Articles on: Buying

The health guarantee and if your animal arrives sick

If your new animal arrives sick, get it vet care first. Then report the problem before you confirm the handoff, so the seller's payment stays on hold while support reviews it.

Creatures doesn't add one health guarantee to every sale. Any health promise comes from the seller.

Before you buy: check the seller's terms

Read the listing description for any health promise, test results or vet deadline. If something isn't clear, ask the seller in messages before you pay. Some sellers also send a sale agreement to sign.

Keep the seller's answers in your Creatures messages. If there's a problem later, you can show support what was promised.

When the animal arrives: check before you confirm

At pickup or delivery, compare the animal and its papers with the listing. If the animal needs care, call your vet first. Then save photos, vet findings and delivery records in your messages with the seller.

Purchase card for a goat marked delivered, asking the buyer to check the animal before confirming

While a health problem is unresolved, don't select Confirm handoff, Confirm with note or Confirm delivery. Each one completes the sale and releases the seller's payment. Don't show the seller your pickup code either, since entering it does the same.

Report the problem

Open Dashboard, then Buying, then Purchases. On a phone, tap your profile picture, then choose Dashboard.
On the animal's card, select Confirm handoff, Confirm arrival or Review handoff. This only opens the handoff section on the animal's listing.
Select Report an issue.
Describe the symptoms, when they started and what your vet said or plans to do. Then select Report issue.

Report a handoff issue box describing a cough and a booked vet visit

The box takes text only, so keep photos and vet notes in your messages. If the animal was delivered, the delivery's own page has Report an issue too. Use it instead of Confirm delivery.

What happens next

The purchase moves to Problem review, and the seller's payment stays on hold while support reviews it. Support looks at the listing, any promise the seller made, the animal's condition at handoff, vet evidence and timing.

No refund, return or medical result is automatic. The seller may offer a refund or a return. See If the seller offers a refund or a return.

If you can't report from the listing

You bought with boarding. The seller was paid at checkout, so there is no handoff to report from.
The payment was already released. For example, you confirmed the handoff or the report deadline passed.

In either case, contact support promptly. Share the animal's name, what is wrong and the evidence you kept.

Updated on: 29/10/2026

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