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Bad Guy JonValentine

hhmoore said:
Well intended, but inaccurate. It's fine to say he had a witness without naming him...as long as he isn't attributing statements to, or information provided by, an unnamed source.
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I don't doubt I'm wrong but cant honestly say I fully understand. I was under the impression by stating he had a witness to the mites that it was basically the same as an unnamed source attributing a statement about the snake having mites.


hhmoore said:
Nothing odd about it at all, really. Not every keeper welcomes strangers into his/her home, after all...and that isn't necessarily related to the value of one's collection, or having something in it to hide. On the very rare instances I have allowed a buyer to come to my home, I have always had the animals in question contained and kept in a common room...and I decline requests to see the rest of my collection, or my setup. If somebody takes issue with that, I'll apologize as I see them to the door. (Rather than remorse over the loss of a sale, I would wonder why the heck I let him come to my house in the first place...and probably vow not to make that mistake again.)
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Very True. It's 100% the sellers right to keep his personal things private, especially in his own home. I totally understand your stance & agree with it considering all the dangers involved. I didn't mean I thought it was weird he wouldn't show him his whole collection. Lots of people aren't trust worthy & don't need to see or know what you have around that's non-related to the animal for sale. At the same time though & I know it's not the exact same thing I do think the seller is obligated to disclose information related to the animal for sale. I'd personally want to know as much as possible about about the animal I'm buying & that includes everything genetic papers, enclosure set up, shed/feeding habits & records, & length of possession, etc.
 
PM sent about the first part.

As for the rest, nothing was said about not providing requested information...your statement was I do think it's very odd for someone not to want to show a snakes enclosure unless they have something to hide - that was all I was addressing. I realize that there are different perspectives on this, and plenty of people don't think twice about allowing people into their home & showing off their reptiles...but, again, choosing not to doesn't necessarily mean one is hiding something negative about their animals or husbandry.
 
With all the lunatics in this world, I personally prefer to meet people at a common meeting grounds when I sell an animal. I don't want Joe Blow showing up at my doorstep 6 months down the road blaming me for something his or her husbandry caused. I give all buyers my email and cell phone number to contact me if information is required.

I too am curious as to what the seller has to say about the mites.
 
hhmoore said:
PM sent about the first part.

As for the rest, nothing was said about not providing requested information...your statement was I do think it's very odd for someone not to want to show a snakes enclosure unless they have something to hide - that was all I was addressing. I realize that there are different perspectives on this, and plenty of people don't think twice about allowing people into their home & showing off their reptiles...but, again, choosing not to doesn't necessarily mean one is hiding something negative about their animals or husbandry.
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I'm picking up what your putting down. I also made the mistake of looking at it from my point & not someone who has a collection, many snakes such as a breeder.
 
Durante said:
I'm picking up what your putting down. I also made the mistake of looking at it from my point & not someone who has a collection, many snakes such as a breeder.
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I don't want to stray from the topic too much, but (for me) it isn't about how many snakes - I don't like random people in my home, and my snakes are a very small part of my rationale.

Now, to bring this back to Jon Valentine - he hasn't been here since before the OP met him. Has he been made aware of this thread (via a method that will reach him)?

As far as the ad still being up, he isn't good about managing his ads...but he doesn't repost them often. The latest posting was 7/19, which was a full week before the OP went to see the snake (meaning, before this thread was started). The first posting was in early June. I'm not giving him a pass on the mites; but we don't even know if he's initiated treatment since becoming aware of them (accepting, for the moment, that perhaps he really didn't know).
 
Sanguine84 said:
With all the lunatics in this world, I personally prefer to meet people at a common meeting grounds when I sell an animal. I don't want Joe Blow showing up at my doorstep 6 months down the road blaming me for something his or her husbandry caused. I give all buyers my email and cell phone number to contact me if information is required.

I too am curious as to what the seller has to say about the mites.
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Agreed. You can never tell with people.
 
The Bad guy!

Hello Fauna,

My name is Jon Valentine, and in this case i'm the bad guy.

The person came to my house at 12.30am as discussed. after checking over the snake for various minutes, he found what he believed to be a mite. I say the believed mite because me nor my girlfriend saw it (Didn't show it to us) . After he left I checked all my animals that I have in my house. And I have to say that I didn't find a mite on any of my animals, If anybody wants to confirm and is in the area of Gainesville Florida, you are more than welcome to come and inspect, just give me a shout through here. I would never sell ANYBODY ANY ANIMAL WITH MITES.( I mean are $300 worth that?) If I had any inkling that my animals would have mites, I would not have them posted or anybody buying them.

I hope this clears up any doubts associated with my name or with any of my animals.

And to the side note, the person that looked at this snake is extremely rude buyer. AND he did not ask to ever take pictures of my snakes, which he or anybody else is more than welcome to

Also to his witness, which he's a nice guy, had no knowledge to what a mite is (until my girlfriend explained it to him), also he didn't inspect the snake.

