Randy Clark / reptiguy909 – BEWARE! Bad Trade

I had certainly hoped to never have to do a negative BOI on any Fauna user I would ever do business with but, unfortunately, I believe it is necessary in this case. I have the email communications between Randy & myself but it is quite extensive. There are 4 months of multiple email communications each week. I would be able, & willing, to post those emails if necessary however.

I made every effort to make it feasible for Randy to step up to bat & fulfill his responsibility related to our transaction. Our trade agreement involved my trading him a nice adult male Bearded Dragon in return for an Apricot Pueblan Milksnake. I was asking $150 plus shipping, with trade value being slightly higher, for the particular bearded I sent him. This agreement was in his favor from the beginning but I agreed to the trade because he assured me he had a very nice set up for the bearded & I was male heavy cage space wise. The following is a summary of the events of our trade transaction:

In early June we made our agreement on this trade. We both agreed to ship on June 8th. Randy requested I keep in contact with him until the agreed upon shipping date. I emailed him every day or two with updates & reassurance. We emailed back & forth several times on those days. I properly packed the bearded for shipping & shipped the bearded on June 8th via UPS overnight with early morning delivery. Randy also shipped the milksnake via Fed Ex overnight on June 8th as agreed. However, the animal was not even close to being packed appropriately for live arrival. The snake was not contained in any kind of snake bag & was loose in the box. The box he used was of inadequate strength as well. I signed for the package & opened it immediately upon receiving it. The snake was dead on arrival and I informed Randy of this fact right away. The snake’s head was wedged between Styrofoam & the top of the box. He did offer to send the bearded back. I dismissed this option, for the time being, considering the condition of the snake I’d received to begin with. I told Randy the shipper usually provides $100 insurance on packages shipped & I’d be willing to accept the $100 as total compensation. I also told him I would allow him a few days to initiate & process the claim with Fed Ex before making a decision on how to proceed. I sent him pictures of the dead snake to assist him in filing the claim. I contacted Fed Ex myself to find out the status of the claim. They informed me the claim was denied and that Randy had already been informed of their decision. In an effort to try & resolve the matter, & recover some of my loss (the animal, appropriate shipping supplies & shipping cost), I provided Randy with more than reasonable options to resolve the matter. I informed him I was willing to accept $100 for payment in full. He would still be receiving the bearded at the cost of $100 shipped! In addition, I offered to let him make payments to me for the $100. His responses came fewer & further apart. He would commit week after week to making a payment to me out of his check the following week. He used the words “definitely” and “absolutely” each time. He even said he sent me a money order at one point during all of this. However, the money order never arrived despite my clarifying my correct mailing address with Randy three times. Meanwhile, he bred the bearded to his female bearded dragons and eggs were produced.

My intent of posting this BOI is not out of revenge toward Randy Clark. However, I do believe it unfair of him to expect other responsible breeders to forfeit the expense of his building his own reptile collection. I feel other Fauna users deserve to know this is exactly what may happen if they decide to do business with Randy Clark. In addition to informing Randy of my intent to post this BOI, I have informed Randy of my unwillingness to do business with him in the future. I also informed Randy I could not recommend others do business with him in the future as well.

Judy Beard (jb732)

Unless Randy starts disputing some nit-noid detail, it's probably not necessary to post the entire e-mail collection. However, it would be helpful if you posted up specific relevant e-mails such as you informing him of the snake's death and/or sending the pictures...him agreeing to a $100 settlement...him saying he sent out a money order...etc.

Given what you've said so far, $100 seems beyond fair to me and shouldn't be that hard for someone to come up with, especially if allowed to make it in installments. If you can afford to take care of animals (that is pure luxury and indulgence on our parts) then you should be able to afford to take care of a small but important debt.

I assume you've informed Randy of this thread?

Yes, I informed Randy of this post. I will trace back through some of our pertinent emails for posting. He has never disagreed with me on any of the information I have now posted. He has acknowledged the vaidity of the information and apologized quite a few times, but, something would always "come up" preventing him from meeting his obligations & promises. And yes, I am concerned about the condition of the dragon if it is impossible for Randy to properly care for him!

Judy Beard

My computer took a major crash & I haven't been able to get back online. It's up & running again so I will begin to compile the relevant email communication between Randy & I. I don't believe he will dispute any of my claims as they are completely accurate. However, I would like to hear his response to my claims!

Judy Beard (jb732)