Laura Mansfield/Rhachic of Good Life Herps

Originally Posted by creepycrawly

While I have not done a trade with Laura, I did purchase some geckos from her last October, and everything was smooth sailing. I got a great deal on some fantastic geckos. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from her again.

This sounds like a rough situation for everyone involved. I don't doubt that Sabrina shipped books, and I don't doubt that Laura recieved some sort of pants, and coffee. This sounds strange, but I can totally see it happening - where two boxes were damaged in transit, so the contents were taken out and the boxes repaired/replaced, and when repackaged they got mixed up and sent to the wrong people.

I used to work for UPS, and occassionally had to repackage damaged packages. Usually there were maybe 5-10 per shift that needed repackaging for whatever reason - inadequate tape, heavy contents shifting during transport damaged the box, condensation on the inside of the shipping container saturated the cardboard, etc. I never handled a box that's contents had come out of it, but I can see how easily it could happen. At UPS we had to log packages that had to be fixed/repaired/repackaged. I wonder if USPS has something similar?

Thank you for the reply! This clears up a lot of stuff but there is still an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. If UPS had a similar log I would assume I would have been contacted by now? Either way this does clear up some things. Looking forward to more replies. Thank you, Jennifer.

If USPS keeps a similar log, and I don't really see why they wouldn't, I can see how it might take some time to comb through all of those logs in all of the places that your package stopped. At UPS the log was just kept on a clipboard in the hub office. There was no fancy computer spreadsheet, and it wasn't linked up with all of the other hubs. So even at UPS if something like this were to happen, it would take some time to track where that package had been, and on what days, and then contact all of those places to get copies of their logs, and then comb through it to see if they can find your exact package, and then look at other entries made on the same day. It being USPS, I can see it taking even longer for a few reasons: they deal with a larger volume of mail/packages so there is more to sort through, packages might make even more stops making more logs to go through, and as someone else said - USPS doesn't exactly get itself into a hurry for anything.

Even at UPS we didn't call most customers whose boxes had to be fixed/repackaged. I think the only time we ever called was if the contents were obviously damaged, or if we were unable to repackage it properly.

In any case, I wish both of you the best of luck.

I think there are two huge differences in this case though - UPS is privately owned, while USPS is federally owned. Currently, with the economy the way it is, I highly doubt that USPS keeps adequate record of mishaps similar to this.

Kai

Laura you are really getting worked up over something that was intended to be useful for the both of us. I'm sorry that you had to escalate it to this.

I'm sorry you feel this has been escalated, I am simply responding to the inquiry and providing facts that were not given. I am concerned because you posted an inquiry about me with no information as to what happened, this makes it seem as though I have made a shipping error, when I did not actually make the shipment. I believe the rules of the BOI are that you are suppose to contact the person first as fair warning, and that you are suppose to explain the situation, though maybe this is only for negative posts?

To my defense, you had never requested insurance on your package

You are correct I did not request insurance, but you did, and when the post officers told you it wasn't necessary you chose to waive it. You did have enough money from me to do it, but chose to listen to the advice of the postal worker. I am responsible for what I ship out, I assumed the same for you. If I mail a gecko and it doesn't show up, I assume responsibility and pay for whatever the customer has lost. If you were shipping out books that you did not completely own and were concerned about owing 40.00 if they were lost, you should have used the extra money I provided for shipping towards insurance.

I have the photos on my laptop, I had requested that she post them because they needed them sooner than I could get my laptop.

I was merely pointing out that I assisted you with your claim, not accusing you of not providing the pictures. If I were scamming you why would I assist you?

Yes, this is true, but I did offer to give you the difference back.

Yes you did, but again my point was merely to state that I was generous about the shipping and did not demand any money in return. I am not saying you kept my money against my wishes.

I simply do not have the money to pay for a gecko, and long story short two of those books were not mine. They totaled $40 in cost and now because I am not getting a gecko to give to them I have to pay the cost. Odd story, I know.. I know from now on with trades for books I am offering to trade/sell for a friend I will not be the middle man any longer.

We originally made this trade arrangement 3 months ago. We put it off because you had financial issues and needed to wait until after you moved. You insisted a month later that we proceed with the transaction and that you would take the geckos in the future when you were ready. I tried to convince you to wait and told you I was not comfortable doing a trade without sending you the animals at the same time. Again you insisted we proceed and you would send me the books first and I could send you the geckos later when you were ready. I still stand by what I told you then, I am more than willing to wait until you are ready. Also, 25% off two juvenile geckos plus the 20.00 I lost in this shipment is a total loss to me of 57.5 which I feel is more than fair considering I never received the books. I am sorry you entered into a trade agreement you were unprepared for but I did try to get you to wait. I am also sorry you offered to trade your mothers books and that she is demanding the money for the lost books from you, but this is not my fault. I am doing the best I can to help a bad situation.

