Rob Pennisi: turning out to be a VERY BAD DEAL!!

[gmherps]

I feel that I have given Rob PLENTY of time to at the very least answer my phone calls and emails I've sent him.
My partner and I purchased 2 (LTC) female ball pythons from him around Oct 1 of this year. I was informed that 1 was eating rats, and the other he had not attempted to feed yet.
We paid $450 for the two of them.
When they arrived I called Rob to let him know that they arrived safely, and were described acurately within his KS ad.
The only gripe at that time was the piss poor packing job, which I did bring to his attention.

Today 12-2-2004 the snake that apparently was eating died. Pics at the bottom.

I have contacted Rob many times, but mostly my calls and emails go unanswered.
In the beginning when they were both refusing gerbils, rats, mice, hamsters, and even chicks, I emailed Rob and told him of the problem. (I will most all the emails I've received from him).
He informed me to keep him in touch, as he would like to know of their condition within the next few weeks.

Emails:
This is one in response to my question about their questionable eating:

From Rob:
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From: [email protected] Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 09:44:10 EDT
Subject: Re: Message about: Screamer Blonde 04 Male Pastel -Reduced This Week Only
To: [email protected]


Hello Greg how is everything.It was the the fatter of the two and she ate a small live rat,let me know how they are doing in a few weeks.Thanks Rob
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Here is my email back to him about 1 week later:

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Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:51:29 -0500 (CDT)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Message about: 2 CB Adult Virgin females
From: [email protected] Add to Address Book


Below is a copy of the mesage you sent to Rob Pennisi

Rob,
Hey man I just wanted to give you an update on 2 of 3 female BP's I
bought from you.
The 2 that we paid $450 for are looking very bad. I have used Panacur
on both, and both are very, very sluggish, and both rejecting gerbils,
mice, rats, and hamsters, live and frozen thawed. You wanted me to
keep you posted on their situation. If you have 2 other female BP's of
equal weight that ARE eating, I would like to get them for return of
these. Both are obviously Wild Caught specimens not LTC. I hope that we
can come to a mutual agreement on this, as I was under the impression
they were eating. If you have any suggetions, please let me know.

Regards,
Greg Holland
254-899-1029

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http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?de=262260&cat=32


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Sent 09:51 PM, Oct 13th, 2004 from I.P. Address 208.189.118.162


Rob's response:

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From: [email protected] Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 15:39:44 EDT
Subject: Re: Message about: 2 CB Adult Virgin females
To: [email protected]


Greg I just received your email unfortunately the other females that I have are already sold or so I think.The females that you got from me were both healthy and I told you that the one ate in my care and the other didn't.It has been like 2 weeks or so and many animals go off food so that isnt really a concern infact I dont even offer new Balls food until they get situated atleast a week or so..Keep me updated on their status..Rob
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Notice "keep me updated of their status" remark.
Well I have Rob, but you don't return emails or calls.

My email to Rob 10-27-04:
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Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:34:18 -0500 (CDT)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Message about: Screamer Blonde 04 Male Pastel -Reduced This Week Only
From: [email protected] Add to Address Book


Below is a copy of the mesage you sent to Rob Pennisi

Rob,
Hey man I just wanted to give you an update on 2 of 3 female BP's I
bought from you.
The 2 that we paid $450 for are looking very bad. I have used Panacur
on both, and both are very, very sluggish, and both rejecting gerbils,
mice, rats, and hamsters, live and frozen thawed. You wanted me to
keep you posted on their situation. If you have 2 other female BP's of
equal weight that ARE eating, I would like to get them for return of
these. Both are obviously Wild Caught specimens not LTC. I hope that
we
can come to a mutual agreement on this, as I was under the impression
they were eating. This needs to be resolved ASAP!! This is the 3rd
email I have sent to you 3 days without a response.
Regards,
Greg Holland
254-899-1029


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Click on (or cut and paste into you browser's
location window) the URL below to view the ad that
this message is in response to.

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?de=258119&cat=32


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This person may or may not be who they say they are.
The return address they provide may or may not be their correct
address.

Sent 08:34 PM, Oct 27th, 2004 from I.P. Address 208.189.118.58


Rob's response:

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From: [email protected] Add to Address Book
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2004 00:02:43 EDT
Subject: Re: Message about: Screamer Blonde 04 Male Pastel -Reduced This Week Only
To: [email protected]


Hey Greg sorry to hear about the girls.I however have no other females at this time,but they were both in top health when they were shipped and the one did infact eat and they were both sold to me as LTC...
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Email from me to Rob with no response:
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Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 09:44:22 -0600 (CST)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Message about: Screamer Blonde 04 Male Pastel -Reduced This Week Only
From: [email protected] Add to Address Book


Below is a copy of the mesage you sent to Rob Pennisi

Rob,
Have you thought about what you want to do with these 0.2 female balls
I got from you? Like I said I would yake a $100 off, and you can
refund $350 to me, and I'll send these fmeales back with their meds. I need
to know something because if we can't come to an agreement, I'll have
to pursue another avenue to resolve this.

