# What do you do if a seller lies to you?



## Toogledoo (Dec 16, 2011)

Ok, so I bought what were supposed to be a freshly molted MF Versicolor, and 2 bred MF Irminias. Long story short (since Auto-Save does not work and it deleted the long post I just typed out). I paid $60 for FedEx overnight, they shipped 2 day, so I asked for a $30 refund. Eventually they said all they had in PayPal was $19 so they sent me that and said they'd send a check for $11 sometime this week. Haven't heard anymore about the $11 and checks and PayPal both take it out of their bank account if there are no PayPal funds. Why couldn't they send it that way?

When I got them, one female Irminia was exactly what I expected around 5 1/2". The other Irminia looks very small, more like a juvi, and is only about 3 1/2". The Versicolor looked terrible. I emailed him to complain and he said the little Irminia is female and he did breed it. I told him the Versi looked like it had a wet molt or something when it molted (it looked dark, wet, wouldn't hardly move, and I thought it had recently molted). That's when he told me that IT HADN'T MOLTED IN SOME TIME. WHAT?!? The whole reason I bought from him was because he had a FRESHLY MOLTED FEMALE VERSICOLOR. I told him that is the reason I bought from him and that I was very unsatisfied with my order. I have not heard from him since...

What do I do? This is false advertisement and he lied to me. I feel that this is not fair! He has great feedback except for one. I don't understand this. I didn't want to leave negative feedback, but if he doesn't make this right, I will. I am very unhappy with this, and don't know what to do. I feel like I wasted $260 (minus the $30 if he ever refunds the rest). I have all of the messages between us to prove this. I need some advice.

Thanks in advance!
-Genny


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## 1hughjazzspider (Dec 16, 2011)

Try to contact him and tell him you're not satisfied because you don't feel like you got what you ordered and be civil about it, which it looks as though you've already done. Wait for him to respond and explain his side of the story and hopefully he'll try to make you a happy customer. If he refuses to do anything about it or doesn't respond leave a negative review. Bout all you can do.


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## Earth Tiger (Dec 16, 2011)

There are only two options - work with your seller to resolve the problems amicably or post a negative feedback/warning if he doesn't cooperate. For just $11 it isn't worth all the hassles for both sides to go into deep troubles. If he has troubles refunding that $11 ask him to send you a freebie T as a compensation when he replaced the problematic T.

At the same time you have to understand that Ts are live creatures and thus it can change from recently molted T to a T that hasn't molted for a while. The seller original descriptions may be no longer valid if the transaction took a long time to finish and you are certainly also responsible for the problem if it is the case. Good luck!


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## Arachnoholic420 (Dec 16, 2011)

When buying T's from a private seller...
check out their reviews, research if this seller has a good track record... 
a legit seller would have a post on the review section..... ( it show their ethic's when it come to selling T's)
if they are legit and in good standing with the ppl in the hobby,
most of the time the buyer's would post a review about their transaction in the review section.... wether they had a good or bad experience with the seller....
make sure your aware, that you are always taking a risk. when it comes to buying pet's thru private sellers. It's always good to know who your dealing with.....

Peace,
Armando

Reactions: Like 1


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## Toogledoo (Dec 16, 2011)

Earth Tiger said:


> There are only two options - work with your seller to resolve the problems amicably or post a negative feedback/warning if he doesn't cooperate. For just $11 it isn't worth all the hassles for both sides to go into deep troubles. If he has troubles refunding that $11 ask him to send you a freebie T as a compensation when he replaced the problematic T.
> 
> At the same time you have to understand that Ts are live creatures and thus it can change from recently molted T to a T that hasn't molted for a while. The seller original descriptions may be no longer valid if the transaction took a long time to finish and you are certainly also responsible for the problem if it is the case. Good luck!


