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Advise needed on an unlucky purchace.

BOASELECTER Jul 25, 2005 05:16 AM

I baught 2 dble het snows last year and wondered why I didnt see any action from them. When I got them the guy I baught them off probed them in front of me and they appered to be male and female.

Im sure you can see where this is going! I have just found out they are 2 males. I had paid twice as much for them so they would breed last year. The bloke I got them off has offered to exchange them for another pair. I felt I should get something extra due to the amount I paid for the privalage of babies last season..

Should I take it as an expensive lesson or hold out for more?

I want to add that I 100% beleive this was a genuine mistake and dont in any way think he has done anything wrong - just want to know what I should expect for the error.

Cheers

Sam

Replies (2)

RioBravoReptiles Jul 25, 2005 07:22 AM

Over the years I have mis-sexed some small boas. It happens and it's embarrassing! A couple of times buyers have ended up with something other than was expected, usually due to an animal being swapped between groups or some other mixup but at least once I just goofed. It has also happened several times that animals I purchased (including some rare ones from VERY qualified sources) were mis-sexed!

The usual remedy is to get the buyer another animal of similar or better quality, but yes, it will likely be another baby. The second option is to refund the deal.. but that gets sticky real quick.. How do you refund someone's disappointment in their project? .. or replace animals that have become friends? In your case at least you have the additional factor of planning on getting your Snows on the market while they are still near the peak of their saleability...

Look at it also from the seller's side.. yes, he goofed but if he takes your animal's back he also takes back whatever has happened to them while you've had them... he inherits how you kept them, fed them.. any injury or disease . And whether or not he keeps them or re-sells them all that is now his (or her) responsibility.

I can't say what the seller SHOULD do but you have already mentioned you believe that this was an honest mistake.. so unless you somehow come to KNOW you were purposely abused on the deal keep it on a friendly level, communicate and work it out. You can maybe get the thing that you want right now from demanding, threatening and slamming people but 10 or more years from now the friends and colleagues you still have will mean a lot more than those boas ever did. And who was right or who was wrong will be forgotten!

That's my advice.

Gus

Trueredtails Jul 25, 2005 07:59 PM

I would just take the other pair that the seller is offering. I have bought pairs befor and I ended up with 2 male witch held up my breeding by at least a year because I did not have the money to buy a female. The seller sais they were a pair and it was a "matter of opinion" by witch I determined the sex (he thought I did not know how to determin the sex properly) I was stuck with 2 males. The seller you bought from is offering another pair, that is great and says allot about the way he does business allot of the time you will get a "too bad, sorry". Even if you had a properly sexed pair you cannot say 100% for sure you would have had babies anyway. I would hope he offers a pair that is the same age and of better quality than the pair you bought originally or a partial refund and another female. Good luck

-Dylan Keays
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True Redtails

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