Could someone please tell me if I am out of line

[jmcmahon66]

Ouch. Even with a major burn on my end, I am still a big fan of shipping. I have purchased numerous corals from individuals such as Matt Hopper, and Miguel from Fragglereef. We do not have such a grand selection in my area with a few exceptions. I have had shipping disasters happen, but never with a deadbeat seller like this.

 

[andyman]

Thats a tough one.. Sounds like he should atleast refund you some money since shipping is out of his control. He should have checked the weather but its not required.

 

[reefer on a budget]

shipping in the winter is always a no no...been screwed too many times buying and selling during this time. bad weather, ups and fed being extremely busy during the holidays are all a recipe for disaster.
what ive done in the past was replace the frags at some point with the seller paying for shipping. its really a no win situation for both parties but just part of the game when shipping live corals. i dont think the seller is at fault since shipping screw-ups are mainly out of his/her control but usually both can make arangemetns to settle things out and come to an understanding.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Yeah that's an iffy question there... On one hand the snow storm was a last minute thing... on the other hand its not like those are rare in your area in December, you should know your own locale as far as shipping conditions. Then make sure the person who's shipping knows how to pack them, if it's just some dude fragging from his tank then you can NOT expect him to know how many heat packs or other things to make it pack well.

Also as ROAB mentioned, shipping during the winter? No No especially in an area that gets snow!

 

[jmcmahon66]

ROAB and sfsuphysics- all good points and well taken. I would just like to add that it was 63 degree in Chicago the day the corals was supposed to be delivered. The delay was not my idea, nor would I have wanted shipping during "winter weather". With the unseasonably warm weather, I guess I tried to sneak one last shipment in before the holidays.

 

[jmcmahon66]

As a final update, the seller finally did contact me and made an offer that was acceptable to both of us. He then PMd me a few minutes later and retracted the offer as he did not like my attitude and that this thread has been made public. I am now filing a complaint with my credit card company that supplies my paypal account. I would like to thank your group for some great advice and opinions from a better climate.
Regards,
Joe

 

[dannieboiz]

That was just a lame excuse not to live up with his word. I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut b4 I say something wrong. :mad2: good luck

 

[jmcmahon66]

I don't know if it is against policy to post PMs. If so, mods please remove this.

Here is my last PM to the seller:
quote:

jmcmahon66 wrote on 12/07/2006 06:19 PM:
Lam,

Please let me know your final decision as to how to settle this. If your offer stands, I will accept it; if you do not want to honor it I will go the credit card route as previously mentioned. I would appreciate a timely reply.
Thank you,
Joe

Here is his response:

Joe,
You know what, go ahead and file a report. I did my part and a third party screw up. I tried to offer replacements, but you continue to try and bash my name. That's why they are opinions, everyone has one. I really don't care what Miquel has to say. He does not know the whole story, which you are twisting and turning to benefit you. Please continue to do that. I will let you know what I will do with your micros, if I decide to ship them. Maybe I will sell them and donate the money. Maybe you will like that. And please continue and do what you are doing. That is making the problem alot easier to fix. Cheers.

It looks like my micros are going to charity, at leasy they will be tax deductible.

 

[sfsuphysics]

wow what a butthead. You never mentioned him by name, yet he say you "bashing his name", I personally would go the route of bashing now and post his username.

 

[Elite]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=981175

:rollface:

 

[dots]

This is pretty much the reason why I won't buy corals online....EVER.

Drive to the store, pick them out to insure quality, and drive them home VERY FAST to your tank. I get nervous picking up stuff in the SF Bay and driving them two hours. I would expect white sticks after being shipped. I think anytime it is a success, luck is on our side.

I think if people are going to mail order, I think this is going to be a risk that is going to have to have a consequence of failure once in the while. Perhaps another mode of shipper that caters specificly to this type of service.........Do they throw donor hearts for transplants into the belly of a 747 with grandmas fruit cake and your Sports Illustrator football phone? This is a fragile, perishible item that that may not be shipped the best mode of transportation to begin with.

Though it may be a rare coral to you, to the shipper its just another brown box to be thrown on and off the plane, be it 100 or 0 degrees, between the union mandated breaks.

Sorry this happened, but I think its a risky thing to ship these sensitive corals in the first place, and it is quite possible unreasonable or just plain impossibe to garuntee the coral is alive when you get it.

Was there not a local source or within driving distance for you to get the coral yourself, before you decided on this risky venture? Because one would have to admit this is a life and death situation, for the coral, and transporting it by these means is very risky IMO.

 

[Sharkie06]

why is everyone upset at the seller? fedex was 3 day late . i understand the buyer being mad and upset but this happen way to often in this hobby cause of the carrier not living to to" next day ".
i feel for the buyer but fedex won't refund cause it's state here:
"Fed Ex does not accept live animal shipments per their Terms and conditions. You can debate what is a live animal but they will not accept this claim.
Here is a link:
http://www.fedex.com/us/services/sh...mbg.html?link=4".

as for people here on our forum calling other "butthead" , please would you like it if i call you that and i don't even know you ?

 

[jmcmahon66]

Thanks for the input Sharkie06. If you read this thread from the beginning, I did not mention the seller by name even when requested to. The seller identified himself and his comments confirmed that he is uninterested in making things right for me. The entire thread is not to recoup my corals as I know that is not going to happen, it is to warn others. There is no doubt that Fedex screwed up. I said that pages ago, the issue was the seller's defiance to help rectify the situation by providing a partial refund/replacement corals. The seller did not ship on the intended date when weather was clear, and the packing was poor... so poor that fedex repackaged the leaking box. Even after a replacement deal was agreed upon, he backed out again. As for the "butthead" comment by another reefer, that is reference to the seller informing me that he is going to sell my micros and give the money to charity, or he may not send them to me at all. This thread obviously has nothing to do with Fedex.

Sacramentodots-the corals were micros and a Tyree watermelon. There is no local stores or even individuals in my area with such corals. Shipping from the West Coast is necessary to get these.

 

[dots]

Ahh.....another benifit of California........at least there is a few left.

I would assume they will get there eventually. Maybe you should make a trek once in a while, stock up and bring them back yourself to insure the survival?

 

[jmcmahon66]

I am moving to Oahu in June 2007. No reef tanks allowed there, but I can always go into my big blue backyard! I might set up a nice FO tank and see if I can keep the elusive Moorish Idol. I understand they cost about $15 there and are eating like crazy. We'll see. Have a great Holiday guys, I do appreciate the input.