I normally hesitate to write anything publicly critical of another human
being, but I believe I will make an exception in this case, in the hope of
sparing some other unsuspecting collector or dealer an unpleasant
experience. I only crossed paths with E.T. once, several years ago. He
phoned me one day, out of the blue. I had never heard of him, but he
sounded knowledgeable, and also claimed to be a friend of a long-standing
customer of mine, who had supposedly recommended me. He wanted about a half
dozen medium-priced shells, and I said I would send them right off to him,
just as I would have done for someone I knew. We chatted a while, and just
before he hung up he said "oh, there is one other thing I'd be interested
in", and named a rather pricey volute. I wasn't entirely comfortable with
that, but I said I would include it in the shipment. Silly me. I sent off
the shells to his P.O. box, which was the only address he provided. When I
didn't hear from him in about five weeks, I sent him a letter. No response.
Three weeks later, another letter. No response. I contacted my long-time
friend, the one who had supposedly referred him to me. Of course, my friend
didn't know him. Through various inquiries to and through shellers I know,
I managed to get ahold of an old phone number for him, from a friend of a
friend. I called the number and he answered. When he heard who it was, he
stuttered and stammered for a minute, then demanded to know how I got his
phone number. In the end, he said he would send me a check immediately.
When I didn't receive the check in ten days, I called again. The number was
no longer in service. Needless to say, I ended up writing it off as a loss.
So, dear friends - when you contact a dealer, or even another collector for
the first time, and they act a little reserved, please don't take it
personally. After being burned a few times, one becomes a little more
cautious. One bad apple makes things just a little tougher on the rest of
us. I still try to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as I
possibly can. But sometimes you have to draw the line somewhere.
Regards,
Paul M.
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