[Warning] Julian "Juju" Rodman

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
443
Just looked at all your screenshots. This guy literally speaks like he's a 9th grade freshman. Hopefully everyone that sees your screenshots will quit dealing with the guy on the simple fact that he's ignorant. I wouldn't want to send hundreds of dollars to a guy over the internet that can't even complete a single word correctly. Hopefully you don't let this goofball discourage you, and your next transaction goes a lot better.
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
443
Also just noticed the guy dropped your package off super late. I personally haven't shipped ANY live animals, but I thought it was pretty common knowledge to drop them off as early as possible.
 
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Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
Also just noticed the guy dropped your package off super late. I personally haven't shipped ANY live animals, but I thought it was pretty common knowledge to drop them off as early as possible.
Eh... to think that I've packed, shipped - and completely for free with a "next day" parcel - 24 S.subspinipes pedelings just recently, leads me to think that I have to learn a couple of things from the likes of "juju" :-s
 

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
506
Just looked at all your screenshots. This guy literally speaks like he's a 9th grade freshman. Hopefully everyone that sees your screenshots will quit dealing with the guy on the simple fact that he's ignorant. I wouldn't want to send hundreds of dollars to a guy over the internet that can't even complete a single word correctly. Hopefully you don't let this goofball discourage you, and your next transaction goes a lot better.
Come on... can't we expect more of our freshman?!? :)

I am not discouraged... already fully re-addicted, and trying to explain to my wife that every spider needs two containers.
 

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
506
Also just noticed the guy dropped your package off super late. I personally haven't shipped ANY live animals, but I thought it was pretty common knowledge to drop them off as early as possible.
Dude everything about this guy sucked. He's literally been blaming me for not picking them up at the hub now, where the spider arrived 3 hours before it was delivered. The thing smelled dead when it arrived. No clue what three hours would have done to save it.

Eh... to think that I've packed, shipped - and completely for free with a "next day" parcel - 24 S.subspinipes pedelings just recently, leads me to think that I have to learn a couple of things from the likes of "juju" :-s
He chose two day over overnight to save $16!! What, like 12 Euro? And then he told me it was my fault because I didn't send him enough for overnight!!!
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
443
Dude everything about this guy sucked. He's literally been blaming me for not picking them up at the hub now, where the spider arrived 3 hours before it was delivered. The thing smelled dead when it arrived. No clue what three hours would have done to save it.
That's insane... I wonder how in the world that guy managed to get any positive reviews at all. I guess that just goes to show how much supply and demand can have an effect on something. Someone in the hobby here needs to start focusing largely on just Theraphosa breeding so people don't have to deal with crap like that.
 

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
506
That's insane... I wonder how in the world that guy managed to get any positive reviews at all. I guess that just goes to show how much supply and demand can have an effect on something. Someone in the hobby here needs to start focusing largely on just Theraphosa breeding so people don't have to deal with crap like that.
The last bit was my bad - I wanted a big female to display in my office... still do, but I knew the big importers didn't have any, but I sill chose to buy this dingdongs fairy tails. He's just buying stuff from Strictly in Florida... whatever they happen to hand him. I should have known better and waited for someone with a LTC willing to sell it.

As to the first - it's a combination of novice buyers (and I acted like one) and Juju bullying people into not leaving negative reviews. All of the best sellers here have negative reviews, but the vast majority of their customers are happy. Any seller who tries to do anything but make you happy, or apologizes for a negative experience and tells their side of the story is questionable. Anyone who makes a positive review a prequisite for their terms of service is a scammer. That's what this guys is.
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
443
The last bit was my bad - I wanted a big female to display in my office... still do, but I knew the big importers didn't have any, but I sill chose to buy this dingdongs fairy tails. He's just buying stuff from Strictly in Florida... whatever they happen to hand him. I should have known better and waited for someone with a LTC willing to sell it.

As to the first - it's a combination of novice buyers (and I acted like one) and Juju bullying people into not leaving negative reviews. All of the best sellers here have negative reviews, but the vast majority of their customers are happy. Any seller who tries to do anything but make you happy, or apologizes for a negative experience and tells their side of the story is questionable. Anyone who makes a positive review a prequisite for their terms of service is a scammer. That's what this guys is.
Well in your defense, the dingdong had positive reviews and what you wanted. Wasn't much you could've done to know what kinda garbage he was about to pull.

I'm sure your post here will do some damage to his "business" along with wherever else you post this. Hopefully he won't have anymore buyers to bully into making positive reviews or at least a lot less of them.
 

Cassiusstein

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 9, 2016
Messages
102
Just finished going through everything, what trash. I starting keeping reptiles when I was 10 and got taken advantage of by people like him a lot at my young age. Nothing worse.
 

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
506
Just finished going through everything, what trash. I starting keeping reptiles when I was 10 and got taken advantage of by people like him a lot at my young age. Nothing worse.
Agreed... that's clearly his game. All of the people who left him reviews were obviously novice. My guess is he's had plenty of unhappy customers who were too scared to leave negative feedback for fear of being bashed. That's actually what happened to one person when he did leave negative feedback.
 

