To be fair, I've only bought one reptile online -- actually, now that I think about it, I've bought all 3 of mine in the common ways: from a pet store (although I found her online), at a reptile show from a private breeder, and online (but met in person) through a forum where another breeder had recommended me said breeder. Sorry if that was confusing...

Essentially, if I am going to buy any animal online, I'd like to be able to meet up with the person in order to talk with them face-to-face, ask a bunch of questions, check over the animal, and pay in person as well. It's just the way I prefer to do it, but if I knew the breeder was well-known (BHB Reptiles, for example) I might be persuaded otherwise.