Buyer & Seller Safety
Safe Pet Transactions Guide
Pet Listings does not vet buyers or sellers, so the care taken in a sale is the care the two of you take. These are the habits that make a meeting safer, and Buying a Pet Safely covers choosing an animal and spotting a fraud.
For Buyers
- See Them First: Meet the animal and the seller before any money moves, in person or on a video call with the animal in shot.
- Safe Location: Meet in a public place or at the seller's home where you can see the pet's living conditions.
- Take Somebody: Bring a friend, and tell a third person where you are going and when you expect to be back.
What to ask, the red flags worth walking away from, and what we do and do not check before a listing goes up are all on Buying a Pet Safely.
For Sellers
- Screening Buyers: Interview potential buyers to ensure they can provide a good home.
- Safe Meetings: Meet in public places initially or have a friend present during home visits.
- Payment Safety: Take payment that cannot be reversed after the animal has gone. Be wary of a cheque, of anyone who overpays and asks for the difference back, and of a payment screenshot in place of money that has arrived.
- Paperwork: Prepare all necessary documents including ownership transfer forms.
- Trust Your Instincts: If a buyer seems questionable, do not proceed with the transaction.
General Safety Tips
Payment Security
Pay by a method with a dispute process behind it, sent as a purchase rather than to a friend. Never by wire transfer, gift card or crypto, whoever is asking. An escrow service somebody else picked is one of the commonest pet frauds there is.
Pet Health
Consider having the pet examined by a veterinarian before finalizing the transaction to verify its health status.
Follow Laws
Ensure all transactions comply with local laws regarding pet sales, including any required permits or health certificates.
If Someone Will Not Leave You Alone
Reporting and blocking are two different things, and doing one does not do the other. Use either, or both.
Report Them
- What it does: asks a moderator to look at the person, the listing, or the message.
- What it does not do: it does not stop them contacting you.
- Where: the Report button on a profile or a listing, or on a single message inside a conversation.
- A moderator sees the reason you give, and for a reported message, that message and the five before it. A report on a listing or a member carries no conversation at all.
Block Them
- What it does: neither of you can message the other, from that moment on.
- What it does not do: it does not tell a moderator anything.
- They stop seeing the conversation. You keep yours, and everything in it.
- You can undo it at any time, and nothing either of you already sent is deleted.
Blocking is never automatic
Reporting somebody does not block them. Every block is a separate decision you make, and every one of them can be undone.
In a conversation
The menu on the thread, next to Hide and Delete.
On their profile
The Block button, beside Report.
While reporting them
An optional tick box when you report somebody. Leave it alone and nobody is blocked.
To see or undo one
Settings, under Privacy, lists everyone you have blocked.
Still Worried, or Is Somebody in Danger?
Blocking and reporting cover most of it. If something goes further than that, our safety team wants to hear from you, and anything criminal should go to your local authorities too.
Contact Safety Team