The hobbyist market — eBay listings, Facebook groups and the keeper down the road with a spare tank of surplus — is the cheapest way to buy cherry shrimp in the UK and the least protected. Both of those are true at the same time, which is why it deserves an honest guide rather than a warning or a sales pitch. There are genuine bargains and genuinely good genetics here, alongside real ways to get stung, and the difference between the two is almost always the seller rather than the platform. Here's how to tell them apart, and why collecting in person is the quiet best option most keepers overlook.
The real wins
The reason experienced keepers buy this way is simple: a hobbyist selling surplus is often selling exactly what you want. A thriving home colony throws more shrimp than its tank can hold, and the overflow goes up for sale — fresh genetics from a proven, healthy line, frequently at prices a shop can't touch. You're buying from someone who actually keeps the animals, not a wholesaler, and that shows in the stock.
Prices are the headline draw. Standard-grade cherries change hands at the same £2–4 each you'd pay anywhere, but hobbyists routinely sell in generous groups, throw in extras, or price to clear a colony they need to thin — so you often get more shrimp, or better shrimp, for your money. Even high grades, which sell at £30–50 per 10 from specialists, can turn up keenly priced when a local breeder simply has too many.
Then there's the knowledge. A hobbyist seller worth buying from will happily talk your ear off about their water, their lines and how they raise their young, because they're an enthusiast first and a seller second. Ask the right questions and you'll often learn more from a Facebook message thread than from any shop counter. The enthusiast market, at its best, is the strongest link in the whole hobby — and it's where a lot of the country's best hidden lines quietly live.
The real risks
The protections you take for granted elsewhere mostly aren't here, and the risks follow directly from that. Go in with your eyes open to all of them.
Stock photos instead of the actual animals. The oldest trick in the listing book is a glossy photo of someone else's prize shrimp standing in for whatever's actually in the seller's tank. If the picture looks like a catalogue shot, assume it is one until proven otherwise. You want photos of these shrimp, ideally recent and clearly the seller's own.
Culls sold as grade. A colony's lower-grade offspring — the pale, patchy ones a breeder would normally cull from the line — are perfectly healthy shrimp, but they are not the "Fire Red" or "high grade" the listing may call them. Grade language gets abused hardest exactly where nobody's checking, so learn the ladder before you shop, because the same shrimp can be sold honestly at standard money or dishonestly at premium money with one word on the listing. The Neocaridina grades guide is your reference.
"Assorted colours" that won't breed true. A cheap mixed scoop is fun to look at and a genetic dead end. Different Neocaridina colours interbreed freely, and their offspring drift back to wild-type brown within a couple of generations — so an assorted bargain is fine for a one-off display and useless as breeding stock.
No live-arrival cover. Specialists back their parcels with a guarantee; most hobbyists don't. If shrimp arrive dead in the post, you're often relying on the seller's goodwill rather than any policy, and platform buyer protection rarely extends to live animals. Establish what happens to a bad arrival before you pay, not after.
The posting-weather gamble. Casual sellers rarely show a specialist's restraint about the forecast, so a parcel can get sent out into a July heatwave or a January freeze with nothing but a sandwich bag for protection. Shrimp travel well inside a sensible temperature band and badly outside it — how shrimp are shipped shows what proper packaging looks like, and a seller who can't describe theirs is one to avoid in extreme weeks.
Outright scams. They're rarer than the horror stories suggest, but they exist: payment taken and nothing sent, or a brand-new account with a batch of too-good listings and no history. They're also the easiest risk to sidestep — the vetting below screens them out along with the merely careless sellers.
How to vet a hobbyist seller
Every risk above is defeated by the same thing: asking questions and reading the answers. A genuine keeper responds quickly, specifically and without defensiveness. A seller who dodges is telling you what you need to know. Before you pay, get:
- Photos of the actual stock — the real tank, recent, not a catalogue image. Ask for one with something ordinary in shot if you're unsure.
- Water numbers — the GH and TDS the shrimp are kept in. Shrimp raised in water like yours settle fast; wildly different water needs long, careful acclimation.
- The line and its generation — what colour line, how long they've kept it, whether it breeds true. Vagueness here often means mixed stock.
