Sellers beware of John Benavides

[T&MReptiles]

I had an ad posted for female ball pythons between 1500 and 3000 grams for sale. They all sold the first day the ad was posted. I got a call the following day from John Benavides inquiring about the ad. I explained to him that all the girls in the ad were sold, but I did have some smaller girls for sale. 3 of them being proven breeders this year. I gave him all the weights of the girls on the phone and gave him a price of $1600 shipped. The weights are as follows:
1354g
1238g
1230g
1125g
801g
654g

He said that sounded fine and sent me postal money orders for the girls. I shipped the snakes to him and recieved a call from him the next day when they arrived. He said they all looked good and that he would inspect them better when he got home (he was at work). I didn't hear from him till the next day when I received an e-mail from him stating that he thought he was getting 6 girls that were between 1500 and 3000 grams like the ad said. Any ball python breeder knows that I would have to be crazy to sell 6 girls that size for $1600 shipped. After speaking with him again on the phone, he stated that he did not recall me giving him weights and that I must be mistaking him for someone else. I offered him a full refund several times if he was not 100% satisfied with the animals (that is my policy and I hold to it). He said no, he wanted to keep the snakes. I thought the issue was resolved. 2 days later I got another e-mail from him telling me he wants $300 returned to him or a full refund, and that if I opted for the full refund, he would have to post his bad experience on the BOI.
I am offering him a $200 refund. I think that he is really making out on this deal. But as you all know, sometimes you have to take a loss to keep customers happy and to keep a good name in this business. I feel that I have a good reputation in this business and would hope that there are many of my customers out there that would vouch for this.

I will keep you posted on how this turns out.

Ted @ T&M Reptiles

 

[T&MReptiles]

Just got an e-mail back from him. He said he will take the partial refund of $200.

 

[Neverending]

and that if I opted for the full refund, he would have to post his bad experience on the BOI.

For what ...? Giving a full refund ?!?

Pffft...

 

[ajc]

For the record, John Benavides (the buyer) is a personal friend of mine and I have been directly involved with every single reptile purchase he has made since getting into reptiles about a year ago.

As for this particular deal, I was sitting right next to John here at work when the ad on Kingsnake (for 1,500-3,000 gram females) was posted on July 14. I specifically remember telling John to hurry and email Ted so that he wouldn't miss out on those females. John then followed my advice and emailed Ted and requested a price quote on 6 of the females. Contrary to what Ted claims, John did not telephone Ted until after payment had been made and they were discussing shipping. I know this because 1) I was here when John received Ted's reply via email (*posted below) and 2) Had John called Ted on the telephone and gotten the weights of the females, he would have relayed that information to me and I would have told John not to buy them.

*Here is the reply mentioned above...

I can send you 6 for $1600. 3 of these are proven breeders and the other 3 are '02 that will breed this year. Let me know. I have had alot of phone calls and e-mails already. I would rather sell them off in larger groups (6 is good).

Thanks,
Ted @ T&M Reptiles

Considering the above email and considering that the Kingsnake ad listed 1,500-3,000 gram females for sale, it's not hard to imagine why John and I truly believed that he was getting 6 (six) females that would for sure breed this year for $1,600. That's approximately $267 each. Sounds too good to be true? Maybe...but here's why I told John to go ahead and get them.

1. I've seen people in need of money sell things cheap and I've been in situations myself where I've had opportunities to buy animals that I didn't have the money for, so I sold off other animals in a hurry at low prices in order to make the purchase.

For example, maybe something new popped up in Africa and Ted needed to round up big cash in order to get it.

2. I figured that since this was a quantity deal, that may be part of the explanation for the relatively low price.


Needless to say, I figured it was just a good deal...nothing more, nothing less, so I told John to go through with the purchase.

Does this mean that I think Ted knowingly tried to misrepresent the animals?

Absolutely not. I realize that the name "John" is a common name and I realize that Ted may have talked to several people with that name as Ted even said that he had spoken to a lot of people regarding those females.

However, this does not change the fact that in the end, John did not get what he thought he was paying $1,600 for.

Does this mean that John is another pain in the ass nickel and dime customer just trying to get something for nothing?

No. In fact, I am the one who told John what to ask for. Secondly, I know John quite well and I am absolutely certain that he is not the type of guy who would do something like this to try and save a few hundred dollars. Considering that John thought he was buying six 1,500-3,000 gram females and considering that he passed on the purchase of several other females since coming to the original agreement with Ted, I can see why he wishes to just keep the snakes and get a partial refund.

Yes, Ted did offer to refund the purchase price for the six females, but you have to think about where that puts John. He just invested a rather substantial amount of money on a particular morph and feels a great sense of urgency to get breedable female Balls now if he wants to be able to produce anything this season. That said, John felt that he was basically being forced to either take what he got and live with it, or send them all (including the larger ones, which will probably go this year) back and start over in his search for females.


Bottom line...

1. I have known and worked with John for five years and I know for a fact that John is a stand-up guy and is not trying to get something for nothing.

2. Honestly, I do not think Ted was trying to mislead John.

3. I do, however, believe that Ted has made an honest mistake and is thinking of someone else (perhaps even someone else named John) when he says that he gave their exact weights to John over the telephone. Having said that, I have spoken to Ted on the phone today about this and I realize that he honestly believes that this is not the case.

