That's not at all irrational. I purchase plenty of things online - clothes, toys, electronics, food, firearms - but I'm also still new enough to snakes that I prefer to put eyes and hands on the animal if possible before pulling out my wallet. What I did was look through FaunaClassifies and KingSnake to find reputable breeders within a 3-4 hour drive of me. I came up with about a dozen, so I just keep an eye on what they have for sale, and I travel to them if they have an animal I want.