who had the same problem with Derek found him. We both e-mailed him, and he came through finally. He blamed computer problems, and this was a few years ago, so I guess its time for him to get a new computer.

I don't know if this is a bad guy post, but this experience was enough for me to stay away in the future.
 
I'm honestly starting to think that "some" of the people posting in here go from the MVD to McDs to posting in here.  I know many of you may be 11 or 12 but you do understand that because somebody is delayed in getting back to you or shipping doesn't mean you need to contact the FBI right?  Why don't you either keep out of the post if you don't know anything about the person or say something neutral?

Derek is not only a good personal friend of mine but one of the most honest people I know.  It saddens me that there is a person in the world stupid enough to think somebody should cantact the FBI over him.  Now you may deffend yourself with "well, I don't know him" and there you have my point!

Let the twisting begin,
Adam Block

PS Man I need to keep on top of this board.  You're all like my grandmother, if I let you think for yourself for just one minut without your meds you loose all control.
 
Adam, for you to say that we are not fit to make a judgement in this mater because we do not know Derek is absurd.  I don't have to know anyone personally to decide whether or not they have good business ethics.  Also, if we are not to judge Derek because we don't know him, how is it that you are fit to judge all of us as out of control preteens that act like your grandmother.  
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">if I let you think for yourself</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
This scares me.  What kind of Big Brother head trip are you on?  The rest of us may not be part of your cabal but at least we're not so damn full of ourselves.  I have already decided that I don't like you and will not do business with you.  Unless you want that trend to spread, I suggest you lose the ego when you come to post here.
 
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