Justin Hamm

I am writing to inform people of the experience I had with Justin. On June 5th I contacted Justin about a crested gecko he posted for sale. I first contacted him to see if the gecko was still available. He replied to my e-mail and informed me he was. I told him I was interested and provided him with my info. He replied with a price and a shipping quote. I then e-mailed him to let him know I wanted him, took his info and, told him I would overnite a money order the next day. He agreed that the money order was fine, told me the gecko was sold to me and, said he would ship as soon as he received my money order. I was very pleased it seemed everything was in order and, I had bought the gecko I was looking for for some time. Than not more than 2 hours after I received the e-mail thanking me and, letting me know the gecko was mine. I received an e-mail that said I am sorry but a friend of mine just told me he was interested in the gecko so I am going to sell it to him not you. Luckily this was before I sent him money, never the less you could imagine my dissapointment. I replied to his e-mail and let him know I was very dissapointed in the fact I would not be getting the gecko he had sold me. I explained how this was very bad buisness and that
I would be posting here to let people know. I sent two more e-mails to ask why he chose tp do this and stress the fact that this was bad business. I never received another reply from him and. From what I can see he removed all the
ads he had in the gecko forum. Like I mentioned before I had not sent money, but I was still very unhappy with the outcome of things. In my opinion this is a very poor way to conduct business, or go about selling something. What if I had sent money would I have gotten the gecko, or my money back since he changed his mind ? Or did he even have the geckos he posted for sale ? There is no way for me to know. What I do know is I would never attempt to purchase from him again and find out, would you ?

~I am very sorry that this happened to you.

~But I am very glad that you did not send him you're money!

~And I have been interested in Crested Geckos lately. Thank you for this warning. I will not be buying from him ever.

~I'm sorry you had such bad luck, but there are other geckos, hopefully you'll find some to your liking!

~Thank you for the heads up about Justin,
~Mackenzie

I can certainly understand your disappointment at not getting an animal you thought was "yours"; however, I think some of your other comments - like suggesting that he might not have even had the gecko - are a bit of a reach. So the seller opted for a local sale (to a friend) vs waiting for payment and shipping...is that so horrible, considering that he let you know before you sent payment? It might not be a choice many of us would have made, but I don't really see the justification for a bad guy label

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I can certainly understand your disappointment at not getting an animal you thought was "yours"; however, I think some of your other comments - like suggesting that he might not have even had the gecko - are a bit of a reach. So the seller opted for a local sale (to a friend) vs waiting for payment and shipping...is that so horrible, considering that he let you know before you sent payment? It might not be a choice many of us would have made, but I don't really see the justification for a bad guy label

Hi Harald!

I think that the potential buyer just wanted that CG pretty badly. I do understand disappointment, but they were probably warning people about that.

*shrugs shoulders*

I agree with hhmoore. I don't think he deserves a bad guy thread either. Although most wouldn't do it, it's business. And at least he got a hold of you within 2 hours. And I highly doubt if you sent him the money that it wouldnt be returned promptly. He had you hook line and sinker, if he wanted your money he would have taken it.

It's unfortunate but not horrible.

When dealing with a case-by-case situations as presented to the BOI, I try to remember the difference between a BAD GUY seller (scammer) and the seller that simply changed his mind. IMO, changing one's mind either about buying from a seller or selling the animal to a certain customer is not the sign of a BG especially when it's done immediately and before any money exchanges hands.

IMO, If a seller decides to back out of an incompleted deal, BEFORE the customer sends money, he's NOT a bad guy. He simply may not have dealt with the situation exactly the way the buyer wanted. In this case, the behavior does not seem to warrant a BG label anymore than a buyer who backs out of a deal at the last minute.

While we do try and bend over to keep a customer happy, a business such as ours does reserve the right to change our minds. It says so on our websites..."Prices subject to change.."

I think the seller went with the "certain" deal..than the "wait for money, cash the M.O., buyer may change HIS mind" deal.

Whatever happened to the idea of the seller having the right to back out of a sale if they see fit? I think it is bad ethics to back out after already telling the customer it is theirs, but at the same time that doesn't necessarily make them a bad guy and ultimately it is up to the seller on who they decide to sell to.

I totally agree....... While it's not exactly good business to back out of sales at the last minute..... nothing unethical was done here.... I personally wouldnt do something like this.... but it doesnt warrant a BAD GUY post..... I know your disappointed... but the Bad Guy title should be reserved for crooks, scammers, and people who practice unethical business....

It doesn't make the seller a bad guy imo, but it does show bad business practices on the sellers part imo because the seller agreed to the money order and told the Op that it was his. as far as the statement above"what happen to the sellers being allowed to back out of deals", nothing has happened to it but if a sellers backs out of deals/obligations they have already made on more than one account, then why would someone want to even attempt to purchase from that seller when they don't know if the seller is going to back out on them too. imo it could cause the loss of reputation and customers.

Since I am such a crook, adamnaly sent me a message this morning. He still wants to but the gecko's even though I am apparently a crook. I would be happy to forward the email to anyone who wants to see it.

"Don't suppose you would reconsider and do the right thing. I will give you your original asking price of 200 plus shipping. "
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