[ARC5] (OT) Bay Transactions (was BC-375 Tubes)

[David Stinson]

I've been trading on "the bay" since they started in the 90s.
I can count the "bad deals" on my fingers and have some left.
Most people *in our branch* of the hobby make an honest 
effort to "do the right thing."  They don't always know everything
and they make mistakes (including me), but they're honest mistakes.
The really bad beatings I've taken were from Italy,
eastern Europe and Brazil.  The one from Italy cost me over $1000
(there are safeguards in place now to prevent this scam).
I contacted the local authorities on that one as I had all the
particulars on the scammers, but they laughed it off.
Guess I didn't know who to bribe.
I usually don't do business with people in those places anymore 
unless I know the person.

I can't say the same for the "audiophool" crowd.
While there are very many good and honest "audio" guys,
there are also a lot of crooks in that bunch 
so watch yourself if you have to deal with them.