Disturbing Trend in the Reptile Hobby

I am seeing more and more things like this happening in the reptile hobby.
I advertised a c.b.b. 5 month old baby Emerald Tree boa on Kingsnake.com, the gentleman talked to me on the phone, and via e-mail, saw pics of the animal, and purchased it.  When it arrived he was very happy with it.  Later on her looks closer at her and notices a small abnormal looking spot on he mouth,(neither myself nor my wife noticed it when we had her) He said he was not happy with it.  I asked if he wanted a refund her stated yes.  I told him no problem at all I would refund 100% of his money and will pay for the shipping of the animal back to me.  I told him as soon as the animal arrived back here I would refund the money using paypal's Refund option without hesitation.  He then became irate and wanted me to refund the money before he sent the animal back to me.  After I refused to do that, he then said he would keep the animal and tell everyone in the Business (Big Hitters as he stated) that I sent out a inferior animal and refused to work with him.  Then he made a statement that if I wanted to let him know how much I had into the snake and then refund him the difference  between that and what he paid he would be happy. I told him I would refund his wntire money if he was unhappy with the animal as soon as she arrived back here.  He left a very disturbing and threatning msg on my cell phone voice mail. I did everything I could, I offered to refund his money entirely when the animal arrived back here to make him happy.  It seems to me and my wife that this guy just wanted some of the money back and the animal.  LIke maybe he was selling it and wanted to make more money himself.  the spot on her face is so small , that even in a blown up picture it is hard to see. My wife thinks this person must have used a magnifying glass to find something wrong with the animal.  Was I wrong in offering him a full refund when i received the animal back? I don't think any seller should refund the money until the animal is back with them. What does everyone think on this one?

Rob....You should send him "all" his money back, and let him "keep" the snake! That would be the right thing to do!
Yeah! My head spins around, too! Watch this!!

Rob...Where do you find these people? Are you on some sort of "sucker" list?

Who is this guy?? How bout posting his name, email addy, and a picture of the snake in question??

No dealer in his right mind would send a refund before he got the animal back....It's happened to me once, also....I basically just gave the guy a choice?? Either send the animal back and get an immediate PayPal refund (including shipping), or keep the snake...period!! It's like shipping first in a trade with someone you don't know?? It just aint gonna happen!! ....Neil

Not much you can do for him if he refuses to send you the animal back.  That would be like me buying an oven from Sears, then saying i wanted my money back because there was a small scratch on the door, but not giving them their oven back.  
This guy sounds like a dingus to me.  If he wants his money back, he should send you the snake back, no questions.

As Neil said please post their name and email. It may greatly aid someone else. IMHO

you have tried working iwth the guy.  There is nothing else.
In my opinion it sounds very suspicious that he won't send the animals until he gets the money.

He is trying to bend you over without buying you dinner first.
Shoot he also wants you to provide the vaseline (no offense to the weak kneed)

that is one customer this hobby can do without.

Rob - Your offer to him was fair and just.. As the buyer, he's entitled to a refund for an animal he considers "inferior", but it is ludicrous for him to think you should send the money back while he still has possession of the animal. spam_Stick with your original offer to him, don't back down, and should he continue with the threats simply post his e-mails, and let him know that most, if not all the "big hitters" completely agree with your handling of this situation...

Stephen Emerick
Napa Valley Snakes

Thanks everyone for your input. I want to see what he is going to do about the snake before I post his name and such. I basically wanted to make sure I was not losing my mind in the thought of not sending money before I get my animal back. Below are the pics of the animals face.

Maybe I am blind, but where is the problem???

I am not seeing anything that jumps out in those two photos.  

You sure seem to be getting your share of thewhack jobs lately Rob. lol

Thnast what I am saying.  He says it is like a hairlip or something. I don't know I did not see anything when I had it, and I held it all the time, and I still can't really see anything in the pic. I see a slight indention but nothing major.  Oh well.

Are you guys kidding?? It's pretty obvious to me?? Just look at that face! All the scales are different sizes....none of the scales line up in a row, and some of the scales are different colors that the others!! Rob...how could you possibly send something out as gorgeous as that???
What?? Does it "hiss" with a "lisp"<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'> The guy's nuts, and very anal! Take a Midol and relax....you'll be fine! ....Neil