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When $1.49 x 36 = 0: Fish psychology [gross pictures]

6K views 53 replies 28 participants last post by  somewhatshocked 
#1 ·
We support and take care of our own: I sell on TPT and I buy on TPT. If I cannot find it here, I check our sponsors first before hitting the web.

So, imagine my surprise when I stumbled on Cardinal Tetras right in my own back yard: in the sunny San Diego, for the paltry $1.49 per beautiful nose. Forgetting all about my $1/ea rain-check from PetSmart, I get in touch with the fishies. We are young, we are cute and we ready to travel. Do you guys want to travel First Class or Coach? Nah, we are good, we are farm raised, we never leave a friend behind and we can drink more beers in the FREE Coach on the 2-day haul. Do you guys need protection? It's getting cold up here and it is only $0.99 a pop. Nah, protection is for the weak Discus. Oh well, up to you guys.

All 36 of them arrived dead. In coach, 18 per wing, with no jackets, and no life insurance policies.

Stupid, suicidal fish. I tried to raise them from the dead: 3 emails and 2 PMs did not bring me a Christmas miracle. Not even a suicide note: "Dear OVT, we decided to cross to the other side, but please do not cry for us on your Birthday. Hundreds and hundreds of our relatives are eager and ready to chew on your plants. It will be ok. All the best, yours 36". ... Dead silence, only PayPal is laughing.

Is there a moral or a story here? Something that all of us can learn from?

a) Never trust a fish brain
b) See a), even when they are 100% correct in CA and 98% right in the US Senate
c) Chose a prospective owner with a bigger crinium
d) Always use protection when flying solo or in a group

Will I try again? Get seduced by $1.49 and Free Shipping? Will I get their relatives, or their friends, or the plants they used to play around in?

I might be a cheapo idiot, but I am not a fish brain.
I even speak Latin: Caveat emptor. And the stupid fish died on the wrong guy
:angryfire

Coach (top panel covers ~ 2/3 of the top):



18 per Coach seat?!?



Looking good dead. I know a lot of businesses looking even better:

 
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#3 ·
Do these happen to be from A SPONSOR *cough*? I got a full order of dead shrimp, and I know several other people with dead fish. Pretty cruddy if they are shipping dead animals. I ordered shrimp for my birthday, and got a bag of dead things, I cried... A waste of money, no response, and a terrible birthday.
 
#5 ·
They should really make this right... But I got no response from my email, and if you type one bad thing you'll get a ban... Ugh. I hope maybe you get sorted, I got no resolution.
 
#6 ·
I checked their iTrader and it's perfect.
I read the thread where our Mods asked them pointed questions.
I had a very favorable impression after my first (and only) contact.
I voted my confidence with my $$, my trust, and my expectations.

I will wait for 24 hours for a meaningful response before I leave my mark with that Sponsor. I waited for 8 hours before starting this thread.

Things happen, life goes on. I screwed up enough times in my life to throw the first stone. I can deal with my kids watching in anticipation as I was opening the box in the kitchen. I can deal with my own emotions (sometimes). I can deal with the $$.

What I cannot deal with is being written off. A simple email/PM "Hey, sorry, life's unfair, we will give you 5% off your next purchase" would not make me feel any better but it would make me think twice before posting those pictures or making a scene or typing a rant. I do not collect enemies, I collect friends.
 
#15 ·
Yes to the second question. As to the first, I'll just quote:
OVT said:
PM:
I'm paying now, shipping method and date of your choice as you know better.
OVT said:
Order:
Note: OVT from TPT. Heat pack or not is your call. Thanks!
I did not ask how many Cardinals can fit into a single bag.
I did not ask if the box would be fully insulated.

I shipped 3 boxes of plants from CA to Alaska with no heat packs ~2 weeks ago. You can find the thread and pictures of the plants on receipt on TPT.
Fish are not plants, I got that.
 
#12 ·
Sad buddy!

but i'm sure they'll take care of you.

Happen to me with some Amanos, cpd and snails and they took care of me resent all the DOA and plus extras.

Placed an order for fishes the other day and they arrived fine.
 
#16 ·
Hi OVT,

Sorry for your loss but apparently you are not alone. I am aware of at least two additional individuals (one on a different forum) that have not responded to this thread that had similar experiences with fish and invertebrates from this supplier. As an older person I guess I can quote an old adage: 'If a deal seems too good to be true; it probably is.'
 
#18 ·
OMG I'm sorry, that's awful! :( I had some Panda Corys sent to me once from a seller on another forum that I used before and had no problems with. The heat pack malfunctioned and the corys arrived looking dead and frozen (they were stiff as a board and floating). I decided to acclimate them anyway and they all came back to life....I still have all of them now and they're doing well. Yours was probably a lost cause though....sorry that happened to you!
 
#19 ·
I think this transaction on the fault of both the seller and buyer.

First from the buyer - You waived the DOA guarantee by going with priority shipping per his TOS instead of paying extra for the overnight shipping. Especially during the winter time when you know it is cold. Yes, 50F is cold to fish as they are topical fish that are used to temperature around mid 70s to 80s.

Second from the seller - He should've included a heat pack or two in the package because most packages are travel via plane. It gets pretty cold when you're 30k feet in the air. Another, he should've packed less fish in each package. If one fish died in the package, the ammonia from the dead fish will and usually do killed everyone in there.


disclaimer: I don't know the seller or never have done a transaction with the seller. But I have sold and shipped over a couple thousand packages of live fish, ship, and plants.
 
