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!
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.
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)
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!
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 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.
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.
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… 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
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.
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…
So just an update… They did get back to me on the 25th and seemed impatient/upset with me that it’s taking so long to ship? I again suggested a day and they haven’t gotten back to me yet. For their impatience and seeming upset that it’s taking so long to setup a day… They really arent giving me much to work with.
My fear is them stalling until it’s to cold to ship the snake and then refuse refund. Which is, again, whatever at this point since I wouldn’t be getting it back via PayPal dispute whatever… More concerned my gf won’t have the snake she’s still asking when it’ll be here and her dissapointment.
Another updated… So managed to find another seller that has these snakes for sell. They are wild caught unfortunately but my gf won’t go without the snake she’s so excited about? I’ve already inquired about one of those just in case this other does indeed fall through like I think it will.
Well it was supposed to be a display animal only anyways. No real handling time ect. I know there are parasites (mites and internal stuff) I gotta be careful of to. The green snake is gonna be in a room by itself as well. No chance of getting something from my snakes or visa versa.
I’ve seen wild caught ball pythons that still had ticks on them at the pet store. Be careful who you buy from and always research them to make sure their legit.
Its the holidays and with the pandemic it might take time. As for months, in many scenarios its acceptable. I waited 3 months for weather to be good to ship a reptile from Dynasty. It was consistently too cold along the route or where I live.
Not good news either. Breeder gave another excuse on why they could not ship. Whether true or not I accepted it but said that with the weather turning cold I didn’t trust the snake to arrive safely. Asked only for a partial refund since part of the delay is on my part for back shipping on tank and such.
They said they were willing to give back full refund (again I said partial is all that’s needed consider the rest care expenses during the time) but couldn’t because no money in PayPal. While extremely irritating (who spends money before you send the animal at the least) I gave them until the end of the month.
Long story short… No snake and several excuses why or general lack of contact. Also probably no refund either.