New pickup - problem

[h00blah]

Alright. i will fly to cali to "visit my family" Then i will tell you for sure if you should keep her.
I might have to take her home with me to decide for sure though. :]

You may TRY to pry her from my cold dead hands!!!!

[h00blah]

First off, I agree with everyone else and I'd keep her - she's terrific looking in every other way and this won't impact her genetics so breeding her wouldn't be an issue. She's a great pickup!!

I picked up on 2 specific things when I read this thread:

1) You mentioned her nose looked a bit funny in the pics you saw of her before you bought her. To me, this means that rub was there before she was sent out. I don't buy that his computer froze or whatever. I know that can happen, but its pretty "convenient" in this situation. Plus, as someone else said, if she was in a bag it isn't likely she'd have rubbed her nose that badly just in shipment. This happened before and it should have been disclosed to you by the seller before he sent her.

2) Are you absolutely SURE the label on the package didn't have "live harmless reptile" printed on it somewhere? When Hunter was shipped to me, that was printed in very small print on the label itself on the Ref# line right under the delivery address bar code (albeit it was labeled in bold elsewhere on the box too). But I wondered if the seller did in fact label the box as the Reference is considered adequate by FedEx. I agree that the box should have been labeled much more clearly and therefore this really doesn't matter, but I thought I'd ask anyhow.

Look at it this way, with a little TLC, you've got a great new addition and the better end of the deal. You don't ever have to deal with that seller again. Congrats on your new girl!

Hope this doesn't give away his identity, but here's a pic from the ad:


You can clearly see some odd coloration around the same area.. So you don't need to open another tab/window, here's the today shot:


2) I just went through and thuroughly double-checked every side if the box, including the label. Couldn't find anything. ALSO, I questioned him about it when I called, and he said that he's fedex certified and the people who he ships with know that he ships reptiles.... I let him know that it is important to include it, but there were quite a few things that required more discussion, like the well-being of the snake. Oh, and I'm sure my fedex guy who delivered the other snakes that were shipped to me wouldn't have carried it like it was just an ipod in a box.. It didn't even require my signature!

Thank you for the perspective. I just have to e-mail him and let him know I'm going to keep her. I'll consider it a rescue

[h00blah]

When I get home, I'll upload the unboxing video and post it here. I've taken one for every reptile I got, but I never needed it until this morning.

[Mike41793]

I wouldnt do business with him again. If it wasnt labeled as an animal imagine how the package was handled by everyone throughout the shipping process...
Eventually someday ill be breeding my snakes. As a seller i would never have that kind of customer service. The customer is always right. The fact that he refused to cover even part of the vet bill, on what is a very expensive snake you bought from him, is ridiculous imo. Its like buying a car and having it arrive at the dealership with a dent in it. Do you think id still be driving home that car? Heck no! The same core values of good business run through all markets, no matter whats being bought and sold...

[Rob]

How in the world does someone ship a live animal and not have it clearly marked all over the box? You are lucky the animal is alive, I'm sure the poor thing was thrown all over the place.

[RobNJ]

Honestly, I'd take the seller up on the option to return her. I don't expect to pay good money for an animal that isn't packaged properly-for safety and legal reasons- and have that animal come in to me damaged, very possibly as a result of the packaging...and if not, as a result of the seller just happening to leave that info out prior to purchase.

[Evenstar]

I wouldnt do business with him again. If it wasnt labeled as an animal imagine how the package was handled by everyone throughout the shipping process...
Eventually someday ill be breeding my snakes. As a seller i would never have that kind of customer service. The customer is always right. The fact that he refused to cover even part of the vet bill, on what is a very expensive snake you bought from him, is ridiculous imo. Its like buying a car and having it arrive at the dealership with a dent in it. Do you think id still be driving home that car? Heck no! The same core values of good business run through all markets, no matter whats being bought and sold...

Agreed. And not to start anything and I don't want to gossip - I understand why you don't want to reveal this guy's name, but please consider it. Not to bad-mouth him, but so others can make more informed decisions before buying from him. Not here - perhaps start a BOI either here or on fauna??

[h00blah]

Agreed. And not to start anything and I don't want to gossip - I understand why you don't want to reveal this guy's name, but please consider it. Not to bad-mouth him, but so others can make more informed decisions before buying from him. Not here - perhaps start a BOI either here or on fauna??

I'm still in the middle of my decision about that. For the time being I won't say who it is. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. In my eyes, his only "solution" was to take the snake back then re-sell it immediately to one of the 3 other guys who he told me had inquired about her availability. So really, he isn't rectifying his mistake.

Improperly labeled then shipped, and when the animal isn't 100% healthy from the tip of his heat pits to the tip of his tail, he says "If you are not happy with the animal you recieved, just put it right back in the box and ship her back.".... That pissed me off...

I believe he should have tried to do whatever he could to make me feel better about my purchase... AGREE THAT IT REQUIRES A QUALIFIED VET-CHECK, and even take some money off of the original listed price!!! It was a good deal for a healthy 700 gram clown FEMALE who just so happens to be 66% POSS HET HYPO (doubting the poss part now... gender as well for that matter...) and eating pre-killed!

I really do NOT want him to have my money, but I also don't want him to have this sweet girl anymore... I don't want her to have to endure another box with heat pad back to that state, then just forwarded on to the next guy! It's just a nose rub that will go away in time, and her eyes are dented probably because of inadequate humidity. She seems healthy outside of those areas, so I'm 99% sure I'm going to keep her, but the attitude he has when speaking to me was not what I expected to hear from someone who has supposedly been doing this for 8 years. Not very professional.

EDIT: before purchasing the snake, I did a check on him before e-mailing him. The majority of the feedback was local, but there were a few posts by people who had animals shipped to them. All good feedback.. Zero negatives. I would hate to be the first, and I especially don't want an outraged phonecall from him or his friends telling me I'm wrong or that I don't know what I'm talking about... What if he sees it, and THEN tries to rectify his mistake? I can't take it back..

[h00blah]

Here's that unboxing video I promised. Sorry it's not as upbeat and cool as Jinx's lol. I was not a happy camper :

[RobNJ]

What if he sees it, and THEN tries to rectify his mistake? I can't take it back..

Post an info thread on Fauna...you wouldn't necessarily be calling him a bad seller, and he'll be more than welcome to explain anything. If/when he tries to rectify his mistake, it will be noted. To be completely honest, he did offer to take the snake back and refund you...that is an offer to rectify the situation. You declined(or are planning to) the offer. The packaging is the glaring error, IMO, not declining to help you out with the vet bill.