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Bad Guy BUYER BEWARE! horrible after sales service from thegeckokid.com

I actually came across your video yesturday when I was looking it up. I did so much research on the proper care for the gecko and the general ailments that they may have but wasn't aware that the enigma could have this type of problem. I just thought it was just the way they looked and stuff. A tough lesson learned. Should've purchased from a better breeder.
 
clk298 said:
unfortunately i was not aware of this problem beforehand, i wish she would've said something and she knew i was a new owner. I am still going to give him time to settle regardless as it would be too stressful for him to even consider shipping him back so quickly. I asked her IF the condition was not to improve, could she provide me with a refund with me paying for shipping costs and she just said only exchange and i'd still have to pay to have another one out. She would not be out any money at all so i feel that she's been very unfair. I was so excited to receive my 1st gecko and now i'm just left with disappointment.
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Im sorry this went south, but I can see her point. The main reason this deal went south was that you didnt know there was universal problem with this particular morph. Its a research issue. A quick google search and you would have been a little more prepared.

It is a healthy enigma gecko, so she did fulfill her guarantee. While it might not be the best customer service move, why should she have to pay because you didnt do research?
 
KelliH said:
This is normal behavior for Enigmas, especially after being shipped or otherwise stressed. Were you aware prior to purchasing the geckos that the Enigma morph is like that? That being said, in your email you had offered to give the gecko a week of settling in time to which the seller agreed to, and I was wondering why you decided against this.
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KelliH said:
Enigmas are similar to Spider ball pythons in that they both have the potential to express the balance issues. It does not mean they are unhealthy, it just means they are Enigmas (or Spiders!).
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That's sorry to hear, but good to know. I can understand. I have a female spider. Luckily her wobble isn't sever and does not cause any ill affects.



clk298 said:
I actually came across your video yesturday when I was looking it up. I did so much research on the proper care for the gecko and the general ailments that they may have but wasn't aware that the enigma could have this type of problem. I just thought it was just the way they looked and stuff. A tough lesson learned. Should've purchased from a better breeder.
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From what others were saying, it doesn't appear to be a matter of the breeder or their level of expertise or care. So I will have to take back my previous statement about them violating their own terms. I do agree that them not allowing the return is a bad customer service move, but at the same time, it is the buyers responsibility to be knowledgeable about what they are purchasing. I am not saying this is your fault. I can easily see how you could miss it. When I bought say a ball python, I researched ball python care, not the care of specific morphs. At it wasn't even until after I purchased my female spider that I learned of the "wobble" problem they have. So, consider this a learning experience. As stated before, once he gets settled in, his condition may improve.
 
she would actually not be paying anything, I was going to be responsible for the shipping charges back and the initial shipping charge for it to be sent to me. That's why I just say her after sales customer service is bad. she would not be out a penny. Instead she just wants me to pay more money to exchange for something I wasn't interested in instead of a simple refund.
 
clk298 said:
she would not be out a penny.
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Wouldn't the returned critter have to go into quarantine, and not be able to be sold during the qt period? The seller would be out the feeding and housing costs for that time.
I do not sell critters though so I am asking sellers for their opinions to see whether in fact it does cost money to get a critter returned- sellers, if you get animals returned to you, do you put them in qt?
 
Lucille said:
Wouldn't the returned critter have to go into quarantine, and not be able to be sold during the qt period? The seller would be out the feeding and housing costs for that time.
I do not sell critters though so I am asking sellers for their opinions to see whether in fact it does cost money to get a critter returned- sellers, if you get animals returned to you, do you put them in qt?
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Wow but that's pretty minimal compared to the $100 I've spent for nothing
 
But you don't have nothing. You have a nice enigma leopard gecko who is in good condition (for an enigma) and in all probability after 2-3 days of calming down will be just fine.
 
AGoodwin said:
From Their Terms and Conditions....



You need to contact them again, stating they have violated their own terms by refusing the return and that if they do not allow it, you will be forced to contact the BBB, as well as file a claim with your bank (barring a bank transfer or credit card was the funding source on paypal).

