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A

Alfonso

Guest
I have been asked by several people to post a thread that I wrote on another forum.

Hello,

On October 1st I discussed trading two NBS P. vietnamense with Patrick Mahon. He contacted me through Ebay and I agreed to trade them for a P. violascens and a P. javanicum. It has been almost two months that we have been in contact through e-mail and I have not received the plants he promised.

He told me he would send them out the next day after I contacted him - October 2 - and I told him that I would do the same. I sent them out and he told me he had received them and was very sorry he had not sent them out. He told me he would send them out the following week.

I waited a week until contacting him again and he told me that he was very sorry he had been sick and asked me if it was alright if he sent them out on Friday. I told him he could as long as he sent them overnight and I offered to pay for half of the shipping cost. He said he would ship them out Monday instead so they would not get stuck in a warehouse; I waited until that weekend to contact him thinking that I would receive the plants he promised by Saturday.

When I contacted him again he told me he was very busy with work and school and would ship them out as soon as possible, I told him that was fine. More time passed and he told me that all of his P. violascens died and asked if it would be possible to substitute them for a blooming size P. armeniacum, blooming size Orchid Zone P. spicerianum, or a "somewhat large" P. kolopakingii seedling. I told him the P. kolopakingii seedling would be fine. This was on November 6 and I knew I moved on the 19th and expected it to arrive at my house before then.

No package has arrived at the old house or my new house. I contacted him today November 24th to tell him that I moved and gave him my new address to ship them there and he said that he shipped them out - "the cheapest way I could" - USPS on November 13th, I have not received the plants, nor have I received any notes for packages, or actual packages at my old house. All of my mail since the 19th has been automatically forwarded to our new address so even if the package was sent to that address it would be forwarded to our new home, it has been 11 days since he said he sent it out and 5 since the mail began being forwarded to the new address. I or my parents have been there every day since we started moving into our new house and all of the times we have visited there has been nothing.

Has anyone dealt with Patrick Mahon before? I decided to look around and see if I could find anything about him on the internet and saw that he had posted some things here about trading and had also been banned. Prior to this experience, I felt safe dealing with other orchid people even though they were strangers – I thought all orchid people were good? Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way to research a person before trading with them.

Can anyone tell me anything about Patrick Mahon? Will I ever get my plants? I am frustrated and don’t know what to do.

HELP,
Alfonso
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have called Patrick twice today on the telephone number he gave me through an e-mail and received no answer. I have sent him an e-mail informing him that if I do not have the plants he promised by Friday December 1st I am going to press mail fraud charges and contact the Sarasota Police Department.

This has not been a pleasant experience, but I am very grateful for all of the information and responses that I have received from everyone that has contacted me.

Alfonso
 
Unfortunately, Alfonso, I have heard of others who have had problems with Pat Mahon. I have yet to heard of them receiving their plants. Someone else managed to get their money for plants shipped to P. Mahon by calling his mother. Maybe that is the best route.

I do hope you receive your plants.
 
Sorry Alfonso, but I have to agree. He does have a bit of a bad rep and is someone I personally would never deal with. Its really sad that some people feel it necessary to ruin the good faith and trust for everyone else.
 
Again, sorry to hear about antics like this in our community.

On the coral forums, most have a section for Vendor/Trader Feedback and I am quite sure that if we had the same here this post would be lost amongst MANY happy people telling of their wonderful experiences with others.

Unfortunately every community has one or two individuals who try to ruin the spirit of the hobby, and I'm afraid in a bag full of red balls, you pulled the black one. I hope you get some resolution, as this is starting to become cliche. Thank you for being so civil in your account...I know that must have taken a lot of self control and it is appreciated.

Jon
 
I think he plans on going in to the navy. Besides contacting the police I would also contact the navy recruiter in his area. They don't like taking people with legal/moral issues. Show the navy his idiotic posts on playing with radiation. They will love it. Also the navy won't take him if he is on probation. Rusty
 
Alfonso, Welcome aboard. I'm sorry to hear about your dealings as well. Thank you for coming forward and bringing this to everyones attention. Several other forum member's have had similiar experiences as you. I'm not to sure if the other members had their issues resolved. I do hope that things do work out for you and everyone else that intiated a transaction with Mr. Mahon. Please do keep us posted.
 
