Well, I was going to stay out of this as well, but I have a few comments.
First of all, to the buyer, I am sorry this has happened to you.
At this point in time this thread is really going nowhere. I hope that everyone who has seen this and is a part of this will learn something from it, that is everyone, not just the buyer and seller.
As a buyer you should come to terms with all of these things before hand. This will eliminate all that is taking place now. If a buyer doesn't like the sellers terms, then the buyer should go somewhere else. There are plenty of sellers out there.
This BOI is an awesome tool, often times people state their case and their case gets resolved, one way or another. After all, everyone here is the Judge, Jury, and Executioner. There are some things to remember, in a court of law, or the BOI, facts are really the only evidence. The buyer and seller can say whatever they want after the fact, because there is no real documentation.
The buyer says he was home, maybe he was, and I am not calling him a lier, but the fact is, the UPS driver documented a delivery attemp where no one was there.
The buyer says that there was three heat packs. Without documentation there is no proof of that claim. Here is my advise to all of you when buying, and I have had a customer do this. Video tape you recieving the package, and every step along the way. Video tape opening the box, unpacking the box, opening the snake bag, or deli cup. Video tape all of the packing. Video the condition of the box. Basically what I am saying is, video as much as you can, if this type of thing happens, you will have more proof that will help your case as a buyer.
As a seller you should state your guarantee policy to a potential customer so this type of thing can be avoided. Seller said he made his guarantee claim to the buyer, again, there is no proof.
Both of the parties here are basically saying what they feel happened, or what they are claiming happened. All of it is hearsay, that is the bottom line. There are no facts to back up what either of them have said, and I am not calling anyone a lier here, I am stating facts.
As a seller, I have clearly stated on my web site, that I guarantee live arrival if certain circumstances are met.
For example, here are my terms straight from my site for over night service.
Live arrival is guaranteed as long as the following terms are met when shipping over night to your door or airport to airport.
1.All packages must be signed for at time of agreed upon arrival at destination.
A. If no one signs for package and package is placed on door step all guarantees become void.
B.If package is returned to delivery vehicle for another delivery attempt later in the day or for the following day then all guarantees become void.
C. If package is returned to delivery vehicle and taken back to delivery office for customer pick up then all guarantees become void.
If a buyer doesn't agree to my terms then I won't sell to them. If a buyer isn't there then why should I be liable? It's not fair to me as a seller.
It's a shame that this kind of thing happens. It isn't the first and it won't be the last. Whenever an animal dies in shipping someone has to lose, whether it's the buyer or the seller. The bottom line is, cover as many bases as you can when buying or selling so you have agreed on conditions to fall back on.
When I am waiting for an animal, I leave my front door partially open. This tells the driver that someone is home, even if it takes me a couple of minutes to get to the door. All delivery drivers have a time frame they have to get their route done.
I use Fedex, and the reason is, they have climate controled delivery vehicles, UPS does not. UPS trucks get hot inside on hot days. Fedex runs the air conditioner. Fedex may cost more but they are worth it. I have lost sales because I would not use UPS. If I am going to guarantee something, it gets shipped the way I want it shipped.
When using heat packs, you don't need to make it so the animal is toasty warm. All you are trying to do is keep it from getting to cold. If the snake was in good health when it was shipped out, one night being cold isn't going to kill it or make it sick. The average ship time from start to finish is less then 20 hours.
I had a snake get stolen once when I shipped Delta Dash. It never entered my mind this could happen, so I didn't think to insure the package. The package never arrived and was never found. Because I didn't insure the package, I had to refund the money to my customer. I learned a valuble lesson there.
Shipping animals is not the same as shipping other kinds of merchandise, like a t.v. or a toaster. Those items can be covered with insurance as where reptiles cannot. So all terms need to be clearified before making a purchase.
I think the seller did a good thing by offering another animal at a big discount. This shows that he does care and wants to try and ease the pain. But keep in mind, all terms should have been agreed on before hand.
There are only two people who know the truth here, that is the buyer and seller. There is only one documented piece of evidence, and that is from UPS. So, I hope something can be done here to make both sides happy, if not I really don't know what to say, because the two parties say their story, and the facts say their's.
Good luck to all.
I never put holes in my boxes, and the animals arrive just fine. I feel that the holes kind of defeat the purpose of the insulation, and those boxes aren't airtight anyways.
