Priority Mail?

[ForkedTung]

I don't know if this is the correct forum for this so please let me know if it's not, I purchased 2 juvenile cornsnakes 07' earlier this year online from someone whom shall remain anonymous at this point. They were shipped together and upon receipt from the Mailman (more on this) I didn't know which was the Male or Female, the only obvious difference was one was emaciated. I immediately emailed seller asking if the male was the "skinny" one because he was exactly that. He later had problems shedding ( I had to bath and essentially peel most off myself)and regurged every pinky after a day or two and later died. I kept seller informed and he pointed to various possible problems and stated he ate and shed for him. After he died I informed seller whom offered condolences and 10$ off next purchase. I never replied because I was hoping/expecting that he would offer a refund.
I just started keeping cornsnakes again ( had a corn and Boa many moons ago) . I currently have 3 corns and have never had any problems with them. I have the female he sent and she ate and shed perfectly from day one and was and is kept in exactly the same conditions as the male.
One of the reasons I purchased from him is he offered a decent price, good hets and "FREE SHIPPING". He mailed the snakes Priority Mail through the post office. I later found out, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, that this is illegal? This person from what I can tell is a pretty experienced breeder and sells on many of the cornsnake sites and therefore would know that mailing a snake via the post office is illegal. I went back through my emails ( all of which I still have) because I remembered him saying the box would say "harmless live lizard" he did this he said because the mailmen would treat it better?
Once I found out that it was probably illegal ( thereby making me an ignorant party to it) to send me this sickly snake and that He LIED to me about why he labelled it so I was pretty angry.
I am considering approaching him with this, Would it be reasonable to expect a full refund? and should the reptile community be made aware of this "FREE SHIPPING" person if he refuses to correct this wrong? or should I just chalk this up to lesson learned?http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forumsimages/icons/icon5.gif

[Chandler Reptiles]

No you can not ship snakes through USPS.

[Jim O]

Kyle,

Shipping snakes through USPS is a violation of federal law. You should consider posting this on the BOI with the seller's name in the title line and all of the emails so others can beware of this seller.

[ForkedTung]

I am seriously considering this. I would like to give him the opportunity to correct this before I post the emails. Could I also be held responsible for accepting the package? Should I receive a refund? thanks ,Kyle

[hhmoore]

I wouldn't expect a refund (if he were going to give it, he already would have), but this person's name should be brought to light due to his choice to ship illegally.

[The BoidSmith]

I am considering approaching him with this, Would it be reasonable to expect a full refund? and should the reptile community be made aware of this "FREE SHIPPING" person if he refuses to correct this wrong? or should I just chalk this up to lesson learned?

Did you ever receive pictures of the animals previous to your purchase? If so, did you agree to them being shipped anyways? Now, if you e-mailed him back right away expressing your concern about the health status of the male then yes, in my opinion you are entitled for the refund "of the male". You mentioned a full refund, if the female is doing OK I don't see why he should refund that one. AShipping USPS is a whole different issue and I agree that it would be important to know who it was.

Could I also be held responsible for accepting the package?

Yes, you could be held responsible if someone finds out. Even if you don't know beforehand when you accept a snake USPS you are also responsible. In this case you were aware of two things: 1. he was shipping a snake USPS (he e-mailed you be fore stating that) 2. he was violating the Lacey Act by making a false declaration of the package contents (again he let you know beforehand through e-mail).

Regards,

[ForkedTung]

Dan, I did see some blurry photos of the clutch but even then he wasn't very specific about which one exactly I would get, they were apparently dated anyways. I would only expect a refund for the male, as I stated the female is in perfect health, she is eating her pinky before I can put the deli-cup down. I emailed him asking for a refund and will update when he responds. Kyle

[The BoidSmith]

Thanks for your reply Kyle. If you let them know of your concern upon arrival IMO he owes you the refund of the male. As other have stated, it would be very important to know who are the individuals that are still shipping snakes USPS.

Good luck!

[Wolfy-hound]

He can't correct the shipping via USPS. If he's shipping via USPS because it's cheap, therefor his "free shipping" doesn't cost him much, then he should be busted, since his disregard of the law endangers all of us being able to ship reptiles at all.
Every time a seller uses the USPS to ship a snake, it makes ALL of us look bad.
The shipping of a sickly skinny animal is also bad, and he does owe you on the male, depending on how long it was before it's death. If you emailed him saying "Is the skinny one the male" and then it died later on, then no, he's not obligated to refund you money. Your email's wording and the timing of the email makes a large difference in whether he owes you a refund, DESPITE the male being sickly and skinny.
You should have immediately said the snake was unacceptable, as it was skinny, and arranged to return it or get a refund immediately. If he's a good guy, he should make it good anyway.
Best of luck with that female.

[John E Dove]

Mr. Howard,
You really should post this on the BOI.
At this point I do not think there is anything to fear from the postal service and everyone needs to learn the name of the dealer/breeder who did this to you so they don't get hit by them.