What Would You Do In This Situation?

I'm not sure which way to go so I figured I'd see what the people here would do in this situation.

About 2 weeks ago I emailed a seller about a BP he had for sale. He replied saying it was on hold and would be sold when the MO order arrived.

After that was purchase thurned out to be a no go, I saw another BP for sale that I liked. The seller and I agreed on a price and I was prepared to paypal the money.

Today I get an email from the person I originally contacted saying the BP is going back up for sale since the original buyer backed out and never sent the money and if I want it, I can have it if I paypal him.

I really wanted the first BP and now I have a chance to get it. On the other hand, I would hate to back out on the deal in progress. I can't afford to buy both at the time.

What do I do? What would you do in this situation?

Buy the one you want. No deal is complete until money is sent AND received. It bites when a deal falls through (for both sides) but is a natural danger of buying a reptile online and everyone expects for this to happen to a certain degree. Common courtesy says to email the second seller though and let him know you've found another one. As a seller I'd have an ulcer by now if I stressed every time a buyer emailed back after 90% through with the deal to say they can't follow through.

If you haven't sent a deposit yet on the second BP, send a polite "thank you, but no thank you" email, and buy the first BP. If you have, you'll likely be out your deposit if yu go for the one you want.

If the second seller is professional, he/she will understand, because that's the way the ball bounces. If not, be thankful you didn't get involved!

Thanks. I really want to go with the one I tried to get originally.

No money has changed hands but since we corresponded and agreed on a price, I wasn't sure what to do.

I will email him now saying have to back out on the deal. I hope he understands.

I'd agree with everyone else...get the one you want.
Email the 2nd seller asap so he doesn't miss out on any other buyers. I'd offer him a brief explanation of what happened and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I'm sure they will understand.
Chris Raden

Here are the terms from my site:

3) Your animal(s)/item(s) are yours once they're paid for in full "I'll take it", "I want them", "check's in the mail" or any other staitment doesn't consummate a sale.

Just as I would have the right to back out for any reason ( I never have used this option) I would expect and allow the other party to as well.

Go for the one you want. I would always want my customers to do the deal that they feel best about.

Adam Block

I agree with most of what's been said here.

I've had to back out on deals before and have had plenty of people back out on me(even to the point of meeting me at a show, SHOWING up, saying all is good to go, then never coming back). It's just the nature of the business. However, I will ALWAYS have respect, patience, and an open door for the ones that have the common courtesy to tell me they will have to back out of the deal. I know how it is when the ball starts bouncing in another direction. If you are courteous enough to explain why you have to back out without stringing me along or simply dropping off the face of the earth after saying "yes I'll take it," I will gladly invite you to do business with me again and will have no ill feelings. Probably not as many people feel that way, though. Many seem to have a "burn me once..." philosophy. However, I feel that any truly professional and common sense minded seller would have no problem with you going for the better deal. If the second seller gets all angry and rude, then you probably did not want to do business with him/her anyway.

Best of luck whichever one you choose!

I guess it all boils down to how you feel about your policies. I could not implement a policy as strict as Neil's for example because to me the willingness to hold an animal for a customer is a good business practice. I always encourage my customers not to make snap descisions and impulse purchases. if I tell them, "Yeah, you can go home and think about it untill tomorrow but if someone else comes in with the cash you are SOL" to me that says "all I want is your money now, it doesn't matter if you feel that you made the right choice."

I understand completely why others choose the the policy they do, and I have been burned in the past in instances where they more strict policy would have saved me some grief and probably allowed me to make a sale. I just don't have the personality to pull off such a strict policy. It is in my nature to be trustfull of others and it make me feel uncomfortable to not trust them when I have no reason not to.

Also, If I contacted you about an animal, we agreed upon a price, I said I was sending a MO out via snail mail tomorrow (and did so) and you contacted me a day later and said someone else just paypaled you the money and that the animals were sold, you can bet that there is no way in heck I would ever do business with you again. I'm not saying you are wrong for your policy, just that it would not sit right with me. My response would most likely be "hey, no problem" and unless you have read this post you would have no way of knowing that you would never have a chance to sell me an animal again.


I know all the above doesn't really fit with the original post but it does have to do with the "when is an animal considers sold" question
I don't think the dealer of the second animal would be upset (at least not outwardly) at you as long as you don't make him wait too long and explain the situation in full.

Steve Schindler

Steve Schindler

I sent an email explaining I had to back out of the deal.

I ended up going with the one I originally wanted. I prefer high white BP's and always seem to miss out when they are available so I didn't want to lose my "second chance" at it.

Now if I can just get Mark Kennedy to sell me something .
Sorry, inside joke.
He keeps having to tell me no whenever I try to buy something from him.

Well, I definitely agree with the rest. I'm always cool with people backing out of deals as long as they tell me what's going on. I have a few people on the "ol' list" that I won't do business with because they've agreed on a price, set a shipping date, told me they were sending money, and then just disappeared. However, I've had people do all of that except the disappear part and I'd gladly help them with the other animal they decided on or sell to them later because they let me know what was going on. Anyone who isn't just after the buck will prefer you get the animal you want.


Just my $.02
Erin