So I've been on FPG for about 5 or 6 years and have bought from some of its members, although I don't post much here. I've also been on FPN for probably 15 years and have posted there, and bought and sold lots pens. (I'm also a member of Pentrace for near 20 years.) I'm currently in the market for a Pelikan "Originals of Their Time" nib, so I posted on both sites what I was looking for. I received three replies indicating that they had the nib. All three replies were from members of FPN or FPG. One was from a member that signed up January 2021, the other two replies were from members that signed up in April 2021. Each person that replied told me they had the nib and we agreed on a price, however none of them seem to be on the internet anywhere! I've gladly bought pens from folks who have been members of FPN, FPG or Pentrace and have some history there, and I've never had a problem, ever. The three people that responded all say they are "legit" etc. etc. but they don't seem to have any web presence whatsoever. So I thought though how I might get comfortable with them enough to send a relatively significant amount of cash to someone. I asked about facebook or ANY other sites that they may have a history with. None had a history anywhere.
Now I'm just trying to take precautions before I send money to someone I don't know. So the question: (1) am I unreasonable? and (2) how do you verify someone enough to send them money for something when you don't know them?
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