Question

I am probably being a bit silly, but I just can't kick the feeling and was wondering what everyone's thoughts were.

I contacted a seller from kingsnake.com about a boa that was listed. I asked him if he would be willing to hold the boa for me, willing to put down a deposit if he wanted, I only needed four days. The seller said no problem use this email for Paypal. I gave a 50% deposit, the seller said it was received everything was good.

During this time I noticed he posted the same add in kingsnake, with the snake snake pictured. I was slightly upset seeing as I put a deposit on the snake but thought maybe it was a backup plan in case I didn't come through. I wasn't thrilled with the idea but could understand.

Friday at 8:00 am I messaged him saying the rest was sent. The seller responded great will let you know about shipping.

Sunday I noticed the same add in kingsnake and I get a bit more agitated. I wonder if maybe I didn't see some "fine print" about it being a different snake than the one pictured so I ask the seller. I also hadn't heard anything about shipping so at 6:30 pm on Sunday night I emailed the seller. The seller responded a few hours later that I was in fact getting the snake in the picture and that he has others for sale, which is why he was still posting it. I thought okay whatever maybe I am just being overly sensitive, and I will see what I get come Tuesday.

Tuesday comes and the snake arrives. Looks great except deep in shed which is kinda disappointing since I wasn't aware during the transaction. I wanted to make sure 100% it was the one in the picture on the post. The snake has a "notch" in it's pattern (cosmetic only nothing damaging) which matched the one in the photo. I think it's the same snake and place it in QT.

Twenty-four days later (I received the snake right before Christmas, and was away for the holidays.) I noticed the snake has a few mites. Not a big deal, I treat for the mites and sent a quick email to the seller. The email just said that the snake was the only one in QT I have been very careful about feeding with separate tongs, containers, clothes etc... That the mites might not have been from the seller but just the heads up in case the seller was having issues or wanted to check their collection. The seller responses was thanks but mites happen and if you have enough reptiles they are impossible to get rid of. This isn't new I have heard this response before I just don't fully agree with it.

Anyway today thirty-one days later from this whole thing I am looking through kingsnake for a mate for the snake. I see this seller has posted the same ad numerous times over the month and the most recent one was posted yesterday. The ad is the exact same with my snake in the picture. The post reads "This is a gorgeous......"

Am I being overly sensitive about the issue? I understand that he produced the snake (as far as I know) and it is his picture. I just feel like it's weird in a way. Would you do business with this seller again if this was your experience? His reviews everywhere were positive and it is someone who has an established reputation. Like I said I just don't know what to think.

I have to agree with you on a few things.

1. Mites, it kinda sounded like he knew he had mites. That would upset me. I don't care how big of a collection you have, you either need to tell the buyer or wait till they are gone.

2. Same pic for every ad. I don't like the misrepresentation of an animal for sale. How hard is it to snap a new pic of the actual snake for sale?

I don't know who it is you bought from, but that would definitely turn me off from future purchases....

Even though he followed through with everything, that just seems shady to me. Also, no warning about the mites would have definitally frustrated me. He is potentially putting your whole collection at risk by not informing you of the problem. What if you didn't notice the mites and it spread to your others before you realized the problem? Extremely poor customer service, I would not buy from that guy.

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't sure if I was making a mountain out of a mole hill or being petty. I thought there was a chance I might have brought home mites from the pet store or a meeting, however after his response I think the snake came with the mites. It didn't seem alarming nor surprising to him that I found mites on the snake. Which is very disappointing and naturally makes me wonder what else wasn't told about the snake. I did ask the basic questions however I didn't think to nit pick and ask every question under the sun. This seller was pretty good on communication and the snake is gorgeous however I think these other issues cause me not to really think about doing deals with him again sadly. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being irrational.

I would pretty po'd about the mites, but on using the same pic that's happened to me before.

Bought a boa (doesn't sound like the same vendor as the one you bought from) and I saw the same ad posted for at least four months after getting the snake (100% correct one that was pictured in the ad). Honestly it didn't bother me since I knew this seller was super busy. When I asked for more pics of the snake before I purchased he gladly sent me more and I bet if someone inquired about the snake that was already in my possession he would realize that he sold it and didn't have it. Some just forget to update their ads I think, while others are very on top of it.