Small Pet Feeders
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- Messages
- 68
- Location
- Georgia
I debated with myself whether to bother reporting this or just let it lay, but here it goes.
I started working with Magical Geckos in November of 2011, in which he first messaged me for a quote for 5000 1" crickets to be shipped to his door. Even though we normally require a Breeder Program contract for our lower prices to ensure continued patronage, we thought we'd give Dennis from Magical Geckos the chance to try out our crickets without such an agreement, just so he could gauge the quality of the product. He did ask for a tracking number for this package, and he was told we were unable to supply one as our small family-owned cricket farm use an antiquated postal machine that prints out the little 1.5"x3" Parcel Postage, free of any tracking information to save on the overall cost to the client. We've never had an issue with this system, as we deal largely with people we're familiar with, and never have had an issue with replacing an order that may arrive dead or even if it gets lost. Allowing this system to be used was my first mistake as a feeder mailing businessman.
When he received his order, I found it odd that he seemed to look for things wrong with the boxes to complain about, but still pushed to continue buying crickets from us. Whether it be "some of the crickets in the box were smaller than others" or "there were beetles in the box", meaning dermestids which feast on dead crickets (a beneficial insect I might add that aids in keeping the toxic gases released by crickets under control). To add to it, he of course didn't want to sign a service agreement, but wanted to continue buying crickets at the same rate. I thought it was odd that someone so dissatisfied actually wanted to continue to order.
So some time past till we were now in December, and I thought I would touch base with him, and see if anything had changed. He began quoting prices that he was getting locally and from another cricket farm that he wanted me to match, but when I asked for invoices, those requests went unanswered and ignored. Eventually he dropped this price reduction tactic, and agreed to buy crickets for the rate I wouldn't budge from without a contract, something I also found peculiar, as if you can get crickets for a lower price, why would you come to me to get them? He obviously didn't get them that cheap from the other place, or had another "win" in mind for me. Unfortunately I didn't realize what that was until a month later...
He stated towards the end of December that he never received the first order of 5000 crickets, so I had a new order shipped out for him on January 3rd, 2012. And you know, up to this point, I still lived in a land of ignorance that surely everyone would be completely honest about not receiving such a large order as 5000 crickets. It wasn't until he told me he again didn't receive that order either! And soon thereafter, he hurriedly filed a Dispute with Paypal for his money back. Now even at this point, I'd be willing to give someone the shadow of a doubt that maybe USPS really did defy the odds and lose a rather large package TWICE IN A ROW, but it wasn't until he started stating his reasons for the Dispute that I again paid close attention to his words.
He immediately made a post on this board to ask the people here if he was in the right for asking for a refund for a package with no tracking information. Now I don't know about you, but if I didn't receive a package, I wouldn't need to ask a bunch of people on a message board if I was right about asking a refund, so the fact that he was seeking comfort and approval for his decision also perked my interest. Then as we continued, he seemed to be very centered on the fact that there was no tracking information, not the fact that he didn't receive his package.
In the end, he ended up getting his money back due to the lack of tracking information, and I got a $70 lesson on why you always have tracking information attached to packages. My intention for this post isn't to bash Magical Geckos, but more to warn other small business men and women the dangers of shipping off your products without tracking information, whether the client agrees to paying less for shipping for such a service or not. Whether Dennis did receive his crickets or didn't receive them really isn't the point, as just about anyone can do this to another person if they so choose if you accept payments through Paypal and don't use Tracking information. ALWAYS HAVE TRACKING INFORMATION, or you could be the next one writing your own tale of a good business deal gone bad.
I started working with Magical Geckos in November of 2011, in which he first messaged me for a quote for 5000 1" crickets to be shipped to his door. Even though we normally require a Breeder Program contract for our lower prices to ensure continued patronage, we thought we'd give Dennis from Magical Geckos the chance to try out our crickets without such an agreement, just so he could gauge the quality of the product. He did ask for a tracking number for this package, and he was told we were unable to supply one as our small family-owned cricket farm use an antiquated postal machine that prints out the little 1.5"x3" Parcel Postage, free of any tracking information to save on the overall cost to the client. We've never had an issue with this system, as we deal largely with people we're familiar with, and never have had an issue with replacing an order that may arrive dead or even if it gets lost. Allowing this system to be used was my first mistake as a feeder mailing businessman.
When he received his order, I found it odd that he seemed to look for things wrong with the boxes to complain about, but still pushed to continue buying crickets from us. Whether it be "some of the crickets in the box were smaller than others" or "there were beetles in the box", meaning dermestids which feast on dead crickets (a beneficial insect I might add that aids in keeping the toxic gases released by crickets under control). To add to it, he of course didn't want to sign a service agreement, but wanted to continue buying crickets at the same rate. I thought it was odd that someone so dissatisfied actually wanted to continue to order.
So some time past till we were now in December, and I thought I would touch base with him, and see if anything had changed. He began quoting prices that he was getting locally and from another cricket farm that he wanted me to match, but when I asked for invoices, those requests went unanswered and ignored. Eventually he dropped this price reduction tactic, and agreed to buy crickets for the rate I wouldn't budge from without a contract, something I also found peculiar, as if you can get crickets for a lower price, why would you come to me to get them? He obviously didn't get them that cheap from the other place, or had another "win" in mind for me. Unfortunately I didn't realize what that was until a month later...
He stated towards the end of December that he never received the first order of 5000 crickets, so I had a new order shipped out for him on January 3rd, 2012. And you know, up to this point, I still lived in a land of ignorance that surely everyone would be completely honest about not receiving such a large order as 5000 crickets. It wasn't until he told me he again didn't receive that order either! And soon thereafter, he hurriedly filed a Dispute with Paypal for his money back. Now even at this point, I'd be willing to give someone the shadow of a doubt that maybe USPS really did defy the odds and lose a rather large package TWICE IN A ROW, but it wasn't until he started stating his reasons for the Dispute that I again paid close attention to his words.
He immediately made a post on this board to ask the people here if he was in the right for asking for a refund for a package with no tracking information. Now I don't know about you, but if I didn't receive a package, I wouldn't need to ask a bunch of people on a message board if I was right about asking a refund, so the fact that he was seeking comfort and approval for his decision also perked my interest. Then as we continued, he seemed to be very centered on the fact that there was no tracking information, not the fact that he didn't receive his package.
In the end, he ended up getting his money back due to the lack of tracking information, and I got a $70 lesson on why you always have tracking information attached to packages. My intention for this post isn't to bash Magical Geckos, but more to warn other small business men and women the dangers of shipping off your products without tracking information, whether the client agrees to paying less for shipping for such a service or not. Whether Dennis did receive his crickets or didn't receive them really isn't the point, as just about anyone can do this to another person if they so choose if you accept payments through Paypal and don't use Tracking information. ALWAYS HAVE TRACKING INFORMATION, or you could be the next one writing your own tale of a good business deal gone bad.