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but I also think it was worth it.

I posted an ad on the classifieds for the baby Brazilians.At the end of the ad I stated,"Plenty of references available(all fake,but still available)."

I received a snotty e-mail today from someone who stated that I should be turned in to kingsnake for providing fake references.I sort of felt like I was a character in Bob and Tom's Mr.Obvious or something,but I e-mailed her back,stating that the references were real.I should have just ended it there,but being the major wise-ass that I am,I ended the conversation with a comment that although the references were authentic,the snakes were all dead..frozen solid.I thought maybe she could now discern that I was just kidding,but NOOOO.She e-mailed be back stating that that was illegal and she would never purchase anything from me.

I sat down and wrote an e-mail explaining that I had an off the wall sense of humor and that I was just having fun,but before I pushed send,I erased the message and sent her another that said that I was lying and that the references and snakes were real,but that I keep everything that I have,and pretend to sell stuff, and just advertise to get people's deposits. I then asked her when she might be able to send one my way.She hasn't sent it yet as far as I know.

>>but I also think it was worth it.
>>
>>I posted an ad on the classifieds for the baby Brazilians.At the end of the ad I stated,"Plenty of references available(all fake,but still available)."
>>
>>I received a snotty e-mail today from someone who stated that I should be turned in to kingsnake for providing fake references.I sort of felt like I was a character in Bob and Tom's Mr.Obvious or something,but I e-mailed her back,stating that the references were real.I should have just ended it there,but being the major wise-ass that I am,I ended the conversation with a comment that although the references were authentic,the snakes were all dead..frozen solid.I thought maybe she could now discern that I was just kidding,but NOOOO.She e-mailed be back stating that that was illegal and she would never purchase anything from me.
>>
>>I sat down and wrote an e-mail explaining that I had an off the wall sense of humor and that I was just having fun,but before I pushed send,I erased the message and sent her another that said that I was lying and that the references and snakes were real,but that I keep everything that I have,and pretend to sell stuff, and just advertise to get people's deposits. I then asked her when she might be able to send one my way.She hasn't sent it yet as far as I know.
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JMHO, FWIW, YMMV.

Tim,
. Send her my way. I get along great with people who have no sense of humor. I can sell her an albino BRB slug to hatch.
Jeff

>>but I also think it was worth it.
>>
>>I posted an ad on the classifieds for the baby Brazilians.At the end of the ad I stated,"Plenty of references available(all fake,but still available)."
>>
>>I received a snotty e-mail today from someone who stated that I should be turned in to kingsnake for providing fake references.I sort of felt like I was a character in Bob and Tom's Mr.Obvious or something,but I e-mailed her back,stating that the references were real.I should have just ended it there,but being the major wise-ass that I am,I ended the conversation with a comment that although the references were authentic,the snakes were all dead..frozen solid.I thought maybe she could now discern that I was just kidding,but NOOOO.She e-mailed be back stating that that was illegal and she would never purchase anything from me.
>>
>>I sat down and wrote an e-mail explaining that I had an off the wall sense of humor and that I was just having fun,but before I pushed send,I erased the message and sent her another that said that I was lying and that the references and snakes were real,but that I keep everything that I have,and pretend to sell stuff, and just advertise to get people's deposits. I then asked her when she might be able to send one my way.She hasn't sent it yet as far as I know.

I e-mail you to tell you that I sent some customers your way? Well,I forgot to tell you...It is always"those people".LOL Tim

>>I e-mail you to tell you that I sent some customers your way? Well,I forgot to tell you...It is always"those people".LOL Tim

>>but I also think it was worth it.
>>
>>I posted an ad on the classifieds for the baby Brazilians.At the end of the ad I stated,"Plenty of references available(all fake,but still available)."
>>
>>I received a snotty e-mail today from someone who stated that I should be turned in to kingsnake for providing fake references.I sort of felt like I was a character in Bob and Tom's Mr.Obvious or something,but I e-mailed her back,stating that the references were real.I should have just ended it there,but being the major wise-ass that I am,I ended the conversation with a comment that although the references were authentic,the snakes were all dead..frozen solid.I thought maybe she could now discern that I was just kidding,but NOOOO.She e-mailed be back stating that that was illegal and she would never purchase anything from me.
>>
>>I sat down and wrote an e-mail explaining that I had an off the wall sense of humor and that I was just having fun,but before I pushed send,I erased the message and sent her another that said that I was lying and that the references and snakes were real,but that I keep everything that I have,and pretend to sell stuff, and just advertise to get people's deposits. I then asked her when she might be able to send one my way.She hasn't sent it yet as far as I know.
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"To be the best..........You must loose your mind."

