So, let this serve as a warning to steer clear of Mr. Kight unless you
too want to become engaged in legal claims against him.
-Gary, N4TXI
UPDATE
Guys, it seems I may be eating crow, but after two weeks I have
received my radio. Let it be known right now that nobody is more
shocked than I. While this situation does have a happy ending, heed
these warnings which are good for both buyers and sellers, which I
have learned (and should have noticed):
1) Always search someone's history before engaging in a transaction.
I'm net-savy, and even I didn't think to do this. What was I
thinking? A five minute search would have saved me many sleepless
nights.
2) Moneygrams just feel "seedy". At least I didn't send a moneygram,
but given that I was asked to send it in the name of a "rush account",
it should have screamed to me "this will be difficult, if not
impossible, to trace!"
3) Money orders do -not- protect the buyer. You can file a claim with
the postal inspection service, but unless you lost thousands, your
claim will sit in a file.
4) Be weary when addresses you're told don't match what's listed on
QRZ.com, or other online references.
5) "Recall of Mail" forms are not guaranteed to work. This is a form
you can fill out at the post office in hopes of having mail you sent
returned to you.
6) Getting your money from someone is expensive, if not prohibitive,
to do on your own. Had I wanted to pursue Dale, I would have had to
hire a lawyer and fly to Hawaii to go to court.
I'm sure there are other lessons as well that will sink in as time
goes by. But even though my situation worked out, I look back and see
many, many signs that should have kept me from sending any money in
the first place. I was stupid (some will say I still am, just not
quite as much)
For now, I'm glad the nightmare is over. -Gary
ps. if anyone has questions or comments regarding my situation, feel
free to e-mail me directly in addition to the group, as I don't always
hit the newsgroups often.