• 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

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    Posted 08/15/2025
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    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....

Robert (Bob) Mackin.... Hope you don't need it in a hurry??

N

Neil Gubitz

TampaSnakePit.com
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About 2 weeks ago, I had noticed an ad on KS selling LIVE MOSS.... I'm setting up a large enclosure for some Canary Chondros and they like it moist and humid.... The seller is Bob Mackin ([email protected], (425) 746-9782).... I hadn't heard from him in a week or so, so I just figured he was out of live moss and let it drop, then on Saturday (March 18), I got an email from him saying that a "mini bale" would cost $31 (and change).... I PayPal'd him immediately with my shipping info and left it at that.... Then on Sunday (March 19), he emails me to tell me that the $31 was just for the "mini bale" and that the shipping would cost another $19 for PRIORITY SERVICE via UPS.... I figured, fine, he will ship it on Monday and I will have it by Thursday (at the latest).... Well, Today is now Friday (March 24) and I hadn't received it.... So I sent him an email asking what was up.... He emails me back telling me he just sent it out TODAY (probably because of my email, which WAS to the point), and he gave me a tracking number from UPS.... Well, tonight when I checked the number, I find out that he shipped it GROUND!!.... It won't arrive till NEXT Friday (March 31).... I emailed him immediately upon me finding out this info, and I told him how very disappointed I was, and that I was posting this thread.... I also told him that if he needed the extra shipping money that badly, he could KEEP IT!!....
Needless to say, I will never do business with him again, no matter what his live moss looks like.... Not one word to keep me informed untill I emailed him.... NOT very professional....
This is really not a big deal, but he sure didn't so what he said he would.... Just BE CAREFUL when dealing with him, and MAKE SURE you plan ahead.... you might have a long wait....

Neil
 
Neil,

You've really gotten bent out of shape over $31 in moss. Is it really worth your time, effort and the stress to worry about moss that is going to be a week late? Sure it would probably aggrivate me a little........maybe even cause me to not do business with the person again.......but I probably wouldn't have a melt down on the BOI about it. Seems to me that there are bigger fish to worry about. Maybe next time someone takes 2 weeks to return your email you should realize they really don't want your business and deal with someone who does. There must be more people selling moss than this guy???????

Corey
 
Corey.... You're absolutely correct.... and as I said in the last paragraph.... it's really NOT a big deal.... He just really ticked me off with his total lack of professionalism and then turns right around and screws me for a little shipping money.... Again.... it was no big deal, I just wanted to vent.... As far as I'm concerned.... It's over....

Neil
 
I have to disagree with the dollar amount making it trivial in someone's eyes. It is not about the money, be it a $15 monitor, $200 dragon, $1000 gecko or a $25,000 snake, its about a person's ethics and principal.... yes the dollar amount can make you grasp more, but it still is a rip off.

Don't you think that someone who screws another over a time factor, does not bother to keep the buyer informed about changes and rips off any amount of small money, is more apt to really fry someone over larger amounts? I sure do!

Just look on the BOI how many really big problems trace back to some minor actions and they just grow until someone was seriously hurt financially by someones actions.

Another thing, $31 may not mean much to you, but to a kid still in school or in college, it can be the most they have all month to spend on extras for their animals.
 
I agree with you Cheri. It's black or it's white. There is no grey area in business. You are either honest and hold high moral values with integrity or you don't. What is "professional most of the time"? Nothing. A couple buck here, a few dollars there and the next thing you know it you majorly screwed someone. Neil, you were right to post in the BOI to expose a potential fledgling scammer. Art Klass
 
I just can't wait to see what LIVE MOSS is going to look like after spending a WEEK in transit with no water and freezing cold temps.... It's coming from Washington State!!.... Man, did I put my foot in it on this one....

As long as it helps someone else, I'm satisfied....

Neil
 
I agree with Cheri and Art. The past several months there are one or two people posting on the BOI, that the complaint is not "worthy" of the BOI, so they "sidetrack" the thread with a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Obviously their opinion. Whether the deal involves outright scamming, or apparently less important stuff like morals, honesty, and ethics, it can have it's place on the BOI. Poor customer service and charging someone for shipping one way (the expensive option), and then shipping another way (less expensive), is as big an issue ethically as any other of the problems on the BOI. If you are going to rip someone of on a $30 charge think about their ethics when it comes to a big dollar purchase.
 
Its a direct result of

very poor or just not caring business ethics. The amount is irrelevant, but dealing with the customer in a reasonable time frame is. Apparently the shipper knew very well in advance that Neil was in need of the moss. What would have been the big deal in a simple email for some clarification.

