Reptile & Amphibian Forums

LOL, got this reply to an ad, seems wrong to me:

Hi there,
I am fully interested in your snake listed on the Kingsnake.I woud like to know if you are the rightowner of the snake cos i dont want to buy from wrong owner and also wht does its feed on.Kindly let me the actual price of the snake excluding the shipping fees.I wait your fast response with you full payment details including your phone nbr.Hope to hear from you soon

Thanks

Lyon Bill
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
12.24 BRB
11.13 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Sounds fishy to me, Dave.

... the correct owner is "C". "C"...
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- Mike Fourquet

Cloaca Herpetoculture
www.CloacaHerps.com

I've had online classifieds up for non-animal items and the wording for scammy-type replies usually contain this sort of language:

I am interested in *whatever you have for sale*.
Please let me know the actual price of *whatever you have for sale*.
-- Also, usually, very poor English or mixed "ok" English with very poor language (as if they used parts of a form email). They also then ask if they can arrange their own shipping or pay with a cashier's check or money order of some kind.

Interesting that this one actually asked what the snake feeds on, they put more thought into it than other scammers, but I definitely wouldn't take such a reply seriously. Ask them a few questions and see how they answer... Might get some humorous responses.
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC

I get so many of those responses, not just for snakes but for anything I have up for sale on the internet. Not just KS but even other items up on a local classified site.

Just tell them to piss off. Even if it is a legitimate inquiry (however very unlikely) it isnt your fault that some jack off scammers in Africa are ruining it for the few genuine foreigners that are legit.

The first time I ever recieved one of those inquiries I was ignorant to it and almost fell for it. Now that Ive seen them a million times I dont give it a second thought. You shouldnt either. Tell em not to email you and move on because there are plenty of other customers out there worth your time.
Good luck.