Well, It's not so much the $11. It's the fact that he sent Ts that were not what he had advertised. Especially the Versicolor. I needed a fresh female for my fresh males. Let's see, I saw the post on Thurs 12/8 and we talked then and agreed on $260. I asked for his PayPal address and the next afternoon, Fri 12/9, he sent it to me. I sent him the money that night. He sent them on Mon 12/12 when I saw that he sent them 2 day and emailed him. I got them on Wed 12/14 when I emailed him about them and he said the Versi hadn't molted for some time and that it was probably just dehydrated. I then told him I was unsatisfied with my order and he hasn't replied. So, it took 6 days from when I saw the post until when I had them. I don't think that would make too much difference in being fresh or not.

---------- Post added 12-16-2011 at 11:10 AM ----------




Arachnoholic420 said:


> When buying T's from a private seller...
> check out their reviews, research if this seller has a good track record...
> a legit seller would have a post on the review section..... ( it show their ethic's when it come to selling T's)
> if they are legit and in good standing with the ppl in the hobby,
> ...


Yeah, I checked his reviews before I ordered. He had several positive reviews and one negative one which he had respoded to, that made it look like the other guy was the one that made the deal go bad instead of him.


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## jayefbe (Dec 16, 2011)

Sounds like a problem seller that used dishonest tactics. Anybody who would charge for express but use priority is pretty untrustworthy. Oh, and it's simple to add a bank account to paypal. 

Give them a week to respond. Then write an honest review if you don't hear back. That's how I would do it.


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## Earth Tiger (Dec 16, 2011)

Based on your side of the story it appeared that it's the seller's fault. One possible explanation is that he had two potential deals and you were just one of the two, and he sent that molted T to another buyer and later squeezed his stock/supplier to get one more to honor the transaction with you, albeit with a not as decribed T but that's probably the best he could find.

One recommendation to all private sellers - if a potential customer promises and confirms to buy a T, always reserve it to that buyer no matter what. If the buyer doesn't pay and turn out to have no intention to complete the deal, set up another advertisement AND post a negative review on that buyer. Don't worry about the retaliatory negative review or warning from these problematic buyers as people here in general can judge who's telling the truth.


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## Toogledoo (Dec 16, 2011)

Yeah, to use PayPal, I thought you had to add a bank account.

Some people probably do know who I'm talking about. He seems to be a fairly common seller. Yeah, I'd prefer to not name names for the time being.

---------- Post added 12-16-2011 at 11:39 AM ----------




Earth Tiger said:


> Based on your side of the story it appeared that it's the seller's fault. One possible explanation is that he had two potential deals and you were just one of the two, and he sent that molted T to another buyer and later squeezed his stock/supplier to get one more to honor the transaction with you, albeit with a not as decribed T but that's probably the best he could find.
> 
> One recommendation to all private sellers - if a potential customer promises and confirms to buy a T, always reserve it to that buyer no matter what. If the buyer doesn't pay and turn out to have no intention to complete the deal, set up another advertisement AND post a negative review on that buyer. Don't worry about the retaliatory negative review or warning from these problematic buyers as people here in general can judge who's telling the truth.


Well, the deal is, I didn't pay for "the best he could find". If there was a problem, the seller should have contacted the buyer before shipping instead of just sending one that he squeezed from his supplier, because I would have rather had my money back (if this were the case in my situation).


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## charlesc84 (Dec 16, 2011)

I would contact paypal asap. A few months back I had a bad transaction on a Surinam Horned Frog and I contacted Paypal. They were willing to refund the money, which would have been taken back from the seller. It didn't come to that though, and the seller did the right thing and refunded the money. Paypal will ask you for the emails, or any evidence you have. I would contact them asap, even before the seller gets back to you, at least you can get a head start and state your case just in case he tries to screw you. 

Don't feel bad for the seller, he obviously doesn't care about you or your money.


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## Toogledoo (Dec 16, 2011)

charlesc84 said:


> I would contact paypal asap. A few months back I had a bad transaction on a Surinam Horned Frog and I contacted Paypal. They were willing to refund the money, which would have been taken back from the seller. It didn't come to that though, and the seller did the right thing and refunded the money. Paypal will ask you for the emails, or any evidence you have. I would contact them asap, even before the seller gets back to you, at least you can get a head start and state your case just in case he tries to screw you.
> 
> Don't feel bad for the seller, he obviously doesn't care about you or your money.