Greg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I received the animals I posted a good guy response on another thread which I regret.
I should have waited for them to eat.

I have emailed Rob numerous times, and also called, but only get his voice mail. I left a message today stating that I will be sending this dead snake back to him, and I will also send dated pics I took today.

All I am initally wanting is the courteous phone call to try and work things out,
then we can talk about a resolution.

But I am being avoided HARD!
He obviousley knows he is wrong by simply doing nothing.

I hope that this thread can bring some good out of this situation.

 

[dmasio]

Wow those poor animals look emaciated. I have never had any dealing with Rob personally but I have emailed him once or twice. He beat me out on a couple of auctions on Reptibid for some females and turned around within a couple of days and put them on Kingsnake at a WAY higher price. Im not saying thats bad but I have read a few posts about others bashing him.

Damian Macioce

 

[gmherps]

I have just received a call from Rob, and we have worked out a resolution.
Thanks for calling Rob!

 

[sijae]

I see that you came to a resolution but you posted such a negative message about Rob that I think it warrants further discussion. There are a few problems with your complaint that popped into my mind right away.

#1 you say you bought them as LTC but were aware from the beginning that one of them had not eaten in Rob's care and one of them had only eaten once. Did you ask how long Rob had had them, where he got them and if he had feeding records from the previous owner? Buying an animal that isn't eating and an animal that has eaten once and then expecting them to be in fantastic health and eat for you right away is silly.

#2 You bought the animals in October and the animal died in December. You had plenty of time in 2 months to take the animal to the vet (did you?) and to take care of the issue of eating.

#3 These are wild-caught (regardless of how long they have been in the states) and have been through several owners before you. Success with these animals is iffy and unpredictable. You took a chance when you tried to take a short-cut and buy an adult animal that was not captive-bred and doing well in someone's collection.

I am sorry that you lost the money spent on the snake and that the snake died. I'd be upset too. It's a sad story but 2 months is way too long a time for you to expect a refund. Did Rob offer you a life-time guarantee? You were happy with the snakes when they arrived and it was your responsibility to get them eating.

I don't know Rob and have never done business with him so I'm not recommending him, I just think there's something wrong with expecting a refund 2 months after a sale and dragging someones name through the mud when you don't get it.

Laura

 

[KNOBTAIL]

LAURA, I agree with your sentiments,

but in the end these difficulties are determined by the terms of service. I dont know how far the seller warranted the pythons. 2 months , wild caught, etc. is precurser for a problem. The buyer should have seriously considered the purchase, but he did not, went through with the sale, and we know the outcome...........He is entitled to no refund, but thats just my opinion

 

[gmherps]

Thank you all very much for your opinions about this. Rob cared enough to take care of this issue I feel because he WAS informed of the animals conditions via emails and conversations through the entire treatment process (by my VET). Rob told me what he would do to resolve the issue, and I accepted the resolution. Hence WE the buyer and seller came to an agreement.
As I explained to Rob this issue is solved and I will let this thread die down.

 

[gmherps]

My grammar is horrendous:
It should say:
Rob told me he wanted to resolve the issue.

 

[KNOBTAIL]

Glad it worked out for you,

but consider yourself fortunate, their are others out their that would not be so understanding, nor care once the animals came into your possession.

 

[sijae]

More info needed

Based on the info you gave us in the first place I don't think you deserved a refund. You did not state in your first message that Rob had been in contact with your vet. You did not post a copy of Rob's guarantee policy. You did not post any correspondence in which Rob promised to take care of the situation or replace the animals or give you a refund.

If Rob gave you a long-term guarantee or promised to refund or replace the animals then of course I think he should follow through (and apparently he has). But if he didn't, you don't deserve a refund. It seems very unlikely that a reptile breeder/broker would give such a long-term guarantee and therefore it looks like you got your "resolution" based on your post here. The reason I'm hounding this is because I don't think the BOI should be used as a club to force people to do things they never promised to do.

If there is more to the story please post it. You say you have resolved it - great! But you started this thread with a very negative post about Rob and I think you should explain the situation more fully. You may have decided to "let this thread die down" but things have a life of their own and months from now, someone may do a search on Rob and decide against dealing with him based on your post. Simply saying that you and Rob have privately resolved it really isn't enough.

