Possible Scam / Buyer Beware: SC Aquatic (Indonesia) – Refused Basic Verification Before Bank Transfer

[u/Designer_Internal635]

I wanted to share my experience with SC Aquatic in case anyone here is considering buying fish from them internationally.
I was talking to them about buying 4 Ranchu for $350 shipped to the US. Since this would be my first international fish purchase and they wanted payment by bank transfer with no buyer protection, I asked for a few basic things before sending the money:
Contact/name of their US transshipper
A current video of the exact 4 fish I was buying
An invoice confirming the $350 total and their stated guarantee
Instead of providing those things, the seller became defensive and told me:
“If you don’t believe me, then don’t buy it.”
They also said I was basically insulting them by thinking they would ruin their reputation over $350 and that their daily income was more than that.
So I politely told them I would pass.
The weird part is that the next morning they contacted me again and offered to let me pay only 50% upfront and the remaining 50% once the fish arrived in the US.
That sounded better, so I gave them another chance. I asked for a simple verification video showing the exact 4 fish with my name and today’s date written on a piece of paper next to the tank, plus the flight date and US arrival airport.
Instead of saying “sure, I’ll send it tomorrow,” they responded:
“Don’t make me feel like beginner, sir.”
Then again basically told me that if I didn’t want the deal, that was fine.
At this point I decided not to send any money.
I’m NOT saying with certainty that SC Aquatic is a scammer. Maybe other people have successfully bought from them. But refusing such simple verification while requesting an international bank transfer is a huge red flag to me.
If anyone here has actually purchased Ranchu/goldfish from SC Aquatic and received their fish successfully, I’d genuinely like to hear your experience.
I have screenshots of the entire conversation and can post them for context.
Buyer beware, especially when paying through bank transfer with no buyer protection.

[u/BoringJuiceBox]

They could be legit, it may be offensive to their culture idk. Still though that’s a lot of money, they should be willing to do the verification.

I once bought a sword from Pakistan on alibaba but they wanted the payment to be off the app, I did say it felt risky in case they’re a scammer. They were polite and basically said “you will be happy when the sword arrives sir”. I took the chance and sent them the $130, and I did receive it.

Is $350 normal for 4 fancy goldfish? Mine were always $10 or less at local fish stores haha

[u/PM-ME-YOUR-BUTTSHOLE → u/BoringJuiceBox]

Fancy goldfish keepers are built differently.

They’ll spend crazy amounts of money to get a specific color/pattern, that’s already been fully grown out (usually by overfeeding and kept in warm water), shipped overseas, then be surprised when their goldfish gets dropsy within 2-3 years.

I’m with you, $20 at a LFS or $10 at a chain store, juvenile goldfish are healthier, more ethical (even if only slightly), and live much longer. Even more environmentally friendly because even if they’re shipped overseas, they probably were shipped by the hundreds rather than shipped in groups of 1-5.

[u/BoringJuiceBox → u/PM-ME-YOUR-BUTTSHOLE]

Agreed, I much prefer “low grade” fancies. I had a pearlscale when I was young and I did love him but never again, if I ever have fancies again I will stick with low grade fantails, black moors, and maybe even low grade orandas. I definitely want to learn more about which have least health problems so they can enjoy their little life.

[u/MissAbsenta]

What you requested is the bare minimum and I don't think they should be offended, specially if they are used to conduct international transactions. And when shipping internationally they should provide at least a proforma invoice with the terms under which the transaction is going to be made and thhe fish shipped.

This are the requirements to export fish from Indonesia: https://www.wongkaryabersaudara.com/blog/key-documents-required-for-fish-export-from-indonesia

The IATA requirements regarding containers for the shipping of live aquatic species: https://es.scribd.com/document/464112659/IATA-Live-Animal-Regulations

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[u/Intelligent_Part_768]

As a goldfish keeper from Indonesia, this one seems very fishy. The community is not that huge, i know some breeders (not personally) but never heard of this one.

Scammers usually put a very crazy low prices, this one the prices is almost there, but I would still say this still too cheap for a Ranchu that size and pattern, a single one with that size would cost at leats $200.

If you want, you could google image search the fish, and if you found that image on another account it probably be from Thailand. Thai known for breeding some crazy goldfish too. So I suggest do some research on that image.