I'll rephrase that for you JR,... I'm sure you were just in a hurry on the keyboard.
"the Moment SOME dealers or breeders knows you don't have a clue of what you're looking at-- you are dead meat!"
There,... all fixed!
But seriously, and unfortunately,... more often than not, YES! If only I could go back in time to 1996, and understand Koi "then" like I understand Koi now, I could have had a lot more Koi for a lot less money,... AND definitely would have made different choices, better choices, along the way,... but, I also wish that about High School,... If I knew back then the things I know about "girls" now, I could have been the "Rico Suave' " of Lancaster High. Fearless!
But, yes, getting up on the learning curve is the road to enlightenment. As much as I blame the dealers that took advantage of my naievitee back then, I also blame myself for not understanding.
Best Wishes,
Brady Brandwood