 

[dwedeking]

I feel that if an issue is brought up within the guarantee period then the animal is covered until that issue is resolved. Greg contacted the seller in a timely matter (days after arrival) to voice a concern. Via the emails posted it seemed like the issue did not go away.

I think it's good that Rob stepped up and took care of the issue and completes the deal (and the post).

Greg brought the post here after he couldn't get contact with the seller (a legitimate use of the BOI).

 

[BryonsBoas]

I'd have to agree. I've read many other posts where a bandwagon was started to get someone to cover an animal AFTER the time in their TOS was passed because the seller was informed of the problem. Just because they're WC means nothing. If an animal was sold regaurdless of its origins then the seller assumes responsibility for that animal. If calling an animal WC means its not covered then we might see a drop in cb and a rise in wc from the crooked guys just so they won't have to cover them if it goes bad.

 

[gmherps]

Well Rob did make good after he called me about the female BP that died. (paypal transaction attatched).
Right before he refunded me for the snake we spoke on the phone. He stated:
"Greg, if the other female BP gets worse or dies I will take care of it, and just keep me posted". Well I did my part and now it's your turn Rob.

Through this thread it is obvious that I've kept ROB VERY INFORMED through the entire process.

What gets me is is that he stated "keep me posted on the other female", like he cared about the snake or something. When in all actuality he was just blowing smoke.

I've emailed Rob SEVERAL times, and called. I only get his voicemail, and NEVER get a returned call.

Be a man of your word Rob, and "take care of it".

 

[gmherps]

Paypal transaction, and be sure to read the NOTES section:

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Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 09:59:47 -0800
From: [email protected] Add to Address Book
To: [email protected]
Subject: Refund for Female





You've got cash!

Dear GREGORY HOLLAND,

Robert Pennisi just sent you money with PayPal.

Robert Pennisi is a Verified buyer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Payment Details


Amount: $225.00 USD

Transaction ID: 2A611132MS765382F

Subject: Refund for Female

Note: Here is your refund.Keep me updated on other female.Once Again my appologies..Rob


View the details of this transaction online



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shipping Information


Address: Robert Pennisi
905 Tuckahoe Rd Unit D2
Sewell, NJ 08080
United States


Address Status: Confirmed





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[Chris@TSE]

So we should assume the second female has since gotten worse\perished??

(You left that part out...... lol)

 

[gmherps]

Chris,
She has gotten worse, and still refuses to eat or even show interest in any food.

Not a lot of movement within the enclosure, just nothing.

 

[nicolai]

I am amazed..

I dont know to many wholesalers/breeders/jobbers or store fronts that would refund money for a animal after 60 days. I am glad he did it though.
Hey would someone that knows how to post polls on here please post one asking " If you were the seller of a ball python and it died 60 days after the date of sale would you refund the full price of the animal to the buyer. if not what would you refund? 80%,60%, 50%, none too long. discount on next purchase. I curiious hos the results will turn out with those options.

 

[gmherps]

That would be good.

Also it would have to include:
1) Did the buyer communicate the problem at a satisfactory date or time?
Which I did via email and phone calls.

2) How were the animals represented?
In this case Rob stated that one was eating f/t rats, which it didn't, and the other he had not yet tried to feed.

What really gets me is that he said to keep him informed of the 2nd female, and then dodges my emails and calls.
I think that would tick anyone off.

 

[nicolai]

now all we need..

now all we need is someone who knows how to post a darn poll for us. ( I knew I should have taken that "poll posting 101" class).
We will wait and see i guess unless i figure it out in the meantime.

 

[gmherps]

Well Rob cared enough to call me back this evening. Lets just say it went a little like this: "you stupid bleep, you cost me thousands of $$ you mother bleep, who the f.... do you think you are you bleep".
Your a real class act Rob!!!!!!!!!!



If you AT THE VERY LEAST returned my emails, and or phone messages I left you within 3 days after I left them for you, this ALL would've been resolved.

But you Rob want to play games and hope that "I would go away"!!!!! Never!!!

I even offered you to pay me back a refund of half of this snake that is in bad shape, but no, you'd rather call me whining and crying about how I hurt your business. Cry me a river, and stop selling garbage!!!!!

:scatter:

I bet if I was a "potential buyer" from KS or Reptibid you would've called me asap or even answered the phone.

What a shame Rob.

 

[gmherps]

Oh yes don't let me forget the line that made me chuckle just a bit: Rob said; "if you were in Jersey I'd slap your F.....n bleep.

True colors have come out on this one.