- Joined
- Aug 25, 2004
- Messages
- 506
As far as I know this guy doesn't post here, but he's active in the some the FB groups and I thought it made sense to warn the community here.
Dealing with Julian Rodmann - Juju S Rodman on the Facebook groups - has been the worst experience I've ever had buying a spider. In nearly 20 years of buying spiders online I've never come across someone as dishonest, unprofessional and utterly incompetent as him. The following is an a short overview, as well as a detailed writeup of the experience. If I get the refund due to me I'll update, but it wouldn't change my advice to avoid this person at all costs. I've included screenshots of every single message we exchanged as well as the fedex tracking info, three videos of the upacking process and the DOA spider I received, and a link to dozens of 100% positive reviews from the old AB reviews section.
The whole story:
I contacted Juju in mid December about the "Jumbo" T. stirmi he had listed, and told him that I was only looking for a massive individual, specifically 9-10 inches. He initially said he had 8-9 inchers, but then told me he said he could find me a solid 9 incher. We went back and forth and I told him I'd *only* be interested in one over 9 inches, and I wanted a picture before proceeding. Having spent a couple years selling spiders myself, I know that there are a lot of tire kickers out there, so I tried to be as up front as possible about what I wanted, and said I'd pay immediately if I got a pic confirming size.
He told me that he would have his partner take a pic to save himself gas, and eventually he sent me a shot of a T. stirmi with nothing for size reference. When I asked him if it was a 9 incher, he said "like 8.5". At that point I was a little annoyed, and a few days later thanked him for his time and asked him to let me know when he got his next shipment in, and that I'd take the biggest one he got.
At this point he said "Okay, I'll go get it for you", and when I asked from where he said the same thing he'd said before - from his, or his partners shop (or shed). He said he was "the go to guy" for stirmi, had over 200 on hand, and while I knew that probably wasn't true, stirmi aren't that hard to get, so I figured what the heck. We went back and forth on size, and while his waffling should have set off warnings (they don't get 10 inches, they die quickly when they're that size etc) he said he did have 5 that were 9-9.5 inches. I hadn't had any luck despite posting want-to-buy listings everywhere, so I figured I'd be happy with 9".
I told him I'd take one, if he could take a picture. At this point he again complained that he couldn't keep burning gas driving back and forth, and that "if it's 9 inches it's 9 inches bro". He emphasized his positive reviews, and assured me I'd be happy. I guess I should have asked why his partner couldn't just take a picture, but like I said, I've sold tarantulas, I know how hard it is to deal with tire kickers, and I didn't want to come off as wasting the guys time. Looking back I shouldn't have even proceeded this far.
Anyway, I told him I'd send the money immediately if he took a picture as soon as he got her, and that if I wasn't satisfied he'd return the money without shipping. If I was, he agreed he'd ship that day. He agreed, and I sent him my cell number, telling him I'd be available all morning starting at 6 the next day, and that I'd reply immediately. Finally, I asked for FedEx instead of USPS, specifically to get it to me faster and he quoted me $50 rather than $30. I paid the total - $190 - a little before 6 on the evening of Tuesday, December 20.
The next day around noon I hadn't heard from him and asked for the picture. He told me that he'd been busy taking other pictures, but that he could "scoop it up tomorrow" if I really wanted it, but that for whatever reason he couldn't provide a picture. At this point I was confused, and asked why he couldn't ship that day as agreed. He responded "bro, you haven't even paid me yet." He then said he hadn't brought the spider home; just set it aside.
I was baffled. I sent him the transaction ID, and reminded him that he'd acknowledged receipt the night before. At this point he remembered, and said he meant I didn't sent it until after 6, which is apparently a cutoff. I told him to scroll up to where he said he got the payment just before 6. He responded that he meant he didn't transfer the money to his bank until after 6, and it would therefore take an extra day.
