# Martias Pham --- Rant



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

So, many of you know how the FB Betta dealer, Martias Pham, refused me service after "I doubted him" - AKA insisted that I pay for the two PKs via "Goods and Services" instead of "Gift"... This was on his page today.

"HELLO EVERYONE. PLEASE DO NOT USE CLONE/FAKE FACEBOOK TO MESSAGE ME ABOUT BUYING MY BETTAS. I WILL DELETE AND BLOCK YOU IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE USING YOUR REAL FACEBOOK, PLEASE TEXT MY NUMBER ( THE NUMBER ON THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE BETTAS PICTURES). THERE ARE NO NEED TO HIDE YOUR IDENTITY BECAUSE I NEED YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR SHIPPING ANYWAYS. I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU NEED DO THAT... BUT USING CLONE/FAKE FACEBOOK AUTOMATICALLY MAKES YOU A SUSPICIOUS CUSTOMER TO ME. I HAVE MORE VALUE/SERIOUS AND REAL CUSTOMERS TO SERVE THAN YOU.
ONE MORE THING, IF YOU DOUBT ABOUT MY LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEE POLICY, PLEASE LEAVE AND FIND A BETTER BETTA DEALER
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING!!! HAVE A BLESSED NIGHT, EVERYONE!"

I'm highly offended and really angry. He didn't target me specifically, but it is because of me. I DIDN'T doubt him, and I have a REAL Facebook account. After he posted that he deleted & blocked me and took my comments off the fish I wanted.

I'm. So. ******. Sorry, Russell, but this seller is not on my "Recommended" list anymore.


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

I experienced a similar reaction with another seller, I had never used him before, and used the "goods and Services' option just to be safe, and he got upset that I didn't use the other option. For me I totally get the frustration because PayPal takes a fee out of their cut, which isn't very fair to them, especially because they use the money to feed their families, and sometimes being short a few dollars can make a huge difference, but the way Martias reacted wasn't very professional at all, I'm so sorry you had to deal with that.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I agree, you weren't treated very professionally.

IMO, PayPal is a service which expedites payments and is a courtesy; not a right. Without it merchants would need to go the old fashioned way and receive checks, wait 10 days for them to clear and then ship the item. I buy from one person who insists on "Goods and Services" because she feels, as do I, that PayPal's convenience is well worth the minute fees....$1.75 in your case on a $50 purchase. Someone just reminded me that payments received as "Gifts" cheat the IRS, too.

Unless you well know a seller you should always pay for Goods and Services (and that includes me). If you pay for a "Gift" you are not covered by PayPal buyer protection. In addition, should something happen to the seller you are SOL. 

And unless you fund your PayPal account through your bank *you* pay the fees instead of the seller when you pay as a "Gift."

@ThatFishThough Don't apologize to me for not recommending Mr. Pham. ;-)


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

That is unfortunate. I *almost* purchased a betta from him last week, but none of his plakats were what I was looking for. Too much dragonscale. I wouldn't have wanted to pay as a gift, either.









I wound up making my purchase from BettaMafia in Riverside, CA. They have a Facebook page but they don't update it regularly. They posted many pics on their eBay listings, including pics from above, and some fish even had a short YouTube video. Communication has been good, and shipping prompt. Some of their bettas are a little more expensive, but you know how it is when you find your perfect betta, lol... I'll let you know what his condition is when he gets here (any minute!!!)


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

I don't understand why he doesn't let customers pay for Goods and Service if he is that confident with live arrival guarantee. Does he send another fish free in case of DOA?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Ryry, I don't know. I couldn't find his policy anywhere on his FB, which was another reason why I insisted on "G & S".

Beau, he's beautiful. I'll definitely check them out.

ETA: @RussellTheShihTzu, I *really* wanted to post that on his FB, but restrained myself lol.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Dangerous, just saw your post. I even offered to pay the fee ($1.75)!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

For future, I buy mostly from Tom 5 Stars Betta/Loc Nguyen on Betta Care and Breeding on FaceBook. Very professional. He charges $12.00 for up to either four or five Betta; can't remember. I've been very happy with his stock. Have been buying from Loc for 2+ years.

https://www.facebook.com/TOM-5-STARS-BETTA-1405834246312496/


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## Tardigrade (Apr 17, 2017)

I remember you mentioned how excited you were to buy bettas there. Well, that sucks for him. I hope you get prettier bettas from someone else!


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

I actually can't really vouch for Loc either, he was a bit disrespectful to me when I bought Nix, there was a bit of a miscommunication when I was picking the fish I wanted and he got very snappy, his fish are absolutely stunning, but he was not a pleasure to do business with. he had an attitude IME.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I was considering buying from Martias Pham, however I don't think I'll be giving him my business after reading this. He never has any stock that I like much anyway.

I highly recommend betta_mafia on eBay in terms of customer service. I do not like their advertising scams, such as "startail PKs", but their stock is very good quality, and I have bought many fish from them with no DOAs, or issues, including a gorgeous gold dragon HMPK that came in today. They have also held fish for me until I could pay for them, and removed eBay listings if I showed interest and planned to purchase due to me being a regular customer, which is nice.

If you're importing, Emmygolf is the way to go. I love her, she's always been very nice to me even in a DOA case, and has even given me discounts on bettas because I purchase from her really often.


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

I have used betta mafia  wonderful seller.
I recommend staying far away from water pets on eBay if you want to order any of the listings containing multiple fish. I asked about pictures of some specific color combos and they totally blew me off -_- I asked twice before I decide not to buy from them again unless I need the fish for a project


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