Casey Smith. Buyer Backs Out, what do you guys think?

And I'd write up a future TOS with the word 'nonrefundable' in it

This is exactly why I hate payment plans. Some people really do enter them with the best of intentions, and pay them off within the established time frame....unfortunately, most of those people don't find me. I would say that fewer than 40% of the people that have initiated payment plans with me have followed them to completion (a big thank you, to those that did!). I DO have terms that very clearly state that the deposit is not refundable...heck, I take it one step further

If payment is not received by the required date; the animal(s) will be considered available for sale, and all monies will become the property of KBI Herpetoculture.
The only time a deposit will be refunded is if I am unable to provide the animal.

That point made - as long as the buyer is forthcoming with the fact that he/she is unable to make the payments, I typically do not keep the deposit. The few times that I did retain the deposit, or some portion of it, were because the person screwed around for an extended period of time with idle promises.

I probably should have included the opening statement of that section:
- Upon request, and receipt of a 25%, non-refundable deposit; I will hold....

hmmm - looking at it in print, I need to edit that piece & correct the punctuation

Originally Posted by TraceH

So, fauna members, what do I do? I don't want to stand in the way of medical bills but I have a feeling he is lying about this and just wants his cash back. Should I forgive and forget or teach this guy a lesson and keep his money, which is technically what he agreed I could do!

If you have to ASK if you should be "forgiving" then it sounds to me like you already know you don't want to be. If you're truly compelled by those alleged medical bills and feel bad for the guy, you don't have to ask permission from anyone else to do a nice thing.

It's also not your job to teach him any lessons. Just do what is right for rightness's sake. If he knowingly agreed to a non-refundable deposit, then you are well within your rights to keep it and put the animals up for sale. It's not a moral dilemma.

If your terms about the state of the deposit were not clear, then you may want to consider how important that $60 really is to you. Is it worth a drawn out public fight? That's up to you to decide.

I agree with the idea of telling him you're happy to apply that deposit to a future purchase if he should choose to make one some day. Seems like a decent compromise. But if the non-refundable nature was agreed upon, then you're not in a position of having to compromise anything if you don't wish to.

If the details in your initial post were all that were conveyed to the buyer, I would refund the $60.00, simply because nowhere did you specify that the deposit was non-refundable. Next time, be clear with your terms, and abide by them.

Originally Posted by JudyC

If you have to ASK if you should be "forgiving" then it sounds to me like you already know you don't want to be. If you're truly compelled by those alleged medical bills and feel bad for the guy, you don't have to ask permission from anyone else to do a nice thing.

It's also not your job to teach him any lessons. Just do what is right for rightness's sake. If he knowingly agreed to a non-refundable deposit, then you are well within your rights to keep it and put the animals up for sale. It's not a moral dilemma.

If your terms about the state of the deposit were not clear, then you may want to consider how important that $60 really is to you. Is it worth a drawn out public fight? That's up to you to decide.

I agree with the idea of telling him you're happy to apply that deposit to a future purchase if he should choose to make one some day. Seems like a decent compromise. But if the non-refundable nature was agreed upon, then you're not in a position of having to compromise anything if you don't wish to.

I agree.

Looks like Trace does have a TOS on his website and it states a non-refundable deposit is required to hold animals:

http://hardinherpetologica.com/index...id=4&Itemid=19

Thank you Tracy for beating me to the punch, on my website where Casey found the snakes it is clearly stated that the down payment is non-refundable. I really like Lucille's suggestion, I think I will try and be a good guy and ask for a form that shows she was admitted to the hospital. Also, concerning my use of the "bad guy" button, I apologize. This is actually the first time I've had to make one of these posts and didn't realize you could choose anything besides bad or good. Thanks again guys, I'll keep you all posted!

From: Casey Smiith <kclsmith1983@yahoo.com>
To: "TraceHardin@Yahoo.com" <TraceHardin@Yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 12:40 PM
Subject: reguarding the snakes
hello my wife had to have an apendix operation on the 8th and that is why i havent been able to pay you for them i was wondering if you can put the money back in the paypal account and later on i will when i get the full payment in the futher will get a snake from you all im asking you is if you can put the 60 back on the account for now thank you very much casey smith

Re: reguarding the snakes
FROM:Trace Hardin
TO:Casey Smiith
Message flagged Tuesday, November 1, 2011 4:06 PMMessage body
Casey, unfortunately this is why I wrote on my website under the terms that the down payment is nonrefundable. I have had quite a few people in the past agree to snakes and then back out for one reason or another leaving me to have housed the snakes for months, missed sales and bear the burden. I don't want to get in the way of medical bills however so is there anyway you can prove to me that your wife was admitted to the hospital to have her appendix removed? I just need some sort of documentation that shows the name of the hospital, your wife's name and the date. You can scan and email or fax me the document. If you can prove that something bad has befallen you, like your wife needing surgery I will pay you the money back. If you can't prove that than I will have to keep the money but will gladly apply it towards future credit if you ever want to buy a snake from me again.
I hope you agree this is the only fair way to deal with this situation.
Take care,
Trace