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.