Quote Originally Posted by morphmarket View Post
All credible ratings/review forums need to hear both sides of a matter.

MorphMarket thoroughly reviewed both sides of this case based on all the evidence that was provided by both the buyer and the seller. We did this as we do with all disputes according to our published moderation policy. We found in the buyer's favor ONLY because the seller had already promised, in writing, to issue a full refund upon receiving the animal back and did not put any conditions on that promise. We did not find in the buyer's favor because we thought the seller was at fault or a bad guy.

The seller provided three very clear videos, the first of which they posted on YouTube, the same one the OP showed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtqBYhepHu0

This video was taken as soon as they received the animal back and shows zero signs of RI distress. Upon our request for more information, including the true weight of the animal and a look at its belly, the seller sent two more new video files with the day's date mentioned in them. They weren't "old" videos. One shows the animal being carefully weighed in a quality analog scale in a way that no one could accuse them of any "funny business." The weight showed 3500g. The second showed a perfectly clean and healthy belly from nose tip to tail. It is clearly the same animal as the buyer had received. In neither of those other two videos did the snake display any hints of RI symptoms, nor did it show any signs of being distressed in any way. The seller's facilities, as seen in the videos, are clean, orderly, and well maintained.

The buyer immediately assumed the seller was a bad guy deliberately selling sick and underweight animals. The seller immediately assumed the buyer was lying about the animal's condition when he received it back and it showed no signs of illness. We chose to view this dispute from both sides and give both parties the benefit of the doubt. The buyer truly believed they received a sick animal. They did send pictures of a red and irritated looking belly. They did not send any images or videos showing RI symptoms or weight. We don't believe the buyer sent the animal back due to "buyer's remorse". But we also don't believe the seller knowingly sent out a sick animal and lied about its weight.

The buyer's negative review was removed because it accused the seller of deliberately acting negligently and lying about their animals. The seller proved to our satisfaction that this was not true in any way.

These cases are rarely simple and clear-cut. In this case, we don't believe either party acted out of bad faith, but each believed sincerely that the other did. We did explain that when we told the buyer of our ruling, but they chose not to share that portion of the email they quoted.

It's quite probable that people will still have questions about this, and opinions to give. Unfortunately, there are other cases on our docket and much work to be done helping other people. This one has been settled and we can't devote any more time to it. We wish nothing but the best to the buyer and the seller.
I really appreciate this explanation. As happy as we are to hear that you received videos from him that showed she’s as healthy as he says, we’ve learned our lesson to also record as much. We’ve recently read things about snakes “bubbling” for various reasons but we panicked immediately in fear for our collection. We’ve never had an issues purchasing through MM and after this incident, I’m confident that if there is ever any other issues, it will be taken care of appropriately. Thank you for taking the time to address the issue. Our only regret is that we weren’t able to keep that beautiful leopard.