What happens if USPS does the same for the geckos and you were the one who sent the books first? I am not really sure how to go about dealing with this and my original post was only to inquire about your business, not to bring this up. Had I wanted to do that I would not have made an inquiry.

I do not ship animals USPS because I do not trust them to not crush or be rough with a package, also they have strange and strict rules that go in and out of effect (like a heat ban which they uphold even if you tell them you have an animal that needs it hot). This is why I told you shipping for the geckos would cost 40.00. If the animals do not show up or even DO show up but are DOA I assume full responsibility and refund all moneys. This is stated in the invoice I created when I paid you for the shipping through paypal. You should not make an inquiry and mention a shipping issue with no details and expect the issue to not be explained. I am not attacking you, I am stating facts of what happened since you did not. Your inquiry may be a question, but the message said there was a shipping problem with me, which is the only issue I have with this.

Yes and after realizing this I did send you an apology.

Yes you did, and I had posted before reading it, thank you for the apology.

The only inquiry made was whether or not you have done good business or not. The only thing that was mentioned is our problem with USPS. As far as tracking whether the package dropped its weight, I was told it was possible to check it but I also received another call that they said they don't check weights at everyone point. I thought I had let you know but I guess I didn't, and I'm sorry about that. I have dealt with at least 3 different people from one office since this happened, not including the people AT the post office and the people from customer service.

Yes your inquiry was just about good or bad business experiences with me, but the fact remains that you refereed to a shipping issue with no information. A lot can be inferred with no information. No you did not tell me that the USPS told you they don't check the weight at every point, but we still haven't heard back from them and it went through many check points. I have also dealt with many people, including a very nasty customer service worker who laughed at me and hung up on me when I called to complain that the package was incorrect. Please understand that I am in the same boat as you. I wanted those books, I am also out money, I certainly did not want a trade to go bad. It's illogical for me to lie about the books as I am trying to run a honest business. Not that people don't do those sorts of things, but I feel I have done everything I can to assist you and help your claim.

Laura, I am not sure what you want me to say about this other than sorry for apologizing and trying to see things from your side? Apparently in this business you shouldn't try to do things like this....

I am disturbed by the sarcasm in this response, and am sorry you have taken so much of this as an attack. The only reason I posted the email was to show that you were concerned about how this made you look as you were the one that shipped to me, yet now you are questioning my honesty. I am sorry you lost your books, I'm sorry you traded your mothers books and now owe her money, I am sorry you assume I am dishonest. I have nothing further to say about this issue, and am going to continue to call the USPS in hopes that the books or some more solid evidence presents itself regarding their whereabouts.

As a general response to the USPS handling of this situation and what I was told when I called customer service:
Books fly off the high speed sorting conveyor belts, workers will pick up the contents off the floor, do their best to guess which packages they are from, tape them up and send them on their way without calling or marking they had opened. After explaining this I was told there was no way the books would be found unless another person called asking why they had the books and created a claim of their own which eventually gets matched to ours. Being USPS this whole ordeal will be a long slow process, despite the immediate resolution we would prefer.
Also I'd like to thank everyone for your support and kind comments about how I run my business

Laura, why are you posting from two different accounts?

Originally Posted by otlauram

I'm sorry you feel this has been escalated, I am simply responding to the inquiry and providing facts that were not given. I am concerned because you posted an inquiry about me with no information as to what happened, this makes it seem as though I have made a shipping error, when I did not actually make the shipment. I believe the rules of the BOI are that you are suppose to contact the person first as fair warning, and that you are suppose to explain the situation, though maybe this is only for negative posts?

I am simply inquiring about your business.... this is all I intended to do. I had let you know the post was made so you could tell people it was here.
However, if it is indeed against the rules to make an inquiry before letting the person know, you have my deepest apologies and this thread can be removed as needed.

On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 8:19 AM, Sabrina Crawford <synplus@hotmail.com <mailto:synplus@hotmail.com> <mailto:synplus@hotmail.com <mailto:synplus@hotmail.com> > > wrote:


Laura,

No one has called me since I last let you know. I am not sure what to do at this point in time. It was suggested several times that I post an inquiry on the BOI, here is the post:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...59#post1046659

Please feel free to redirect anyone who has done good business with you to post there, I just want to get things cleared up so people can not continue to ask me "does she have a good BOI rating?"
Plus, in the future this will be beneficial to you.. I hope you don't mind that I posted that.

