Scooter1685
Newbie Member
A little while ago, when selling a pair of stunning Dumeril juveniles, I encountered an awkward situation. I'd like to explain exactly what happened, and see what you guys think of how to handle situations like this.
A man saw pictures for two Dumerils I had in my collection. They weren't listed for sale, but the female had very light markings (pink and light golden-brown instead of darker, wish I had pics!) and the male had some pink and red bars on the side of his head. I was quite interested in seeing what would happen when I bred them together. I had picked them up at an expo from a breeder at $300 for the pair, which I thought to be an amazing price considering their colors.
The man decided he had to have my boas, and offered me $800 in cash for them. At the time I really needed the money, and accepted his offer. He asked if I would be willing to meet him half way since he would have to drive about 5 hours to get to the city I live in. I agreed, and met him about 90 minutes south of where I live. He picked up the snakes, gave them a cursory inspection, handed me the cash with an extra $30 for gas, and left without asking for records or history or health information or anything of that nature.
I realize I probably should have been a bit suspicious when he didn't ask for any real helpful information. At the time I thought it strange but didn't really worry about it too much.
About 6 weeks later he called me saying both animals had died. He refused to provide pictures or return the dead animals. He said he didn't want a refund, but wanted me to provide him with additional boas at reduced cost. I told him that I wasn't willing to sell any additional snakes to someone who may have been responsible for the deaths of some of my other boas, and asked if he would be willing to ship their bodies to a reptile-specialist veterinarian I know. I wanted the veterinarian to perform an autopsy at my expense. If the animals had died due to an issue that was my fault, I would gladly refund his full purchase price and see about finding new boas. If the animals died because of something he did, I would still pay for the autopsy but would not provide additional boas.
He became angry and belligerent. He insisted that I was defrauding him of money and began posting... let's say unwholesome things in places like his facebook and what not.
I realize I made a mistake not recognizing his lack of interest as a warning sign, when he didn't ask for any records or health information or when they last ate or anything. I should have known that meant he wasn't going to care for them very well, but I didn't really have much experience selling snakes and chalked it up as him being in a hurry or perhaps just not very cautious.
This is no longer an issue as it happened a while ago. I just want to know how you guys would have handled the situation, and if you think there was something I could do better in the future. I may be breeding some boas next year (hopefully my first time producing babies!) and if I do and encounter similar issues I'd like to know how to handle the situation appropriately.
Thank you guys!
A man saw pictures for two Dumerils I had in my collection. They weren't listed for sale, but the female had very light markings (pink and light golden-brown instead of darker, wish I had pics!) and the male had some pink and red bars on the side of his head. I was quite interested in seeing what would happen when I bred them together. I had picked them up at an expo from a breeder at $300 for the pair, which I thought to be an amazing price considering their colors.
The man decided he had to have my boas, and offered me $800 in cash for them. At the time I really needed the money, and accepted his offer. He asked if I would be willing to meet him half way since he would have to drive about 5 hours to get to the city I live in. I agreed, and met him about 90 minutes south of where I live. He picked up the snakes, gave them a cursory inspection, handed me the cash with an extra $30 for gas, and left without asking for records or history or health information or anything of that nature.
I realize I probably should have been a bit suspicious when he didn't ask for any real helpful information. At the time I thought it strange but didn't really worry about it too much.
About 6 weeks later he called me saying both animals had died. He refused to provide pictures or return the dead animals. He said he didn't want a refund, but wanted me to provide him with additional boas at reduced cost. I told him that I wasn't willing to sell any additional snakes to someone who may have been responsible for the deaths of some of my other boas, and asked if he would be willing to ship their bodies to a reptile-specialist veterinarian I know. I wanted the veterinarian to perform an autopsy at my expense. If the animals had died due to an issue that was my fault, I would gladly refund his full purchase price and see about finding new boas. If the animals died because of something he did, I would still pay for the autopsy but would not provide additional boas.
He became angry and belligerent. He insisted that I was defrauding him of money and began posting... let's say unwholesome things in places like his facebook and what not.
I realize I made a mistake not recognizing his lack of interest as a warning sign, when he didn't ask for any records or health information or when they last ate or anything. I should have known that meant he wasn't going to care for them very well, but I didn't really have much experience selling snakes and chalked it up as him being in a hurry or perhaps just not very cautious.
This is no longer an issue as it happened a while ago. I just want to know how you guys would have handled the situation, and if you think there was something I could do better in the future. I may be breeding some boas next year (hopefully my first time producing babies!) and if I do and encounter similar issues I'd like to know how to handle the situation appropriately.
Thank you guys!
