What would you do? I need help!

Well I am at a loss as to what to do here...

I purchased 3 Adult female ball pythons(supposedly CB and 2000+grams) from an individual. He had to order heat packs so we waited a week to ship. Monday (11/1) they went out... Tuesday came and no snakes...I emailed him and he said my package got mixed up with someone elses(this is true) and my snakes ended up in Alaska of all states.

So he said he fixed the shipment,had them start shipping MY snakes from AK to my place in Illinois and they'd be here early Wednesday(11/3).

I got them this morning,open the box, and all three of the snakes were loose(with 3 empty deli containers). They had been packed in an UNinsulated cardboard box with one slightly warm heat pack...THEY were freezing cold! And to top it off the largest female in there was 750grams.

He wants me to either #1 keep the snakes,#2 send them back for a refund minus shipping(shipping was $62) or #3 send them back and he'll send the females I was supposed to get. He made it a point to say that they can't do much else because they already paid to have the box re-routed to the CORRECT address...and that cost him $77.


So what do I do?
~Angela

Crucify the seller on the BOI.

First they promise you animals meeting certain requirements. Fine, great. Sounds like a sweet deal even though the shipping costs look rather high even given the original weights the animal are supposed to have. There's no reason for you to expect anything other than a prompt shipment of your animals as described.

They send the snakes to alaska. Without insulation or a heat pack. Loose in a cardboard box.

The animals, when they finally arrive in your posession are clearly NOT what you agreed to purchase.

Bottom line here, that's an unscrupulous seller and they owe you a COMPLETE refund of every single cost you have incurred buying these snakes which were not those you wanted or agreed to purchase. You didn't get what YOU purchased, you should be refunded the cost of the animals as well as the full cost of the shipping.

If they want the animals shipped back, that should come out of their pocket too. Trying to refund the purchase price of the animals after they already inflated shipping costs and demanding that YOU pay for the return shipping out of your own pocket is absolute crap. IF they don't want to bother paying for the cost to have the animals shipped back to them, they could offer to let you keep them... but you still are deserving of a COMPLETE refund of EVERY SINGLE CENT you paid to get these misrepresented animals, including the shipping costs. Anything less is 100% unacceptable.

I think Seamus has said it best. That is a horrible way to conduct a business. It is people like that in the hobby that make me sad. If we take it lightly, they will only be able to do the same to other people. Start a thread on the BOI, that way everyone can see it, and they will have a chance to give their side of the story...although, from the sound of it, they don't have much to say. Very sorry to hear about your misfortune, Ang. These guys sound pretty rotten.

You know... The more I think about this, the angrier I'm getting. This scumball con artist is nothing but a warm slightly steaming pile of lies. If they don't resolve this for you and resolve it fairly quickly, take it to the BOI and I will verbally stomp ALL OVER them and their reputation until they're unable to sell animals to Jesse Underhill. I doubt I'll be alone here either- asking you to absorb the shipping costs for THEIR boneheaded screwups and lies is flat out WRONG on every moral and ethical level possible.

Since every single problem was their fault, the costs are theirs and theirs alone to deal with. Anything else makes them a filthy crook.

That is not the way to conduct a business, it almost sounds like a joke. He SHOULD be crucified as a hobbyist and I think it would be fair if you keep the animals to get at least 60-80% of the price you paid refunded + shipping refunded because those shipping costs are just outrageous. I'm sorry this happened to you ang, and these people should be prosecuted as poor businessmen who should not be allowed to deal in the market of herpetoculture. They are quite literally jokes...

- Shane

I am starting to feel more like Seamus, the more I think about the animals that were promised the more it sets me into a rage. These people don't even deserve to deal in green iguanas, these people are pathetic low lifes who don't know how to follow proper business ethics and they should be dealt with as prompt and harsh as possible. Frankly, if it were up to me, they would not be allowed to keep reptiles....