Opinions Please!!!

OK.. I just need some opinions... THis is the scenario.. I hope I lay it out OK for everyone to understand.. this is not a Bad or Good Guy Post but it has to do with Business!

Say you order five animals from someone and pay them for the five plus shipping... They come back and offer you a Free animal on top of those 5 because it's smaller then the rest of the group and they just figure they will throw it in with your order!!

OK.. THey ship them.. Overnight Express through the Post Office but it is Guaranteed to be here the next Day.. Well.. the package doesn't arrive on time and the tracking number just shows that it was accepted at the senders post office.. The package arrives the next day.. a day later then it's supposed to!! You open the package and you have a DOA and it's one of the original group.. the one that they offered for free is still alive and in good condition... The DOA is a Female Bearded Dragon... I contacted the seller... let them know about this and they told me to keep that one warm because sometimes they will "come back from this situation" Well.. it hasn't... Now.. I haven't contacted the seller again but I just want OPINIONS not accusations right now on what you would do as a seller if this happened to you!

The thing is.. I payed for 5 Dragons... They offered me a Free one.. I accepted it.. One of the original 5 died.. the free one is still alive... I don't know what I should do about it.. Any Opinion would be appreciated.

THanks everyone!!

Cathy Smith

They should refund the cost of the lost dragon. The "extra" dragon was a bonus especially since they offered it (as opposed to being negotiated for) and more than likely was offered up since it was smaller and not selling. This is part of the risk we take as sellers. That's my opinion on how it should be handled from a customer service point of view. What do their terms say? Did they guarantee live arrival or like I've seen on some companies websites they reserve the right to lay the responsibility for timely arrival on the carrier.

In this instance, you know which one was the free animal. The deal was for the five purchased. The free one does not factor into any live arrival guarantee that may have been in place. Likewise, had the free one arrived dead, no compensation would be expected. If you can expect no refund had the free one died, then you can't deny a refund because one of the others did and it didn't.
The seller owes a refund on the animal that died in shipping. Of course reasonable proof of death may be required, as in pictures. This is not to question your honesty at all, it's just common practice.
That's how I would handle it if I were the seller, and how I expect to have it handled when I am the buyer.

Some people may not realize that the USPS no longer guarantees next day arrival across the board.
For instance, I recently sent some correspondence from here in NC to Missouri via overnight express. The lady at the post office ran the receiving zip code through the system and explained to me that the letter may well arrive the next day (which was Thursday) but the arrival guarantee would be for Friday.
This is one reason I feel USPS is no longer an acceptable carrier in many cases, particularly in the winter.
If there wasn't a good chance the package wouldn't arrive next day, there wouldn't have been a reason not to guarantee it to.
In your case, you may live within a distance in which they did guarantee next day, and failed to deliver. I just wanted to point that out for the fact that overnight express no longer means overnight by default when using the post office.

If 1 of the original 5 died enroute, then you should be refunded the cost of that animal. The post office seems to try very hard to get packages delivered on time, but after 9/11 I would not bet the life of any animal on it.

agreed. refund or replacement for the female that died. a free animal is just that--free.
dana

I must Thank You all for your Responses.. I will contact the Seller and make them aware of this.... I was just wondering and you guys gave me the perspective I needed. I know that if I had been the seller I would have also offered a Replacement... I did send pictures of the Deceased animal to the seller the day that I received it and then also again the next day. Thanks again and if there are any other opinions that people want to add.. feel free to do so but it seems that the consensus has been reached on this.

Sincerely
Catharine Smith

"Live Life to it's Fullest, but, Never Look Back!!! "

If the seler replaces the animal or refunds the cost, be sure to let us know who it is, in the form of a good guy post. On the other hand, if they don't do anything, again, let us know who it is.

I'll agree because you know what animals you've paid for.

Many times I will sell a lot of snakes that I call B Grade (non-feeders, kinks and things like that.). When I do this I almost always include a few extra snakes because I know some of these are non-feeders and the stress of shipping might be too much. In this case though I always tell the buyer the snakes come with no promise and I do my best to disclose their health.

For yourself I think it depends on thier terms and how they say they are willing to handle this but provided they don't make mention of animals dying from late shipping I think you're due a 20% refund.

Good luck to you and sorry about the little girl,
Adam Block

Check out the BOI for the Results of this Issue.. I am very happy with this Seller and will definately do Business again...

Chadwick Osborne Great Guy!!!!!