Sellers Beware of John Franco!

In post #13 the seller has a screen shot of what she says is the "original ad". I read that ad three times, and the animal is never described as being anything other than a female. The word "probable" is never used in that ad. It was included in the second ad, but if the buyer thought he had bought what was described in the first ad and therefore never even looked at the second ad, he was misled by the first ad.

Give him back his entire payment and sell your animal to someone else.

Originally Posted by zovick

In post #13 the seller has a screen shot of what she says is the "original ad". I read that ad three times, and the animal is never described as being anything other than a female. The word "probable" is never used in that ad. It was included in the second ad, but if the buyer thought he had bought what was described in the first ad and therefore never even looked at the second ad, he was misled by the first ad.

Give him back his entire payment and sell your animal to someone else.

Just read the ad again, and I did see the word "poss" so I guess both the buyer and I missed it! Sorry for the confusion.

If it were me, I would still refund his entire payment, though. You should consider whether it really is going to be so hard to sell that animal to another person that you need to get embroiled in this messy controversy which really is doing you more harm than it is the buyer IMHO?

Misunderstanding on the sex of the animal. A refund is the thing to do. You should have cut this off in the beginning when he started to beat you down on the price.

Originally Posted by JimM

Misunderstanding on the sex of the animal. A refund is the thing to do. You should have cut this off in the beginning when he started to beat you down on the price.

On that note I whole heartedly agree
Been there, done that and yes it ended badly but I just gave full refund and walked away a little sadder but a lot wiser.
I accept a little haggle on price but more than that and it rings little alarm bells now and prudence is the best course thereon out.

Unfortunate but op should have just given full refund especially as it was over such a short timeline, they still had the critter so not out cost of shipping, maybe a meal or two and yes possibly turned down other potential buyers ( although that I somewhat doubt as they were so eager to sell even to somebody repeatedly trying to beat the price down).

Fresh ad CLEARLY stating it is a possible female and not referencing she & her in the ad and just start over.

Your reputation which is very hard fought and earned in this hobby is not worth $300......

What does the TOS say about sex?

I have a TOS. Everyone does. To ensure people read it, when they send a deposit I send back a thank you e-mail with my TOS attached and direct them to read it.

I do have the non-refundable portion in my TOS but I usually send the money if need be. It isn't worth it being known as a difficult seller.

I don't see the issue some of you have with the buyer haggling on the price. Why can't he try for a better price? The ad states it is best offer and he even sounds like he is begging for offers. Sounds like he was willing to pay $650, but wanted to see if he could knock it down anymore, but didn't want to risk losing the snake so quickly came up. I don't see any red flag about that...seems typical.

I just don't see a reason for holding the money hostage like he hurt you in some way. From start to finish this whole ordeal was, what, maybe a week? What harm was done that you feel like he owes you $150? Just because it is in your TOS? Not to mention to some degree you were misleading. That will scare away potential buyers. It just sounds like you are trying to make a quick buck off of him. Even scarier was you didn't offer back the second payment right away. You had no right to that money and no claim should be needed for that.

Originally Posted by AaronSerio

What does the TOS say about sex?

I have a TOS. Everyone does. To ensure people read it, when they send a deposit I send back a thank you e-mail with my TOS attached and direct them to read it.

I do have the non-refundable portion in my TOS but I usually send the money if need be. It isn't worth it being known as a difficult seller.

You send a TOS after payment? If hope it is available prior to purchase too.

Originally Posted by MrTPlush

You send a TOS after payment? If hope it is available prior to purchase too.

Originally Posted by MrTPlush

I don't see the issue some of you have with the buyer haggling on the price. Why can't he try for a better price? The ad states it is best offer and he even sounds like he is begging for offers. Sounds like he was willing to pay $650, but wanted to see if he could knock it down anymore, but didn't want to risk losing the snake so quickly came up. I don't see any red flag about that...seems typical.

I just don't see a reason for holding the money hostage like he hurt you in some way. From start to finish this whole ordeal was, what, maybe a week? What harm was done that you feel like he owes you $150? Just because it is in your TOS? Not to mention to some degree you were misleading. That will scare away potential buyers. It just sounds like you are trying to make a quick buck off of him. Even scarier was you didn't offer back the second payment right away. You had no right to that money and no claim should be needed for that.

It is typical of some people and atypical of others. A person "showing interest" can make whatever offers he or she wants. A person selling can decide how much of that behavior they want to accept. I would respond to that no differently than if he were making his offers in single-dollar increments. He was told a bottom number early on. He repeatedly ignored that bottom number. If someone repeatedly ignores what I say, I am less inclined to do business with that someone. I consider it a matter of manners.

Originally Posted by nickolasanastasiou

I consider it a matter of manners.

I had someone offer me $200 for $600 in snakes, I had to use every ounce of my willpower to respond in a professional manner and tell them no. It's just about being respectful, it's not insulting to the seller so much as it is to the animal. I think it's just a tactic to try to get you to come way down on your asking price but it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

At the point where someone is arguing a few dollars though it reaches the point of being annoying. That doesn't mean they did anything wrong, but come on.