What Happens When Seller Loses Touch?

Marketplace Support
#1

I recently got in contact with a seller on MM about a green snake. At first the seller was extremely responsive until I paid them in full. Now it’s been next to no contact for a week and they still haven’t confirmed a shipping day or even responded when I email them to try and get updates.

I realize it’s Thanksgiving here in the US and I’m okay with delays… I’m just worried now that they’ve gotten their full payment they don’t plan on delivering the snake. They have the snake marked as sold on MM and I got the email saying it was sold to me.

Besides intermittent emails to the seller what can I do to get the snake or a refund?

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#2

I personally would give the seller a few more days to respond before attempting a refund. Who knows what’s going on in their life right now :man_shrugging: they may not be getting notifications, their power might be down, their dog could have passed away…

Have you tried messaging them on other platforms (Instagram, Facebook)?

Also, how did you pay?

“Most breeders have other full-time jobs and families, so sometimes life gets in the way of a quick response. However, most inquiries receive responses within 24 hours. We send a reminder to them after 48 hours. After that, non-responses are factored into their responsiveness score which is displayed on their store page and whenever you inquire. We follow-up ourselves with sellers who maintain a pattern of non-responsiveness and possibly remove them from our site.”

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#3

@eaglereptiles

Oh trust me I’m gonna give them another week after Thanksgiving to get back to me before doing anything. Just trying to get my ducks in a row in case the worst case scenario happens. I’d much rather have the snake I paid for. Even if that takes months.

I’ve bought from MM for a few years now and this is the first seller that has dropped off like this. It’s been almost 2 weeks now without some kind of contact.

I paid via PayPal. And as far as I know the email we’ve been talking over is the only way to contact them. They didn’t include a Facebook ect.

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#4

This is not OK. Months to deliver a snake is not OK. I get that things happen in peoples’ lives that are beyond their control, but if you are a seller then you need to communicate with your customers, period.

The amount of ghosting that happens in online commerce is just mind-blowing. As both a buyer and seller on MM, this is by FAR my #1 struggle.

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#5

If you don’t receive a product then you can pretty easily get a refund from PayPal, so long as you didn’t make the mistake of using friends and family.

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#6

Once you feel you’ve given the seller enough time, the best way to get your money back is through a paypal dispute. You have 180 days to do this, from the purchase date. That is, unless you paid via friends and family. Then you have no protection. If your paypal account is backed by a credit card, you could potentially go through your credit card company. Be prepared to provide proof in the form of emails or any other communication you’ve had with the seller, including proof of emails sent and not responded to.

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#7

I would advocate perhaps backing down on that attitude a little.

While I agree that the seller in this situation needs to be better with communication, there are absolutely times when waiting months for delivery is completely acceptable

My last snake of the season went out last night, and that was only because it was an in-state shipment. Right now, with the strain that the pandemic has put on shipping coupled with the impending holiday shipping season, anyone that buys an animal from me is not getting it until the third week of January at the absolute earliest. Add in winter weather conditions and I might not ship until February or March. The safety of the animal is more important than satisfying someone’s instant gratification. Most of the breeders I know have adopted a similar position.
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@meerkatlyndz, Given the time of year I am guessing (hoping) this is just a case of being swamped with life leading to an oversight on their part. If you would not mind, please shoot me the name of the seller in a DM. While the odds are I have not dealt with them there is always the chance I have and can offer you alternate means of communicating with them.

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#8

For the record, I don’t ship during the holiday season either. I have waited until late January to resume shipping every year. But if this transaction took place 1-2 weeks ago, the seller should have at least reached out to the buyer to let them know that there was going to be a delay on delivering that animal.

I’m not OK with you implying that I put the customer’s gratification over the safety of the animal. Since the pandemic started, I have lost 10+ sales because of my hub-to-hub only policy. I always put the safety of the animal first and my feedback reflects that.

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#9

Communication is the key. It is not acceptable to have such a delay AND not communicate it. Very unprofessional.

@meerkatlyndz best advice I can give is be better. There’s a chunk of folks in this hobby that are just amateurs when it comes to running a business. This person may not even realize how unacceptable it is as a business owner to take money and not set expectations for when they will be delivering their product. Make a point to do better for your customers.

Other than that all you can do for at least the rest of this week is just be patient through the holiday weekend. Perhaps read back through your correspondence just in case they did mention when they would be shipping before you paid. Hopefully they come through sooner than later!

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#10

Thanks for all the help guys. Unfortunately I did go through Friends and Family so if this falls through I’ll be out 140 bucks. A learning experience to be sure whatever happens. At least the tank and such can sit until another captive green snake comes along.

#11

Hopefully it’s just poor communication and delays due to the holidays. Someone on my local Facebook reptile group just went through the same thing, seller stopped communicating, they thought for sure they had been scammed and started freaking out and posting to the group. Then the snake just randomly came in the mail yesterday.
Still not a great situation, but at least they did end up receiving their ball python, so I hope this is a similar situation and the seller will get back to you soon or you will get your snake (ideally both)

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#12

Something I’ve learned from commissioning art online is go NEVER go through friends and family on paypal because if something does end up happening there’s almost no way of getting your money back.

I hope you do get your snake, keep us updated on how it goes!

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#13

Bruuuuhhhhhhh :man_facepalming: oh dear.

#14

@thecrawdfather

Honestly every breeder I’ve talked to and bought from have asked to go that way to avoid the extra charge on their end…

#15

The extra charge is normally just a few extra £/$s, unless we’re talking 1000s. Whenever I have been asked to use F&F I have said I would rather pay the extra to cover the charge and have some security.

I’m sure I have offended a few sellers along the way by doing so but my money is worth more to me than their pride.

I always recommend paying that extra fee just for your own piece of mind. Also always ask for a mobile number that you can get in touch with them on should either persons internet be down.

Context is hard to put across online, I don’t believe this is what Travis was implying, I know him well enough to know he doesn’t :poop: talk people for the sake of it, but rather just pointing out that there are circumstances that will lead to month-long waits for animals. Hey, I paid for 2 snakes in January and didn’t receive them until March/April this year.

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#16

I bought one in March or April and didn’t even get her until end of October of this year because she was stuck in Canada, so sometimes there are definitely unique circumstances.

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#17

I do not disagree with you. I said the seller needed better communication. But Project made a statement in terms of absolutes

I was putting forth that that absolute statement is in err because, very plainly, there are times when months to deliver a snake is OK
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As Thomas correctly notes, I was implying no such thing about you. I was speaking in the broad context of how I, and I alone, operate. I thought that was clear given the entirety of that paragraph was written as a first-person account: “My”, “me”, “I”
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The funny thing about the whole F&F thing for me is that you never see breeders asking people to pay for the fee credit card companies apply to transactions… :thinking: :thinking: It is almost like they do not understand that they have already accounted for that charge in the pricing of their animals but still feel the need to upcharge when PayPal is involved

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#18

12 posts were split to a new topic: PayPal "Dos and Don’ts

#28

If you realize its Thanksgiving, then have some patience. Breeders do have lives too. Probably making plans with family. In which case, sales and etc take a back seat. While that doesn’t go for everybody, some it does. For some people, this truly is a hobby, and not a business, and will choose family over business transactions.

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#30

Either way it’s a bad time of year to buy a snake with it being wintertime and all of holiday shipping delays youre better off waiting till spring. And if I’m spending $700.00 to $1500.00 on a quality retic it damn well better get to my house the next day. Anybody who thinks it’s ok to wait weeks to get a snake is foolish!!! After all you’re not buying a pack of gum…

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