The lack of a seller review forum...

[smashtoad]

I understand why you guys don't do this. Keep in mind that some breeders are so big, and some lines are so inbred, that when a buyer gets an animal with some form of weakness, that it may not be apparent for some time.

We buy animals from all over the country, making complaining to the breeder almost impossible.

If seller flatly refuses to make the deal right, where does the buyer go? Not here, apparently. So since the big breeders are paying for the site with ads, it really is buyer beware.

 

[Hilde]

There's the Fauna Board of Inquiry which deals specifically with that kind of problem.
USA - Board of Inquiry® - FaunaClassifieds

Canadian - Canadian Board of Inquiry® - FaunaClassifieds

International - International Board of Inquiry® - FaunaClassifieds

There's also a "good guy" forum where you can check if the vendor is on the good list.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

You'd be hard pressed to find any funding from the "big named breeders" on here. Most of GU is funded out of pocket, and from users of the forums that become "Forum Supporters". Also the sales of our yearly calendar helps keep us up and running. Our entire staff is volunteer (including myself). So, you're definitely barking up the wrong tree with that one. The Board of Inquiry is already well established as the place within the herp community for taking up your issues with problem breeders. However, if you think that the community is in need of another or different entity to take over that role, I'm sure that you would be more than welcomed to start it. You'll get no argument from me. Let me know when you have such a place up, and I'll be happy to link our members to it. Thanks for your concern for our community and hope to hear something about a new "Seller Review" site in the future.

 

[the_sneetch]

Sounds like you have quite the bone to pick with someone. Maybe you should pick it with them instead of making a bizzarro complaint post?

I'm not on here much, but I've yet to see many of the 'big breeders' you speak of. Most people here are small hobbyists who do this for fun and give back to the herp community. The paid advertisements really don't speak to the forum at large in my mind. Buyer beware should apply to any sale of any good or service at any time anyway.