Bill Corwin aka reptilegems@aol.com ( BAD GUY)

I purchased 2 bearded dragons from Bill Corwin, and one of them has a respiratory infection. I will post emails to show What has transpired, and I hope this can be settled.. But by Bills Last email it does not seem so,,,

The whole thing started on 4-11 when i saw apair of bearded dragons on KS and inquired about them, i paid the asking price,(550.00) and sent him an email stating, it was coming by priority post, and it was in the form of a money order...
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Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 19:06:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: REPTILES MAR17 028.JPG
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




Hey Bill...
i will taek them, if you will let me mail you a postal money order,,, it will go out on monday, and will be by priority post. email me back with the total, let me know for sure, that you will hold them until the funds get there,, and i will get it right out,,,
thanks,
Joe

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Then i get an email from Bill that states he is going out of town for the whole week of Easter and I can either send him the money order by express overnight or i will have to wait until the 28th for him to ship the pair,,
So I comply and my next email states
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Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 13:54:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: REPTILES MAR17 028.JPG
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




HEY BILL...
THE POSTAL MONEY ORDER WENT OUT TODAY, IT WENT EXPRESS POSTAL AND THEY SAY IT MAY BE AS LATE AS WED BY 3:15 BUT SHOULD BE EARLIER,,,,,( ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW THE POST OFFICE CAN CHARGE 14.00 FOR OVERNIGHT DLIVERY, AND DOES NOT GARANTEE OVER NIGHT DELIVERY,,,,)
I HOPE IT WON'T HOLD YOU UP FROM SHIPPING THEM, IF IT NOT THERE TIL WEDNESDAY,,,,EMAIL ME BACK, OR PLEASE CALL ME WHEN THEY DO SHIP.AND WHEN PAYMENT IS RECIEVED
THANKS,
JOE
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The the email exchange is as folows:
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Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 02:58:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: REPTILES MAR17 028.JPG
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




HEY,,,
GO AHEAD AND SHIP THURSDAY FOR FRIDAY,,,
THANKS,
JOE

Reptilegems@aol.com wrote:
Hey Joe,
When I get the money order tomorrow do you want me to ship thurs for Fri or wait until the 28th when I get back in town? Let me know.
Thanks Bill


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so the in the next email exhange, i ask did they go out, and he replies, yes, they did,,, with a tracking number etc,,, The 2 bearded dragons did come in and I thought it was a little funny that there was no heat pack in the box,,,,,, they were packed in a pillow case and in a non insulated box,... all that was in it, was cut up newspaper.. And it was used box at that! anyway, i keep all my collection out in a building behind my house, and i quarantine, here in my house, so i can keep an eye on the new arrivals,,, Well after a few hours,, i noticed the female sneeze,,, so i don't really think to much about it, and over the next few days, she is sneezing more, and more, and having a hard time breathing,,, (she was so bad i even removed my other new purchases from the whole room where the quarantined female was)So on the 23rd I send Bill an email that states,,,( now keep in mind he is gonna be out of town until the 28th) ..
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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 16:25:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Hey Bill,,,, a problem....
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




Hey Bill,,,
The female i got from you is weezing when she breathes, she also looks like she is having a hard time breathing,,, i noticed it just a little when she got here, and seperated her from the others,,, but it has gotten worse,,,
she is eating, but not as much as she should be,,, the male is eating like a pig,,,, but i am really concerned about her,,, any ideas..? or is there a warranty if she does not make it,,? she is a beautiful animal, and i would hate for anything to happen to her,,, but i need to know what you think about this situation,,,
Joe
Yazoo City, Ms

Reptilegems@aol.com wrote:
Prefect! Let me have your shipping address and I will get the box ready for shipment.
Bill


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NO REPLY,,,( BECAUSE HE IS OUT OF TOWN)

Then in hopes that maybe he is getting his email ( out of town) I send him another email that states,,,
__________________________________________________ _


Hey Bill...
i know you are still on Easter vacation, and I hope you had a good time, but the female i got from you is getting worse,,, she is having a hard time breathing,,, As i said in my previous email, I noticed she was opening her mouth, and kinda like gasping for breath and weezing.. but i knew you were out of town and i had no way to reach you so i set her up alone, away from my other animals, and kept her hydrated, and fed to the best of my ability,(she is not eating like she should be) but she has been getting worse.I wonder if shipping her with out heat packs may have something to do with it. anyway, i hope you get back soon, and we can figure out where we stand cause she is not doing good at all...
email me back,
Joe
Yazoo,Ms
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STILL NO REPLY,,,, ( CAUSE HE IS STILL OUT OF TOWN)

Then i send another email....
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Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 06:15:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: HEY BILL ,, PLEASE REPLY ABOUT THE DRAGON.. THAT IS SICK,,,
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




