[ithacaartist]

A few years ago, I ran across an Armslist ad for 40 magazines for the early Erma toggle pistols @ $10 ea. This would have been a great investment because they're worth more to shooters and collectors who have these guns. I tapped my IRA for the funds and was all set to go.

When the seller noticed that my address is NY State, he shut the whole deal down, in fear of being put on some sort of "list"merely for sending mags. I forwarded a link to the website put up by the State Police that outlines the provisions of NY's "S.A.F.E Act" which revealed no problem at all for him to complete the sale and ship, but he was apparently paranoid enough to still refuse.

My contention was that first class mail is private and not opened by authorities, but this did not convince him, either. He insisted on a face-to-face transaction--in NC--which couldn't happen. My disappointment, beyond not being able to score the mags, centers around how fear and irrationality can combine in some people's minds to gum up the works.

I just sent a bottle of the maple syrup I made this spring to a friend in Germany who has been helping me obtain other Erma NOS parts. Although my shipment arrived totally intact, he mentioned how customs had opened all three containers of syrup someone had sent to another of his friends there, and made a real mess.

I have mailed Erma parts to buyers in Belgium and Denmark with no problem. I described them as "machined metal parts."