Hey Alfonso!

Forgot to mention that I sent your plants! :poke:

Perhaps you shall eloborate more on the situation. You just contacted me 2 days ago that you "moved", while I sent your plants to your "address". You have been notified to take all action nessecary. :)

-Pat
 
adiaphane said:
Unfortunately, Alfonso, I have heard of others who have had problems with Pat Mahon. I have yet to heard of them receiving their plants. Someone else managed to get their money for plants shipped to P. Mahon by calling his mother. Maybe that is the best route.

I do hope you receive your plants.

Tien,

Please list all people. I am very interested you know more about me than I do with my subconscious self!

-PM
 
Mahon said:
Perhaps you shall eloborate more on the situation. You just contacted me 2 days ago that you "moved", while I sent your plants to your "address". You have been notified to take all action nessecary. :)
-Pat

I contacted you two days ago because I had not received the plants you promised me. There was ample time for me to have received the package you sent before I moved.

This was sent to me in an e-mail I received today, Nov. 25th, 2006 9:29:31 PM

"I am sorry Alfonso Doucette, I sent the plants out Tuesday, Nov. 13th, around 3:30PM EST at the UPS Store on US-41, Sarasota. My father drove me down to the store to send your two plants. I sent it the cheapest possible way via USPS."

I moved from my old address Nov. 19th that is 6 days after the shipping date. It should take 5 days at most for a package to reach my home in Georgia from Florida through USPS. All of my mail after those 6 days has been forwarded to my new address and nothing that I have received has been a package containing Paphiopedilum javanicum and P. kolopakingii.

If I do not receive the orchids by Friday, December 1st I will press mail fraud charges, contact the Sarasota Police, and contact the navy recruiter in your area. I expect to see the orchids by Friday, December 1st. I will also post a new reply on this thread when I receive the plants you send and include photographs of them.

Alfonso
 
aquacorps said:
I think he plans on going in to the navy. Besides contacting the police I would also contact the navy recruiter in his area. They don't like taking people with legal/moral issues. Show the navy his idiotic posts on playing with radiation. They will love it. Also the navy won't take him if he is on probation. Rusty

Rusty,

I believe this is a sick idea, especially since I have absolutely no idea what the hell you are even talking about. Please get your facts and sources correct! You have absolutely no way of making comment on anything you do not know. Eat your own ignorance!

-PM
 
Alfonso said:
I contacted you two days ago because I had not received the plants you promised me. There was ample time for me to have received the package you sent before I moved.

This was sent to me in an e-mail I received today, Nov. 25th, 2006 9:29:31 PM

"I am sorry Alfonso Doucette, I sent the plants out Tuesday, Nov. 13th, around 3:30PM EST at the UPS Store on US-41, Sarasota. My father drove me down to the store to send your two plants. I sent it the cheapest possible way via USPS."

I moved from my old address Nov. 19th that is 6 days after the shipping date. It should take 5 days at most for a package to reach my home in Georgia from Florida through USPS. All of my mail after those 6 days has been forwarded to my new address and nothing that I have received has been a package containing Paphiopedilum javanicum and P. kolopakingii.

If I do not receive the orchids by Friday, December 1st I will press mail fraud charges, contact the Sarasota Police, and contact the navy recruiter in your area. I expect to see the orchids by Friday, December 1st. I will also post a new reply on this thread when I receive the plants you send and include photographs of them.

Alfonso


Alfonso,

Here is all I can say: do what YOU feel needs to be done. You are incorrect, and it will be properly resolved. You are free to call me at any time right now... :)

-Pat

PS: You did not leave a message, so how do I know you truly called? Leave a message and a contact number.
 
