kingsnake.com?

[donkiez]

Does anyone have any experience with getting snakes off of their classifieds? There are always some that Im interested in but Im leary about getting ripped off. Any advice on how to protect ones self?

[Nate]

Research the seller. Typically, the BOI is a good resource for inquiries on breeders.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I have and as Nate mentioned you need to do your homework and research the seller on the Boi

[dr del]

Hi,

Buying from anywhere the guidelines are the same.

Couple of basic guidelines would include;

If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

If they mention western union run away.

If they are not in the same country or use an african IP run away.

Research every seller on the BOI - if they are not already mentioned ASK.

If they want to do a trade but ask that you ship first - be cautious.

If they cannot send you pics with a requested item such as a note of the date you ask for - be suspicious.

If they say their pictures are "representative of the morph" be cautious as the pictures assuredly shows an animal you are NOT going to recieve.

Never buy hets without paperwork from a trusted breeder.


I'm sure the others will be able to suggest others.


dr del

[PythonWallace]

Like Nate said, check the BOI to see if there is a thread about the breeder of the snake you like. If not, start an inquiry thread over there, and also on here. If you get good feedback, call the seller, or email him asking him to call you back, so you can get a feel for his customer service and how he cares for his animals. If you get bad feed back, or even if it's mostly good, but he takes too long to get back to you, or you get any bad feelings, move on to another snake from a different breeder and start the process over.

There are plenty of great breeders out there, so there's no reason to buy from anyone who has a bad reputation, or who lacks in customer service. The BP market is truly a buyer's market when it comes to being picky about who you deal with, no matter how big or small the breeder is. There are plenty of good guys, and plenty of shady characters that use kingsnake, so when you find a snake you like, do your homework. It will pay off.

*I know there are plenty of women breeders out there, I only used the words 'he' and 'him' in this post because 'their' is incorrect, and I don't like typing out he/she every time. No offense to the ladies out there.

[frankykeno]

If you aren't sure of this person, use our business forum to ask. We have a lot of members from every type of snakekeeping so somebody's likely to know about the person's reputation.

Don't fall so in love with the snake you lose your good sense. In the end it's a purchase, a business transaction and should be handled in a businesslike manner.

If possible get the purchase agreement in writing even just an email confirming how much, which exact snake (with identifying pictures), expected arrival date, type of shipping, etc. If anyting does go wrong you have at least some proof of the agreement made.

If you get a funny gut feeling about someone, trust that. You may well be wrong but I still think if your gut is raising red flags for you, you should be listening. Better you should pass on a deal then end up sorry you didn't listen to your own good instincts.

Research the type or morph of the snake you are interested in. Be an informed purchaser so you know you are getting the best bang for your buck. It's really sad to see someone think they got a great deal and then later they realize the snake was a great deal because it was about the worst example of that species or morph out there.

Learn what the current market value is for the snake you want. Check out many sources for that type of snake. Many good breeders don't use any particular source to market their snakes so it's always best to also look directly at breeder's websites to see both the quality of their snakes and the prices they expect to get for them.

Learn what you should expect to get from a breeder as far as information about the snake, genetics paperwork, feeding history, etc.

Learn what a healthy snake of that species looks so when you do see pictures of one you can quickly recognize whether it fits the normal criteria of good health.