This, again, should have been a huge warning signal to me, and I should have asked for the refund per our agreement. Instead, I told him to just wait until Monday to ship, since he was now talking about shipped the Thursday before Christmas weekend. He actually argued with me, but finally agreed that Monday would be best. I fully acknowledge that proceeding at this point was a stupid, stupid move.
On Monday we both realized that Fedex was closed, so he said he'd ship Tuesday (Dec 27). I was somewhat busy with work that day, so I didn't check in for a tracking number, I just assumed he'd sent it off as we'd agreed. Then I got a message from him Tuesday night just before 8 saying he'd shipped it, and that it would be there Thursday. At this point I was angry, told him we had a snow storm coming Thursday, and asked why it would take two days.
He said it was "technically one day" and inferred that it was because he'd shipped it so late, but a quick tracking check confirmed that he'd shipped Fedex Two Day. When I asked why, he said that next day air would have been $16 more than I sent him (he erroneously thought I sent $55 for shipping; I actually sent $50; Next Day Air would have been $66 so I'm using the correct number here for clarity).
At this point I was livid. I asked him why he didn't just spot the $16 and ask me for it via paypal, and why he thought I specifically requested more expensive shipping service. He just kept repeating that "it's not technically two days bro" despite the fact that that's the name of the service! When I pushed him on it, he said I was taking this too seriously, and it wasn't like this was a big order for him. At that point I thought I couldn't get any more ticked off about the situation, he dropped this bomb:
"ok then why didnt u check how m,uch it would be for a medium box to florida???????????/"
What the actual hell is that?!? He actually said that if I wanted the service he quoted me a dollar amount for, I should have checked the price myself based the size of box he planned to use. That's a direct quote from him. Please check my screenshots below to confirm.
While he was working on his bewildering defense of his actions I talked to Fedex Customer Service for 20 minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to get an upgrade in service. At this point we both agreed that it was best not to debate something out of our control so I told him I'd let him know what happened when the spider arrived.
That brings us to Thursday, December 29. Check the videos below for your own edification. I recorded the entire unpacking experience. My wife met the fedex driver at the door (it was not left) and brought it directly to me. Please see the timestamps on the screenshots I took, which start at 27 minutes after she was delivered. I was taking unpacking and taking videos during that time.
Predictably, the spider was dead. There was no styro packaging, and the heatpack was cold. When I opened the cup she was in I immediately noted the smell of decaying animal material and saw a large, soaked in poop on the wet paper towel and newspaper. She was upside down and motionless in the death curl (ie, not molting) position, and didn't appear to be in premolt.
I placed her in the enclosure I had ready for her (see 4th video) and left her there for roughly 12 hours before finally putting her my freezer. To add insult to injury, she's nowhere near 9". 8" would be generous (again, 4th video). Getting a spider smaller than I expected would have been annoying, but had she been alive and I'd simply have blamed myself for proceeding with such an obviously shady character. Instead I was out the money and spider, and the two weeks I wasted trying to make this work.
When I told Julian about the DOA he asked for a fourth video (see our discussion - the first three were sent to him when I told him) and I said I was only interested in a refund at this point. He agreed, but only if I didn't leave a negative review. I told I'd already done that (most of what you've read above), but I'd I'd change it to neutral and delete the details if he refunded the entire $190. We went back and forth, with him calling me "difficult" and he eventually left it by calling me a "d*ck", and said I'd get my "sh*t" back.
During the day I heard from several people confirming he simply buys from Strictly Reptiles in Florida - he doesn't have anything on hand, he doesn't have a 'partner' and simply talks a big game. When you send Juju money, he goes to a massive importer, takes what they hand him, and sends it to you. It's the way some people do business, but it's incredibly dishonest to misrepresent yourself as someone who has 200 stirmi on hand when you have zero.
At any rate after his last message (around 11 IIRC; see the timestamps) I didn't hear from him until around 9-10 he changed his tune and began posting publicly. He messaged me as well, but I told him I wouldn't respond and that I'd post everything he said.. He called crazy, accused me of everything he did, invented Terms of Service which were never in any of his ads, changed them repeatedly and repeatedly said I'd only get a refund if I deleted my reviews.. He continued to blame me for "choosing 2 day", which he choseand repeatedly defended, weather I warned him about, and suggested I was blackmailing him. Again, please read all our correspondence and comments. I'm not making this up.
