I never assume anyone is a good or bad owner and would never make that assumption based on anything but first hand knowledge. A person selling their snake or trading it doesn't make them a bad owner; how they care for the animal determines that. Someone buying a reptile from an expo or a pet store or craigslist or wherever - doesn't make a difference; there the good and the bad but I can't agree that re-homing a snake doesn't cause some level of stress for that snake and if done repeatedly, doesn't create a fair amount of stress and possible health issues related to the stress.
I'm not basing this on any studies or anything other than personal experience. I've seen first hand how it affects snakes and I've also seen firsthand how many owners see snakes and other reptiles as disposable.

I volunteer at a reptile rescue centre and I've had so many people surrender their animals because they're bored of them or they say things like "I was only ever planning to keep the snake for a couple yrs because I always knew I'd be going away to school..." why get it in the first place if you only want a 2 yr commitment?

A few posts back someone made a comment that's really true and is definately something I wonder about. With all the hundreds...thousands of forum posts of new owners proudly displaying their new baby snake or lizard...or YouTube "educational" videos about how to care for a caiman or a Nile monitor and the owner proudly shows their baby croc....where did all these animals go? There's far too many babies and no where near enough adults...

I do agree with you that if an animal isn't being cared for then by all means, give the poor thing a chance and try and find a new owner but my point is I wish some people would think twice when it comes to buying reptiles. Not everyone is meant to own a snake for example - it's a relationship that's based on you giving and loving and respecting and spending and cleaning and them ... Well tolerating at best :-)
Too many people get bored and you buy a snake you realize it's not for you so you find it a good home. Lesson learned. But when you keep buying and get rid or them and trading then the hobby itself becomes about trading and the novelty of it all instead of about the actual animal - this living, breathing, beautiful creature....that's worth much more than an xbox.