awful transaction

I am just venting here, while things come together for a BOI thread, so I will not be including names. I came across something that is still on my WANT list, so naturally I WANTED it (even though I have some already). ---skipping the filler-----so I paypal him the money for shipping, and remind him that I want the box to be held by the carrier for me to pick up. This morning comes, and the tracking number identifies the box as being with courier for delivery. It arrived at 09:30, and I see it is essentially a plain Kraft box...nothing to indicate live contents, no identification of the contained animals. The box was labeled: Perishable: Refrigerate Immediately. I also noticed that it was marked Bill to: Receiver (me). Inside was loosely fit styrofoam and no heat pack (in fairness, it was close to 80 where he was, but in the 40s overnight here). The snakes themselves were very underweight, had mites, and one had a retained eyecap.
First things first - pictures. My camera batteries died after the first few shots. Moving on, I sent him an email requesting an immediate refund of the money I sent for shipping (figured I would hold off on further comment on the other issues til I got my money). A short time later, he IMs me saying that he put it on his account (there is a big story there, but that will come out on the BOI). Wanting to keep things as pleasant as possible, I said that I wouldn't worry about it at this point then...but if I got a bill, he would be hearing from me. His response: If you get a bill, kiss my a$$. As the conversation continued, he went on to say that he didn't care if I contacted him...that nothing would happen...then, that if things got screwed up, it was my problem. I ceased communication and emailed the shipping company to check his story (that he had put it on his account) - they were unable to answer...that billing info wasn't available yet. However, I was assured that if the box was marked Bill to Receiver, I would indeed get a bill. I opted to set up a quarantine cage as far as possible from the rest of my animals...not taking any chances. I'll be pretty much gone for the weekend, so I probably won't be able to post to the BOI til next week. Luckily, I remembered to save the IM conversation, lol. In the meantime, if you are considering purchasing a Hog Island boa or cages from somebody in Texas, contact me for the name

Dude, that stinks.

That sounds awful. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I don't understand why people do this. Why would you sell and ship animals if you're not equipped to do it right? There are several reptile communities on the web. Most of us go to several of them, and we share this info with eachother. So when this guy screws you like this it's not just you who doesn't buy from him again. None of us buy from him again. Ultimately it costs him business and money.

Not to mention, I don't know why you would even bother having the little critters laying around your house if you didn't care enough to take better care of them than is described above. I just don't get the motives of some people.

Aw jeez Harald....what a load of . Sorry to hear.

Very thoughtful of you to make a note of it here for those who may be getting into the same situation you are, at least until you can get it to the BOI.

Sorry to hear that Harold, these snakes will definitely be cared for with you.

I feel stupid for continuing with the transaction - a couple of red flags popped up during the process (as you will soon read). I did think about abandoning the whole thing, but I had a serious case of the I WANTS. It was pretty much the old story about something sounding too good to be true...
As long as there don't turn out to be serious health issues, I can't complain too much (but I'm still posting the story, cuz he was still an a$$)

sorry to hear about your transaction harold. Its happens to all of us. Those darn "I want" cravings always seem to overide our better sense. Glad i am not looking for any hog island boas in texas!!!

The box was labeled: Perishable: Refrigerate Immediately.

Please tell me the box was NOT labebled REFRIGERATE IMMEDIATELY when it has snakes in it.

You have GOT to bring this to the BOI.

I hope it works out for you.

Originally Posted by SPJ

Please tell me the box was NOT labebled REFRIGERATE IMMEDIATELY when it has snakes in it.

You have GOT to bring this to the BOI.

I hope it works out for you.

Wow !!! I missed that....what would have happened if they actually did refridgerate it somewhere until it could be delivered? That was not a wise move on the shippers end!!!!

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I feel stupid for continuing with the transaction - a couple of red flags popped up during the process (as you will soon read). I did think about abandoning the whole thing, but I had a serious case of the I WANTS. It was pretty much the old story about something sounding too good to be true...
As long as there don't turn out to be serious health issues, I can't complain too much (but I'm still posting the story, cuz he was still an a$$)

Ahhh.......the "I Wants".

My wife has a similar condition - its called the "Can't Haves".