On December 30 he continued responding to a post that's since been deleted. Around noon I got a warning from FB that I'd violated their terms of service, and that I couldn't comment or message for 24 hours. This is scammer 101 - he'd repeatedly asked moderators to delete comments critical of him and demanded I take reviews down. Please also note these reviews were posted with permission from forum/group moderators. This is specifically the result of Juju repeatedly flagging my posts and comments as "abusive" while he suggested I was mentally ill.
Since then he's continued badmouthing me, accusing everyone else of bashing him, and insisting he's the good guy and every other customer he has loves him (again, Scammer 101). Eventually he actually sent a refund - I was stunned - but it was declined by his bank twice. PayPal suggested I just reach out to him. Ha!
I feel like an idiot for proceeding with this transaction despite all the warnings signs. I blame myself for not googling him or more thoroughly checking him out. Like I said, I've sold lots of spiders, I know how tire kickers can destroy your passion for the hobby, and I didn't want to be one. It's been a long time since I've been in the hobby, and damn has this been a crappy way to get back in.
Do not buy from Juju Rodman. Several people have indeed chimed in with positive experiences, but I don't understand why you'd take the chance. Other, more competent reptile sellers can sell you the exact same stock, and better yet, real Tarantula/invert sellers can provide you with superior stock, knowledge and service.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, or if anything is missing please let me know. I may have missed a few screenshots, so don't hesitate to let me know if something is missing.
My reviews: http://arachnoboards.com/…/patrick-c...matose.211045/
Full unpacking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8tC...ature=youtu.be
Checking for life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MORs...ature=youtu.be
Measurement of the spider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFNO...ature=youtu.be
Fourth video requested by Juju:
Here's a link to 37 screenshots - when you get the pictures of booze the show's over.
http://s100.photobucket.com/user/Pad...?sort=3&page=1
Dealing with Julian Rodmann - Juju S Rodman on the Facebook groups - has been the worst experience I've ever had buying a spider. In nearly 20 years of buying spiders online I've never come across someone as dishonest, unprofessional and utterly incompetent as him. The following is an a short overview, as well as a detailed writeup of the experience. If I get the refund due to me I'll update, but it wouldn't change my advice to avoid this person at all costs. I've included screenshots of every single message we exchanged as well as the fedex tracking info, three videos of the upacking process and the DOA spider I received, and a link to dozens of 100% positive reviews from the old AB reviews section.
The whole story:
I contacted Juju in mid December about the "Jumbo" T. stirmi he had listed, and told him that I was only looking for a massive individual, specifically 9-10 inches. He initially said he had 8-9 inchers, but then told me he said he could find me a solid 9 incher. We went back and forth and I told him I'd *only* be interested in one over 9 inches, and I wanted a picture before proceeding. Having spent a couple years selling spiders myself, I know that there are a lot of tire kickers out there, so I tried to be as up front as possible about what I wanted, and said I'd pay immediately if I got a pic confirming size.
He told me that he would have his partner take a pic to save himself gas, and eventually he sent me a shot of a T. stirmi with nothing for size reference. When I asked him if it was a 9 incher, he said "like 8.5". At that point I was a little annoyed, and a few days later thanked him for his time and asked him to let me know when he got his next shipment in, and that I'd take the biggest one he got.
At this point he said "Okay, I'll go get it for you", and when I asked from where he said the same thing he'd said before - from his, or his partners shop (or shed). He said he was "the go to guy" for stirmi, had over 200 on hand, and while I knew that probably wasn't true, stirmi aren't that hard to get, so I figured what the heck. We went back and forth on size, and while his waffling should have set off warnings (they don't get 10 inches, they die quickly when they're that size etc) he said he did have 5 that were 9-9.5 inches. I hadn't had any luck despite posting want-to-buy listings everywhere, so I figured I'd be happy with 9".