In the future, for a little over a dollar extra through USPS you can get Delivery Confirmation and at the very least you have proof of sending a package...very handy when your PO is notorious for having problems delivering your packages.;)

Jon
 
Jon in SW Ohio said:
In the future, for a little over a dollar extra through USPS you can get Delivery Confirmation and at the very least you have proof of sending a package...very handy when your PO is notorious for having problems delivering your packages.;)

Jon

Coincidentally, I have only had problems with shipping to forum members... :)
 
Just an update;

I talked with Alfonso about this whole situation. I am out two plants (Paph. kolopakingii and Paph. javanicum), but agreed to send 2 Paph. vietnamense seedlings to him. It is resolved. I won't be here long enough to see those seedlings bloom, nor any of my others.

-Pat
 
Mahon said:
Just an update;

I talked with Alfonso about this whole situation. I am out two plants (Paph. kolopakingii and Paph. javanicum), but agreed to send 2 Paph. vietnamense seedlings to him. It is resolved. I won't be here long enough to see those seedlings bloom, nor any of my others.

-Pat

Hrm...so he traded you two NBS vietnamense and he's getting two seedlings in return? :confused:


Alfonso, welcome to the forum. :)
Please tell me, with regards to your "resolving" this issue with Mahon, is your December 1st receipt deadline still in effect?

Thank you,
Heather (admin)
 
Heather,

Also let me add, that he has the wrong idea upon Mail Fraud, as first, I sent the plants; second, I am not cheating him, nor do I have the intention to; and third, it is not enough to pursue anyways, the complaint would be filed under 'Trash'.

Basically, I am doing this in good faith, though I am really hesitent to do so. Also, there has not been enough time allowed for the package to come. It has take over 10 days before to recieve a package mailed as 2-day... also, is it not feasible that the mail man could have dumped the box at the wrong address? This has happened more times than I can count! We usually find the box of fruit at the garbage can, wondering "what the ____!".... We already discussed that Alfonso moved, and I was notified 5 days later that he moved. Why no notification ahead of time? Maybe when he was packing up the computer in which he emails me, he could have sent me a message?

He wants two of his Paph. vietnamense seedlings back. I am out 4 plants now, I could have just taken my plants and thrown them in a fire pit, and I would still be where I am today (except not being harrassed by Aquacorps, and it seems like another reputable meddler has gotten involved)...

So if I fail to get my 'fruit of the month' from Harry and David, I should contact them and ask what happened? If they don't send my fruit again, then I should contact the police in their city, then contact the shipping service for mail fraud, and then get involved in their personal issues? It think not, that is meddling, and it can get you in VERY serious trouble.

-PM
 
confirmation

To help prevent acusations, it is probably best to add either delivery confirmation for $0.50 on Priority ($0.60 on first class) or signature confirmation for $1.90 to plants mailed. We use delivery confs in good weather and signature confs when it's colder. With sig confs, if no one can sign for the box, it is held at the post office for pickup. Del conf packages will be left at the door, but postal person notes time and date of drop off with a scan. Both are trackable.

-Ernie
 
Ernie said:
To help prevent acusations, it is probably best to add either delivery confirmation for $0.50 on Priority ($0.60 on first class) or signature confirmation for $1.90 to plants mailed. We use delivery confs in good weather and signature confs when it's colder. With sig confs, if no one can sign for the box, it is held at the post office for pickup. Del conf packages will be left at the door, but postal person notes time and date of drop off with a scan. Both are trackable.

-Ernie

Thanks Ernie! I wish I knew that when I dropped the box off... I was in a rush to get to work, and wanted the cheapest way sent... I wasn't expecting a situation from this at all...

I will make a few calls to locate my plants, I have some contacts near Alfonso...

-Pat
 
Heather,

Yes, I agree, a measly $.50 would avoid trouble... now I know for next time (which will NEVER be!)... :)

...but please explain to me what you mean by this:

Heather said:
I look forward to hearing of Alfonso's receipt of the aforementioned plants.

I don't understand... why are you looking forward to this? I am out 2 nice plants, and am giving back what he gave me. I lose YET again. Please explain what you mean by this, I am confused...

-Pat
 

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