A question of a trade? Please help. Morale dilema

[Fwtella]

I have been looking for a decently priced lesser for a lesser pastel combo sometime down the road, yesterday i was offered a beautiful male lesser aprox. 125 grams for my male pinstripe 322 grams.

I guess my questions are these,

Has anyone ever done a one for one trade?
Should i be cautious or expect this animal to be sick or defective in any way?
i have not read any feedback of this gentleman, should i be concerned if its a scam?
How should the trade be done?(who should ship first)
is it not a moral decision to trade animals like this even if you have reason of projects,

I know the moral scene has a huge grey area as far as anyone is concerned, i am just looking for opinions, not a right or wrong answer, thank you for your time

[OhhWatALoser]

Has anyone ever done a one for one trade? Yes....
Should i be cautious or expect this animal to be sick or defective in any way? No different than paying cash for an animal
i have not read any feedback of this gentleman, should i be concerned if its a scam? No different than paying cash for an animal
How should the trade be done?(who should ship first) The person who offered the trade
is it not a moral decision to trade animals like this even if you have reason of projects, no different than selling an animal then paying cash for an animal.

[BHReptiles]

Has anyone ever done a one for one trade?
Should i be cautious or expect this animal to be sick or defective in any way?
i have not read any feedback of this gentleman, should i be concerned if its a scam?
How should the trade be done?(who should ship first)
is it not a moral decision to trade animals like this even if you have reason of projects,

I am a questioner and tend to over-think things. But anyway, maybe me being over cautious will help you weigh if it's worth it. I'm not saying your shouldn't, but I am saying you need to think about what makes YOU comfortable. If you get even the slightest inkling that something is off, pass on the trade.

1. I have not personally done one, but I have heard/witnessed many that have gone great and others that have gone poorly. I would suggest taking a look at fauna classifies to see if that person has a good/bad reputation.

2. If the breeder is reputable, then you can probably expect that the animal is healthy. You can always ask the seller to describe the overall health or ask to see pictures to help determine if it's of good weight and that it's nice and full bodied.

3. If you can't find any feedback, I wouldn't immediately jump on the fact that it's a scam. If could just be a local breeder who doesn't have their name out there. Just keep it in the back of your mind. If anything feels off about the breeder or the trade, kindly back off.

4. The person who initiated the trade should always ship first. If the person who has the lesser asked you to trade, he should ship first.

5. People trade snakes all the time. It's just us people who get attached to our animals and we feel guilty for trading them.

[decensored]

Personally I would never ship-trade.

Sounds fishy to me if your being offered a pastel lesser, for a pinstripe. If you guys were meting up to do the trade it would be worth checking out at least! But there are so many opportunities for this other guy to screw you over that it's not worth the risk IMO.

[TheSnakeGuy]

I've done a trade once, but in person. I'm a dealer by nature. First check the relative prices on the animals to ensure a nearly even trade. To be on the safe side you should ask several questions like:

1. How old?
2. Where did he get it?
3. Has it fed regularly?
4. Parents?
5. Health defects?
6. Why does he want your snake?

All of these things should satisfy you before taking the risk of a mail trade. Also get LOTS of pics of all angles of the animal. And get all the contact info in case something goes sour. Hope this helps.

[Fwtella]

Thank for all the help and i hope this thread will answer others questions about trading

At decensored: it is just a lesser not a pastel lesser

[decensored]

Thank for all the help and i hope this thread will answer others questions about trading

At decensored: it is just a lesser not a pastel lesser

ah sorry, I must have read it wrong, my mistake. That seems like a fair trade than. Just be careful who you deal with.

Goodluck!

[sharkrocket]

I've done a trade once, but in person. I'm a dealer by nature. First check the relative prices on the animals to ensure a nearly even trade. To be on the safe side you should ask several questions like:

1. How old?
2. Where did he get it?
3. Has it fed regularly?
4. Parents?
5. Health defects?
6. Why does he want your snake?

All of these things should satisfy you before taking the risk of a mail trade. Also get LOTS of pics of all angles of the animal. And get all the contact info in case something goes sour. Hope this helps.

I agree with this. I ask these kinds of questions with every trade I do. I have done several now, and I have never been screwed over. However, I always do them in person. Mostly that's because shipping is a pain in my .

We really rely in basic human decency in the reptile business. To keep that up, it's important that every one of us try to practice good customer service. People tend to act the way they have been treated, so don't sell snakes you think might be sick or not eating well without mentioning it to the buyer. Hopefully they will catch on that this is the way to do business!

Here's the basic list of questions I ask, even if I am buying a snake from a breeder I am not familiar with. I copied a lot from Colin at ECRB:

1. How old are the snakes?
2. Did you produce them? If not, who did?
3. Do you guarantee genetics and sexes? If so, how?
4. How are you keeping them? In a rack, in a tank? What is your heating system?
5. What are they eating, and how often? Do they have any feeding
irregularities that we should be aware of as their new parents?
6. Have you bred or attempted to breed them before? If so, what were
the results?
7. Do they have any health issues that we need to be aware of? Not to
be a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r:, but I do check snakes thoroughly before I take them home. I
think we would both rather know this going in rather than waste our
time.

[Fwtella]

Thanks again everyone, i asked all the questions you posted and feel much more comfortable i appreciate the help!!

[TheSnakeGuy]

Glad we could help. Now you know how to trade well.