Yeah, I've been told to contact PayPal by a few people. I just can't help feeling bad for the seller though. I don't want to just take his spiders. I don't want a full refund, I would just like him to make this right somehow. I definately want the rest of the shipping money back, but I'm not really sure how to make the T part right. I guess I have to actually be able to talk to the seller to try to work it out, but he hasn't responded so I may have no choice but to contact PayPal.


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## Earth Tiger (Dec 16, 2011)

Toogledoo said:


> Well, the deal is, I didn't pay for "the best he could find". If there was a problem, the seller should have contacted the buyer before shipping instead of just sending one that he squeezed from his supplier, because I would have rather had my money back (if this were the case in my situation).


If the seller sells them mainly for profit making, he wouldn't want to pass up any sale opportunity. This is certainly a bad sale tactic even if he is sale-oriented. 

I wouldn't say no to private sellers and people always suggest something like ordering from *"reputable" *private sellers with lots of good reviews. I would define the word "reputable" further in that the seller is also *an enthusiast with deep knowledge in arachnids (which you can tell by reading his forum posts), and preferably with a notable background in a related science field*. Private sellers with these requirements are not that hard to find here, and in my opinions it is much better to order spiders from these sellers with fewer reviews than from some punks with tons of reviews - people generally give very positive reviews as long as they receive their spiders without a big problem and arachnid trading is no rocket science to run into frequent problems. However, when problems did unfortunately arise, these punks just couldn't deal with these problems professionally.


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## jayefbe (Dec 16, 2011)

You didn't pay for the "best he could find"? That's complete Bull. That's just shoddy sales tactics. He didn't like the price so he sold you second-rate stuff instead? That's completely dishonest.

Unfortunately, you can go to paypal, but they can only refund the money if he still has money in the account. Again, give him a few days, but I think there's just gonna be one more seller I'll never buy from.


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## BrettG (Dec 16, 2011)

I agree 1000000000000000000000000% with everything you said.


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## Jenthevet (Dec 17, 2011)

Toogledoo said:


> Yeah, I've been told to contact PayPal by a few people. I just can't help feeling bad for the seller though. I don't want to just take his spiders. I don't want a full refund, I would just like him to make this right somehow. I definately want the rest of the shipping money back, but I'm not really sure how to make the T part right. I guess I have to actually be able to talk to the seller to try to work it out, but he hasn't responded so I may have no choice but to contact PayPal.


I understand how you are feeling; I have often felt bad for the seller when something went awry even though I was the one being wronged!  I have an online business (I sell craft supplies, not spiders) and if I fail to respond to a customer, the fault is mine and I deserve any negative feedback they may wish to give; same deal here.  It's possible that some emergency happened and that is why you're being ignored by the seller but even if that is the case, this is business and you deserve to to satisfied for your hard-earned money and trust.  Bottom line is that is business, not friendship, and as long as you continue to be honest and factual in your dialogue and review, there is nothing to feel bad about.  I agree that contacting Paypal is the way to go.  So sorry you are experiencing this.  My just be an expensive lesson learned.  Take care!


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## Toogledoo (Dec 19, 2011)

Well, he won't answer back, and on his profile it shows that he's been online. The last time he replied was on Wednesday, then after I told him I was unhappy, he didn't reply. It's been 5 days. I guess it's time to leave feedback, and contact PayPal and try to get my money back since he won't work with me or talk to me. This is the last thing I wanted to do. I didn't want to give someone a bad name, but if this is the way he handles his business then I probably should tell my side of the story. Thanks for all the advice from everyone.


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## InvertFix (Dec 19, 2011)

It's unfortunate that this has happened to you. 

But I do agree that since you gave him quite a window of time you need to try to get your money back and to leave an honest review. You don't want this happening to someone else.