I have worked with the BBB a few times, and they almost always get the company to right their wrongs.
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They did not violate their TOS. It says a 30-day health guarantee, not a refund guarantee. Unfortunately, vague guarantees are open to seller interpretation. Buyers should be wary of loose TOS and verify before purchase.

I am not a gecko person, but I have seen this mentioned several times and the response is always the same, they need a few days to adjust before a final verdict.

As for the refund from the credit card company, that would be grounds for a Bad Guy BOI towards you by some sellers. With the gecko still in your hands and the seller under the belief it's fine, you have taken money from the buyer. Regardless if it's right or wrong, this could result in a negative review on you. Before anyone assumes, I am not stating my position on this, only that it can happen and other avenues of resolution should be taken before reversing payment, i.e. seeing where this thread goes first.
 
aalomon said:
This is starting to sound more and more like a case of buyers remorse to me :shrug01:
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I mean i would be out the $100 if I shipped him back which I can accept if she would take him back for refund which is alot more than her time to quarantine him. All I wanted was a gecko that did not have issues.
 
clk298 said:
i even agreed to pay $50 for shipping back to her and told her i could even accept it if she wouldn't return the original shipping cost back to me. I just wanted the original purchase price of $110 back.
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If you are willing to spend $50, instead of trying to return a healthy critter, why not discount it by the amount you were willing to pay for return shipping, and list it right here on FC for $60? ($110-$50=$60).
 
Focal said:
They did not violate their TOS. It says a 30-day health guarantee, not a refund guarantee. Unfortunately, vague guarantees are open to seller interpretation. Buyers should be wary of loose TOS and verify before purchase.

I am not a gecko person, but I have seen this mentioned several times and the response is always the same, they need a few days to adjust before a final verdict.

As for the refund from the credit card company, that would be grounds for a Bad Guy BOI towards you by some sellers. With the gecko still in your hands and the seller under the belief it's fine, you have taken money from the seller. Regardless if it's right or wrong, this could result in a negative review on you. Before anyone assumes, I am not stating my position on this, only that it can happen and other avenues of resolution should be taken before reversing payment, i.e. seeing where this thread goes first.
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Sorry, edit.
 
Im gunna have to agree with everyone here though its not your fault you were not aware of the enigma issue, a simple google click of enigma could have educated you. When was the animal purchased? Has its issue gotten any better? Are you any more happy with the gecko you recieved now you have spent some time with it?
It seems at this point you just want the seller to be out something because you feel you are. Even though you were not aware of exactly what you were purchasing.
 
Honestly if it's a nice engima there are plenty of people who will probably pay what you paid for it, plus shipping.
 
clk298 said:
I mean i would be out the $100 if I shipped him back which I can accept if she would take him back for refund which is alot more than her time to quarantine him. All I wanted was a gecko that did not have issues.
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Then, simply put, you shouldn't have purchased an enigma. I agree with the others, if you are dissatisfied with the animal, try to resell it. The seller is not entirely to blame for your ignorance over such a well known issue, and she is under no real obligation to refund or accept a return for perfectly healthy animal. In fact, shipping an enigma back so soon after it was received will probably stress the animal out even more. I would hesitate to ship any animal more than once in a two week period.

A few questions:
1. How recently did you receive the animal?
2. What are its current housing conditions?
3. Is its head tilt as bad as the gecko in my video?
4. How much have you been handling the gecko?
5. Has the gecko shown any improvements?
6. What have you been feeding the gecko (if anything yet)?
 
A returned gecko would certainly have to be quarantined, feeding is a non issue as you have loads of available food there for your others anyway.

One of the main concerns is shipping so soon after receiving as it puts a lot of stress on the gecko.the thought of bringing something like a disease or virus into your collection from a return leads most breeders to have a strict closed collection policy accepting no returns.

