David Martinez - BoidaeRepin 100

On July 9th, David Martinez - BoidaeRepin100 - replied to my ad of Costa Rican boas for sale. We had a brief conversation via messenger, then moved to e-mail, as it’s easier to send pictures that way. He asked about a payment plan, I told him I could be flexible, but required a $100 down payment. I sent individual pictures of all available snakes on 7/10 and he picked out a pair. There were some delays on his part (work, needing to transfer money), on 7/12 he sends a deposit of $75 and apologizes for being short due to forgetting about an auto pay. I accept and he requests more information/pictures, which I provide. I don’t hear from him in a while, probably should have sent him reminders, but just lost track. I e-mail him again on 8/21, wondering if he’s still interested in the pair. I’ve got a table booked for a reptile show and since he hadn’t made a payment, I’m planning on taking those snakes along. He replies very quickly, tells me he would send a payment in 2 days and that his father is in the hospital in intensive care. I know how things can get with an ill family member, so tell him I can wait. Next time I hear from him is 9/10, letting me know he can pay off the balance on he boas in October. Next contact is on 10/5, letting me know he’ll be able to pay the balance and appreciates my patience. He then contacts me on 10/30, telling me he had to move to be closer to his father and due to paying deposit and rent, he won’t be able to pay. At this point I let him know that I have a table booked for a reptile show the weekend of December 7/8 and if the boas aren’t paid off by then, they will go up for sale. He contacts me on 12/2, offering me a payment of $200 to be made on Friday (12/6), with remaining balance paid 2 weeks later. Friday comes and goes, no money is sent. Next time I hear from him is while I’m at the show. He wants to know if he can still send the money, so I tell him he’s got about 30 minutes before the show opens and that I’ll need his payment by then. Not a word until later in the afternoon - I just briefly saw his mail come in, but was busy with customers throughout the afternoon. I message when I get home, that the snakes didn’t sell and I’m still willing to accept payment. If he sends it, I’ll be taking them off the table first thing in the morning. The only reply I get, is him asking if I left them at the show and if there’s even heat! At this point I’m so done with this. I’ve attached all conversation. Today, he files a claim on PayPal for item not received, after a brief review, PayPal sides with him and refunds his deposit. Now this is not about the money, I’ll chalk this up as a major learning experience. My big mistakes - I never specified that the deposit is non-refundable in any conversation and should have stayed on top of things better. Just never had something like this happen to me. This won’t be happening again, I have updated my TOS and they will be attached to every reply to inquiries. Next time I have someone short me on the initial, due to whatever reason, that deposit will be going right back to where it came from