- How they pack and post — bags, insulation, heat pack in winter, which service. "I'll pop them in a bag" is not an answer.
- What happens to a dead-on-arrival parcel — get the seller's stance in writing before money changes hands.
That's the short version of the full list in 10 questions to ask your shrimp breeder, and it works identically whether the seller is a specialist or a stranger on Facebook. Pair it with our healthy-shrimp checklist so you know what a good photo should show. A seller who answers all of it fast is the one to buy from; treat any listing that dodges the questions as decoration.
eBay versus Facebook groups
The two big platforms play a little differently. eBay gives you feedback history and a formal buyer-protection framework, which is reassuring — but read the small print, because that protection is built around parcels and rarely covers a live animal arriving dead. Judge an eBay seller on their feedback, the honesty of their photos, and how they answer questions before you bid.
UK shrimp-keeping groups on Facebook run on reputation instead of a formal system. There's no automatic protection at all, but there's something arguably better: a community that knows its regulars, and where a seller who ships badly or mislabels grades gets found out fast. The groups are also where local collection gets arranged, which is where the hobbyist market really comes into its own. Post a friendly ask for what you're after and you'll often find a nearby keeper with exactly it.
The sleeper best option: local collection
If there's one recommendation to take from this guide, it's this: whenever you can, collect in person from a local keeper. It quietly solves nearly every risk the rest of the article is about, and it's the single best-value move in the whole hobby.
You see the seller's tanks with your own eyes, so stock photos and mislabelled grades become non-issues — you're judging the actual shrimp and the colony they came from. The animals travel for minutes in a bag rather than a day in a box, so there's no posting-weather gamble and no packaging to survive. And a local keeper is likely on water similar to yours, which makes settling in gentler. The only job left is easing them across carefully, so give them the full hour of drip acclimation once you're home.
Set against the safer, pricier channels in our online-versus-shop comparison, local collection from a vetted hobbyist is often the best of both — you see the stock and you get enthusiast genetics at enthusiast prices. It's how we'd buy if we were starting again, and it sits at the top of our full where-to-buy guide for good reason. We breed and sell this way ourselves when the colony allows, though we're rebuilding and paused as we write — join the waitlist if you'd like a heads-up when our next graded broods are ready to collect or post.
FAQ
Is it safe to buy cherry shrimp on eBay?
It can be, with vetting. eBay gives you seller feedback and a photo trail, but its buyer protection is built around parcels and rarely covers live animals that arrive dead — so treat that as your risk. Buy from sellers with solid feedback and photos of their actual stock, ask about their water, packaging and dead-on-arrival policy before bidding, and be wary of brand-new accounts posting too-good listings with no history.
Are Facebook shrimp groups any good?
Yes — UK shrimp-keeping groups on Facebook are one of the best places to find fresh, well-kept stock at fair prices. There's no formal buyer protection, but the community polices itself, and a seller who mislabels grades or ships badly gets known quickly. The groups are also where local collection gets arranged, which removes the posting risk entirely. Vet sellers on their photos, their water numbers and how straight their answers are.
How do I avoid getting scammed buying shrimp?
Ask specific questions and read the answers. Insist on recent photos of the actual stock, the GH and TDS the shrimp are kept in, and a clear dead-on-arrival policy in writing before you pay. Be cautious of brand-new accounts, catalogue-style stock photos, "assorted colours" bargains and grade names that seem too good for the price. A genuine keeper answers fast and specifically; evasion is your cue to walk away.
Why are shrimp so cheap on eBay and Facebook?
Usually because you're buying from hobbyists clearing surplus from thriving colonies rather than from a business with overheads — which is a genuine win. Sometimes, though, a low price signals culls sold as grade, mixed lines that won't breed true, or a colony being dumped. Standard cherries at £2–4 each are normal; suspiciously cheap "high grade" shrimp usually aren't the grade the listing claims.
Is it better to collect shrimp in person?
Often, yes — local collection is the sleeper best option in the hobby. You see the seller's tanks and the actual shrimp, so photos and grade labels stop mattering; the animals travel minutes rather than a day, removing the posting-weather risk; and a local keeper is likely on water similar to yours, so acclimation is gentler. Vet the seller as you would online, then drip acclimatise carefully once you're home.