Buying an animal you have not met is normal now, and it can be done well. The difference between a good purchase and a bad one is almost entirely about what you ask for before the money moves.
Insist on a live video call
Not photographs. Photos are reused across listings and across sellers; a live call showing the animal moving, in a room you can see, cannot be.
Ask for the records before paying
Vaccination card, deworming dates, and any pre-sale health check - originals, naming the vet who did the work. Hesitation at this question is the single most reliable warning sign there is.
Check the age arithmetic
A puppy or kitten should not leave its mother before eight weeks. If the stated age does not fit the stated separation date, ask why, and do not accept a vague answer.
Ask how it will travel
Accompanied, in a ventilated carrier, on a planned route - or handed to a general courier. For a long interstate journey this matters more than almost anything else on this list.
Be suspicious of the cheapest listing
Within a region, prices for a documented animal sit in a band. A listing well below it is usually missing the health work, and that cost reappears at the first vet visit.