Lucille said:
Wouldn't the returned critter have to go into quarantine, and not be able to be sold during the qt period? The seller would be out the feeding and housing costs for that time.
I do not sell critters though so I am asking sellers for their opinions to see whether in fact it does cost money to get a critter returned- sellers, if you get animals returned to you, do you put them in qt?
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I believe quarentien of any returned animal is a must!! With all the parresites viruses and deadly ilnesses out thier it would be foolish for someone to return the animal to its status among the other animals. I quarantien anything new or anything returned for at least 2 weeks its in the best intrest of my other animals:)
 
snowgyre said:
Then, simply put, you shouldn't have purchased an enigma. I agree with the others, if you are dissatisfied with the animal, try to resell it. The seller is not entirely to blame for your ignorance over such a well known issue, and she is under no real obligation to refund or accept a return for perfectly healthy animal. In fact, shipping an enigma back so soon after it was received will probably stress the animal out even more. I would hesitate to ship any animal more than once in a two week period.

A few questions:
1. How recently did you receive the animal?
2. What are its current housing conditions?
3. Is its head tilt as bad as the gecko in my video?
4. How much have you been handling the gecko?
5. Has the gecko shown any improvements?
6. What have you been feeding the gecko (if anything yet)?
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This was her first gecko, I think that if she didn't know about the enigma syndrome she should not have her head cut off for a mistake.

How is she being ignorant? The seller wasn't upfront about the severity of the enigmas symptoms, and you blame the buyer? (assuming the gecko acted like this when with the seller.)
The buyer said she didn't want to send her back so soon because of the stress it would put on the gecko.

I just think this was a mistake for a first gecko. We all make mistakes and I think that if the seller wont take him back then just sell him... Is there anyway you can post pictures or videos of him? I want to see what he looks like and what the severity of his "issues" are.
 
I wasn't meaning to sound overly critical, but first gecko or not, a degree of research is always required before purchasing any animal. A google search for "enigma leopard gecko" reveals two videos, in the 7th and 8th spots respectfully (both on the front page) that clearly display enigma disorder.

I honestly don't think the gecko acted badly with the seller. I could be wrong, but as one who has bred many enigmas, I've had enigmas that acted perfectly fine one day and then went completely bonkers the next for no apparently reason. Every enigma displays at least some sort of movement disorder. It comes with the trait.

Both the buyer and seller are at equal fault in my opinion. The seller for assuming the buyer knew of the enigma disorder, and the buyer for not doing simple research ahead of time. Although I personally would have provided a refund both in the best interests of the gecko and for the satisfaction of the customer, an enigma with a head tilt can still be a very healthy gecko and thus wouldn't void any health guarantee.

Anyways, I feel like I'm repeating myself unnecessarily and clogging up the BOI, so unless more information reveals itself I will not be posting. I feel genuinely sorry that the buyer had a negative experience with his/her first gecko purchase, but the experience was somewhat self-inflicted.
 
snowgyre said:
I wasn't meaning to sound overly critical, but first gecko or not, a degree of research is always required before purchasing any animal. A google search for "enigma leopard gecko" reveals two videos, in the 7th and 8th spots respectfully (both on the front page) that clearly display enigma disorder.

I honestly don't think the gecko acted badly with the seller. I could be wrong, but as one who has bred many enigmas, I've had enigmas that acted perfectly fine one day and then went completely bonkers the next for no apparently reason. Every enigma displays at least some sort of movement disorder. It comes with the trait.

Both the buyer and seller are at equal fault in my opinion. The seller for assuming the buyer knew of the enigma disorder, and the buyer for not doing simple research ahead of time. Although I personally would have provided a refund both in the best interests of the gecko and for the satisfaction of the customer, an enigma with a head tilt can still be a very healthy gecko and thus wouldn't void any health guarantee.

Anyways, I feel like I'm repeating myself unnecessarily and clogging up the BOI, so unless more information reveals itself I will not be posting. I feel genuinely sorry that the buyer had a negative experience with his/her first gecko purchase, but the experience was somewhat self-inflicted.
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And I didn't mean to make it seem like you were being overly critical. You had very good points and I understand your point of view.

I am also sorry you had a bad experience. I hope things get resolved! :)
 
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