Hey Bill,,,
I took the female beardie i got from you a week ago to the vet yesterday, and she does have a respiratory infection,,, he gave her medicine,, but she is still real bad,,, I have been hoping you would get home early from your trip out of town so we could discuss it, but i know you probably won't be back until tommorrow,,, anyway,, i want her replaced,,, ( or my 275.00 back for her) she has had this for some time, and i don't think it is right for me to spend the kind of money I spent with you and she is sick from day 1 . that is just not right,,, One of the reasons i bought from you was because you have a great reputation on the fauna classifieds "board of inquiry" . If you had not been out of town the day after she was shipped i would have email you that same day later that evening after i got her, i noticed it about an hour or so after she was unpacked and put in a quarantine enclosure... and it has gotten worse over the week you have been gone,, so i had to take her to the vet, i could not stand to see her suffer,,, she is a sweet dragon, and a pretty animal,,, but the less the fact still remains the dragon has been sick since i got her, and I trust you will do the right things,,,
please email me back ASAP!
thanks,
Joe
Yazoo, MS
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Then The reply I get from Bill when he finally does reply is:
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From: Reptilegems@aol.com | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 20:19:04 EDT
Subject: Re: HEY BILL ,, PLEASE REPLY ABOUT THE DRAGON.. THAT IS SICK,,,
To: herpcondo@yahoo.com




Hey Joe,
I just got back into town and am sorry to hear about the female dragon. i cant believe you got so rude on the last email. I sent her out on the 18th and i have a 72 hour quarantee on all my animals which means you had until the 21th to let me know of the problem if there was one. You said you didnt know how to reach me but you did write me on the 23th knowing I wasnt home. You could have written on the 21th too.
The female was in prefect health like all my dragons are when they are shipped. For you to say she wasnt is totally wrong!! Look thru the box a little better and you will find a heat pack. I put heat packs in all the boxes going to the colder states. Also if she was sick I would have wanted her to go out to you before I left on my trip but I gave you the option of having them shipped before I left of after I got back. I am sorry but you had her to long before notifying me of this that she probably has caught something out your way.
Bill

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So in reply to what Bill wrote me above,,, I sent him a follow up email, and it is below...( he has not replied to it yet..)
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Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 17:52:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: "JOE REGAN" <herpcondo@yahoo.com> | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: HEY BILL ,, PLEASE REPLY ABOUT THE DRAGON.. THAT IS SICK,,,
To: Reptilegems@aol.com




Hey Bill..
so you were not in town,,, ( and i knew that ) but i was supose to Send you an email and I am just suppose to take a sick animal from you,,, You sent me a sick animal,,, she was the first dragon i had here at my house,,,,, So , no she could not have caught anything from my collection,,,,, The first pair i bought was yours, and they were here first....And she developed symptoms before any other animals were even introduced into my whole house,, so if she was not sick when you sent her, then how did she get sick overight..? And no, there was not a heat pack in the box!
I think we can settle this, but sending me asick animal is doing someone wrong, and i would never do anyone like that,,,
Joe
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The bottom Line is, Bill was out of town for an entire week, with no way for me to reach him, And the animal was sick when it was shipped,,( no question) ((even my vet said it had to of been this way for at least 2 weeks for it to be as bad as it is)) .

I am doing everything I possibly can for the female beardie, but she is not good at all.... and Bill will not stand behind his animal,,,, I feel like if I had been able to reach Bill,,, and i did not write for a week,, then that is my fault,,, But when he was out of town for a week, and then to tell me , that i notified him after his warranty period,, ( mind you he was out of town and unreachable) is just a crock in my eyes,,,
I really hope that Bill will do the right thing and help Me with her, or take her back, MY REPUTATION IS WORTH MORE TO ME THAN A DEAL OVER ONE DRAGON . I would take an animal in question happily if it meant a happy customer,,,, But if he will not,, I would STRONGLY URGE YOU NOT TO DEAL WITH BILL CORWIN AT REPTILEGEMS@AOL.COM If Bill will do the right thing and either refund some or all of my money for her, or take her back, I will Post a formal apology to Bill,.,,, But at this time it does not look like he is gonna do so.....
Thanks for your time reading this, and I hope this can be settled,,,

Does this guy have a website and were you made aware of the 72 hour warranty prior to consumating the deal?

