Mike Panzarella: A trade gone bad.

Hello everyone,
First a bit of background:
My name is Dave Cross, I operate SmallPetFeeders.com, in which I accept trade-ins from multiple people, usually being roaches or isopods, and I usually offer store credit on SmallPetFeeders.com to make it easy for everyone, as the trade-in client can get the full selection of our store for their tradein, without being limited by merely the overstocked or duplicate items everyone would want to trade out. We've had a record of several successful trades with multiple people, and really don't have many trades go bad as the terms are pretty simple and clear.

Upon seeing we are an established business, clients have no problem sending in their roaches or other trade items first so we can assess the number, size, and condition of the trade before giving a definite figure, as we accept a lot of different trades and some clients over value their trades while some under value their trades, but we are pleased to say we usually encounter the latter as our norm, and usually offer between 1/4-1/3 of what we plan on selling the roaches for, and as a business owner that wants his business to be known for their ethical, empathetic dealings with the various hobbyist communities we work with selling various pet food, fishing bait, and organic pest control options. But with Mike, since he was a shrewd negotiator and we were working in relatively low counts of roaches (and I really wanted the hissers honestly lol), we settled on a definite figure and I didn't leave the figure up in the air as I like to in usual tradeins, so I really tried to accommodate Mike in every way possible leading up to the execution of the trade.

Now about the specific deal:
I had a dealing with Mike Panzarella, where he agreed to send in a mixed supply of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches with around 100 Orangehead roaches. In return, after a long display of both of our negotiating skills, we settled on 2 Glow in the Dark Mushroom Innoculation Kits (dry supplies that are easily shipped via cheap USPS Priority shipping) and $50 store credit for Mike to use as he chose, as we have done with several clients in the past.

After receiving the roaches, or actually just before, my laptop charger went out (unexpectedly of course), and without a spare, I ordered a new one from a nearby seller on eBay, and I let Mike know by email via my smart phone that I had the email with his shipping address on the laptop, and also had no way to print shipping labels without my computer (something highly frustrating in itself when you run an ecommerce business). I let him know the package would go out as soon as possible, and never heard otherwise from him. I thankfully received the charger on Saturday and shipped his Mushroom packs on Tuesday via USPS Priority. Here's where it goes for a loop...

After shipping the mushroom innoculation packs and sending him the USPS tracking ID, he lets me know his dissatisfaction with it taking a week to get my charger, something he shouldn't have had to deal with, which he was 100% right about but it was the best I could do without paying $60-$100 for the same charger I got on ebay for $6, so I apologized and let him know his $50 voucher code to the website, as I agreed. He also stated in the same email that he was a straight shooter and didn't play games, something I've heard from people who did in fact play games, so I thought that was interesting.

Upon receiving the $50 credit voucher, he told me via email "instead of creating an account on your website, I'd just like you to send me 10k Zebra Silkworm eggs (priced at $49.99 on the site) and let me be done with you". Now I'm paraphrasing a bit, but from a man who stated he didn't play games, he very quickly forgot about the additional shipping charge incurred by the eggs, which if he was going to store the eggs in refrigeration, every vendor (including Small Pet Feeders) recommends Priority Overnight service that costs normally $50-$60, plus a $6 icebox with icepacks to keep the eggs cool on the way to him.

I let Mike know about these complications, he stated that he felt it was my responsibility to absorb this Fedex shipping charge (even though he shipped 1 package and he was asking for me to ship 2) since there was no talk of shipping charges during negotiations. I let him know that even though the ecommerce platform (Prestashop 1.5.4) did not allow credit vouchers to be used towards shipping charges to ensure that those funds are available at time of shipment, I would allow him to use part of his voucher credit towards shipping charges. He responded with "forget it, just send me my roaches back and I'll send you your mushroom packs back", again I'm paraphrasing. This was not only not possible as the roaches were already mixed with other trades, it was not very fair to me as I had completed the trade, having shipped the Mushroom inoculation packs and delivered the $50 store credit voucher.

So then he says that during our negotiations, he had offered 4 mushroom packs as an agreeable trade, and I countered with 2 packs and $50 credit to the store. I said that there was no way this could be true, as why wouldn't I accept a trade for all dry items that I could ship in an inexpensive USPS Priority service all together, versus offering 2 packs in one shipment and a $50 voucher to spend in the store (keeping in mind, the packs sell for about $25 on the website), which he assumed I would cover the shipping charges on as well. I asked to be shown where he had offered this as a solution, and he responded with the two pictures, which I took a screenshot and attached it to this thread.

For those who can't see the picture
In the first picture, it's his message to me stating (accurate quote) "I would only need two but for
All the hissers and 100 mixed orangeheads to even out would be 4 units of glow mushroom "

The second picture was my response, noting the value of mushroom innoculation kits being $25 in the store:
"Hmm…ok, how about those 2 kits and a $50 credit to the store for later?"


I don't know about you, but to me it sounds like he only needs 2 kits, and is only willing to accept two kits, and this does not show a valid offer of 4 Kits. It does however show that I was trying to offer the parallel value of 2 kits in store credit, which I did.


So I replied to Mike, let him know that I did not know that he would be willing to accept 4 kits, but I only had 1 remaining kit, otherwise honestly I would have taken another 2 kits, put them in a USPS Small Flat Rate box and called it even, but unfortunately it isn't possible.

