Fraud and scam, how many of you are victims?

There gone....shutdown. This was probably 3-4 years ago.

It was Soundstage Direct. Sold a lot of gear,carts, and great promotions on vinyl. They were great for a long time. At one time they were one of the biggest Audio/vinyl retailers online. They took orders for months and kept telling customers everything was backordered and production was slow. People believed them because of their outstanding track record. 
I'll never forget the day I realized I got ripped off. I was starting to get a little nervous....it had been a couple months since I ordered a VPI Prime/Ortofon Cadenza Bronze. One day I was reading a thread on here when someone mentioned their store was empty/they had moved out. It then quickly unraveled. A lot of us on Audiogon got fleeced. The owner to my knowledge never stood accountable. 

Someone mentioned buying only from reputable dealers like Upscale or Safe and Sound.....both of which are outstanding audio stores.

How about Soundstage Direct??? They "were" also thought to be an honest retailer. Right up to the point they knowingly took paid orders and never delivered. I lost over 5K on a VPI table that I never received. 

Seth at Soundstage should have been prosecuted. There were dozens of people that were stolen from along with me. Yet anytime this is mentioned in one of these threads....its deleted.

My point is...there is always risk when buying online.