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How can todzilla176 sell ball pythons for $25 shipped

Well he never said it was Fed Ex shipping. :dgrin:


Send him an email but based on the prices, I would say it is next day or another carrier. The CHEAPEST I was able to ship overnight thru Fed Ex this year was $28 and it only went 2 states over from me and it was a tiny lizard.
That shipping cost alone is more than the total in his ad for the snake and shipping.
 
Why BOI

Should this be in another forum? Like ball python or shipping discussion. If he is 15 then give him credit for trying anyway. Maybe he doesn't know too much about shipping or the costs. There's an opportunity for a little education here.
 
It should be on the BOI because everyone needs to be aware that he is 14 or 15 years old.
 
Its very easy to ship a ball for 25$ this time of year. Let me break it down.

You buy a half dead non feeder for approx 4$ then you ship it usps for approx 12$ 2-3 day "express".

There you go you made a whopping 9$ profit, helped kill a snake off that was dying anyway, and made some tightwads day for about a week before he tosses a corpse.
 
It should be on the BOI because everyone needs to be aware that he is 14 or 15 years old.
__________________
Jeff Foutz
Click to expand...

First off that wasn't the question asked in the thread. The question was a general business question IMO. Secondly, someone can check the profile if age makes a difference to them. He certainly didn't hide the fact. Thirdly age doesn't make him a bad guy, scammer or anything else. Shouldn't be in the BOI.
 
If he is 15 then give him credit for trying anyway. Maybe he doesn't know too much about shipping or the costs. There's an opportunity for a little education here.
Click to expand...
I saw the ads last night, noted the names and locations, and contacted him. The story, as he tells it, is that he put up the ads to help someone sell some snakes because they had so many and needed to move them quickly He found her ads on KS, and she didn't know how to post here). Yes, shipping is via USPS. The email in the ads is supposed to be that of the person/people with the snakes (JP and Steve). I briefly outlined some of what he could encounter (even referenced the approach of some of the people here), and the pitfalls of this situation. He told me he would be removing the ads.
 
kmurphy said:
Thirdly age doesn't make him a bad guy, scammer or anything else. Shouldn't be in the BOI.
Click to expand...
True, it doesn't. But do the facts that HIS screen name is associated with these ads, the snakes don't belong to him (this isn't even a good brokering situation, IMO), and are being shipped illegally warrant its presence here?

Frankly, I was hoping that this would all be resolved and the ads would be gone before all this started. so much for wants, I guess.
 
kmurphy said:
First off that wasn't the question asked in the thread. The question was a general business question IMO. Secondly, someone can check the profile if age makes a difference to them. He certainly didn't hide the fact. Thirdly age doesn't make him a bad guy, scammer or anything else. Shouldn't be in the BOI.
Click to expand...

It is illegal I think in most states to enter into a business transcation with a minor.
 
It appears the ad was removed as I haven't been able to pull it up for a while now. Still doesn't sound like a scammer to me since his first reaction was to remove the ads.

While, it certainly isn't something that I would want to get involved with, I feel this was more inexperience, then trying to scam someone. ala the TSE comment.

I don't know, just seems to me like it needed to be handled just the way you did it Harold. Contact the guy and see what's up and explain things. Not a BOI thread.
 
Sorry Harald about spelling your name wrong. I knew is was spelled diferently but I couldn't check it while I was posting.
Kevin
 
Doug,
As the thread starter, I can see the possible red-flag or two with the original ad. I also think you had an obligatory courtesy to try to contact the seller, as Harald did, before bringing the post here. Not that you had to wait on a reply, especially if not timely, but at least make the effort. As for alarm at a price that seems too good to be true, while we now seem to know what his intentions are, it would have been possible that such a deal was only if you buy say, 3 or more ? At that price, a reasonable profit margin and compliance with shipping restrictions are possible. While perhaps sneaky to advertise like that if it was the deal, I would not have faulted the seller as a scammer for using it as bait. Point being, since it demonstrates a legitimate answer to your question that could have been obtained from the seller, at least an attempt to contact the seller prior to the thread starter would be prudent in the future.
 
kmurphy said:
I don't know, just seems to me like it needed to be handled just the way you did it Harold. Contact the guy and see what's up and explain things. Not a BOI thread.
Click to expand...

A agree. Before bringing someone’s name on this board and taking a risk at discrediting them before it is deserved, contact the person and talk it over. This young man did nothing wrong except for being young and inexperienced. We have ALL been there. He has not scammed anyone and it is to easy to come on here and tarnish someone’s name with something that is irrelevant to the BOI thread in the first place. This belonged elsewhere. Now if this young lad wants to sell animals in the future and someone does a search, this pops up. And for no legitimate reason. For this reason, the BOI can be VERY bad. For other reasons, it can be VERY good.

Dallas Quarles
 
OK, so who's been ripped off, scammed, had TOS not honored, etc? Just doesn't "feel" right !! And of course, Todzilla owes you an explanation because ....... :slamit:
 
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