Inquiry Spectrum Reptiles

[tracer5loki]

I was in the process of purchasing a Female Spotted Turtle from Barry at Spectrum Reptiles when he sold the turtle out from under me before we completed our arrangement. VERY unprofessional in my opinion.
John Christofferson

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

Had you paid for it already? Nothing is sold until paid for, generally. So it is his property until paid for (even if you make an honest promise of your word, that will not be something one can buy food or pay the mortgage with). If you had already paid for it at the time, that is another scenario.

You should provide more details/evidence. Emails and so forth.

 

[Spectrum Reptiles]

Reply to Johns complaint

I was in the process of purchasing a Female Spotted Turtle from Barry at Spectrum Reptiles when he sold the turtle out from under me before we completed our arrangement. VERY unprofessional in my opinion.
John Christofferson

John had initially contacted regarding a female spotted turtle I had in the classifieds. He asked for extra photos and had plenty of questions. All of which I obliged. He asked how I prefer to be paid and I said PayPal. Shortly thereafter he said he could in fact send paypal, BUT I received an email from Chase Bank saying I had funds waiting for me but I had to create a name and password along with other information. So, I even tried doing that but kept getting errors, so I told John to kindly just send the paypal which he said he would send later. In the interim of waiting for his paypal a loyal customer sent his paypal immediately! If I had a nickel for everytime someone said they would get back to me but vanish, I'd be a millionaire. I did my due diligence in trying to collect from his Chase which he took upon himself to send vs Paypal, I sent him photos, answered all his questions, and only upon emailing him that the animal was sold he got nasty via emails and said he sent the paypal. I checked my paypal at 8:05pm PST that even and STILL no paypal (even though I had already sold the animal) and just to see if he did in fact send the paypal which he didn't. I'm a private hobbyist and not obligated to hold any animal unless some arrangement had been made or deposit sent. Neither of which he did. He is just angry and frustrated because of "snoozing and losing" and didn't send funds in the method asked. I jumped through all his hoops and only after I notified him of the sale of the turtle did he get belligerent and angry. Like I said, if I had a nickel for everytime someone said they wanted an animal and would get back, yet vanish, I'd be one financially set guy. I told him I'm sorry for his frustration and should he wish to purchase from me in the future he now understands the difference between a buyer and a "potential" buyer.

Regards,
Barry Lambert

 

[Spectrum Reptiles]

thank you

Had you paid for it already? Nothing is sold until paid for, generally. So it is his property until paid for (even if you make an honest promise of your word, that will not be something one can buy food or pay the mortgage with). If you had already paid for it at the time, that is another scenario.

You should provide more details/evidence. Emails and so forth.

Nick,

Your not 100% correct. Your 110% correct. I just gave a reply to his complaint as well. Thanks for helping on your clarification on not just sales of goods, but animal sales in general.

Regards,
Barry Lambert

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

I have been down that road many times. Once people start selling (especially online with electronic means), they learn this lesson many times over in a relatively short time. Sometimes the timing is off. Sometimes, a potential buyer is not accustomed to the pace things can take, too. If there is something I feel I "have to" have, I will skip sleep, food, bathroom breaks, and more if I feel that is what it will take to make the transaction happen for me. For every good fellow who says he will send payment soon or later, there are at least a couple others who will intentionally disappear.

My impression is that John was sincere in his attempts to get the funds to Barry, but the nature of online transactions and that fact that another customer did manage to actually deliver the funds to the seller first was how it all happened to shake out. I have been the guy who was about to send, but had been beaten to the punch. I have been the second guy to send and have had my money refunded/returned because I was not first to deliver. It feels bad, but there is not ill will. In fact, I appreciate it. How would I feel if I was the first to deliver, but then was out when I was the one to first fully complete the task? Not so appreciative. A shot on goal is not the same thing as a goal, so I respect that difference.

Anyway, I would urge the buyer to take this as a lesson learned in how to navigate this kind of thing. It did not warrant a BOI thread from my perspective.

 

[llcoollaslo]

I bought a great male Leopard Tortoise from Barry several months ago, and went back and forth with numerous questions and he was great to answer them all. I will buy from him again, but have also learned the hard way (with others) that it is not sold until cash is in the seller's account. John, I hope you find another female Spotted!