I am getting worried...

[TimNA]

I agree & I want to follow this though to get the snake. Only reason I contacted paypal was because it seems to me for whatever reason that this person is trying to avoid me. Always has some kind of an excuse about everything I ask him. I ask for a picture "it's in shed, I don't even know which one is yours" I ask him when will he be able to ship it "when it eats, hasnt eaten yet, 1-2wks, soon" lol If my math is correct it should be going on 3 months old (at least that is when the ad was up). Call me a noob but shouldn't 3 months be plenty of time?

I have since bought 5 more bp's from various breeders & every breeder has contacted me giving some kind of update weekly/biweekly on their own accord. I am always reluctant to contat this guy just for not wanting to make him that much more against me, which is just a bad situation.

I am just going learn from this that is all I can do.

Thanks all

[AliCat37]

When I expressed interest in the ball python I got from my breeder, he told me that it wasn't eating yet and thought that it would have to be euthanized, one morning though he texts me out of the blue "that little ball started eating if you want it" and I went to get it the week later. I also know that if someone pays for a snake he has, he will put a little sticker on the tub that the snake is in in the rack so he knows exactly whos snake it is at a moments notice. The guy you are dealing with definitely seems sketchy. I am sorry that you're going through this, I hope that you end up with a healthy snake and the RIGHT snake in the end. As for dealing with him again, I would not. I would give feed back about him on kingsnake (if that's possible, idk I buy my critters locally) so others can make their own choice.

[AliCat37]

I agree & I want to follow this though to get the snake. Only reason I contacted paypal was because it seems to me for whatever reason that this person is trying to avoid me. Always has some kind of an excuse about everything I ask him. I ask for a picture "it's in shed, I don't even know which one is yours" I ask him when will he be able to ship it "when it eats, hasnt eaten yet, 1-2wks, soon" lol If my math is correct it should be going on 3 months old (at least that is when the ad was up). Call me a noob but shouldn't 3 months be plenty of time?

Three months should be plenty of time, I know mine took six to finally start eating on his own.

[Freakie_frog]

I agree & I want to follow this though to get the snake. Only reason I contacted paypal was because it seems to me for whatever reason that this person is trying to avoid me. Always has some kind of an excuse about everything I ask him. I ask for a picture "it's in shed, I don't even know which one is yours" I ask him when will he be able to ship it "when it eats, hasnt eaten yet, 1-2wks, soon" lol If my math is correct it should be going on 3 months old (at least that is when the ad was up). Call me a noob but shouldn't 3 months be plenty of time?

I have since bought 5 more bp's from various breeders & every breeder has contacted me giving some kind of update weekly/biweekly on their own accord. I am always reluctant to contat this guy just for not wanting to make him that much more against me, which is just a bad situation.

I am just going learn from this that is all I can do.

Thanks all

Just FYI.. Baby Ball Pythons.. Don't shed all that often.. I've got babies that eat every 5 days and they haven't shed a second time..So if it's shedding it's eating..or just hatched.. FYI

[Don]

It is real easy to give an update. If I sell a snake on deposit, I mark the rack sold with the name of the buyer. When I feed that snake, I immediately email the buyer to let them know it has eaten. Of course, I'm not selling hundreds of snakes but even if I were I would not anticipate that there would be so many on deposit that an update was that hard to do.

Have you called and talked to the breeder? Have you asked for a refund? I would be polite but firm. Your money has been paid and now you should have either the snake or an appropriate update so you know what is happening. Is the snake not eating? How many feeding attempts have been made and how often? What type of food is being offered? The breeder should at least let you know how your snake is doing, after all since it is paid for, it is now yours!

[spballa88]

Get money back, disclose the breeders name and never get a snake from there. I'm sorry but no professional breeder should ever act that way it is just unprofessional. Even if it is shedding they should cater to the purchasers request of they are within reason. Which a picture def is

[Slashmaster]

Sending a payment as "Payment Owed" is really awful, especially when a seller TELLS you to send it that way (to me, that's a HUGE red flag that they want to scam you, because they know PayPal won't let you reverse those via the PayPal site). Regardless, you might still be able to get your money back, regardless of PayPal telling you that it's not covered. How was the payment funded? Did you use a credit card or your bank account?

If the former, contact your credit card company and state that the seller has not sent you the goods, so you want the transaction reversed. PayPal will be forced to reverse it. If the former, go to your bank and state the same.

Keep records of what your discussions with the breeder have been. I think it would be best if you send them a letter stating, basically "I purchased (what kind of snake) on (date) for (amount). The amount was successfully paid off on (date). I would like to receive my animal by (two weeks from now) or I will be (filing a chargeback with my credit card company/disputing the payment with my bank). Please inform me as soon as the snake ships. Thank you."

Keep us updated. I deal with idiots on PayPal all the time and 90% of the time I win, regardless of being buyer or seller (of which I do high volumes of both). If you need any help with PayPal just let me know.

[babyknees]

I've never bought a snake online but I would think if he "doesn't even know which one is yours" he could just send you whatever snake he has available to ship that's not spoken for. I don't know. This just feels skeevy. I hope everything works out in the end.

[LizardPants]

A word of caution to the OP: it seems to me, that in this industry lack of e-mail etiquette is too common. It's incredibly frustrating. Kudos to the breeders in this thread who have come forward that they actually 'get it'.

[TimNA]

Sending a payment as "Payment Owed" is really awful, especially when a seller TELLS you to send it that way (to me, that's a HUGE red flag that they want to scam you, because they know PayPal won't let you reverse those via the PayPal site). Regardless, you might still be able to get your money back, regardless of PayPal telling you that it's not covered. How was the payment funded? Did you use a credit card or your bank account?

If the former, contact your credit card company and state that the seller has not sent you the goods, so you want the transaction reversed. PayPal will be forced to reverse it. If the former, go to your bank and state the same.

Keep records of what your discussions with the breeder have been. I think it would be best if you send them a letter stating, basically "I purchased (what kind of snake) on (date) for (amount). The amount was successfully paid off on (date). I would like to receive my animal by (two weeks from now) or I will be (filing a chargeback with my credit card company/disputing the payment with my bank). Please inform me as soon as the snake ships. Thank you."

Keep us updated. I deal with idiots on PayPal all the time and 90% of the time I win, regardless of being buyer or seller (of which I do high volumes of both). If you need any help with PayPal just let me know.

In his defense he didn't tell me to send the payment that way, my wife being a paypal noob sent the payment that way. I wasn't even aware of it till I contacted paypal about a dispute. I was out of town for a week & I wanted to get this paid off asap so I asked her to do it for me, sadly I should have waited & wouldn't be posting about it now.

It was paid for from the bank account, If I don't have the snake in my hands within a month I will contact the bank & see what they can do. I am more than willing to give this person the benefit of the doubt & I think I have. I sent him a few stern emails about a month ago & he just got all defensive telling me that all he asks for is patience.

Thanks all! I will keep you in the loop, I am going to email him again & ask him when is "soon"