• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

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

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    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....

Disturbing Trend in the Reptile Hobby

Rob @ RK Reptiles

Rob @ RK Reptiles

ballpythonmorphs.net
Joined
Feb 6, 2002
Messages
1,234
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
57
Location
Palm Bay Florida
I am seeing more and more things like this happening in the reptile hobby.
I advertised a c.b.b. 5 month old baby Emerald Tree boa on Kingsnake.com, the gentleman talked to me on the phone, and via e-mail, saw pics of the animal, and purchased it.  When it arrived he was very happy with it.  Later on her looks closer at her and notices a small abnormal looking spot on he mouth,(neither myself nor my wife noticed it when we had her) He said he was not happy with it.  I asked if he wanted a refund her stated yes.  I told him no problem at all I would refund 100% of his money and will pay for the shipping of the animal back to me.  I told him as soon as the animal arrived back here I would refund the money using paypal's Refund option without hesitation.  He then became irate and wanted me to refund the money before he sent the animal back to me.  After I refused to do that, he then said he would keep the animal and tell everyone in the Business (Big Hitters as he stated) that I sent out a inferior animal and refused to work with him.  Then he made a statement that if I wanted to let him know how much I had into the snake and then refund him the difference  between that and what he paid he would be happy. I told him I would refund his wntire money if he was unhappy with the animal as soon as she arrived back here.  He left a very disturbing and threatning msg on my cell phone voice mail. I did everything I could, I offered to refund his money entirely when the animal arrived back here to make him happy.  It seems to me and my wife that this guy just wanted some of the money back and the animal.  LIke maybe he was selling it and wanted to make more money himself.  the spot on her face is so small , that even in a blown up picture it is hard to see. My wife thinks this person must have used a magnifying glass to find something wrong with the animal.  Was I wrong in offering him a full refund when i received the animal back? I don't think any seller should refund the money until the animal is back with them. What does everyone think on this one?
 
Rob....You should send him "all" his money back, and let him "keep" the snake! That would be the right thing to do!
Yeah! My head spins around, too! Watch this!!

Rob...Where do you find these people? Are you on some sort of "sucker" list?

Who is this guy?? How bout posting his name, email addy, and a picture of the snake in question??

No dealer in his right mind would send a refund before he got the animal back....It's happened to me once, also....I basically just gave the guy a choice?? Either send the animal back and get an immediate PayPal refund (including shipping), or keep the snake...period!! It's like shipping first in a trade with someone you don't know?? It just aint gonna happen!! ....Neil
 
Not much you can do for him if he refuses to send you the animal back.  That would be like me buying an oven from Sears, then saying i wanted my money back because there was a small scratch on the door, but not giving them their oven back.  
This guy sounds like a dingus to me.  If he wants his money back, he should send you the snake back, no questions.
 
you have tried working iwth the guy.  There is nothing else.
In my opinion it sounds very suspicious that he won't send the animals until he gets the money.

He is trying to bend you over without buying you dinner first.
Shoot he also wants you to provide the vaseline (no offense to the weak kneed)

that is one customer this hobby can do without.
 
Rob - Your offer to him was fair and just.. As the buyer, he's entitled to a refund for an animal he considers "inferior", but it is ludicrous for him to think you should send the money back while he still has possession of the animal.  Stick with your original offer to him, don't back down, and should he continue with the threats simply post his e-mails, and let him know that most, if not all the "big hitters" completely agree with your handling of this situation...

Stephen Emerick
Napa Valley Snakes
 
Thanks everyone for your input. I want to see what he is going to do about the snake before I post his name and such. I basically wanted to make sure I was not losing my mind in the thought of not sending money before I get my animal back. Below are the pics of the animals face.

144emmyfacecloseuppic1.jpg

144emmyfacecloseuppic2.jpg
 
Maybe I am blind, but where is the problem???

I am not seeing anything that jumps out in those two photos.  

You sure seem to be getting your share of thewhack jobs lately Rob. lol
 
Thnast what I am saying.  He says it is like a hairlip or something. I don't know I did not see anything when I had it, and I held it all the time, and I still can't really see anything in the pic. I see a slight indention but nothing major.  Oh well.
 
