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    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Bad Guy The Urban Gecko is threating to sue me

I am no lawyer, so I could be dead wrong about this, but, Doesn't his lawyer require a license to practice in your state in order to sue you? I once worked for a lawyer, and we were always told that we could not bring suit to anyone in another state unless he had a license there. This particular lawyer could only sue people in Texas and Louisiana, any other state was off limits.

Looking closer, this guy is in Canada, so does this count as an international case?
 
a709262 said:
I am no lawyer, so I could be dead wrong about this, but, Doesn't his lawyer require a license to practice in your state in order to sue you? I once worked for a lawyer, and we were always told that we could not bring suit to anyone in another state unless he had a license there. This particular lawyer could only sue people in Texas and Louisiana, any other state was off limits.

Looking closer, this guy is in Canada, so does this count as an international case?
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Maybe.

Craig Stewart could hire a lawyer in the OPs state to pursue a case.
 
I see people saying this is the same gecko. I see striking differences other than the color. If you look at the top back stripe and the last back strap before the base of the tail. With the top stripe the orange gecko has the stripe higher on it's right side and the yellow is higher on it's left. Looking at the bottom strap the orange has a V-shaped marking centered in the stripe. The yellow one has a U-shaped mark starting immediately at the left. The orange one has a line leading to the V mark from the left where as the yellow U shape starts right at the side of the back. Just my two cents.
twogeckos.jpg
 
Sadly, as a Canadian, I've found we have limited options for ordering geckos online here in Canada... as such, I've used Urban Gecko in the past. Your video outlines some very familiar experiences. While they are absolutely willing to give discounts and credits to resolve their issues, the issues definitely exist. I highly doubt you'll hear anything further about a lawsuit, and I find the threat rather disappointing and makes me rethink some of the "benefit of the doubt" they've been afforded.
 
So after watching the videos and reading the thread, I think both the buyer and seller made mistakes.

Buyer:

Did not research the seller until after the order was placed.

Should have known on Dec 6th that given the weather forecast at his location (see pic of historical temp data from USClimateData.com), plus the need for people who ship critters to avoid the "Christmas Crush", there was no safe shipping window until at least January. Most sellers stop shipping the week after Thanksgiving because of the increase in shipping traffic plus the number of temp/inexperienced workers hired by FedEx means there's a greater likelihood of a screw-up.

I tried to find similar temperature data for the Urban Gecko's location but could not, the site above is for the US only. I used the data for Buffalo, NY which is right across the lake so they'd be pretty close. Again, unless the shipping occurred on 12/4, it wasn't going to happen safely until January and even then matching up temps in the OP's location, their location, and a Mon-Tue-Wed shipping window there was maybe one chance to get it done for the month.


Seller:

The web site needs to be updated to indicate that they only ship into the US every 2-3 weeks, which is reasonable given they're in Canada. Buyers in the US need to know that.

The web site should have the actual safe shipping temps they use, right now those are missing.

Substituting the second male gecko for the first one that was lost; the buyer should have had the opportunity to pick out a new critter or get a refund since the seller could not ship the specific animal that was purchased.


As for the color differences between the seller's pictures versus the OP's pictures: the two pictures I've attached are a boa I got in 2015. The pictures were taken within minutes of each other by the same camera, lens, etc. Neither has been photoshopped or altered, other than resizing. The difference was in the camera settings. The picture that was more orange/red was taken with the camera's factory settings; my hand isn't really that red! The other picture, which shows the boa's correct colors, was taken after my husband had adjusted some of the settings.

No I don't know what he changed exactly, he's the one with the expensive photography equipment, I just use my phone.
 

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You're right the temps were starting to get cold then, we would've just barely made it if the had shipped right away. It's my fault for thinking they'd be out in the same week I ordered them. I also understand that cameras, lighting and everything make all the difference when it comes to photos but if the pictures I have are the same gecko that's more than just fancy lighting in my opinion. That's only if they're the same gecko, how can bright light turn a brown and yellow gecko orange and black?
 
AllisonLeigh said:
Sadly, as a Canadian, I've found we have limited options for ordering geckos online here in Canada... as such, I've used Urban Gecko in the past. Your video outlines some very familiar experiences. While they are absolutely willing to give discounts and credits to resolve their issues, the issues definitely exist. I highly doubt you'll hear anything further about a lawsuit, and I find the threat rather disappointing and makes me rethink some of the "benefit of the doubt" they've been afforded.
Click to expand...

Are you part of any of the crested gecko groups on FB? There are many many Canadian breeders who will ship.
 
