Great story, kiesan!

But I have to ask the obvious: At any point, did you feel like you would be better off taking things into your own hands? As stated by JR_NYC, did you ever stop to think what would happen if the judicial system failed and suddenly you were the target of this guy's rage? Personally, I have very little faith in the justice system here in the states. I have read too many stories of scumbags getting set free because of some ridiculous technicality, only to go on and commit more crime. Now, I understand that by "taking things into your own hands" can be viewed as lowering yourself to his level, but it can also be viewed as good old fashioned street justice too. You and a couple of your friends and some baseball bats can all but guarantee that this guy would never screw around like that again....

Whatever your choice, I commend you for your efforts! As LakeCleElum said, we need more people like you out there.

i'm wondering why people (or stores) will take personal checks as payment for high-dollar items, without knowing if the check is valid.

every time i've sold something i've always demanded cash or a verifiable bank cashier's check (which i will call and verify before finalizing the sale).

They have insurance for the bad checks. That's what I was told by a dealer here in TX.

Same deal, write em a check, personal and not certified/bank check, show em an insurance card to prove you have a policy (new cars are automatically covered for 30 days on an existing policy) they print you some paper plates and off you drive.

Took one of my staff to get a new car couple of weeks ago. It took us longer to drive to the dealership. From the minute we parked till he left with the car was 15 minutes.

I'm guessing this was in the 911 forum and just got revived?

Anyway, I bought my Honda Shadow on eBay. I put in a lowball bid and was surprised (shocked!) when I won the bike. I'd done this a few times on similar bikes and always lost out. I've found in the past when other bidders shied away from seemingly good deals, there was a reason...that wasn't apparent to me....

I contacted the seller as soon as the auction closed and agreed to meet him at his place and bring cash the next morning. He'd told me I needed to hurry because he was leaving on a trip that afternoon. (Suspicious!?)

I had a "plan B" (I won't go into it), but the deal went off without a hitch. The bike was perfect (as described), he had the title, and the owner had just bought a Goldwing and was taking it on a long "break-in" road trip that afternoon.

Sometimes.........sometimes, the "too good to be true" deal is real, there is a reason to hurry, and there is no BS going on.