..time consuming and far from trouble-free.

Every season I get one or more people crosswise with me and no matter what I do or try to calm them down some will not calm down and usually get more angry and insulting. It is interesting that these types of things rarely occur in face-to-face dealings, or if they do they settle out or the partiies inviolved just agree to disagree and move on.

E-mail is an imperfect way to communicate, if you try to be factual and professional many times customers read that as arrogance or a lack of interest. Being more chummy will get you in trouble with some too, perhaps they come to think you are now close friends and then become insulted when some arrangement falls through.

I strongly suspect that a lot of these disputes are the result of customers simply deciding they want out of some deal, they change their mind or decided to spend the cash on a set of new bass-tubes for their '92 Honda Accord.. and for some reason they just can't say 'thanks, but no thanks'.. instead they act offended or angry, make accusations and threats. And.. the anonymity on-line helps them a lot.. Gus Rentfro or Jeff Clark is a lot more likely to be reasonable and non-combative than DEVIL-TOAD or CONDA-DUDE..

All this touches a lot on what Hoppy was writing about recently.. Anyway, in this particular case I think you were asking for it.. though I agree with you that your follow-up notes should have straightened things out..

Good luck with all of that!

Gus
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Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com

"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

With Gus,to a large extent...I think the anonymity factor causes some customers to act like they have no fear of retribution,or,consequence...I'm sure that anyone that has ever done business online,has had their experiences with a percentage of people,that have to make you wonder if it's really worth all the hassles...but,if you think internet transactions are "scary" imagine having potential customers come to your house to "shop"!!! (alot of guys I know used to operate this way,"pre-internet"!)...my personal opinion,(not trying to pass judgement on anyone.)is...joking,and,farting around on the Forums is all fine,and,well...but,once you enter the "Classifieds" it should be strictly business,and,professionalism,regardless if you are a "private breeder/hobbyist/stand-up comedian",or,a legitimate commercial,full-time,operation!(no offence meant) I have had my share of "interesting inquiries",and,at times have found some of it very entertaining,to say the least,but,I keep it short,sweet,and,straightforward....otherwise,you might just find yourself in a situation with some "splainin" to do....
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EVOLVE,OR,DIE...it's not just a good idea...it's the LAW!

I have the summer months off, and that is when my babies arrive,so the e-mail hassle doesn't really bother me much.I automatically assume that 90% of the e-mails that I get regarding a given animal aren't serious anyway,but I always take the time to e-mail pics,references,give out my phone number,ect. I actually enjoy it somewhat.

This is actually the first really snotty e-mail response from an ad that I have ever gotten,and I have posted some bizarre ads.Usually, it actually winds up being somewhat of an advertising advantage as several people have stated that they were actually drawn to the different ad.Many of those people are now repeat customers.I am more inclined to think that the professionalism enters the equation in the form of making sure they get what they want,represented fairly,that it gets there when they want it and then assuring that you answer any questions they have after they get it...for as long as they want to ask them.

I guess the ad that I posted on Kingsnake a few short years ago is the best example of why I really do it.I had posted a pic of a Dumerils baby on a floral arrangement and then stated in the ad that the baby was free,but the floral arrangement was 125 plus shipping.I guess if anyone had insisted(which they didn't) I would have had to send them my wife's floral arrangement with the snake.A few wanted to see pics of the parents,so I sent them e-mails with pics of course,but got this crazy idea and took two intact shed skins,put a frozen chick in the"mouth" of one of the skins and then posted a pic of the "transparent" chicken-eating Dumerils parents on the classifieds.Of course,it was removed after a couple of days,but I had literally hundreds of e-mails from that ad.

The one that stuck in my mind,however,(and the purpose for this long-winded post)was from a guy who thanked me for my ad and said that it was the first time he had laughed in several months.He said he was dying of cancer and that it made his day.His response made my day.

.

