Picture check

I am working on buying a couple of boas to add to my collection but wanted to check here to see if anybody had seen these before. Since there have been some classifieds here with stolen pictures, I just wanted to check for my piece of mind. They are really nice and I hope it is legit because I would love to have them. They are in the Chicago area.

Kris,
While I understand your concern, especially in light of a thread recently placed here, the BOI is a place for inquiring about a business. The TOS state

Topic lines should display the name of the person or business that the message is concerning

There may be some confusion generated by the "other thread", but that was moved here from the classifieds after it became evident that the pictures were stolen...the purpose being both to prevent any changes/deletions within that thread AND to ensure that anyone doing a search on the person in question (or his alias) would have those details brought to their attention.

You mentioned in another post that things like the recent stolen picture scam were making you wary about doing business on the internet.
While it is indeed a valid concern and you should always approach any business deal with an unknown person with caution, I'd like to reassure you that while these things do happen, they are in the vast minority.
The segment of our hobby that are truly dishonest and are trying to run scams is very small compared to the many reputable and upstanding people we have.

The first thing to do is to do a search on the BOI for the person's name with which you are considering doing business.
If there are no results, or not enough results to make you comfortable, then post an inquiry about the person, with their name in the title and see who has done business with them. A lot of the time if a seller has had nothing but good dealings, then there may not be much at all about him on the BOI, as most people are incited to post as a result of a negative experience. Posting an inquiry though will usually bring out several people in these cases that will relate their good experiences.
The BOI is a fantastic tool for checking up on a seller.

Another option is if you have concerns that the pictures of a snake might be stolen, ask the seller to take a specific picture for you, such as the snake with a paper with your name on it.
Some sellers might find this to be an aggravation, but most would understand if they know you are new to buying herps over the net.

While scams do happen, and reading the BOI may lead someone to believe they are quite common, the truth is if you use a reasonable amount of caution you will rarely if ever actually get taken in a scam.

Thanks for the idea about the picture with my name. I had considered one with that day's newspaper, but some don't get the paper. It might be a moot point anyway, the snakes are supposed to be getting purchased tomorrow. Back to square one.

Thanks,
Kris

Well, there are more snakes for sale everyday. One thing is true, if you aren't fully comfortable with a deal for whatever reason, then you've lost nothing if they happen to get sold before you can complete your research.
Never let the desire to own a snake cause you to go ahead with a deal you are not comfortable with. At best you'll worry constantly about getting ripped off until the snake is in your possession and at worst you might find that your apprehensions were valid.

Ive seen those pictures on a forum somewhere. id be cautious if i were you.

Originally Posted by LorenBbrown

Ive seen those pictures on a forum somewhere. id be cautious if i were you.

They were posted on KS for sale. I haven't seen them anywhere else, but if you remember where you saw them, let me know.

Thanks,
Kris

Kris ,

you know what Dave would say about you buying a snake from a yankee....LOL

Scott

Originally Posted by Sweeney's Serpents

Kris ,

you know what Dave would say about you buying a snake from a yankee....LOL

Scott

LMAO......probably tell me it's infertile