Ok, before I start, let me just say that I know there are some of you out there who have good dealings with this guy. I know this because there are a few of you who have had good things to say about him before. I do not question your experiences with him, but they are pretty irrelavent to my dealing with him recently.
Also, I absolutely don't want ANYONE to think that I want a single thing from this guy. The amount of money he would owe me in the worst case scenario is less than twenty bucks, and that is not anywhere near enough to fuss over. If everything else had been on the up and up, I never would have even mentioned the money to him. Ask people with whom I've dealt, paying them via PayPal. They'll tell you that I do not mind paying extra just so they are not out anything.
My ENTIRE problem with this guy is that he has simply acted in a way that is, in my opinion, completely unprofessional in his nadling of this deal we had together. From the very beginning, I was dissappointed in his service and communication skills, and I just want others to be aware of his practices before he does the same to someone where a lot more money is involved. That all being said . . .
I saw an ad on kingsnake offering 14 corn hacthlings for $110.00 shipped. I have an agreement with the local petstore chain to buy hatchlings from me as they need them. I supply them with the animals, and they follow my advice on husbandry practices and help the new owners be better caregivers to their snakes. It's a win-win situation. Anyway, this pet store was interested in buying these animals from me if I could get them, so I contacted the seller, Drew Gritt (Adolphan@aol.com) to inquire about the animals.
Through a series of emails (all of which can be provided if necessary), it was determined that these were 12 anerys and 2 normals for $75 plus $35 shipping. Drew told me that they were all voluntarily feeding on f/t pinkies. I paid him the money via PayPal, and he said that he would ship on the very next day (8/29) to arrive on the next day (8/30). I asked for the tracking number, and he gave it to me right away.
The next day, as the afternoon dragged onward, I tried to track my package, but Airborne had no info on that number. I tracked Drew's work number down and called him. Drew was appologetic, saying he had the box on his desk and had simply forgot to ship it the day before. Because it was a friday, and monday was labor day (9/2), he would have to wait until tuesday (9/3) to ship. Well, I was dissappointed because this was going to set my plans back a few days, but I was willing to overlook Drew's absentmindedness.
Well, wednesday (9/3) came along, and the same thing happens. No record of such a tracking number being available through Airborne! I called Drew's office again. The receptionist took my name, put me on hold, then said Drew was unavailable. I asked if he was in the office or not. She said he was, but that he was in a meeting. I asked if I could be placed on hold, and she told me that she was instructed to just take a message. I then told her that I needed to hear from Drew NO LATER than 5<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>0 pm that day, eastern time. I then emailed Drew telling him I was unhappy with the situation, and that I expected him to ship those snakes to me that same day or completely refund my entire amount.
As the afternoon wound down, I decided not to take the chance on Drew not calling me back, and I called him at 4:30 eastern time. This time he got on the phone with me. I asked him what was going on, and again he was very appologetic, giving me all kinds of reasons as to why he could not ship the snakes to me when he was supposed to the 2nd time. He promise to ship them that day, and we hung up.
Later I got an email from Drew saying that the snakes were on their way, but that he had to ship only twelve instead of fourteen. One had escaped and one had "laid in too much water" and didn't look good enough to ship. Of course he sent this to me AFTER the snakes were shipped, so if I didn't want just 12, it was too late to worry about it. He did say that he was refunding me 10.00 for the lack of the two snakes.
The next day, the snakes arrived. They were shipped to me in 90+ degree weather in a used cricket box with no insulation and no cool pack. All twelve of the snakes were in a single snake bag that was dirty with dried feces all over the outside of it.
After the animals had a couple of days to settle in, I tried to feed them. five of the snakes refused to even look at the f/t pinkies I offered. Even when I brained them, nothing happened. Usually, if a corn will eat but isn't hungry for some reason, it will nose around the food before rejecting it. These curled up as far way from the pinkies as they could in their deli cups and never even looked like they would eat.
Through all of this, my gripes are as follow:
1. I paid for 14 snakes and got 12. With the shipping costs involved, this raised the overall cost of each snake for resale. Now, it is truly a TINY amount, and I am not wanting one cent from Drew. However, it was a tiny amount for him too, and since it was his mistake, he never even saw fit to tell me of the changes until after he had sent them out, AND the amount he refunded did not cover the actual amount I lost in the deal, I think it deserves to be mentioned as a matter of principle. If a guy will jerk you around for $20, he'll do it for $200 or $2000 for certain!
2. He did not ship those snakes when he said he would. First it was because he "forgot." Second, it was because he was too busy. He only shipped on the third try after I got somewhat nasty with him. I don't really care what's going on in his life. If I paid him some money, send me my snakes on time! At the very least, come to me before hand and work something out. Don't make me track you down and find out what's going on with your ineptitudes.
3. When he did ship the snakes, he did so in a very unprofessional manner. A cricket box is not very sanitery. It offers absolutely NO protection from the heat. There was no insulation, and no cool pack, yet it was being shipped in high temps! The hatchlings (which will eat one another under stressful conditions) were all in one bag that was filthy. Not much stress there, Huh?
When I emailed Drew about all of this, his attitude was somewhat aloof. He said that the money was too small for him to worry about and he just made a quick refund as he saw fit. He also said he was just too busy to have shipped when he was supposed to, and he's sorry if I'm upset about it, but it's really no big deal he left me hanging like that. He then said the animals all ate once for him, so he advertized them as "feeding" on f/t pinkies. I told him "feeding" implied more than one meal to me, but he doesn't see it that way. He also thinks a cricket box is good to use for shipping because it allows enough ventilation in high temps so as not to need insulation or cool packs. After all, he said, corns are from a place were it gets really hot, and his snake room is probably hotter than anything they encountered on their way to me! When I asked him, if this method of shipment is so good and cheaper to use, why then does not Rich Z., Don S., or Kathy L. do the same when they ship? After all, if it is really good for the animals AND cheaper, would the big usnesses among want to save money and help their animals? I got no reply, of course.
All said and done, I still have five corns that will not eat. They will eventually, and I'll resell them. I'm not going to lose any money, and the amount Drew got me for is so tiny that it doesn't even deserve the time I've spent writing this. However, there are other deals to be made, and I just think that these types of behaviors need to be known by people before a lot of money IS involved.
You are welcome to your own opinions. Do with this post as you will. However, I am through with doing business with Drew Gritt. That $20 bucks he saved on my purchase by not refunding my total amount lost and the shoddy way he shipped his animals is going to be very expensive if he keeps this up!
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