Yeh, I've seen a lot of really poor quality snakes at shows already too. But I can say, I've NEVER lost a snake that I've gotten from a show. That might just be 'cause I'm so damn picky when it comes to getting snakes though too! LOL If you go to the shows often enough, you get to know some of the dealers and who you can trust. I've been hitting most of the local shows (anything within 2hrs. of me) from day#1, so I've gotten to know a lot of the dealers pretty well.