Had the sale went smoothly, I am sure Neil would have referred him to other potential buyers or possibly purchased more himself. This is the problem with people who get into this business without any moral consciousness , and have no compulsion to inconvenience anyone once they get their money in advance.

Thank you Neil for bringing this kind of person to the BOI. These are the worst offenders. You would be surprised how many $ 31.00 losses occur on a daily basis in this industry, by these louses who get a way with it all the time , thinking that because the dollar amount is so small, no one will be the wiser....................Is he wrong!
 
Well, even though I had to wait two weeks to get it, when I paid for PRIORITY service, and even though he, basically, ripped me off for a little shipping money.... I've got to admit, the LIVE MOSS is just what was described.... very well packaged and bright LIVE green.... Which makes this even MORE unfortunate, because I would LOVE to get more from him, but there's NO WAY!!.... I just won't do business with someone who has ethics like that, and that's a shame....

Neil
 
Neil

But I bet you, like me, would be willing to give someone another chance if they acknowledged there had been a problem, made good on it and committed to improving their service and practices in the future/.

Not that you would trust them with a large amounts until they had proven themselves, but everyone makes mistakes, the true character of someone is how they handle themselves when they happen
 
Cheri.... I will always give someone a second chance, as I've shown so many times in the past on this site, but, when they do ME wrong.... THEY HAVE TO COME TO ME and ask for another chance, I'm certainly NOT going to them.... As I've always said, there are MANY reputable people who carry live moss in their inventory, they won't be that hard to find in this industry....
Robert hasn't contacted me ONCE since I sent my payment, and then he gave me the tracking number in one more email.... but since then, NOTHING.... I have emailed him a couple of times asking for a reason (I don't have a phone number or he would have heard from me long ago).... So, I'm done, unless HE wants to ADD to his business, but I doubt he will....

Neil
 
Of course this thread belongs here! I certainly appreciate knowing what Neil went through with a supplier padding shipping costs and implying that the shipment would be faster (ie priority for live moss) just to have it shipped ground and at a delay. This padded shipping wasn't an accident I'm sure, so more than likely others who buy from this guy can expect the same kind of shipping fiasco. No one wants to buy something and have to badger the seller to get them to actually ship it! Thanks for sharing your experience, Neil.
 
Indeed, I agree with Lauren.. No matter how small the incidence, the deal went wrong in Neil's eyes, and therefore he felt it necessary to post on the BOI. That is what the BOI is for... Satisfied or unsatisfied customers! I'm glad I know now about this, although I doubt I will ever be in the market for moss... :) But hey, it is a sharing of information and experiences. I appreciate it when anyone posts a concern. It brings to light things that may not have been shared before.. Now someone else can see that Bob may not be the most professional of fellas and move on.

YAY BOI!
 
the seller does not care!

Because if he did, he would do something about it! Let him find another outlet to deal in , the herp business is to difficult for these kinds of people to comprehend. Like providing a simple email, or maybe a phone call.

While we are at it, lets blame Neil for not giving the seller another chance...........You cannot teach a person to use common sense in this kind of a scenerio because when a seller does not provide the barest necessities of his own business, like contacting the buyer, then it becomes evident that his days are numbered, and he is willing to accept bad publicity about his own business dealings.
 
Jerry....

...."While we are at it, lets blame Neil for not giving the seller another chance"....

I'm going to ASSUME you meant, "let's NOT blame Neil"???....

I think you need another cup of coffee.... lol

Since I wrote this thread, [email protected], had the initiative to contact me and let me know that THEY sell all the live moss I will ever want, at MUCH cheaper prices than I paid.... Thanks, guys....

Neil
 
Hi Neil

What I said was correct, but it was in a response to the post below.

"Neil

But I bet you, like me, would be willing to give someone another chance if they acknowledged there had been a problem, made good on it and committed to improving their service and practices in the future/.

Not that you would trust them with a large amounts until they had proven themselves, but everyone makes mistakes, the true character of someone is how they handle themselves when they happen"

Anyway, hope all is well. Regards, JERRY
 
Jerry.... How can you possibly say that you BLAME ME for NOT giving him another chance??.... Why should I???.... He has never returned one of my emails since the day I paid him (except for the tracking number in a one-line email).... NOT ONE SINCE??.... Do you really think I would give someone like that another chance to do it to me again??.... Not on your life!!.... Maybe if he was the only guy on earth that was selling live moss, and it was a life and death situation for one of my animals, but not with this many people selling it.... I never realized they DID sell live moss or I would have gone to them in the first place....
I still have a feeling we're on different tracks, cause I KNOW you wouldn't trust him again after INTENTIONALLY ripping you off once??.... Would you??....

Neil
 
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