Unfortunately for the seller, it is they're job to give good customer service. Which includes communication. GOOD communication. And to be as prompt as possible. If a seller cannot provide that then you can't provide a good review for them and need to help others be aware of the sellers tendencies (sp?)

I'm glad you are being smart about it.


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## Jenthevet (Dec 19, 2011)

Toogledoo said:


> Well, he won't answer back, and on his profile it shows that he's been online. The last time he replied was on Wednesday, then after I told him I was unhappy, he didn't reply. It's been 5 days. I guess it's time to leave feedback, and contact PayPal and try to get my money back since he won't work with me or talk to me. This is the last thing I wanted to do. I didn't want to give someone a bad name, but if this is the way he handles his business then I probably should tell my side of the story. Thanks for all the advice from everyone.


You are doing the right thing.  Sorry for replying again.    I just know how hard this can be and I feel bad for ya.  After owning a vet business and several online businesses, I still cannot believe some folks blatantly ignore customers.  You know they'd be uber mad if the tables were turned.  Thanks for warning us about this bad apple!  Take care.


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## Arashi Takamine (Dec 21, 2011)

Oh lord I have been in a similiar boat with bad sellers. (Only in the custom doll hobby I don't even have one T to my name)

I never even recieved my product I got no response until I finally found I wanted to do something  different and told them I was canceling and their response? "Well after so long I lost hope and assumed you moved on or forgotten."

I'm glad I never gave her my money and she kept my stuff that was meant for my custom BJD. Sellers need to know what the hell their doing and if a wet molt means you recieved an unhealthy spider then that is something you should demand your money back on.

I do have a question though...Are you keeping the T's?


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Dec 21, 2011)

sorry about this bad deal  $60 shipping sounds like a scam + im too cheap to pay that much for shipping EVER


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## Toogledoo (Dec 21, 2011)

Well, it didn't have a wet molt, that's just how I described how it looked. Apparently it hadn't molted at all in some time. Yeah, I'm keeping the spiders. I can't get ahold of him, and he still hasn't refunded the rest of my shipping money. I requested a refund on PayPal, but he hasn't responded to that either. If he doesn't respond today, I'm going to escalate this dispute to a PayPal claim, and let them decide what happens. I may just end up losing my money, hopefully not.

Yeah, $60 is a lot for shipping, but that's the only method they offered me.

I'm unsure if I should, does anybody think I should put out a "Warning" about this seller?


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## gmrpnk21 (Dec 21, 2011)

I would! $60 is very expensive for shipping (did you get a large vase or something with it?) , and to turn around and send them with priority is just wrong. Then you get something that wasn't what you paid for! Now with a lack of response from the seller.... That's not good business!


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Dec 21, 2011)

would be a smart idea.... clearly no one else wants to be scammed 
never let scammers get away with it or they will keep on doing it... remember alex080? scamming a lotta people a while back


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## BrettG (Dec 21, 2011)

IMHO the review should have been posted days ago.


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## Toogledoo (Dec 21, 2011)

BrettG said:


> IMHO the review should have been posted days ago.


Sorry, I just wanted to give him a fair chance. I gave him a week exactly. It's just that things could happen like illness or death in the family, any kind of accident, just super busy, internet or computer not working, etc. I know he's been online, but I still wanted to give him enough time and a chance. I just submitted it, and I'm considering posting a warning.


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Dec 21, 2011)

A warning would be a better idea.. $60 shipping & sent you priority WOW!! what a con man..  thats $50-47 dollars profit itself
sorry for your loss


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## Kungfujoe (Dec 22, 2011)

This is an interesting thread. Something similar happen to my boss with salt water fish. It turned out the guy wasn't verified so he couldn't file a claim. Anyway sorry to hear about your loss and yeah 60 bucks is a lot for shipping. I work with importing and exporting coral the only time we pay over 60 bucks is when we ship with a lot of water and a bunch of heat packs.


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## jbm150 (Dec 22, 2011)

The tarantulas notwithstanding (at least you got something close), $60 for shipping is absurd.  Maybe if he was going to hand-deliver them to you after driving across the state or something.  And then only using Priority?  That's outright fraud, he absolutely deserves the bad review!