The bottom line is: how many flowers did you actually sell? my luck,I would've received a polite reprimand from the admin. of K.S.,reminding me that the offer to sell flowers without a USDS permitt was a violation of statute # blah-blah-blah,regarding interstate commerce of vegetables,as well as a direct violation of the contract,yada-yada-ya... I'm not tryin' to rain on your parade,but,if that person actually files a complaint,(and,some folks are just that vindictive.)I would think that the negative impact just might not be worth the laughs...but,as my mother used to say: It's like running with scissors,everythings all fun & games,til somebody gets hurt!" *lol*...Keep the faith man...
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EVOLVE,OR,DIE...it's not just a good idea...it's the LAW!

is that I have such a hard time taking this too seriously.I take the customer confidence part of it very seriously,but that is about it.I honestly don't even get upset about the cross vs. purity debate as it provides fodder for some fun stories for me,and as I have stated before,the only time it really bothers me is when some kid or novice posts his new snake and gets waylayed.That's really about it.

I have somewhat of the same persona on a couple of sports forums.The Chicago Bears played in my hometown this year and the Chicago media did so much bitching about lack of accomadations,ect. that I wrote a pretty funny article that I posted on a sports forum,and it somehow got sent to one of the big Sports networks,got read on the air and wound up in the Tribune. The debates on the sports forum make our debates look mild by comparison,and I semi- seriously think I have prevented a few potential murders by writing ridiculous stories to defuse the tension.

After teaching middle school kids for more than 30 years and seeing their problems(I am very much for the underdog kid,by the way) there is just not that much about snakes that get me too upset.I really like them a lot,and when money changes hands am very concientous,but that's about it.

My ad was removed fairly promptly,by the way.I thought the transparent Dumerils were beautiful,and the chicken-eating effect was perfect,but apparently Jeff didn't.

Hi Tim,

I just do not get it why do some people think you are serious.
After reading some of your post on Kingsnake you think they would kind of know you.You are probably better off losing her as a customer anyway. I personally like your off the wall sense of humor. Hopefully we can meet someday I think we would have some good laughs together. Maybe at the Chicago show in October?
Here is a picture you can send her and try and sell this one to her. LOL

McCarthy Boas

October sounds good..Streamwood?

I was thinking of the North American Reptile Breeders
Conference & Trade Show in Tinley Park, IL. On October 11 & 12.
This one will have a "BAR" so we can have a drink.
Then we can get drunk and buy all the reptile we ever wanted.
Then when we get home are wife's will KILL US. LOL

I can meet you at the Streamwood show just about anytime.
Just let me know which one you are going to and I will be there.

Take care,
Tom

North American Reptile Breeders Conference & Trade Show

;

G-string... It was clear as day in the ad that I was kidding.. I posted that I was selling my reptiles to aquire a gold plated daimond studded G-string and leaving soon to do a chip N dales world tour. I think most people don't read the ads.. they just look at the pictures. In about 30 minutes of having the ad up I had over 20 emails... and everybody was trying to ge tthe animals cheaper then the 150 I had them posted for.... I can see why alot of people would rather wholesale their animals.
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"If woody would of went to the police, none of this would have ever happened!"

my teeth CE and you could have made a fortune.

I wish I had seen it...it sounds great!! LOL!!

>>but I also think it was worth it.
>>
>>I posted an ad on the classifieds for the baby Brazilians.At the end of the ad I stated,"Plenty of references available(all fake,but still available)."
>>
>>I received a snotty e-mail today from someone who stated that I should be turned in to kingsnake for providing fake references.I sort of felt like I was a character in Bob and Tom's Mr.Obvious or something,but I e-mailed her back,stating that the references were real.I should have just ended it there,but being the major wise-ass that I am,I ended the conversation with a comment that although the references were authentic,the snakes were all dead..frozen solid.I thought maybe she could now discern that I was just kidding,but NOOOO.She e-mailed be back stating that that was illegal and she would never purchase anything from me.
>>
>>I sat down and wrote an e-mail explaining that I had an off the wall sense of humor and that I was just having fun,but before I pushed send,I erased the message and sent her another that said that I was lying and that the references and snakes were real,but that I keep everything that I have,and pretend to sell stuff, and just advertise to get people's deposits. I then asked her when she might be able to send one my way.She hasn't sent it yet as far as I know.

n/p