I know the nature of an auction is to do a quick sale, so being bogged down with questions and haggling is not the intent…
But having seen an auction I was interested in and the animal potentially having an unlisted medical issue has made me nervous. Sure, I can possibly just go to another animal the seller has listed and ping there…but that’s rude and not the point of an inquiry. So when the seller doesn’t have messaging enabled, it keeps me from bidding.
I do not want to be blacklisted from auctions if I refused to follow through on the purchase afterwards.
I know that the policies MM has in place would protect me if I found out the animal did have an issue on arrival…but I don’t want to put the animal through the potential shipping stress back and forth either.
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You can usually find the seller’s contact information on their profile page, if they’ve chosen to include it. If not, many provide links to their social media accounts where you can send them a direct message. Most sellers also invite potential buyers to reach out with any questions in the store policy section under each animal listing. Be sure to read both the animal ad and the store policy for these details.
This is the approach I use, and I’ve never had any issues. In fact, I just purchased a snake today through a MorphMarket auction after contacting the breeder with a few questions before placing my bid.
As a seller I totally understand that social media and contact info exists.
The problem I had at the moment was the animal looked kinked and I wanted to verify it wasn’t in a MorphMarket chat so that it would be easier to keep on this platform. The breeder did not disclose any kink in the description and I wouldn’t want action on my account to deal with for refusing to pay for an auction.
Other issues with auctions I’ve seen is the animal looked to be mislabeled. And again. That is something I would want to keep discussing on the Morphmarket platform to keep things easier in case of a dispute.
I’ve purchased some great animals through MorphMarket. I just am hesitant about purchasing without inquiring. I could just go click a button on a webpage somewhere else for the same result of the auction. Or go to Palm Street and see live video on cases like this.
Keeping info on this platform is my preference
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You make some very good points across the board, and I agree. This would be a beneficial recommendation for a new site feature.
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