It's safe if you find a responsible breeder. The guys who post here regularly are probably all reliable.

the 8ball pythons breeder (i think his name is adam) is advertised on this site, and has 100% het albinos $100 for males and $250 for females

here's a recent post of a someone on this forums who just purchased from him:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ighlight=8ball

I'm not trying to advertise for any particular breeder, just showing that there are quite a few very safe and professional online python sellers!