It makes sense to anyone who understands basic business transactions. Buying 20 snakes for 20 dollars and selling them for 40 dollars is a simple business transaction. Thats the way every business transaction works. I never heard of anybody buying anything for 20 dollars to sell it to someone for 20 dollars. The fact your buying online is your problem, nobody is forcing you to buy online. You can go to a show, to a breeder, etc. I can buy a house online too and not know what im getting. Thats why if i was going to do that i would go to a reputable broker like Century21, Prudential, ERA, etc. If i go to some shady broker then i deserve what i get, thats why i need to do my research. Your point is that buying from someone else to sell is flipping, while hatching out your own babies to sell is not? How does that make sense? I can buy 2 snakes, wait till they breed, get 10 babies, and sell them. How is that any different? It's actually worse by your logic since i didnt pay for each baby, i only paid for the parents. Therefore any babies i sell for the next 10 years are pure profit since i dont pay anything for them (besides my initial investment for the parents and the maintenance). In this case im making way more profit than your buy for 20 sell for 40 example. You see how your point falls flat here?