Are you guys kidding?? It's pretty obvious to me?? Just look at that face! All the scales are different sizes....none of the scales line up in a row, and some of the scales are different colors that the others!! Rob...how could you possibly send something out as gorgeous as that???
What?? Does it "hiss" with a "lisp"<img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'> The guy's nuts, and very anal! Take a Midol and relax....you'll be fine! ....Neil
 
E-mail him and invite him to come to the BOI. MAYBE he
will see that what he's asking isn't the way business is done.
Other than that you've done everything you can do for him.

Bobby Douglass
 
Guess what, not all ETB's are created equal.  Check out these noses. Then tell the guy to take a flying leap.   You did all you could do.  

I hate to say it, but I SMELL something fishy with that guy.
Hairlip number 1.
Nose.sized.jpg


Pointed snozz number 2.

Dscn2194.sized.jpg
 
I appreciate everyone's information and help on this.  I get so frustrated when I do the right thing, and then something happens like this guy.  He was threatning to tell and show the "Big Hitters" in the business about me and this animal.  The funny thing about this animal, is she is Melanistic. She has the darkest BLACK around all of her chevrons and the upper chevrons that are normally grey are BLACK!! She was well worth more money then the $450 I sold her for, but I am not the kind of person to just sell something at an outrageous price because I know I can get it. I sold her at a great price and still get grief.  below are a couple of other pics of her showing the black.
144DarkPhasepic1-med.JPG

144DarkPhasepic3-med.JPG


144DarkPhasepic4-med.JPG


<img SRC="http://gallery.kingsnake.com/data/144DarkPhasepic5-med.JPG"
 
You know, it is funny that this is the first post I come across today, I was going to post on a buyer that bought a 1.1 pair of High Yellow Sandfire beardeds from me almost 2 months ago.  He received them and then e-mailed me and stated that the color was not what they looked like in the pic, this was minutes after receiving the shipment, no acclimation time given whatsoever!  Then came back later that day and said the female was not looking healthy, I gave my suggestions and my phone number for him to call.  Anyway, he calls me that night and becomes irate, saying that I used too small of a box (one I reused from one of the largest and most well known breeders in the US) and then saying that the female had passed and he wanted a refund and would send the male back.  I stated that was fine, and I would send him his entire refund as soon as I got a pic of the passed female and then would reimburse him on the shipping costs.  Well, he couldn't get a pic and just wanted his money back and would send the male.  As I am a trusting person, I sent him HIS ORIGINAL M.O. since I don't cash them until I hear full satisfaction, and asked for a pic of any kind, even a Polaroid or something, and my male....then he dissapeared.  I got an e-mail from him almost 3 weeks ago just sending a phone number, I have called him nearly every day, at all times of the day, since to no avail....so after all this, I say you did exactly the right thing!  I won't make that mistake again, he likely has a pair of perfectly healthy babies for free.

Damon
[email protected]
 
Rob:
Don't even use one more neuron thinking about this guy. Seems that many so-called customers today want to get their way or they start threatening with damaging your name. It is sad the hobby degenerates like this but it is bound to happen as it grows and reaches more people. You have offered more than enough and I don't see why you should even question yourself.

Take care,
Ivan
 
I will take her from you Rob and also the ones Tim has if yall don't want them.  <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>
You did what you could do. I wouldn't send them payment first no ifs and or butts.

Tim Rash
 
Hi Rob. If you didn't draw an arrow in the pic to show the "problem" I wouldn't have known where the problem was. And by the way I still don't see what the problem is lol. Certainly nothing that wouldn't probably disappear with the next shed. I know you sell nice quality animals because I've dealt with you and I wouldn't take that persons comments about you selling inferior quality animals to seriously. If he doesn't return the animal to bad for him. I wouldn't loose any sleep over that one. Those of us who know better will stand behind you.
 
Hi Rob,


              Sounds to me like this guy is trying to scam you out of some hard earned money !   This is one of those customers we all hate to get.  You did the right thing and offered him a refund ( for what I still dont see ) for his complaint but you are in business, which means you are doing this to make money, not throw money away, which is what you will wind up doing if you send the money before you get the animal.  I agree with earlier posts that you should put up this customers info and pic if possible so we can all avoid a headache in the future.  Maybe this is this guys first animal and he doesnt know how things go, or he has no common sense ..... either that or he is trying to rip you off.  Why else would he threaten you like that when you are being reasonable with him ?  Blow him off Rob !!!!


Gary Walsch
Sunshine State Reptiles
 
Back
Top