At this point, I think Mike is still deciding what he wishes to spend his $50 credit on, but I feel I have done everything possible at this point to follow through with a good trade and to also end up with a happy client, but I really feel backed into a corner, and I think that if Mike has done this to me, he has used his rather shrewd business negotiation skills to push around others, and I just wanted to let everyone know about this situation so if it happens again, this situation has been recorded and others can spot a pattern.

Mike runs an online business himself, and I don't think this bad trade should in any way be reflected upon his business, and I will not mention that business name due to feeling that he does run his business within ethical boundaries, and this is just merely a complication of a bad trade that turned into him making false statements that he said had been made previous to the trade being executed, and I just wanted it noted for future reference. Anyone working with his company should continue to do so without regard to this bad dealing, as I'm sure he takes good care of his retail customers. Just if you choose to trade with this gentleman, make sure ALL STIPULATIONS are clearly noted before any shipments are made, as he will make it very difficult for you if you do not.


Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this long review, and I hope it reaches the right sets of eyes. Happy Herping!

Just noticed that our signature has the name of our SEO Director, Mike Banawa, in it.

The above post was made by Dave Cross, LMT, contactable by email at dave@smallpetfeeders.com for verifications.

Also I noticed that the attachment above had Mike's email in it. In an effort to protect his privacy, I blacked out his email in the screenshot attached below. Moderators, please delete the original attachment, and let this attachment replace it. Thanks!

It's a little unrealistic to think that you didn't know a single person who had a functional PC and printer that you could use, but either way, happens, and he was apparently notified about your technical difficulties and the impending delay. That seems like it really should be a non-issue.

The rest seems fairly cut and dry. $50 store credit is just that: $50. If what you're using the credit towards amounts to more than $50 when shipping charges are included, it seems fairly standard that the buyer would be responsible for covering anything above the negotiated credit. If he feels slighted due to the charges incurred from shipping his end of the trade, he should have negotiated more shrewdly. I think his initial request for 4 mushroom kits is pretty much moot, since he apparently accepted your counter offer. Unless he comes up with some damning emails that you chose not to include, I don't really see how you've done anything wrong.

No, I think I displayed as much information as possible, as I do admit freely that it wasn't his problem to bear with the technical difficulties, and it probably could have been navigated around if he had sent a response requiring urgent delivery with a new mailing address attached, as I could have done as you said and found another printer somehow. But it obviously didn't seem like a problem, as I checked my phone (what I was using during my laptop downing) and emails, and I didn't find any responses to the matter during that time.

At any rate, it was definitely a big issue with him that I wasn't willing to cover shipping costs, oddly enough immediately following me sending his USPS tracking for the 2 packs of mushrooms. There are always 3 sides to every story, but I did my best to divulge all the "damning evidence" that I could.

We did settle this finally, deciding on a 3rd Mushroom pack and $20 worth (2500) of Zebra Silkworm eggs and USPS Priority shipping, so I'm pleased that he and I were able to find an amicable common ground. I'll need to eat a few bucks in shipping costs, but if it helps this deal close on a good note, it's money well spent.

Again, I want to say I don't think Mike is a bad guy, or a scammer or anything like that. He was just very pushy with me, and I felt like he made several statements that if they weren't outright untrue, the truth was very stretched, and I think I displayed that in the screenshot evidence he actually submitted to me (or actually the two images that I took a screenshot of were what he submitted to me) as proof that he offered 4 packs of mushrooms as a solution outright, which I definitely would have accepted, but I really don't think mentioning that it would take 4 packs to be even with the amount of roaches being sent, and that he could only use 2 packs, is actually saying "I'll take 4 packs for my roaches", and that's what he was trying to imply.

So don't be afraid to buy products from the guy, I'm sure he supplies his customers with what they purchase, and I have always heard good things about his products. Just if you choose to trade with him, make sure EVERYTHING is clearly stated beforehand, as he will definitely be aggressive and could capitalize on any holes later on.


-Dave Cross, LMT

Originally Posted by Small Pet Feeders

Again, I want to say I don't think Mike is a bad guy, or a scammer or anything like that.

Nor do I. Unfortunately, you did label this thread with that big "X", which means "Bad Guy." For future reference, you'd probably be better off using the "INFO" option for labeling a thread of this type.

Well when I began writing this thread, I think I was under the feeling that he was trying to really get one over on me. After a while, I could see he was just being a harsh negotiator, but I would like to change it to Inquiry if the mods can do so, as I think a harsh X may be a little much, but I didn't see any "in between".

Originally Posted by Small Pet Feeders

but I would like to change it to Inquiry if the mods can do so,

As you're clearly providing information of a problematic deal, I don't think "Inquiry" would be the appropriate choice. Either way, it can't be changed now. Once posted, these threads aren't edited for anything other than very specific rule violations. In the future, keep that in mind.

How is it that you could email him via smartphone, but not access his address which you state was in email?

Dave, have you made Mike aware of this thread's existence? I would like to hear both sides of the story so that I can conclude for myself what exactly happened.

I'm glad you came to a resolution even if it cost you a few bucks. That's a huge plus for people I may do business with in the future. It shows you care about your company.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

How is it that you could email him via smartphone, but not access his address which you state was in email?

I was wondering the same thing.