Hey John,,,
as far as i know he does not have a website,,, and no, i was never made aware of his 72 hour policy,,,,

Reptilegems@aol.com wrote:
I have worked in The Arkansas zoo, the Dallas zoo, the LA Zoo all in the Reptile Depts. and been in the herp field doing research and reproduction for over 35 years.
I am quite known thru the Reptile field and never have sent or even have sick animals to send. If she got sick in transit then I need to know in 72 hours. I write the sender the minute I see something wrong with a shipment. As for the other "animals", you said you had to separate her from the other "animals" so i assumed you had more. If you dont have any more than you may have let her chill in the night who knows. The male has been housed with her the whole time and he is fine. 72 hour quarantee.
Sorry!
__________________________________________________ __


So in reply to what he wrote,,, i wrote back one last time,,,,
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Bill...
You know what the worst part is,,, with all your vast knowledge,,, and all the research and stuff you say you have done,, you won't do the right thing,,,, And i let her chill in the night air,,? You sent her 1000 miles with no heat packs,,,,, so what does that say about you and your "vast knowledge" and in a used box! That was not even insulated! You may think you are high and mighty ,,, but you screwed me,,, and there is not much i can do about it,,, But i can try and keep you from screwing other people like you did me,.,,,I am gonna warn everyone i can about you and to never, never buy from you,,,
I would never do a customer like this,,, And as for "never sending out a
sick animal,,, well,,, don't tell people that because in my case you did send me a sick animal...
Joe

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SO FELLOW FRIENDS,,, PLEASE, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH BILL "HIGH AND MIGHTY"CORWIN, BECAUSE IF THERE IS A PROBLEM,,, HE WILL NOT STAND BEHIND HIS ANIMALS......

((even my vet said it had to of been this way for at least 2 weeks for it to be as bad as it is))

Can you get a statement from your vet to verify this?

Just to cover myself, I would have sent the email the minute I noticed there was something wrong. At least then you could document that you sent notification right away.

However, looking at it from the seller's perspective, the animals are received on Friday, no hint of a problem until Wednesday, no vet exam until the following Saturday. I can see his problem with that as well.

So, if your vet could verify that the animal was sick for at least 2 weeks prior to the visit, that may change the seller's perception.

Also, what were the temps on both the shipping and receiving end on the 17th/18th?

Was there any discussion about ANY guarantees prior to the purchase? Live arrival, 72 hour, etc? This may be another situation that is going to be complicated because there wasn't sufficient understanding between the parties about what is covered when things go awry.

Good luck with the beardie, I hope she improves. I really hope the buyer and seller can reach an amicable agreement here.

Terese,,,
I am not sure what the temps were where he is,, but it was mid 70 days and 50 nights,,,, and as for a statement from my vet,,, I am sure he would give me one,,, but what is that gonna help,,, ? Mr High and Mighty Corwin, has already said he is not gonna help at all.... There was a hint of a problem before wed,, but i knew i could not get ahold of him,,, he was out of town for the whole week,,, so if i had sent him an email before wed, i would have still had a sick beardie, and a person i bought from i could not get a hold of for a full week,,,, I do understand to a degree from the sellers prespective,, i sell some of my animals also,,,, so i got that side in my herping also... but I know first off a 72 hour warranty is a little low, I give 5 days with all of my animals,,, and I would do anything to help a customer,,, One animal is not gonna make or break me or I guess Mr corwin either,,, But i know A happy customer is a great thing and do you really think I would have gone to all this trouble to post this if the animal had not come in sick. Why would I do that...? If you read my emails,,,to mr corwin,, i said more than once it was a very beautiful animal,,,, and i would hate for anything to happen to her.... BUt the fact still remains she came in sick from mr corwin, and you roll the dice if you buy from him,,, because if there is aproblem he will not take care of it!

I'm sorry to hear about your problems with Bill.

I got a pair of bueatiful Hogg Island Boas from him a couple of months back in a trade and everything went very smooth. He shipped first since he approached me about the trade. I recieved them and they were very healthy so I shipped out his animals. I have since had them to the vet and had fecals done and they both came back negative. They both pound rats like they're going out of style. They are in great shape.

I have to say, adding that message to your signature is distasteful to say the least.

I can not say who is right or wrong in this, but if Bill has a 3 day guarentee that is 300% of what even some of the most generous sellers offer. You must have been aware of that at the very least and yet you waited more than 24 hours, in fact you waited more than 72 hours before making any attempt to contact Bill and longer still before seeking treatment.

Joe, I have to agree with Steven.

Please remove that statement from your signature area. Imagine what this site would be like if everyone did that. It would carry nearly every incident on the BOI into every thread anyone replying to a thread has had. Sorry, I can't allow that.

Joe,

I am sorry to hear your animal is sick. I have to agree with one thing you should have sent notification IMMEDIATELY when you noticed anything out of the ordinary when she arrived regardless is he was home or not. I have a live healthy arrival guarantee and even if I am out of town when they animal arrives I need to be notified the same day (even if I do not see it until later). I can understand you not wanting to send an e-mail to just sit there but he would have been notified within his guarantee period. Does he post the guarantee on his ads? I know I have seen his ads but I can't remember. Again I am sorry the Dragon is ill and I hope she gets better quickly for you.