RTTB

Arachnoprince
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
1,771
I just read this horrible happening and got mad reading it. Sounds like the dudes a corrupt rip off bullshit artist. I would be borderline homicidal if I paid that kind of money and received a dead rotting spider in return.
 

Tony

Arachno-pragmatarian
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
1,019
You are in Fla.. Where was he shipping from? I only ask because for some strange reason, I feel like this guy is an old time scammer from the NE...like around Rhode Island
 
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Exoskeleton Invertebrates

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
1,101
The last bit was my bad - I wanted a big female to display in my office... still do, but I knew the big importers didn't have any, but I sill chose to buy this dingdongs fairy tails. He's just buying stuff from Strictly in Florida... whatever they happen to hand him. I should have known better and waited for someone with a LTC willing to sell it.

As to the first - it's a combination of novice buyers (and I acted like one) and Juju bullying people into not leaving negative reviews. All of the best sellers here have negative reviews, but the vast majority of their customers are happy. Any seller who tries to do anything but make you happy, or apologizes for a negative experience and tells their side of the story is questionable. Anyone who makes a positive review a prequisite for their terms of service is a scammer. That's what this guys is.
Pat, you're incorrect. I can not agree with that statement. There are a few dealers here who may have only 1 or 2 negative reviews who are great dealers, but I know myself and Joe Rossi who do not have a negative review and it is for the right reasons. We both have many revivews, list our numbers publicly, and open up conversation to all and always strive for 100% costumer satisfaction. I am sorry about your dealings, only wish you the best, but can not agree with that statement when you state "all".

I could have easily told you not to deal with JuJu, yes he does get his spiders from Strictly Reptiles same place where I can get spiders from. JuJu does an old trick that Todd Hearheart invented years ago, tells people he has the spiders, ask for the funds upfront than tries to purchase from the importer and when he fails to get the merchandise than he looks to you and says, no longer available will put your funds for store credit. This is where some sellers fail to deliver cause merchandise is no longer available, and the buyer looses.

I personally can get jumbo adult stirmi anytime I want and only when I want to make my order through my importers that carry them. Some of you guys decide to purchase from certain individuals, which I will never understand "WHY"? Personal preference I guess.

Yes JuJu is bad news I maybe friends with him on Facebook but I wiould never buy from him, I've caught him red handed with his lies. I also have documented proof where he states that he has certain species and that he can take photos of them. Nope he can't, Strickly Reptiles prohibited anyone taking photos of their animals. He is full of crap.

Strickly Reptiles does not guarantee their animals, once you purchase the animal from them it's yours regardless of the circumstances that you think you may have. I know this for a fact.
 
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Stugy

Arachnolord
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
649
I personally can get jumbo adult stirmi anytime I want and only when I want to make my order through my importers that carry them. Some of you guys decide to purchase from certain individuals, which I will never understand "WHY"? Personal preference I guess.
Because importing is annoying lol. When I buy inverts, I use up every bit of money I have to make the shipping price feel not as costly (shipping prices are the bane of my existence. And Red from Pokemon Heartgold/Soulsiver. But that's different lol)
 

Comatose

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
506
Pat, you're incorrect. I can not agree with that statement. There are a few dealers here who may have only 1 or 2 negative reviews who are great dealers, but I know myself and Joe Rossi who do not have a negative review and it is for the right reasons. We both have many revivews, list our numbers publicly, and open up conversation to all and always strive for 100% costumer satisfaction. I am sorry about your dealings, only wish you the best, but can not agree with that statement when you state "all".
Firstly, sorry for dragging this back up, but I just noticed it and felt it merits a reply. I didn't mean anything personal - I never had any negative reviews. I simply meant it's reasonable to expect that even the best dealers will bump into customers they cannot satisfy.

As to your comment about why I chose to deal with Julian, or why I didn't deal with you, it's simply because he was the only one I was familiar with who claimed he could get them. If I were aware of you or any other legitimate dealer, I'd certainly have gone that route.

Juju blocked me on FB, and I haven't heard anything else about/from him. He never made things right with my money, and I'm hoping the silence means he's moved on to a new scam and left the hobby.
 

Haksilence

Bad At Titles
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Dec 6, 2015
Messages
405
Firstly, sorry for dragging this back up, but I just noticed it and felt it merits a reply. I didn't mean anything personal - I never had any negative reviews. I simply meant it's reasonable to expect that even the best dealers will bump into customers they cannot satisfy.

As to your comment about why I chose to deal with Julian, or why I didn't deal with you, it's simply because he was the only one I was familiar with who claimed he could get them. If I were aware of you or any other legitimate dealer, I'd certainly have gone that route.

Juju blocked me on FB, and I haven't heard anything else about/from him. He never made things right with my money, and I'm hoping the silence means he's moved on to a new scam and left the hobby.

Nope he's still trolling around the various Facebook groups toting his drop shipped misidentified stock
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
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Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
He's also a conviceted felon with a penchant for armed robbery, and a hilariously bad MMA reject.
 
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