Our local paper reported a few nights ago on a couple who paid for a Yorkshire Terrier puppy online for £400. They had never seen the pup or the parents and only had email contact with the 'seller'.
The couple were then contacted by a courier looking for £200 to deliver the pup. Only then did they become suspicious about the deal.

If the dog had existed they would have been buying it unseen, parents unseen, no history, no health checks. Probably lucky it didn't exist.

How sad that people think that they can buy a pup like this. Just the latest thing to have and probably hoping it would fit in a handbag.

These con artists will try everything.  We contacted somebody off an ads website when we were looking for a cat, these Ragdoll kittens were advertised at £200 - which is cheap for a Ragdoll - said they were local to me too, even better so we could go and have a look.  I contacted the advertiser, who then explained they had just moved to Scotland!!!!  and if I wanted one of the kittens then I would also have to pay £200 delivery charge, but up front as they would need the money before sending the kitten.

I e-mailed them back and asked them if they thought I was born yesterday...........never heard back from them strangely enough.........lol.

But I do feel sorry for people that actually get caught out with ads like this :(

I think its the ease that we all buy and sell on line, we get removed from reality. I would buy a handbag online but never a living breathing pet that I could invest about 15 years in! Its not pot luck is it, its research.  Unbelievable is right.

OT topic, did you get a ragdoll Sharon. I have a Blue colourpoint Male.  15 months old and 20lb already :-) 

No, not found a decent breeder yet, do you know of any down this way??

Its actually a very well known scam, pay by moneygram, transported from scotland. Then they contact you saying you need to pay more money.

> I have a Blue colourpoint Male.

OT too, I have a Blue colourpoint female who is now 2 and her blue mitted half sister who is nearly 2. They are beautiful, friendly cats, the older one is very American type and very big and chunky, whilst the younger one is much finer boned and has the most beautiful blue eyes imaginable :-) - Sharon - have you tried the UK Ragdoll cat community for breeders or the breed club ? That's where I got my girls though they were both older when I got them.

Oh yes plenty. Send me your postcode and I give you a few of the good ones nearer you.

I occasionally indulge in the sport of 'baiting' these scam ads. The latest one told me they were in the Isle of Man, so I couldn't go to see whatever it wa (can't remember), and I replied saying, oh lovely I can make a weekend of it and come and see them. It was most entertaining to see the lengths they would go to to prevent me seeing something that didn't exist. I just enjoyed wasting their time :)