I think the big differnce between getting a snake at a pet store or a breeder is pet stores usually(especially this time of year) have CH or captive hatched snakes that basically were hatched in Africa and shipped here by the thousands and sold to petstores dirt cheap. Most of these animals are not established and have never eaten yet(they can go weeks/months without eating). In transit they usually pickup mites, ticks and stress related problems(RI, wont feed). My first BP came from a reptile specialty pet store. They swore it was captive bred and it turned out having ticks and mites! CB sure it was. Yes they lie to tell you what you want to hear to make a sale.

Most breeders wont let an animal go until it is established and has had at least four sucessful feedings. If you think shipping overnight is scary(it's not) think of what shipping 1000's of snakes from Africa in a crate. You can also get a het from a breeder which looks normal but carries the genes for a recessive trait (like albino or ghost) for about the same price as a normal. The breeder will also give you accurate info of when/what it is eating and solid husbandry advice.

Can you get a good snake from a pet store? yeah maybe but why take a gamble when a good breeder will give you an established animal for the same if not less. If I were you the only thing that would concern me about shipping is the added cost.

Hope this helps