#42 ·
I think this transaction on the fault of both the seller and buyer.
I do agree with the above.

This was my 'check out the new vendor' test run. I had a number of PMs from people with different experiences with the seller. But no one stood up to raise the red flag for the 50,000+ TPT members.

I honestly believe I gave them an opportunity to guide me. I put it in writing: shipping method of your choice, heat packs or not at your discretion. Some of you been on the receiving end of my dead plants. Things go wrong. How a problem is resolved is a lot more telling then when things go right.

I put a premium on core values: in most businesses, an idiot customer is always right even when he is wrong. It sounds insane, but it does make financial sense. I had to bite my tongue and my pride and to make an even a perceived 'wrong' 'right'. Insurance companies figured that out the hard way - one step away from the customer service and only attorneys walk away smiling. When I am treated like I treat others, I come back, again, and again.

In the days of Social Media, few (vendor) experiences remain private. One customer from hell (like myself) can be like a dirty diaper. A happy customer will bring back a friend.

Running a small, young business is hard: it does take your life away. We all learn as we go and we pay for our mistakes. I harbor no ill will and I do hope that they succeed in their undertaking. Some competition is healthy for all of us.

PS: I am located 24 mi west of San Francisco, CA
 
#22 ·
From an email response:
...Unfortunately, because this order was placed with UPS 2nd day air, there is no live arrival guarantee. However, I would like to replace your order if you pay $30 for shipping with UPS next day air and a heat pack. We normally do not do this because we are a new company and its very hard for us to replace livestock like this...
From the Shipping Policy:
$12 for UPS next day air! LIVE ARRIVAL Guaranteed
FREE USPS priority/ UPS 2nd day air for $35+(no guarantee)
$12 Next Day Air + $0.99 heat pack != $30

I politely turned down the offer and requested a refund.
No answer as of yet.
 
#24 ·
That's sort of unfair to the seller, as 1 person had a bad experience, the seller has a 100% feedback so far and you won't buy from them because the OP didn't take the live animal guarenteee and pay extra for the shipping? Seeing as it was only $12, I would have paid it.


To the OP, I do see the $12 shipping fee and them asking for $30 as a bit unfair, but to their side, you didn't pay for any live guarantee and they are trying to make it right and if you pointed it out maybe to them, maybe you could worked it out via PM over the $30 amount, etc.

Instead you send a few emails, seem to get upset when they don'r reply back within a few hours to you, start a whole thread on the thing before you even back from the seller and this is basically amounting to a vendor review.

It's not hard to see where you posted recently, who has cardinals for sale right now, etc to see exactly who you are talking about.


In the end, you didn't buy the insurance, and that's the way it goes sometimes.
 
#26 ·
Just a few days ago this winter I ordered 4 discus on the coldest days out here in Northern CA. They traveled 3 days in transit accross the country box was beat up pretty good. They came 2 in each bag, they arrived water was 60* and they were fine. These were not juvi discus, 4.5" almost adults.

These fish OVT bought were either in poor condition when they shipped them or so badly miss handled by the shipper. I go for option one. There is no way these should have arrived looking like that all dead. I think it would only be fair that they refund you.

Not matter buyer beware or anything, there is sometimes when you just need to do the right thing. I understand business and I understand life and right from wrong. What should be done and what should not be done. These fish should have had no problem living for 2 days in transit. Some other factor caused the death, not the travel.
 
#27 ·
Could have been sick fish Sbarbee54, could have been someone who got the shipment in his truck late in the afternoon and let it sit overnight cause they're tired of all the holiday amazon gifts they've been delivering and said screw it, they'll get their toaster tomorrow not realizing it was a box of live animals.

if you recall, Liam just got shipped back two 2 crays that didn't get delivered after 91 days in the mail. Does that mean all crays can live 91 days in the mail? Some may die after 2 days in the mail. You can't predict no matter well you package or ship as you don't have a clue what they go through. Package is suspicious, maybe it gets xrays or mri'd and that nukes all your fish in the bag.


I guess my point is the OP should have contacted the seller, gave it more than a few hours and seen how it was handled and go from there rather than this thread, because as I said, took 2 seconds to find out who they are talking about and it's turning into a review.
 
#30 ·
The OP is NOT the only person who has had a horrible experience. I FINALLY submitted feedback for my experience and I have a feeling I am going to get a BAN for it. THAT is horrible and I know several other people too afraid to speak out because they don't want bans. Truthfully when you have many other people receiving dead orders of livestock there is a HUGE problem.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I am just saying no matter what cuased it, there is a rigth and wrong way to make good on it. Good customer services last forever, and they had a chance to make good on a bad experience, and choose not to. Can you imagine the thread that would have been if they made right on it. Forum Sponser makes buyers Xmas, or something to that matter.
 
#29 ·
I am just saying no matter what cuased it, there is a rigth and wrong way to make good on it. Good customer services last forever, and they had a chance to make good on a bad experience and chose not to. Can you imagine the thread that would have been if they made right on it. Forum Sponser makes buyers Xmas, or something to that matter.
I agree with you there about cs, just could have been handled in private first before this thread was made.
 
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