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Buying a puppy online is usually a new experience for most people. People who have had a wonderful experience, often get a second puppy the same way. But, if this is you're first time buying a puppy online, please read this article.
Unfortunately as in many areas of life, thieves and con artists are looking for a way to rip off and take advantage of good people.
Almost all scammers live out of the country. Most of them know they won't be found or prosecuted. They usually have an ad for a beautiful puppy, example tiny teacup yorkie, championship bloodlines, house broke, all shots and worming. Only 250.00 or if you just send shipping money they will give you the puppy. It might look tempting and I've talked to several people who are looking for the cheap puppy like that and have gotten scammed.
The scammers usually say they are American missionaries in Africa. They bought this expensive puppy and took it out there with them. Now they find it is hot out there and they need to find a loving home here to take the puppy. If you just send them shipping money they will even give you the puppy. Sounds good right? WRONG. I wish I could tell you the number of people that I personally talked to that sent money and never got their puppy.
The scammers usually ask for Western Union; some are getting smarter and have a contact in the US to take a money order. The scammers give a false address and phone number. Some even give a phone number that is an answering service, so they can't be traced. Besides who is going to spend thousands of dollars to go after someone that ripped them off for a few hundred?
If a US breeder does something like that and tries to rip someone off, I can assure you there will be cops there and arrests made asap.
Look for the obvious signs. The spelling and syntax are usually poor. They use names like Mary, even though most of the scammers are men.
I have contacted scammers acting like I was interested in their puppy. I get almost word for word the same response each time. I then ask them where exactly they live in Africa, what village. They write back with the name of that village. I tell them I know someone that lives there and can come pick up the puppy. They then write back and tell me the mission is moving the next day to a new village. I find out where and tell them I know someone else close by and can come pick up the puppy.
Of course they get frustrated and eventually realize I'm not going to send any money, but I've found out how they operate and I can protect myself and keep others from falling in the usual trap.
I highly recommend telephone contact. When you find a puppy your interested in, not only email the owners, but talk to them on the phone. See if they are legitimate and also if they really care for the puppies. Do they take time to hold and play with them, what are they feeding them, are they just trying to pump out as many puppies a year as they can. Responsible sellers only let the mommas have puppies once a year and for only a few years at that, then they find a loving home for each mom.
I only deal with certain breeders. They breed a limited number of dogs at a time. They feed their dogs a good quality food. The puppies are either in the home or in a super-nice, clean, small kennel. I don't just sell anyone's puppies.
OK back to not getting scammed. In addition to the things mentioned above, look at the other puppies offered for sale. If the "seller" is really a scammer, they usually offer only one of each breed. Look closely at the pictures. Do they have feature dissimilar props and different backgrounds? If you can tell they are not taken by one person, they are probably just stolen pictures. I occasionally find some of my pictures stolen and contact the website and let them know about it. I sometimes take pictures outside and do have different backgrounds, but there is usually a general theme and you can tell I'm the one who took the pictures. I'm also starting to put puppaws on the pictures so hopefully they won't be stolen as much. If you buy one of my puppies I can send you pictures without the name on it.
Asking a potential scammer to send a picture with a piece of paper with your name on next to the puppy, is no problem for them. They can turn around and ask the real owner of the puppy to get a picture with that certain name or object next to the puppy, then they send the picture off to you. So that's not really fool proof.
On this site I mention that people can leave feedback, which I appreciate. Scammers usually have no feedback as they might get shutdown one day and they open up another account the following day.
I have even bought a puppy myself online before. I talked to the breeder on the phone. Only when I felt comfortable with them, did I proceed.
Use your gut feelings and be cautious.
Buying a puppy online is a wonderful alternative to buying a puppy in a petstore. It can save quite a bit of money. You get to talk to someone that knows the puppy; you can find out how they were raised, if there is any health defects in the parents etc. There is much better choice online, than at the petstore or in the local paper.
If your looking for a teacup size puppy, well, you won't find that in a petstore. If you do, then the puppy really shouldn't be there. Brokers who sell to pet stores don't take tiny ones, as they can have to many health problems the way that they are treated before they get to the store.
I won't go into my personal feelings about pet stores but lets just say it's much better getting a puppy direct.
Getting a puppy is almost like getting a new family member. I suggest to not look for the cheapest one you can find. I've even known people try to get rid of sick ones fast by putting a real low price! This little one is going to be with you for years and you want to make sure they are healthy and that your are going to get what you paid for. Even if you have to make a few payments and wait a few more weeks to get it. Thats better than getting ripped off or a sickly puppy. Even though puppies, like humans, could be healthy one day and get a cold or sick a day or two later you want to make sure their immune system is strong and they get a good start in life. Then it's up to you to keep them that way.
I'll be posting scam letters so you can see what they look like. If you get one and write back and pretend to be interested, your email and name gets put on a list that is sold. You'll then get other offers from other "so called sellers". 300.00 is huge money in a country where men work for around a dollar a day. They actually go to school to learn to scam people. Yes they have schools out there for that. Very sad, I've seen it on shows like 20/20.
So bottomline, it's up to you. Be careful. If you think might be getting scammed email or phone me and I'll tell you my honest opinion either way. (I feel strongly about scammers, so I'll do this whether or not you have bought or are thinking about buying a puppy from me.)