I'm sure you're right, Slim ..you've been in this forum longer than I and have participated in more trades ... . it COULD happen ... but until I'm proved wrong, here's my outlook ...
In the first trade I did with anyone here, as I was packing up my end of the trade, MrsS asked me "what if the other guy doesn't send his? I mean, after all, you don't really know him" ... I told her that I'd been "lurking" and participating on the board for a long enough time that in many respects, I DID "know" him and a lot of the other people here too ... I'd be more than a little bit surprised if that happened, but that even if it did, the $$ amount was neglible and we'd not be hurt ... unlike the "real" money in two business deals gone south that we'd been involved in ... compared to those experiences, the impact of a loss limited to two figures isn't all that threatening ...