Justin James Igualada (J & R Reptiles & Exotics LLC)

Still a very poor show for measly $200.
Good luck but if not had it by now I honestly doubt you ever will especially since you opted out of protection by using an incorrect method of PayPal for this transaction, and i am sure he is well aware of this fact

Originally Posted by Evshulman

Still no refund and no contact since the day made initial post. I paid via PayPal friends/family so I'm exempt from PayPal protection. Several people have messaged me that he has indeed been MIA due to family health issues which is consistent with what he told me. Remaining hopeful here that I do hear from him when things settle down on his end.

Evan, sorry this happened to you. You've been more than patient, and I hope you get your money back.

As I'm sure you are now aware, never send payment via Friends and Family! You're correct that you have no buyer protection through PayPal. I'm amazed at how many sellers request payment that way. I've been asked to use F&F at least a half-dozen times in the past few months, and I always refuse.

I have no idea if this Justin guy is really having "family health issues", but it seems when someone isn't honoring their debts and their shenanigans are made public, the excuses fly - their relatives are dropping like flies, and all manner of bad luck and catastrophe has crossed their path.

Kathy

Originally Posted by Evshulman

Still no refund and no contact since the day made initial post. I paid via PayPal friends/family so I'm exempt from PayPal protection. Several people have messaged me that he has indeed been MIA due to family health issues which is consistent with what he told me. Remaining hopeful here that I do hear from him when things settle down on his end.

I do hope you get your money back. But one of my pet peeves are people who deprive Paypal of their money by paying F&F in a business transaction, in essence stealing from them. Aside from the risk involved, I feel it just isn't right to use the service benefits from a company and stiff them out of their fee.

I hear your points about PayPal F&F but I took the risk as he had a good reputation and it was already my second dealing with him. I disagree that it is stealing from PayPal. I'm not holding PayPal accountable for any protection in the transaction. Therefor, their service is just to transfer money. There's no charge for this. They also own Venmo which is an entirely free service for transferring money. I see nothing wrong with utilizing these free services so long as you don't attempt to hold them accountable when something goes wrong. The "service benefits" of PayPal are their buyer/seller protection.

On the flip side, I have heard plenty of issues recently of top name breeders accepting PayPal for business transaction and then the customer claims animal never arrived, arrived dead, arrived sick or not as described. Often a claim is filed weeks after delivery. This is a nightmare for the breeder as PayPal consistently sides with the buyer.

To sum it up, IMO, there's no 100% safe answer with online transactions like this. We have to rely on trust in people and be aware of reputations.

I'm sorry that the guy hasn't paid you your money, and I hope he comes through with it.

I disagree on the friends and family though. They do charge a fee for business transactions and you (or the seller, really) is ripping them off by misusing friends and family.

from their website https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees

PayPal fees are always fair.
Buying is free with us when you purchase in the U.S. When you sell with us, you get some of the most competitive rates in the business. It’s 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. The proof is in the percentages below.

UPDATE: almost a month has passed since my last post on this. NO contact from Justin and NO refund.

I think it's safe to say the check is not in the mail on this one. All you can really do now is keep posting your story anytime he pops up.