Sad how the hobbie has gone

I’m an old school herper, it’s sad to see all the rip off artists on here, and on the web.. back in the day, you would send somebody a post a money order they would send you your product. Now you don’t know who to trust who you’re sending it to I’m trying to buy some stuff online in almost every site I’m going on or everybody I am contacting is a scam they’re not even real people.. sad..

It has been horrible for the past few years!

It's more than this hobby. Jewelry, watches, small electronics, high-end optics...

About the only thing it doesn't happen with is firearms because they can't be advertised on social media platforms, and an FFL typically handles shipping and transfers on each end.

I agree. Hug your friendly forum moderator, since they're helping to keep out the riffraff.

Originally Posted by tradaroo

Now you don’t know who to trust who you’re sending it to I’m trying to buy some stuff online in almost every site I’m going on or everybody I am contacting is a scam they’re not even real people.. sad.

One thing you can do is seek out breeders who have a long history on the forum they're advertising on, and who have positive reviews. Even better if they're on more than one forum so you can double check your observations. Nice that real names appear here, so you can Google for more info as well.

While there are many good newer sellers, many breeders have a substantial electron trail that you can investigate -- at least to find out whether they're a real person or not.

Always use secured funds (PayPal/Venmo Goods and Services; a credit card managed by a company that you're sure has your back) unless you would be absolutely 100% comfortable giving the person an envelope full of cash on their promise to give you a quality reptile next week. The two repliers above this post are people I would easily do that with without hesitation (of course!).

There are others out there who are the same, but many are not. Spend some time here getting to know folks, even vicariously just by reading what they post, and what others post about them. It just takes more research than it used to in order to find quality people, maybe.