Doug Mong

I've been hesitant to make this post as it seems Doug has had a good reputation for quite some time and I thought it would be hard to believe, but enough people in the same boat have convinced me to, so here it is.

Cliffs:
I purchased a pair of snakes from Doug, Doug vanished for awhile, resurfaced saying an animal had died and he couldnt give a refund or ship the remaining snake. He hasnt returned messages in several months.

Full Story:
I purchased via Paypal a pair of Mazatlan sinaloan milk snakes from Doug back in March of this year. I was out of the country at the time of payment so Doug and I agreed that I would pay and he would hold the animals until I made it back home. I had the same agreement with many other people with zero problems. I returned home in May and began trying to contact Doug via phone, email, and Facebook... all inquires were ignored for quite some time. Finally in June Doug contacted me and said on or the mazatlan sinaloan milks had died and he had already spent the money I sent so he could not give a refund at that time and he was so broke he could not ship the remaining animal. I tried to be as understanding as possible given the fact that "stuff happens" and I had spoken with Doug on forums for years and he seemed like a good guy. I said I could wait as long as neccesary for the refund and even offered to send money to cover the cost of shipping a second time and send shipping supplies so I could get the surviving snake. Thats when Doug vanished again and i've been unable to reach him for a few months. I have seen that he has been on Facebook, so he's obviously just dodging me.

Copied messages from Facebook: (slightly edited to protect the innocent)
Hi Doug, got a buyer on the mazatlan sinaloans yet? If not, i'm interested, however same predicament as before with me being in Africa. I could pay in full now, but would have to request that you wait to ship til mid May. If that works for you, let me know.
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:06
Doug Mong
Hi Aaron Yes, luckily hey are still available. Sure, you can PayPal me now and I will hold them for you until you get back in mid-May. My paypal address is snowcorn2@aol.com
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:12
Doug Mong
If you PayPal it now, I can remove the add and they are yours bud. smile emoticon
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:12
Aaron Bayer
okay good deal. do you want the 250 now or go ahead and add the shipping to 76904?
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:13
Doug Mong
I'll look the shipping up here in a second........
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:14
Aaron Bayer
also, are these the same line that Jimmy Tintle is working with? I'm assuming so, but not positive.
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:17
Doug Mong
The shipping is $53. So you can add that in if you'd like and won't have to worry about it later on. Yes, I got them handed directly to me by Jimmy as a matter of fact. smile emoticon
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:18
Aaron Bayer
ok awesome. i'll send the funds in just a moment
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:18
Doug Mong
They were his nicest pair too as a matter of fact. wink emoticon
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:18
Aaron Bayer
great to know!
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:19
Doug Mong
Good deal man! I'll let you know when I receive the PayPal notice and you'll be all set.
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:20
Aaron Bayer
just sent it (303.00) so it should be there soon.
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:25
Doug Mong
Cool. I just saw the notification...thanks! You are all set my friend. When you get back, we will arrange for the shipping. wink emoticon
Aaron Bayer
18/03/2015 13:25
Aaron Bayer
Great. Thank you.
Doug Mong
18/03/2015 13:26
Doug Mong
Sure thing, Aaron,....and thank YOU! like emoticon
Hi Doug,
I'm back stateside now and can receive the sinaloan pair. If you could ship Wed the 13th for Thur the 14th delivery, that would be ideal, but let me know what works for you.
my address and number is
Aaron Bayer
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
thanks,
Aaron
11 June
Aaron Bayer
11/06/2015 09:36
Aaron Bayer
Hi Doug. I've been trying to reach you for a while and starting to get concerned. I need my snakes or my money back.
12 June
Doug Mong
12/06/2015 10:34
Doug Mong
Hi Aaron,.....yes, I've had big problems with my internet and just got it running again. Sorry it took so long getting back with you. I've got disappointing news about the Sinaloans too. A couple of weeks ago after I fed all the snakes, a couple days afterwards I went to do a routine watering and cleaning and discovered that the female died. I have no idea what caused it either and really has me baffled. Anyway, If you still would like the male let me know. If not, I will refund the entire amount when I get more money in. Right now I am absolutely flat broke and could barely pay the rent this month on top of many other things that have come up. I'll definitely get it to you, but it will take a while is all. Thanks for being so patient Aaron.......
Aaron Bayer
12/06/2015 10:44
Aaron Bayer
Hi Doug, thanks for getting back with me. I completely understand that things come up and unfortunate things happen, so no worries... I would have liked being notified sooner though. Anyway, I'm still interested in the male Mazatlan sinaloan, but I'm curious if you have any other 1.1 pairs of milks you might be willing to part with. I'm really wanting to get pairs of animals, but if not, the loan male will be fine and a partial refund will be okay as soon as your situation improves.
Aaron Bayer
12/06/2015 10:45
Aaron Bayer
In another, but somewhat related topic... have you heard from xxxxxxxxxx lately? I purchased a female xxxxxxxxxx from him but haven't heard from him in quite some time and I'm worried about whats up with him just like I was with you.
Doug Mong
12/06/2015 13:37
Doug Mong
Yes, okay. We can do a partial refund along with sending the male out to you. Yes, I definitely understand about you getting nice pairs of milks. As to your question about xxxxxx,....no, I haven't talked to him in a good while either. I will try to get in touch with him as well, as I have to ask him about a few things too. Anyway, hope all is well with you, and I will let you know when my situation improves to get the male and the partial refund back to you my friend. Unfortunately I don't have any pairs of milks available. I sold quite a few snakes a while ago so I could try to keep up with the never-ending bills here..LOL! If I see or hear of any exceptional pairs of milks, I'll let you know man...........cheers!
Aaron Bayer
12/06/2015 13:40
Aaron Bayer
Ok cool. I can wait tile "whenever" for the refund... I know things are tough when funds are short, I've been there many times, so don't sweat that, just get it to me before one of us dies haha. Do you know when you'll be able to send the male off though?
Doug Mong
12/06/2015 14:00
Doug Mong
LOL!, yeah, for sure. I hate how my situation has been recently. Not sure exactly when I can ship the male out, but I'll let you know as soon as I get the order in for a few more insulated shipping boxes and other supplies. Thanks for understanding buddy.
Aaron Bayer
12/06/2015 14:08
Aaron Bayer
alright man. just please keep me posted. also, if you don't mind, if you're able to get ahold of xxxxxxxx, please ask him to email or message me. thanks.
Doug Mong
12/06/2015 16:09
Doug Mong
Will do bud! like emoticon
1 July
Aaron Bayer
01/07/2015 15:23
Aaron Bayer
Hi Doug. I
I'm wondering how things are coming along and if you're any closer to being able to send out my snake. I'd like to offer to send you the shipping costs again if you can guarantee that it could be shipped out immediately with no hold ups. let me know.
27 August
Aaron Bayer
27/08/2015 11:21
Aaron Bayer
hey Doug, any updates? I don't mind waiting, but I need to be kept up to date because it sure feels like you're burning me here.
Friday
Aaron Bayer
11/09/2015 15:39
Aaron Bayer
Hi Doug, Tomorrow 9/12/2015 i'll be posting about this on the BOI. this is not a threat, I just thought letting you know was the right thing to do so you'd have the chance to fix it or defend yourself if you see fit.