 

[T&MReptiles]

After a long conversation with Anthony today on the phone, we came to the conclusion that this may very well be just a misunderstanding or miscomunications. If this was in fact miscomunications on my part, then I send John my deepest appologies, and I think that John and Anthony do realise that I would not try to mislead anyone on purpose. That is not how we do business here at T&M Reptiles. Hopefully this is now water under the bridge and we can actually become friends in the business. I would be happy to help out John anyway that I can in the future.

Ted @ T&M Reptiles

 

[Karen Hulvey]

Are these normal colored balls?
Karen

 

[SPJ]

Probably but large females can command some pretty high prices.
If you spend $500 on a single female BP and then breed it to a male pastel for example, just having one pastel show up in the clutch and you have made back your investment plus extra.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

The only point of this whole transaction that I have a real problem with is the sellers threat of taking it to the BOI if he got a full refund instead of a discount on the purchase price. That smacks of an extortive attempt at getting the best of both worlds on this deal. It is the sellers decision as to how he handles a situation like this and a full refund is pretty much considered an acceptable remedy across the boards

Ted has handled this transaction by going way above and beyond the call of duty.

 

[Neverending]

Buyer ?

I think he meant to say buyer instead of seller.
..and i completely agree..

 

[ajc]

The only point of this whole transaction that I have a real problem with is the sellers threat of taking it to the BOI if he got a full refund instead of a discount on the purchase price. That smacks of an extortive attempt at getting the best of both worlds on this deal. It is the sellers decision as to how he handles a situation like this and a full refund is pretty much considered an acceptable remedy across the boards

Ted has handled this transaction by going way above and beyond the call of duty.

Smacks of an extortive attempt? Please. Your post "smacks" of another BOI drama queen who just likes to hear himself talk.

In case you didn't bother to read my post, this is over with and I've already addressed "the thing that you have a problem with", so please re-read my post and quit beating this dead horse.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

I read quite well Anthony. In essence your post states that he did not want to give up the three that were of breeding size and threatened the seller with a bad guy post if he was forced to accept the full refund offerred as his only recourse. A refund he had already declined two days prior I might add.

YOU sound like someone who is trying very hard to justify the fact that, at your direction, your buddy tried to squeeze a last minute discount out of a deal he had already signed of on by threatening the seller.

Slice it any way you want to Anthony...it stinks.

And that is my last word on this.

 

[ajc]

Apparently, you're forgetting the reason that there was a problem (and a discount requested) in the first place...sevaral thousand grams worth of Ball Pythons are missing. That said, I don't feel that I have much of anything to justify, let alone recommending that my friend request a few hundred back.

I don't expect you to actually take a balanced look at this, considering who you are, but regardless of that, John and I have been VERY fair and agreed that it was a misunderstanding and to let it die, so that's not the issue.

Considering that everyone involved has come to an understanding, why is it that people like you feel the need to run your mouths? It's simple. Because you like to hear yourself talk.

People like you are the ones who make the BOI look like a joke at times. Apparently, like many other regulars here, arguing is your real hobby.

Anyway, I highly doubt that John will have any trouble buying anything in the future, so continue to spin your wheels if you don't have anything better to do, but I actually have some nice reptiles to tend to, so I'm going to leave this alone.

 

[Anthony McCain]

Ted, sounds like this guy is like alot of people and just "wants something for nothing". I have purchased animals from you before Ted and feel that you represent your animals 100% correctly, in fact I would say if anything you are not giving yourself enough credit on what you have to offer! I would not hesitate to buy ANYTHING from you , it's a short list of people I trust in this industry , but I would consider your name on that list for sure! As for the other guy, well I guess we all know now how he does business, sorry you had to be the one to uncover that fact. Take care Ted, Anthony McCain-McCain's Reptiles.

 

[Anthony McCain]

Ted and John, I just read through the entire thread , and I think that as you said Ted, their must have been a miscommunication error or something , because according to Anthony C. (John's friend) John would not try to undercut anyone, however I also know from experience that you (Ted) do not knowingly misrepresent your animals either! So I hope you guys can work this out and maintain a working relationship for the future. Perhaps this is a lesson for all of us in that sometimes "the details" are alot more important than one would ever imagine, and that if we assume things often times it backfires on those involved. People often tell me that I worry to much about the details (such as saving pics of EVERY animal I buy online, at least until they are in my possession) and this is exactly the reason why I do things the way I do, to cover myself. I had a "difficult" situation with Rob @ Spider Balls.net and Ted @ House of Scales over a baby Spider male and because of the fact that I kept ALL the Pics on file I have more than enough proof of what transpired. If anyone ever doubts or questions this fact I can easily email them the pics and let that person be the judge! Regardless I hope this works out for the both of you (Ted and John) as it sounds like you guys are on the right track for correcting the problem. Anthony McCain-McCain's Reptiles.

 

[NeoScales]

YOU sound like someone who is trying very hard to justify the fact that, at your direction, your buddy tried to squeeze a last minute discount out of a deal he had already signed of on by threatening the seller.

You obviously don’t know Anthony; there isn’t anyone in the reptile business that is more honest than him. Suggesting that he would compromise his integrity just to help someone get a “last minute discount” is patently absurd. I also know John Benavides and by all accounts he’s a straight dealing guy looking for a straight deal, and I hope like hell he gets it.

Slice it any way you want to Anthony...it stinks.

This entire incident appears to be a case of mutual misunderstanding on the road to being resolved, but then where is the “drama” in that. Shame on you for muddying the waters of the BOI with baseless assertions about good quality people. It’s participation of this kind that makes it so hard to mine information here. Slice that anyway you want...

-Randy May