Thanks for making the call, etc. I will try to give our branch a call later. Try to get the number of your local customer service if possible and not the generic branch.

Sabrina

Originally Posted by otlauram

You are correct I did not request insurance, but you did, and when the post officers told you it wasn't necessary you chose to waive it. You did have enough money from me to do it, but chose to listen to the advice of the postal worker. I am responsible for what I ship out, I assumed the same for you. If I mail a gecko and it doesn't show up, I assume responsibility and pay for whatever the customer has lost. If you were shipping out books that you did not completely own and were concerned about owing 40.00 if they were lost, you should have used the extra money I provided for shipping towards insurance.

As I had told the people who are filing the claim I had requested insurance but it was not put on there. The tracking number was, and I think they misheard me... but by the time I realized there was no note of insurance (I do not normally ship with USPS and when I do I have someone else ship for me as I do not always have access to a car) the office was already closing.. The postal worker only asked if I wanted it and did not advise me in any way to get it after I requested the service. I had shipped out a few things that day and it made things a little messy. I admit that is somewhat my fault for not being more thorough but the post office was right near closing and there were many people in line as I was being rushed out. Either way you did not request insurance. As far as the extra money goes, I am not sure it would cover the cost of insuring the books...

Originally Posted by otlauram

I was merely pointing out that I assisted you with your claim, not accusing you of not providing the pictures. If I were scamming you why would I assist you?

I am still not saying you scammed me, but you would be surprised what lengths people have gone to to scam my friends or me in the past.

Originally Posted by otlauram

Yes you did, but again my point was merely to state that I was generous about the shipping and did not demand any money in return. I am not saying you kept my money against my wishes.

Then why did you feel the need to mention this? To me it seems like you are implying that I am in some way trying to keep all of your money.. I don't know, it just seems off to me.

Originally Posted by otlauram

We originally made this trade arrangement 3 months ago. We put it off because you had financial issues and needed to wait until after you moved. You insisted a month later that we proceed with the transaction and that you would take the geckos in the future when you were ready. I tried to convince you to wait and told you I was not comfortable doing a trade without sending you the animals at the same time. Again you insisted we proceed and you would send me the books first and I could send you the geckos later when you were ready. I still stand by what I told you then, I am more than willing to wait until you are ready. Also, 25% off two juvenile geckos plus the 20.00 I lost in this shipment is a total loss to me of 57.5 which I feel is more than fair considering I never received the books. I am sorry you entered into a trade agreement you were unprepared for but I did try to get you to wait. I am also sorry you offered to trade your mothers books and that she is demanding the money for the lost books from you, but this is not my fault. I am doing the best I can to help a bad situation.

If you did not feel comfortable, then why did you accept? It would have been as simple as saying no. Had I known you were this uncomfortable I would have moved on to someone else who wanted to purchase the books. At the time I was more interested in the trade and getting the books moved out simply because I knew I would have time to go and get that done. I have school now and things can get a little crazy for me... but again, all you would have had to do was say no...

Originally Posted by otlauram

[...]You should not make an inquiry and mention a shipping issue with no details and expect the issue to not be explained. I am not attacking you, I am stating facts of what happened since you did not. Your inquiry may be a question, but the message said there was a shipping problem with me, which is the only issue I have with this.

I had explained myself further on. My apologies for making it seem like it was somehow your fault... I am not quite sure how I did because I mentioned no details other than a shipping issue, and once details were asked for I did provide them.

Originally Posted by otlauram

Yes your inquiry was just about good or bad business experiences with me, but the fact remains that you refereed to a shipping issue with no information. A lot can be inferred with no information. No you did not tell me that the USPS told you they don't check the weight at every point, but we still haven't heard back from them and it went through many check points. I have also dealt with many people, including a very nasty customer service worker who laughed at me and hung up on me when I called to complain that the package was incorrect. Please understand that I am in the same boat as you. I wanted those books, I am also out money, I certainly did not want a trade to go bad. It's illogical for me to lie about the books as I am trying to run a honest business. Not that people don't do those sorts of things, but I feel I have done everything I can to assist you and help your claim.

Laura, I use a blackberry to email you sometimes, I can't really check if anything has sent correctly until I get home to check my email from there, and sometimes I get busy so I forget to check completely.. I am sorry that you hadn't known about not checking the weights because I am almost positive I had let you know... I guess not. Again, I'm sorry. Thank you for assisting in my claim, Laura. I am grateful that you are helping and again, this post was simply made to ask about your business, not to argue about this transaction.

