You can ensure a great buying experience by following the advice on this page.

Buy from those with known reputation.
Consider the risk involved.
Use PayPal or credit card for buyer protection.
Keep open and clear communications.
Notify the seller on your animal’s arrival.

Reptile Room’s Role

We educate users before they make their final decisions.
We provide a rating system to help buyers assess the trust-level of sellers.
Sellers must show their full legal name or entity and verify that with an official ID.
We investigate complaints immediately.
We handle disputes between buyers and sellers.
We suspend sellers (and buyers) if they are dishonest.
We keep banned users off the site.
We support authorities by providing relevant information

Since your payment goes directly to the seller, there are limits to what we can do:

We cannot guarantee that a transaction will turn out as expected.
We cannot get your money back. Sending any money to a seller is done so at your own risk.
We do not ban sellers or buyers just because someone says they’re “bad”.
We are very sympathetic to those who are taken advantage of. In the case of a dispute with a legitimate seller, we are often successful in convincing the seller to make things right with an unhappy customer. But in cases of true fraud, there is nothing we can do to get your money back.

Before the Transaction

Do your research before the transaction to avoid any issues further down the line.

Red Flags to Look For

These factors indicate an increased risk.

Price seems too good to be true.
New seller with no history is selling high-end animals.
“About” section and Store Policy section of Seller Profile not completed..
No other online presence.
Seller insists on communicating outside of the Reptile Room.
Seller insists on PayPal Friends & Family or other equally insecure cash-based payment methods.
Pressure to buy quickly.
Using someone else’s photos in the ad(s).
Negative ratings.
Poor communication skills.

Payment Methods

For buyer protection. We recommend…
Credit or Debit Card
Seller may accept credit or debit cards through a variety of services
Invoice emailed to you so you pay with your own credit or debit card
Buyer/purchase protection is provided by your bank or credit card
PayPal
Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.