I told him I'd take one, if he could take a picture. At this point he again complained that he couldn't keep burning gas driving back and forth, and that "if it's 9 inches it's 9 inches bro". He emphasized his positive reviews, and assured me I'd be happy. I guess I should have asked why his partner couldn't just take a picture, but like I said, I've sold tarantulas, I know how hard it is to deal with tire kickers, and I didn't want to come off as wasting the guys time. Looking back I shouldn't have even proceeded this far.
Anyway, I told him I'd send the money immediately if he took a picture as soon as he got her, and that if I wasn't satisfied he'd return the money without shipping. If I was, he agreed he'd ship that day. He agreed, and I sent him my cell number, telling him I'd be available all morning starting at 6 the next day, and that I'd reply immediately. Finally, I asked for FedEx instead of USPS, specifically to get it to me faster and he quoted me $50 rather than $30. I paid the total - $190 - a little before 6 on the evening of Tuesday, December 20.
The next day around noon I hadn't heard from him and asked for the picture. He told me that he'd been busy taking other pictures, but that he could "scoop it up tomorrow" if I really wanted it, but that for whatever reason he couldn't provide a picture. At this point I was confused, and asked why he couldn't ship that day as agreed. He responded "bro, you haven't even paid me yet." He then said he hadn't brought the spider home; just set it aside.
I was baffled. I sent him the transaction ID, and reminded him that he'd acknowledged receipt the night before. At this point he remembered, and said he meant I didn't sent it until after 6, which is apparently a cutoff. I told him to scroll up to where he said he got the payment just before 6. He responded that he meant he didn't transfer the money to his bank until after 6, and it would therefore take an extra day.
This, again, should have been a huge warning signal to me, and I should have asked for the refund per our agreement. Instead, I told him to just wait until Monday to ship, since he was now talking about shipped the Thursday before Christmas weekend. He actually argued with me, but finally agreed that Monday would be best. I fully acknowledge that proceeding at this point was a stupid, stupid move.
On Monday we both realized that Fedex was closed, so he said he'd ship Tuesday (Dec 27). I was somewhat busy with work that day, so I didn't check in for a tracking number, I just assumed he'd sent it off as we'd agreed. Then I got a message from him Tuesday night just before 8 saying he'd shipped it, and that it would be there Thursday. At this point I was angry, told him we had a snow storm coming Thursday, and asked why it would take two days.
He said it was "technically one day" and inferred that it was because he'd shipped it so late, but a quick tracking check confirmed that he'd shipped Fedex Two Day. When I asked why, he said that next day air would have been $16 more than I sent him (he erroneously thought I sent $55 for shipping; I actually sent $50; Next Day Air would have been $66 so I'm using the correct number here for clarity).
At this point I was livid. I asked him why he didn't just spot the $16 and ask me for it via paypal, and why he thought I specifically requested more expensive shipping service. He just kept repeating that "it's not technically two days bro" despite the fact that that's the name of the service! When I pushed him on it, he said I was taking this too seriously, and it wasn't like this was a big order for him. At that point I thought I couldn't get any more ticked off about the situation, he dropped this bomb:
"ok then why didnt u check how m,uch it would be for a medium box to florida???????????/"
What the actual hell is that?!? He actually said that if I wanted the service he quoted me a dollar amount for, I should have checked the price myself based the size of box he planned to use. That's a direct quote from him. Please check my screenshots below to confirm.
While he was working on his bewildering defense of his actions I talked to Fedex Customer Service for 20 minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to get an upgrade in service. At this point we both agreed that it was best not to debate something out of our control so I told him I'd let him know what happened when the spider arrived.
That brings us to Thursday, December 29. Check the videos below for your own edification. I recorded the entire unpacking experience. My wife met the fedex driver at the door (it was not left) and brought it directly to me. Please see the timestamps on the screenshots I took, which start at 27 minutes after she was delivered. I was taking unpacking and taking videos during that time.
