What's the right thing to do?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Accidentally selling a ball with a barely noticeable kink? Selling a sick snake (RI, mites, internal parasites, scalerot, etc..)

That fall under the same category so I will respond both at the same time. You should obviously inspect your animal not only when they hatch but also prior to shipping, if you notice an issue when packaging the animal your customer should be advised immediately and a refund or exchange for another similar animal should be offered. Being pro-active and not shipping the animal is better than shipping it and have a dissatisfied customer that will have to return the snake before being able to get their money back.

Selling a ball that refuses to eat after a move?

Sadly you can NEVER guarantee that an animal will eat for his new owner, when I sell hatchlings I can guarantee that they eat for me, and will informed any potential customer if the animal is off feed (which generally occur in proven breeders). If the animal does not eat for is new owner I will try to guide the new owner the best I can (especially if the owner is inexperienced) but there is not much I can do asides from that.

Selling a het that doesn't prove out? (sperm retention mistake*)

While rare it can happen and if the owner does not produce any visual after 2 breeding season I would compensate my customer with a visual and allowed him/her to keep the animal purchased. Of course this would apply if the het is paired to a visual or if both hets that were paired were produced by me. If it is het x het and one of the het comes from someone else it would be slightly different.

Shipping a ball that shows up dead, or not at all (shipping mishap?)

Carrier mistake leading to DOA can happen, I had 2 packages lost this year but because the animal were packed properly the slight delay did not affect them. Make sure you learn to pack properly, use common sense and do not ship in extreme conditions, ship Monday through Wednesday, make sure the information are correct and that the customer will be home to open the package immediately upon arrival...etc. After following all that if the animal is DOA, DEMAND to be informed within 2 to 4 hours and DEMAND pictures to be provided. If the animal is indeed DOA issue a full refund or offer to ship another animal if the person has their eye set on something similar.

Selling a desert female to someone who plans to breed, but didn't do the research?

I believe buyers should research what they are buying it goes from car to houses to snakes. If someone has questions I will be more than happy to answer their questions or concerns (happens with Spiders all the time).

When it comes to Desert yes they make cool combos and males do not have any issues, however my dilemma is with females, and even if I were to sell a female as a PET and PET only I cannot guarantee that the customer will not decide to give breeding a try and therefore I chose not to work with this mutation.

If I was working with them I would make sure to have a disclaimer on my website regarding female Deserts and would have it linked to each available desert female.

[FireStorm]

I don't think anyone should ever sell a sick or mite infested snake. Those are things anyone who isn't a flipper would notice beforehand.

As for arriving dead, this can be avoided by shipping and packing properly. I believe any other reason would be the carriers fault, or the person receiving it. Being lost or held up in shipment for days.. Or the person receiving it leaving it outside too long. Of course this can also be attributed to the carrier not getting a signature. If the shipment is set up correctly by the seller, designated overnight express with signature required, insuring the package, shipped only to a hub or business if using FedEx with your own certified account, or following the protocol listed by SYR when using them, these things can all be avoided and should never fall on the seller.

The other issues you speak of should be dealt with professionally.

Only once did I sell a mis-sexed ball and immediately offered a replacement. The customer instead opted for a better morph at a discount. Which I was happy to do. It was, and still is, a repeat customer

A breeder needs to take every precaution with every animal, and every sale. If a mistake is made and it is the breeders fault, they should definitely fix the issue.

IMO, my customers are paying for a live snake. I won't ship if I can't guarantee live arrival (too hot, too cold, storm, holiday,address outside of 10:30am delivery area,ect). But that doesn't make a DOA impossible. And if it happens, I owe the buyer a refund or replacement, even if it's the carrier's mistake. If I don't want to have the risk of the refund coming out of my pocket due to carrier error, I use the SYR insurance. I 've read a few TOS that seem to void the live arrival guarantee in the event of a carrier error/delay, and that seems silly. If you are shipping a healthy animal, and you do everything right, the most likely cause of a DOA is some type of carrier error. I understand it probably isn't the seller's fault, but it's not the buyer's fault either, so why should it come out of their pocket?

Fedex can make mistakes. It isn't something we can prevent 100% no matter how hard we try. I don't want to go to far off topic, but I just want to add a caution about signature required. I don't ever use it, instead I have my customers contact me within a designated amount of time after delivery. Why? I've had packages sent to me signature required. I was sitting there waiting for the truck (I could see the driveway the whole time), 10:30am came and went, no package. Checked the tracking, and the driver had put a note that no one was available to sign. But in reality he never attempted delivery, just put that note in there to avoid it. I've had this happen more than once, fortunately not with anything living, so I don't have much faith in that service.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

IMO, my customers are paying for a live snake. I won't ship if I can't guarantee live arrival (too hot, too cold, storm, holiday,address outside of 10:30am delivery area,ect). But that doesn't make a DOA impossible. And if it happens, I owe the buyer a refund or replacement, even if it's the carrier's mistake. If I don't want to have the risk of the refund coming out of my pocket due to carrier error, I use the SYR insurance. I 've read a few TOS that seem to void the live arrival guarantee in the event of a carrier error/delay, and that seems silly. If you are shipping a healthy animal, and you do everything right, the most likely cause of a DOA is some type of carrier error. I understand it probably isn't the seller's fault, but it's not the buyer's fault either, so why should it come out of their pocket?

Fedex can make mistakes. It isn't something we can prevent 100% no matter how hard we try. I don't want to go to far off topic, but I just want to add a caution about signature required. I don't ever use it, instead I have my customers contact me within a designated amount of time after delivery. Why? I've had packages sent to me signature required. I was sitting there waiting for the truck (I could see the driveway the whole time), 10:30am came and went, no package. Checked the tracking, and the driver had put a note that no one was available to sign. But in reality he never attempted delivery, just put that note in there to avoid it. I've had this happen more than once, fortunately not with anything living, so I don't have much faith in that service.

I do agree with you, and believe me, I would not refuse some sort of compensation in the event of a DOA. I'm simply saying this is rare and should never happen. When shipping/packing properly, and following all the rules, in the end it's likely the carriers fault if there is a DOA. In that case, compensation should be made even though there would likely be a wait while the reason for the DOA is researched.

A good reason to use SYR in my opinion. Robyn and his team are good at researching these issues and getting something done about it.

Definitely get photos right away to prove the DOA. There have been scammers who claimed their animal died but would not provide proof.