VIP constrictors on MorphMarket

[the_rotten1]

You can also mark an animal as "on hold", which allows you to show any interested parties that the animal isn't available without deleting the listing. It would've been better than changing the price to $1 and then asking for $750.

It sounds like there was poor communication on both sides. I'd expect that from a customer, but from a business it sounds unprofessional. If the animals were up for auction it would've been best to explain that right away, not ask for payment and then continue to haggle with the customer.

[andrewross8705]

Like others have said, both parties are at fault to some degree and neither of you are innocent. These are the same posts on the FBI group where nobody was out anything but still want to drag names through the mud, both buyers and sellers do it.

Regardless of whether you made a mistake with the listing on MorphMarket, it's extremely shady to be running an auction while also keeping a listing active. You cleared it up with Mr. Snake but that still does not look good on your character and IMO, will hurt your reputation for some time.

As for Mr. Snake, you said in your opening that you weren't wronged by VIP but went on to drag his name through the mud. It's great that you have screenshots but this was a bit overkill because you have not lost any money. You should have just left it alone and walked away.

[ladywhipple02]

You should have just left it alone and walked away.

I disagree. If no one asks the question, issues don't get fixed. Perhaps he could've asked the question in a better way, but it's good he asked. He learned something, and the seller learned something. Win, win.

Walking away from a situation only means other people end up getting screwed later down the road by sellers that really are trying to be shady.

[andrewross8705]

I disagree. If no one asks the question, issues don't get fixed. Perhaps he could've asked the question in a better way, but it's good he asked. He learned something, and the seller learned something. Win, win.

Walking away from a situation only means other people end up getting screwed later down the road by sellers that really are trying to be shady.

Apologies, meant to word that differently but got sidetracked and didn't add the rest before posting. What I meant to say was:

You should have just left it alone and walked away after the 1st time they explained things instead of repeatedly going back with the same offers.

[dr del]

While I can certainly see issues from both sides in this case the main point I would like to make ( while I do expect it to be unnecessary, I add it for future guidance ) is that simply communicating with the site owners may have prevented this occurring.

On this site anyone intentionally using this technique to generate responses to an advert could find themselves banned from making any more.

hopefully everyone involved has learned some vital or useful advice for the future to avoid problems.

[jplehmann]

Hey guys, just got back from vacation so catching up on everything. Thanks to Deborah for looping me in.

Here is MorphMarket's point of view on this situation:

1. Clearly our site is not an auction site and our rules stipulate listing the actual price for the animal. Mr. Snake appropriately flagged this ad.
2. Our rules are enforced with consequences deemed appropriate to each situation. VIP shouldn't have done this but I think they know this at this point and will just be given a warning.
3. We need to do a better job communicating our rules to all sellers, as seen above they are nested in our store guide which not everyone has read (even though I think they are asked to read the rules when signing up). In the not distant future we'll require sellers to read our rules and opt in that they have read them which should somewhat reduce the "misdemeanor" level problems that occur, possibly out of ignorance, like this one.

Unrelated to this situation but on the topic of rules and consequences, in a limited number of situations we have immediately banned sellers where significant attempted or actual deception occurred, with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. This is something like taking money and sending no animal, or selling a non-het as a het. Furthermore, our evolving strategies have been successful at keeping these individuals off our site, which is a very difficult task in itself.

Generally speaking, we provide these recommendations for selecting a breeder that you can purchase from with confidence, and one day hope to build a review system. However building a reliable review system is much more difficult than many imagine. If you want an unmoderated review system just look at Facebook.