Predictably, the spider was dead. There was no styro packaging, and the heatpack was cold. When I opened the cup she was in I immediately noted the smell of decaying animal material and saw a large, soaked in poop on the wet paper towel and newspaper. She was upside down and motionless in the death curl (ie, not molting) position, and didn't appear to be in premolt.
I placed her in the enclosure I had ready for her (see 4th video) and left her there for roughly 12 hours before finally putting her my freezer. To add insult to injury, she's nowhere near 9". 8" would be generous (again, 4th video). Getting a spider smaller than I expected would have been annoying, but had she been alive and I'd simply have blamed myself for proceeding with such an obviously shady character. Instead I was out the money and spider, and the two weeks I wasted trying to make this work.
When I told Julian about the DOA he asked for a fourth video (see our discussion - the first three were sent to him when I told him) and I said I was only interested in a refund at this point. He agreed, but only if I didn't leave a negative review. I told I'd already done that (most of what you've read above), but I'd I'd change it to neutral and delete the details if he refunded the entire $190. We went back and forth, with him calling me "difficult" and he eventually left it by calling me a "d*ck", and said I'd get my "sh*t" back.
During the day I heard from several people confirming he simply buys from Strictly Reptiles in Florida - he doesn't have anything on hand, he doesn't have a 'partner' and simply talks a big game. When you send Juju money, he goes to a massive importer, takes what they hand him, and sends it to you. It's the way some people do business, but it's incredibly dishonest to misrepresent yourself as someone who has 200 stirmi on hand when you have zero.
At any rate after his last message (around 11 IIRC; see the timestamps) I didn't hear from him until around 9-10 he changed his tune and began posting publicly. He messaged me as well, but I told him I wouldn't respond and that I'd post everything he said.. He called crazy, accused me of everything he did, invented Terms of Service which were never in any of his ads, changed them repeatedly and repeatedly said I'd only get a refund if I deleted my reviews.. He continued to blame me for "choosing 2 day", which he choseand repeatedly defended, weather I warned him about, and suggested I was blackmailing him. Again, please read all our correspondence and comments. I'm not making this up.
On December 30 he continued responding to a post that's since been deleted. Around noon I got a warning from FB that I'd violated their terms of service, and that I couldn't comment or message for 24 hours. This is scammer 101 - he'd repeatedly asked moderators to delete comments critical of him and demanded I take reviews down. Please also note these reviews were posted with permission from forum/group moderators. This is specifically the result of Juju repeatedly flagging my posts and comments as "abusive" while he suggested I was mentally ill.
Since then he's continued badmouthing me, accusing everyone else of bashing him, and insisting he's the good guy and every other customer he has loves him (again, Scammer 101). Eventually he actually sent a refund - I was stunned - but it was declined by his bank twice. PayPal suggested I just reach out to him. Ha!
I feel like an idiot for proceeding with this transaction despite all the warnings signs. I blame myself for not googling him or more thoroughly checking him out. Like I said, I've sold lots of spiders, I know how tire kickers can destroy your passion for the hobby, and I didn't want to be one. It's been a long time since I've been in the hobby, and damn has this been a crappy way to get back in.
Do not buy from Juju Rodman. Several people have indeed chimed in with positive experiences, but I don't understand why you'd take the chance. Other, more competent reptile sellers can sell you the exact same stock, and better yet, real Tarantula/invert sellers can provide you with superior stock, knowledge and service.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, or if anything is missing please let me know. I may have missed a few screenshots, so don't hesitate to let me know if something is missing.
My reviews: http://arachnoboards.com/…/patrick-c...matose.211045/
Full unpacking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8tC...ature=youtu.be
Checking for life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MORs...ature=youtu.be
Measurement of the spider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFNO...ature=youtu.be
Fourth video requested by Juju:
Here's a link to 37 screenshots - when you get the pictures of booze the show's over.
http://s100.photobucket.com/user/Pad...?sort=3&page=1