Originally Posted by otlauram

I am disturbed by the sarcasm in this response, and am sorry you have taken so much of this as an attack. The only reason I posted the email was to show that you were concerned about how this made you look as you were the one that shipped to me, yet now you are questioning my honesty. I am sorry you lost your books, I'm sorry you traded your mothers books and now owe her money, I am sorry you assume I am dishonest. I have nothing further to say about this issue, and am going to continue to call the USPS in hopes that the books or some more solid evidence presents itself regarding their whereabouts.

Laura, there was no sarcasm in that post. This is the first time I've ever done a trade in the reptile business. I am either buying or selling, not often trading. Sometimes I will get an offer for a trade for other items but this is the first time I've gone through with a live reptile.. and will probably be my last.

I do not assume you are dishonest, I do not assume you are honest. I am on the fence right now, but I am giving you the benefit of the doubt. You continue to make it seem like I am trying to say it is your fault when my reason for posting was to just INQUIRE...

Again, I am sorry that this thread has to come to this.

I am still giving you the benefit of the doubt even though you have made some very awkward remarks. I hope you will continue to do the same.

I will be calling my local help center (I forget the specific name of it) later to see how the progress is going and try to take notes about what is going on if possible.

accident, i have an old account i logged into by mistake, as you have stated i have the username otlauram and rhachic.

Since I popped onto Fauna today and saw this on the frontpage as a recent BOI thing, I thought I would comment:

It REALLY appears that Sabrina is making alot of completely unnecessary posts in this whole thread and building a mountain out of a molehill. I have worked a trade with Laura and do not have any doubts about her upstanding morals and credibility, and would recommend a transaction with her to anyone.

I have also worked with Laura in the past and had a great experience. I feel that she is honest and would certainly do business with her again. This sounds like an unfortunate circumstance and bad luck, so I wish you the best, Sabrina.

At the same time (and I say this in all seriousness), if it takes someone 3 months to come up with $40, I am not sure that you should be keeping geckos in the first place, and especially not getting new ones. This can be an expensive hobby and if cash is that tight, you may not be well equipped in the first place. The part about taking books from your mom, using them in trade, and then having her find out is concerning as well.

Just my .02.

I have also worked with Laura in the past and had a great experience. I feel that she is honest and would certainly do business with her again. This sounds like an unfortunate circumstance and bad luck, so I wish you the best, Sabrina.

At the same time (and I say this in all seriousness), if it takes someone 3 months to come up with $40, I am not sure that you should be keeping geckos in the first place, and especially not getting new ones. This can be an expensive hobby and if cash is that tight, you may not be well equipped in the first place. The part about taking books from your mom, using them in trade, and then having her find out is concerning as well.

Just my .02.

Laura, I am having issues accessing my synplus email account. If you need to contact me please PM me here or at Pangea and I can give you my secondary address. If anything I will try to get it fixed by the end of the day.

Also, let me make it clear that I had no intentions of making it seem like this was Laura's doing. It is obvious she is upset I had done so and I'm sorry it seemed like that. All I wanted was to inquire about her practices and it looks like she does have a good reputation! That settles that... and that is all I need.

Originally Posted by mplexus301

[...]

At the same time (and I say this in all seriousness), if it takes someone 3 months to come up with $40, I am not sure that you should be keeping geckos in the first place, and especially not getting new ones. This can be an expensive hobby and if cash is that tight, you may not be well equipped in the first place. The part about taking books from your mom, using them in trade, and then having her find out is concerning as well.

Just my .02.

As much as I agree with you about the financial issue, we had an ant infestation in our house.. things got worse and we ended up having to spend a lot of money on various things trying to get rid of the ants, most of which didn't work. I can link you to a thread on another forum if you'd like that explains the situation. Either way feeding crested geckos isn't really all that expensive... they are not like other reptiles which each hundreds of crickets a week.

Another thing, I made a mistake in my conversation with Laura and I apologize. I had indeed mentioned that they were my Mom's books... when they were not. I had mentioned this earlier in the thread:

[...]and long story short two of those books were not mine. They totaled $40 in cost and now because I am not getting a gecko to give to them I have to pay the cost. Odd story, I know.. I know from now on with trades for books I am offering to trade/sell for a friend I will not be the middle man any longer.[...]

I hope that clears things up, that was a mistake on my part.
I will update this thread with new information regarding the USPS mishap as possible.