Waiting period before posting a "BAD GUY" post...

John,
I agree the person who crosses the line should be held responsible for his/her actions..

And do we have to stop at just 2?

I think a lot of it depends on how you make your initial post. If it is to the point, contains only facts, and doesn't resort to name calling or inuendo anything like that, I really don't see how anyone can fault you for possibly jumping the gun. Every person is different when it comes to their own tollerance levels. What one person may see as a long time someone else might see as a reasonable time. I myself am pretty reluctant to press the issue. I really want to trust people. Other people are not like me. They want answers now. Neither one is better, just different.

Another thing is that we may never know why the deal that seemingly goes bad suddenly goes good. maybe it is because someone "jumps the gun" that the bad guy suddenly decides to make things right. Had the gun not been jumped (how's that for twisting the English language) maybe the bad guy would have carried out his intentions and never followed through with his end of the deal.

I guess my point is that if you keep your post civil, include only the facts, don't make any assumptions or accusations, I don't think anyone could fault you for jumping the gun even if the deal turns out good. Most sellers, I would think, would understand your situation if the shoe was on their foot. I would caution others though not to be so quick to judge however.

Steve Schindler

Steve raises some good points. However, (and I do not believe for a second that Steve was implying this) I think that we should be hesitant to use hyperbole or innuendo on ANY bad guy post! Our concern for stating "just the facts ma'am" clearly, concisely, and without aggrivating interpretation ought to be present for the bad guy that has jerked us around for a month as much as for the one that is two days late in shipping.

Obviously, I don't say this to be good to bad guys, but simply because we look more professional and make our cases more "airtight" when we refrain from foaming at the mouth as we type our situations. It is hard (nearly impossible for me), but I think it is important for us to try to achieve that level of professionalism.

On the whole, I do not believe that Ken has done anything wrong in posting his bad guy report when he did. I understand (from the other thread) that the individual has moved in between the instigation and the completion of this deal, and that he lost Ken's information in that move, hence the loss of contact. OK. Mistakes happen. However, If I were taking someone's money for a shipment of animals, and I knew that I would be moving before I could get those animals shipped, I would do whatever it took for me to stay in contact with that buyer. I'm not saying that this seller is a bad guy for making his error in time frame judgment, but I also cannot blame Ken for worrying as he did. At the very least, the seller should have told Ken that he would be moving soon, but that shipping would take place as soon as was possible.

Ken's only real fault in all of his practices is that he has horrible taste in NFL teams! Back at ya, Ken!

Darin and Steve,
Both of your replys were very well put. I will feel very bad if those snakes get here and they are adults as the post said. I may not be the biggest man, but I can and will admit when I am wrong. I think being married helps that process !! As I have said, I would have been happy with a phone call or something to let me know that the deal was still going through. I don't make good money and the money I do have to spend on animals is very slim! So when I thought I was getting taken I was not a happy camper! That is why i posted. I thought my post was to the point and included all the facts.


Oh and Darin, I can count the number of snakes I have that are red and yellow on one finger!! Although there are a few SILVER and BLACK ones!! Of course the silver and black ones are bigger, badder, and MUCH better looking than that red and yellow one!! Hmm I think the same holds true in the NFL!!

Ken,

I think that in general, all things being equal (no preference for friendship/reputation of dealer and so forth) I would be pretty likely to not wait more than ten days to two weeks before placing such a post. A lot can happen in a week, but people are usually back in the swing of things by week two. Sure some catastrophe may have occurred that does not allow someone to contact you, but in all likelihood that is usually not the case. For someone not to contact you for a whole week is pretty bad, in my opinion. For them not to do so after ten to fourteen days is beyond my limit of tolerance. If they come up with a valid excuse later on as to why I did not receive the animal or item I ordered, when I had paid for in advance, that is all well and good so long as I get what I paid for or get my money back. The thing is, it is well and good only so far as I would have gotten what I paid for or received a refund; it is not good with regard to their lack of contact. There would be few excuses, as far as I am concerned, for them from contacting me. I have been in a situation where I was, at the last possible moment (and I mean that literally - I had less than 2 1/2 hours notice), ordered to fly cross country for my job (when doing the Air Marshal thing). Once I arrived at my destination, most of my first two weeks was spent flying back and forth 12 hours a day on commuter flights. I had a deal or two going. There was no time to make calls or send emails. I had to pack for Idaho and make family arrangements, and had to be at the airport 2 hours early (needless to say I was a bit late with that short a notice, like about an hour or so late). I got my stuff done and left. I also made sure that once I had the smallest amount of free time in Pocatello, Idaho - I found a place where I could rent computer access and I signed on and sent out emails. I felt like a jerk and figured I would get some people pretty mad at me, but people were happy to hear from me. The deals ultimately went through - just quite late. They went through however because I contacted people. I kind of believe my doing so was the right thing to do – so I made time to do it. I know of others who have done likewise for me, judging by the 4AM time stamp on their emails to me.

So if I found myself in such a situation as the buyer/seller where the other guy did not make contact but had a valid excuse, I would go back to correct the feedback I had left in the bad guy post. I would explain: yes they made good - but it took way too long for them to contact me. I would allow the reader of my thread to make up his/her own mind. You would in essence be changing a rating of F to a rating of maybe a C.

Of course, in the rare truly catastrophic situation, then I guess I would be happy to totally rescind my earlier bad guy post. That is pretty easy here on the BOI.

Best regards,
Glenn