offthearkexoticpets

Originally Posted by Talkenlate04

Your right, I should not have said that, it was my involuntary response to your illogical approach to my main problem with what happened and your snide remark about having cash in hand when I want to buy something. I HAVE the money to buy what I want, I was not given enough time to pay, nor was I given any sort of fair warning that I needed to be rushing home to pay on a Sunday freaking afternoon!

I have wasted more energy responding to you than I should have lol. Oh well.
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While i wish to maintain a reasonable Adult convo it seems you don't . my comment in no way was meant to be "snide. I disagree with you so that makes me illogical and snide? Cash in hand means exactly that Cash In HAND not having to wait a few hours for payment , i am sorry you view such actions as a bad guy worthy case but many people have had countless bad experiences like this and they simply move on

I forgot to ask did you tell the seller you were going to take 5 hours to have payment sent? if so that makes a difference in your argument, if not then it seems understandable why the seller took the next persons offer .

Originally Posted by Talkenlate04

Well then you and I disagree.


Customer service starts at the very beginning. Even if a deal falls through there is a way to have a deal fall and still retain a customer, that did not happen here imo. Money does not have to change hands for me to feel like I got the short end of the stick and be unhappy as a buyer.
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I think what you're ignoring here is some people just don't run their businesses on customer service. It's unfortunate but the majority of the large breeders/suppliers run that way. For most of them that's how they got there: by taking the first money waved in their faces. That's certainly not a business maneuver I plan on taking nor do I deal with breeders who deal in such manners; I like knowing my critters were cared for as animals rather than inventory and I feel like poor customer service can be a reflection of how their stock is cared for. Then again, some people just aren't good communicators.

That being said, if I were in your position I would absolutely feel the same way. They certainly could have recovered you as a customer or at least placated and resolved the situation in some way. However, this does happen a lot (as others have mentioned). I've had it happen where I was e-mailing the breeder inquiring of an animal, stated I was going to purchase (and was also working out the shipping details) and then someone went and added the animal to their shopping cart and checked out. It really is just a sucky situation.

Even so, I think a bad guy thread is just a little harsh for this situation.

This was not me sending a message every now and then in passing interest. This was me as a buyer trying to BUY something. Sending 9 emails in two and a half days, and receiving replies to all of them (slowly I might add ). Agreeing to terms, dates to ship, and finding out where I needed to send payment, sending payment and somehow ending up with nothing because somehow it appeared like I was emailing them for fun?

I can see my point is being missed, and that is fine, I am not going to spend any more of my time defending why I won't buy from or ever deal with them again. It is my opinion, I am entitled to it and it is what it is.

And maybe a bad guy thread was a bit much, but they are banned from here so how far off the mark could I have been exactly?

Originally Posted by Talkenlate04

And maybe a bad guy thread was a bit much, but they are banned from here so how far off the mark could I have been exactly?

You were off the mark because of the reason you gave. If you are saying this person has had a history of bad transactions and you don't want to do biz that's fine, that is what the BOI is for. If you are saying this person is a bad guy because of this policy, you may find some who disagree.
As people have already mentioned, unless a seller specifically agrees to hold an animal until payment is received, many sellers feel that until a deposit or payment is received the sale has not been completed.
You can read from sellers here that all sorts of people tell them that they want to buy a particular critter and are never heard from again, or who simply change their mind.

Personally, I have had many people who email me several times within a day with questions, requests for more pics, and/or more info. After I've accepted their offer or they tell me they want the animal and I give paypal information, I never hear from them again. At times, I've even sent a follow up email to see if they are still interested because they seemed so interested before and most of the time never hear back from them again.. It's an unfortunate part of the business. I do let people know that I do not hold any animal without at least a deposit and that's the only thing I see that was missing in this transaction.

Regardless of any past activity from "Off the Ark", I don't see how this current situation justifies a BG thread. I am, by no means, a "big breeder". I produce between 10-20 clutches a year (at most) and sincerely enjoy the hobby itself; however, in order to afford my hobby, I do have to sell the majority of the animals that I produce. While I strive to give the best customer service that I can, I can NOT hold an animal for every person expressing interest.

Many, many, many people will write and tell me that if I accept their offer, they will send the funds right away. The vast majority NEVER DO! For that reason, I do not hold an animal without a 25% non-refundable deposit, meaning that if someone else comes along in with the funds, they get the animal that they want.

I can understand your being upset that they did not express any such terms to you, but I've been under the impression that most folks do business this way (if they want to stay in business). What I do not understand is why you would make an offer for less money than the animals were advertised for, have that accepted, and then not make arrangements to pay immediately. By the way, try telling your electric company that they should not have turned your lights off because you really did have the "cash in hand", but failed to send it to them.

I understand why you would be upset about the missed transaction, but it does not justify a bad guy thread. Like previously mentioned if there wasnt so many people who just flake out, the sellers wouldnt have to jump on the first cash offered sale.
For that reason anytime I feel someone is indeed going to buy I leave them my telephone number so I personally can talk to and hear if they are truelly interested. If they dont call then they didnt really want to buy that much. However, I dont have animals flying out my doors everyday so I have more time to consider who I will sell to. So I cannot speak for off the ark, but I do understand your frustration.

I have done business with Off The Ark, and had a great experience. I sent an e-mail about some snakes advertised on KS and he responded quickly and even told me about another similar animal that he had not yet posted, with a pic. I told him I was interested, asked about his paypal info, and when the animal could ship out. He told me, and I sent payment. Got my snake quickly, and in great condition.

Off The Ark isn't even a breeder, they are a family run pet store who sell snakes bred by a local breeder/friend of theirs. Of course they are going to take the money that comes in first, that's why they are in business. I have had multiple experiences in which I showed interest in an animal, or other goods for that matter, and had whatever it was sold before I could send payment. As others have said, most breeders will not hold an animal without at least a 25% deposit. You did offer a certain amount of money, and they told you when it would be possible to ship once they received payment, but until they had that money in their account that was not a sale, just an offer.

I understand your frustration at the situation, but a BG thread is a little off base. I hope you have better luck, and timing, in the future.

Gotta agree with most here. You snooze, you lose. It stinks, but definitely not worthy of a bad guy thread. He got a quicker offer, and then refunded your money. You're not out anything but, what? A good deal on a snake? I'm sure you can find another. Next time throw a deposit down on what you want asap. Lesson learned.

Sadly, first customer to pay generally gets the goods. Each transaction is different, if the seller honestly felt confident in the fact you where going to purchase, then I'm sure he would not have sold them otherwise.
But if you just stated "I'll send payment when I get home from work" and thats the end of it....well...sadly....most sellers here have heard that many times, just to get nothing.

When selling an animal, even if you're the most loving, caring person alive, the bottom line it that it is business....it's not personal....it's business....sadly, a lot of people tend to take rejection personally.

and just to point something out

you posted that you sent 9 emails in 2 ad a half days, and you got replies to each, to which you feel the need to ( ) that it was done slowly?

Why do people feel the need to dramatize something this way?

at this point you do just seem bitter, as that many emails in 2 and a half days, would not come off as slowly to me as a buyer. I do not expect people to be staring at their computers all day waiting to hear from me...