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## Spider Strike (Dec 22, 2011)

For the benefit of the hobby you need to drag this guy over the coals and expose him. Sorry to hear of your bad experience.


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## groovyspider (Dec 22, 2011)

In response to the title of this thread, i power up an go super sayian 3 :3


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## Jenthevet (Dec 22, 2011)

groovyspider said:


> In response to the title of this thread, i power up an go super sayian 3 :3


LOL!  Good idea.


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## jbm150 (Dec 22, 2011)

groovyspider said:


> In response to the title of this thread, i power up an go super sayian 3 :3


I'm sorry but that is a completely unhelpful response to the OP.





SSJ2 is more than sufficient


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## xchondrox (Dec 22, 2011)

I am going to make one post here and explain this 'situation'.

Genny did pay $60 for express 'FEDEX" shipping. Sunday she told me via pm that she did not want to do a 'hold for pick-up' at a FedEx location which I always preffer to do so we whent the delivery route. Monday i got off work and hurried home to pack everyone up as i had 3 other orders going out as well as hers. When i whent to finalize the shipment on the fedex site it said "FEDEX OVERNITE SERVICE UNAVAILBLE TO LOCATION" I checked on here to see if she was online so i could let her know and she wasnt. I had no other contact info for her availible and i had told her that i would be shipping Monday so i did thru my next best option FedEx 2day. I whent over all of this with her already and agreed to send her the difference in shipping charges back, of which i do still owe her a $11 check. Genny its in the mail sorry its a few days late. 

For you that can't believe that i would charge so much for shipping. GO CHECK YOUR USPS SHIPPING REGULATIONS! I had 2 postal inspectors at my house 2wks prior to this. They made it pretty cut and dry, read right from the regs! Its a Federal Misdemeanor to ship Tarantulas thru the mail. I can'legally' ship thru FedEx, yes its twice the price but i dont face fines, legal fees, and possible jail time for doing so. Think im wrong pm me and ill send you the inspectors contact info and he can tell you!

As for the Versicolor, I told Genny that it was a small adult female that was about 4.25" fully strected out. She molted about 2 months ago and is still in the prime breeding window. Genny had pm'd me after receiving them and said all but the versi looked ok and that it looked like it had a 'wet molt', I replied back to her that it was probably just dehydrated and wasnt recently molted or anything and was fine before i packed her up. By making this statement i meant that it hadnt molted in the last week or something giving it that type of appearence! Im guessing it was just dehydrated like i had originally thought or we would've already heard otherwise already. 

The Irminia's you really dont have anything to complain about here. One is a large adult female, The other a small adult female. Both were paired with my male.  

Whats really funny is that she could have picked up a phone and called me at any time but chose to drag this crap out here, lol! 


Happy Holidays to All!
Corey


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## Toogledoo (Dec 22, 2011)

xchondrox said:


> I am going to make one post here and explain this 'situation'.
> 
> Genny did pay $60 for express 'FEDEX" shipping. Sunday she told me via pm that she did not want to do a 'hold for pick-up' at a FedEx location which I always preffer to do so we whent the delivery route. Monday i got off work and hurried home to pack everyone up as i had 3 other orders going out as well as hers. When i whent to finalize the shipment on the fedex site it said "FEDEX OVERNITE SERVICE UNAVAILBLE TO LOCATION" I checked on here to see if she was online so i could let her know and she wasnt. I had no other contact info for her availible and i had told her that i would be shipping Monday so i did thru my next best option FedEx 2day. I whent over all of this with her already and agreed to send her the difference in shipping charges back, of which i do still owe her a $11 check. Genny its in the mail sorry its a few days late.
> 
> ...


Yet you chose to ignore me. You should message me and we should discuss this privately. Also, I did not have your number. Thanks!


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## Arachnopets (Dec 22, 2011)

*Admin Note:*



Toogledoo said:


> <snip>You should message me and we should discuss this privately. <snip>


EXACTLY what she said. We're done here.

Debby


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