# Sticky  Tips on safely buying frogs online



## Socratic Monologue

When buying frogs online, it is important to avoid being scammed by a simple thief poising as a legitimate seller, and to buy from an ethical breeder of healthy, legal, captive bred animals. Here are some tips for doing both successfully. These are presented in distinct categories, but there is overlap in purpose for some items.

*Avoiding scammers*

-- Do a web search of the seller's name.

-- Do a web search of the seller's screen name.

-- Do a web search of the seller's PayPal address.

-- Read the seller's VF thread here in the Marketplace.

-- Read the seller's posts here on DB.

-- Don't run up posts on your fresh account here so you can see the Marketplace and throw money at it. Figuring out who you want to buy from takes longer, and more postings, than that.

-- Skip, or be extremely cautious, if the price seems too good to be true. It probably is.

-- If the seller requests funds sent to an account that isn't their own, end the transaction.

-- Do a reverse image search on any photos sent to you to confirm they're not borrowed from the internet.

-- Do not send money that isn't covered by buyer protection. So, don't send PP 'friends and family', don't sent electronic funds transfers, don't send cash, checks or money orders. Also, don't use any of the newer bank transfer services until you've confirmed that they have a solid claims process for transactions that don't turn out as expected.

-- Have all conversations in writing (PM,email,text) for future documentation.

-- Learn how to find the sending IP address in emails, and look it up to confirm the location matches the seller's claimed location (this does not work for all email services).

-- Make an unboxing video in your car in the FedEx parking lot. Taking along an IR temp gun, and saving a photo of the temperature in the center of the box immediately upon opening the box, is a good idea in case of losses due to extreme temperatures.


*Identifying quality breeders*


-- Ask for Terms of Sale; some of us have them already printed up, while other transactions need to have an agreement in place as to what the seller will do if the animals are missexed/DOA/etc.

-- Ask how the seller intends to ship. Only overnight air service is used by quality sellers for live animals (other than invertebrates). It is legal to ship frogs through UPS and USPS. It is safest, though, to ship using a third-party shipping provider who contracts with FedEx, such as Ship Your Reptiles. FedEx's reliability is high, and SYR has inside connections at FedEx to expedite rerouting needs and find lost packages. Using a third party provider is the only way to ship live animals with FedEx, as they require live animal shippers to be certified.

-- Ask for pictures, of the frogs, the seller's tanks, etc.
Pictures can be a great source of information on the health of the frogs, and the seller's keeping style/experience.

-- The seller should be as interested in you and your capabilities/values as you are of theirs. A good seller will tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear.

-- Ask what conditions the seller has been keeping these animals in and did they breed them themselves. If not, ask what is their provenance and how long has the seller had them. (Keep in mind that 'farmed' or 'farm bred' means 'wild caught', either in actual fact or for all practical purposes). Ask what their diet has consisted of and what supplements have been provided.

If you see a red flag, or think you see a red flag, stop the transaction and simply walk away. There is no deal so good that it won't present itself again under more secure circumstances.


If you have suggestions to add, please PM me or another mod, or contribute to the antecedents to this list here or here.


Contributors:
fishingguy12345
hypostatic
Louis
varanoid


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