So sad that it appears Doug Mong is in this situation
Read and heard a few too many stories along similar lines over last few months to disbelieve
A great shame.......

The one thing that I fail to comprehend is how a "business" can be ran like this. How do you expect customers to buy from you when you cannot manage your business successfully? If you spend my money before delivering the product, that's shady. And if you can't come up with $100 or so to refund the purchase, why should anyone have any confidence to purchase from you in the future?

Think of it this way...how would you react if you went returned a product to WalMart and they accepted the return but told you that it would be an indefinite period of time before you received your refund??

I understand for many people this is a hobby, but as soon as you start selling animals it becomes a business whether you like it or not. And with that comes the fiscal responsibility of owning a business and accepting money from customers. If you can't honor your fiduciary responsibilities, stop selling animals and enjoy the hobby for what it was meant to be.

Brian while I agree with your business sentiments 100%, unfortunately this is a very sad example
Doug has been a highly respected and well known member of the herping community for my years than I care to remember.
He has authored books, bred some splendid animals and been a fountain of knowledge
I am sure whatever has happened was equally not of Dougs choice but yes it does seem that yet another pillar of this community has fallen
So please try not to be too harsh or judgemental until we have some more facts

I am with Kevin .. I think we need to wait and see what the circumstances are with Doug .... this is not to minimize the posters experience as there appears to be plenty of evidence in support. But ... I have dealt with Doug on a number of occasions and still have several of his outstanding critters in my possession ... I know this is hard for him and nothing he wanted.

Not being judgmental. Business and personal should always be kept separate. Just ask the IRS. There is no excuse to take someone's money and use it for personal use. I understand and can sympathize with whatever the situation might be; however, when it affects innocent others I have a problem.

Originally Posted by Black Adder

Brian while I agree with your business sentiments 100%, unfortunately this is a very sad example
Doug has been a highly respected and well known member of the herping community for my years than I care to remember.
He has authored books, bred some splendid animals and been a fountain of knowledge
I am sure whatever has happened was equally not of Dougs choice but yes it does seem that yet another pillar of this community has fallen
So please try not to be too harsh or judgemental until we have some more facts

Yeah, Doug has been a well respected guy for quite some time... one of the last people I thought I'd have to worry about doing business with. I was almost content to suck it up and forget this unfortunate event ever happened, but over the last couple months i've talked to several people who are in a similar situation with him. Obviously some serious mistakes have been made by Doug and I for one hope he gets things turned around... he clearly has some faults that I wont go into here, but big picture, he wasnt a bad guy in my opinion. However for the time being, one would be wise to steer clear of him with anything involving money or animals.

Hopefully a few i've spoken with will chime in or create a post with their stories as well.

Originally Posted by btmansfi

There is no excuse to take someone's money and use it for personal use.

Thousands of crooks disagree!

A few people brought it to my attention that Doug was posting on FB so he's alive and well, but still choosing to ignore my messages. He also knows this thread is here now and has not bothered to post either.

Also, I guess I shouldn't have ever trusted him to begin with. Regardless of the knowledge he brought to forums, I guess he's a thief through and through. The link takes you to his mug shot along with a whole string of charges he was convicted of. Looks like I'll never see a snake or my money from him.

http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Flor...g.2035189.html