Unhappy transaction happens to anybody and as you can tell I will do everything in my power, to prevent and resolve issues like this.

Kind Regards

Jon Valentine
 
P.S He never asked to see the enclosure. Wouldn't have been a problem. Even though we are talking about letting strangers into my house.

Also if it takes me a while to reply I apologize, But I have a job that works me 6 days a week, i'm finishing up my masters degree and own a machine shop. Just don't want to seem rude.

Guys down to the bottom line, I apologize for any inconveniences it brought to the "buyer" But I have no mites in my enclosures or on the animals.

I'm a nice guy and I'm easy to work with. When he said he didn't want the snake, I promptly handed him the money back and wished him a safe trip home, with him doing nothing then turning his back and going to his car.

LAST thing I would've responded to this sooner but I wasn't notified about this until 20 min ago.


Kind Regards

Jon Valentine

MY cell number if anybody wants to talk to me about this (352)-213-0462
 
I'd like to add that Jon and I had been in communication about the purchase of this snake since July 12th, 2013. Several times I had the money to buy the snake then an emergency happened and I was not able to buy it. If I am in fact a rude buyer then Jon could have at any time refused to deal with me. Was I visibly upset and stressed after finding an engorged mite on the snake?... absolutely. I don't think that qualifies as being a rude buyer. I would ask Jon to clarify what he means by saying I'm a rude buyer other than an attempt to slander my character.
 
I wasn't trying to slander your character, and up until that date you had not been rude to me. And after staying up until 12.30 at night, closing the night with little more than informing me you cannot purchase the snake, taking your money back, which I gladly to you, turning your back and getting into your car without another word is extremely rude in my opinion. A simple goodnight, have a great evening, thank you for letting me see your snake, would've been greatly appreciated.

Now back to the point of snake and mites I have checked all if my animals again and I have yet to see a mite.

;Furthermore, had I known as I have stated before that there was a possibility that my snakes may have had mites I would not have had anyone drive out to purchase them. That being said I repeat my snakes do not have mites. If anybody wants to come see my snakes they can br8ng cameras and witnesses, and I will be gladly allow you in my home to see the enclosures.

Kind regards

Jon Valentine
 
Thank you for the follow up Mister Valentine. All I can conclude at this point is the snake in question may have or may not have had mites. How very informative.

Best of luck to both the OP and the "Bad Guy" in your endeavors!
 
I stated aloud that I had just found a mite on the snake and that I was not happy about it. You just stood there and did not even come over to look at it and remained very passive and apathetic. However you did state that it might have come in from the tegu because it was a recent arrival. I then stated that I could not take the snake. You handed me my money back and I left. I was incorrect in assuming that you understood the reason why I could not take the animal, having just stated that I had found a mite on the snake. So that's my bad. So I'll clarify. Jon, I did not buy your snake because I found an engorged snake mite underneath a scale on the underside of the animal.
 
Every transaction is buyer beware.

OP screams mites, seller says didnt happen ... in reality we'll never know. Op voluntarily drove there, so he voluntarily spent his own gas and toll money to possibly get a good deal. Seller didn't so much as get a good night or thanks for your time that this after midnight non transaction took place and wasted. Neither party is hugely damaged.

No proof of mites. No proof of no mites either.

Caveat emptor for both these individuals.
 
Magic said:
Every transaction is buyer beware.

OP screams mites, seller says didnt happen ... in reality we'll never know. Op voluntarily drove there, so he voluntarily spent his own gas and toll money to possibly get a good deal. Seller didn't so much as get a good night or thanks for your time that this after midnight non transaction took place and wasted. we party is hugely damaged.

No proof of mites. No proof of no mites either.

Caveat emptor for both these individuals.
Click to expand...

Seller requested a night transaction because of his work schedule. And before you go running your mouth about no proof, I've contacted a VERY reputable breeder here on Fauna and in the central Florida area that is likely going to take up sellers offer to inspect his collection. Have a good night.
 
Settle down OP.

Till mites are unequivocally found and documented, there's no proof.

However, I'm kinda starting to see where seller said you may have a rude streak.
 
I'd rather be rude and concerned about the welfare of these animals than duplicitous and attempting to sell infested animals. Call me what you will. Doesn't change the fact that I had a responsibility to report this incident.
 
You reported, he denied.

Still no proof either way.

For all we know, you got there and tried to nickel and dime him into giving you the snake cheaper, he said no-and you make up a story. I'm not at all saying that's what happened. However this is the BOI and people have done that. He's calling you rude, you're saying he's trying to pawn off sick critters....who's right?

That's why we all like proof. The truth sets you free. Heck, maybe he's a noob and needs some husbandry lessons. We give those out in droves here. Or maybe you thought you saw a mite but didnt. That's happened too.
 
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