If you get down to just what happened during the transaction the seller really did nothing wrong (until he started posting here). She offered a refund when required and did follow up when the refund was refused. The buyer insisted on getting all those tests done through a lab that the seller did not know about even when asked to simply go through the vet (regardless of where the vet would've done the tests). Just because you know and trust the lab that the buyer got her crypto test from does not mean everybody does. The buyer chose to rack up all the costs that she listed she claims she should be refunded while only a fraction of that is what the seller should actually pay for.
I get the impression you haven't read the entire thread, or only skimmed it. That's ok, I understand that it's very long and not exactly an enjoyable slog through the mud. But you seem to have missed a few key points.
I never asked for or wanted
all those costs refunded.
I turned down the very first offer of a refund *at that time* because it would be stupid to insist on or expect a full refund if the only thing wrong with Bella was a case of treatable parasites, or stress from the show. Is that really that unusual of an opinion? Do most people just take the money and run, so that my unwillingness to ask the Webbs to fork over the cash at the first sign of something wrong is so odd?
All I wanted, all I've asked for, is a refund of the purchase price, and the cost of the exam/euth + necropsy due to the Webbs' refusal to accept ABT's results as valid. And now a real apology for the foul things Mike Webb called me, an apology which, while not enough to "fix" the problem, would go a long way to repairing some of the damage he's done to his and his wife's business and reputation. Considering the tone Mike has taken from the beginning, I don't believe I will ever receive either a refund or an apology, but I am willing to admit that I could be wrong.
As for the testing, the original testing through Avian Biotech was done on my own dime, and for the protection of my own collection. I just happened to have purchased Bella between when I ordered the kits from the lab and when they came in, and since she was then part of my collection she was tested along with the rest. I never asked for that test to be covered, and in fact stated that
I did not expect it to be covered at least once, if not more than once.
The other costs I listed were to show how expensive getting even ONE gecko that is infected with Crypto can be. If I hadn't followed good quarantine, if I'd done what many people newer to the hobby might do and just put her right in with the rest of my collection, it could have been worse by far. I
could have lost a couple thousand dollars worth of animals through cross-contamination, especially since the only true Crypto cure has yet to be published and might not have come out in time to save any of my other geckos if they
had been infected. I laid out a great deal of money because I love my animals, not because I wanted to rack up a bunch of expenses and force someone else to pay for them.
I'm not going to argue that you had a good experience with Mike and/or Amanda. That's entirely plausible. If the Webbs never had good transactions, they wouldn't have stayed in business as long as they have. But I'm not the only one here to believe that it's not how you handle the good transactions that makes you a "good guy," it's how you handle the bad ones and the instances where something goes wrong. Those are the cases that really display your character as a business person and as a person in general.
I've tried my best to be the kind of person anyone would want to do business with. If you, or anyone else reading this thread, doesn't agree, that's fine. But please, don't put words in my mouth or ascribe to me motives, actions, or expectations that aren't true.
