SwampASS screwed me

First, an intro.
I am "jandaman", some may know me as the former webmaster of ultrahle.com and dcwarez.com (a DC scene news site)
In December or so of 2000, I opened a website to sell import video game accessories ( now located at www.jandaman.com ). It was going well.
Now SwampASS decided to open a store too, first focussing on only the Gameboy Advance. I gave him a few tips and pointers from my experience. A couple months later, a conversation I barely recall had me asking why he was not selling video game accessories like I was. He replied he didn't want to compete with me. I told him I didn't care. Why should I? It's a free country. So I give him some more tips and pointers. I mentioned where he could buy supplies ( www.lik-sang.com ) and such. I told him I would even help him get started.
What I did is very rare these days when 2 people barely know each other and only know each other via the web. I told him I'd help him out by sending him supplies/inventory that I had AND that he would not have to pay me until he sold it. That way he wouldn't need quite a bit of money to invest upfront. Now, I don't see many people doing what I did based on how little we knew each other. I had no worries that I would not be paid, I trusted him.
About $640 or so worth of supplies was what I initially sent.
A few weeks later he asked if I wanted partial payment based on what he sold. I asked if everything was sold and he said no. I told him to wait until he sold most of it before paying me. That way I could have dealt with 1 payment instead of many.
Now a few weeks pass and I don't ask for payment. It comes to a point where he wants me to supply Treamcast VGA boxes and Dreamcast coder's cable which I guess he couldn't find a supplier for ( why else would he ask me for them?).
So I supply him with a good quantity of treamcast vga boxes and dreamcast coder's cable. Now already the stuff I send him is probably $1500? + at this point.
Now, when I first sent him the initial stuff back in June 2001 I haven't been paid for. He continues to do good business which is fine but it would have been good if he paid his debts to me first before buying more inventory.
So now comes October and I tell him I will be selling Flash Linker Advance Sets. I tell him my wholesale price (what I will pay for them) and he decides to get in on it too. I don't recall me saying I would give it to him for the same price I'm buying for but that's what ended up happening. Now, he does not know who my supplier for the flash linkers are.
So SwampASS decides he wants 20 128mbit sets, 5 64mbit sets etc and tally's up the total based on what the wholesale price was that I mentioned. He said he'll send me a check so I can order them. Now his total comes to $2600+?.
I mention he still hasn't paid me a cent at this point. I think I asked for $1000 or so. He mentions how he has no money because he's expecting HotRods and other stuff. He says all he can pay me is $500. Now $500 is not bad as a partial payment but if he's claiming poverty, why is he also gonna send me a $2600+? check for flash linkers for his own business? HELLO, if you can afford $2600 for flash linkers, you can afford to pay everything that is owed to me.
So anyways, I get 2 checks from him, one for $500 as 'down payment' to the debt he owes me and another for $2600+? for the flash linkers. I then deposit the checks, wait a week for them to clear, and then send a wire transfer to my Hong Kong supplier. I tell him since I don't know how much shipping will be, I'll cover the shipping and he can pay me afterwards (The $2600? check didn't factor in shipping). The flash linkers arrive from hong kong and I have to pay 7% tax (which I will get refunded at the end of the year) on the entire purchase. I then send swampASS his portion of this order.
He sells them out and tells me he needs more. Can't remember my response.
A few days later he says he cannot wait for him to send me a check, have me wire it, recieve the FLA, and then ship them to him. He then asks me who my supplier is.
I refuse to tell him. I tell him, if he wants to know, he should pay me a finders fee. Afterall, I researched suppliers and knew who I could trust. This wasn't something I would give up for free. SwampASS probably saved $400 from getting the FLA from me rather than www.lik-sang.com
Now, he still hasn't mentioned he owes me $1000+ but demands to know my supplier. I tell him to pay me for that info.
Couple days later he asks again and I tell him that if he wants Flash Linkers from me, he'll have to pay for it (meaning, I have to make profit since the first time he got them wholesale price) I give him prices $20-30? over the wholesale price and he tells me to fuck off and so on.
I then proceed to ask him to pay me for all i'm owed and keep bugging hiim about it. He chooses to ignore me.
He mentions he sent a check and that it got returned because he wrote "jandaman" on the address instead of my full name. I tell him that can't be right since I'm registered under 'jandaman' at the post office and routinely get mail fine. I ask for a scan of the return letter so I can take it to the post office to enquire as it has other implications for me (other mail addressed to 'jandaman')
He says he'll send it but still hasn't.
Now it's been 2+ weeks since he said he'll pay me and still hasn't. I told him I'll even pay for express overnight shipping if he can just pay me. I guess he decided to just screw me.
To summarize, I did so much that no other person would have. Not many people would give credit to strangers. I trusted someone but got screwed. Lesson learned.
PS: That doesn't mean I still don't want what i'm owed

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