Buttons said:
Are you part of any of the crested gecko groups on FB? There are many many Canadian breeders who will ship.
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I was into leopard geckos, after a few sub par experiences ordering online I started sticking to local breeders for new blood. I've since taken a hiatus from breeding so haven't had to worry about it for awhile. Thanks for the info though!
 
I decided that'd I'd also like to present this piece of evidence.

Before I begin I would just like to preface that this is all based on my experience and opinion. Like I said earlier mistakes do happen. But at some point mistakes happen isn't a justifiable excuse anymore. I appreciate that in the end of the story they did offer her $300 credit towards another gecko. That being said you can’t erase the fact that this still happened. Keep in mind this story was happening almost at the same time as my issue. Cecilia Rangel did give me permission to share her story and screenshots from our chat.


After they had lost my male the sent me a similar male as you may remember and said it was more expensive than the one I wanted. I wanted to see if that was true and so I found it for sale on their site for $225. The only problem being it was sitting in my house but was still up for sale on their website. Two - three weeks later it was still for sale on their site! Cecilia and I wanted to see what happened if the gecko was purchased because obviously the gecko wasn’t with The Urban Gecko. She went ahead and purchased it. In my opinion the right thing to have done would have been to offer her a refund or tell her that the gecko she wanted had been sold to someone else and was no longer available. This way she could pick out a gecko she wanted. (Please check images as I have important screenshots, also the response she was given.) She was nervous because they hadn’t responded in almost a week and so she filed a refund request. They responded to her shortly after she filed a refund request through PayPal. She finally received the gecko and to little surprise it wasn’t the gecko that was in the pictures (obviously). It was still a nice gecko but they didn’t tell her she wasn’t getting what she ordered. Look at the pictures of mine and all the spots on the head compared to what she got.

She emailed them telling them what was wrong with the gecko. (This one didn’t have a perfect pinstripe and had no spots). And they confirmed that the gecko she ordered isn’t what they sent her and that they’d go back and figure out what happened. They only told her this after she had already gotten the gecko and emailed them about it. Had she not emailed them they probably wouldn’t have said anything in my opinion. (Please check the pictures for the email they sent her back.) The way I read it makes it seem like they still had the gecko she ordered and that it was missing which we know isn’t true. I’m glad they offered her credit.


Let’s pretend for a second some random Joe bought that gecko instead not knowing it wasn’t available. (This could’ve happened as Cecilia didn’t buy it right away). He pays $290 for a gecko that's yellow and black with a perfect pinstripe and spots. He receives a gecko that’s orange and black with no spots and a broken pinstripe. Wouldn't you be upset? Especially if the company didn’t even tell you? If I dished out $290 I’d expect to get what I ordered, or at the very least they tell me that they sold it so I can pick out something else. What good does it do to only tell them when they already have it and they have to ask you about it? I’m glad this happened to Cecilia because she already knew it wasn’t there and not some random person looking for a gecko. Fixing the issues with free credit is nice but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I did make videos before she ordered and after showing the result so everyone saw what happened as it was happening. I think it’s important as a consumer to know who you’re potentially buying from. That being said by sharing my experiences I was simply trying to show what had happened to me and to her. The point was never to bash. - Sam Stuelke
 

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Yeah, that "missing" thing is spin if I am to use generous language.

My opinion is that these credit offers, while superficially nice, are easy to offer because the animals have a pretty good chance of being obtained via bottom-dollar wholesale deals. I would suspect that the probable multitude of completely unnoticed "oopsies" make a killing in profit such that the occasional customer who displays awareness of a switcheroo is an acceptable risk (tiny enough fraction of the total).
 
Unfortunately I sold that gecko a couple weeks back but I'll take a look at the pictures I have. I was going to say the same thing earlier.
 
Sostic said:
This issue is now resolved.
Click to expand...

Sostic said:
That being said me and Craig are trying to sort this out but I believe it's important that people know what goes on behind closed doors. And get accurate information about the breeder or company they want to buy from.
Click to expand...

It is so good of you to help the community that you went to when things were going badly by discussing the particulars of this new resolution so we would know what went on behind closed doors.:rolleyes:

What do I think? That they either bribed you or threatened you further to drop the whole issue.
 
Lucille said:
It is so good of you to help the community that you went to when things were going badly by discussing the particulars of this new resolution so we would know what went on behind closed doors.:rolleyes:

What do I think? That they either bribed you or threatened you further to drop the whole issue.
Click to expand...

I believe the exact same thing.

I smell a B-R-I-B-E....
 
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