Responsibility.
That seems to be something that you are keenly interested in. You also make the statement "Would you willfully travel down a dark alley while traveling in another town/state, etc?" Think about this. If you decide to by something sight unseen, from someone you don't know, how much responsibility is yours ? I don't know the laws on selling these LE only mags, so I can't comment on it. I have over the years seen a number of items for sale that were barely legal. For example years ago, there were switchblade knive kits for sale. The contained a warning that if you put the knife together you were responsible. I used to see suppressor kits for sale at gunshows that contained the warning that all applicable laws applied and if you drilled a hole in the end of it, you were responsible. I currently see kits for sale for full auto weapons. These kits do not include a receiver. If you build or obtain a receiver, you may be in violation of the law. But on the other hand, in each case, there are people who can legally use these parts. For example, I own a legal Sten submachine gun. I could buy that parts kit for my own legal gun. However someone else might buy one an use it to put together an illegal gun. The problem here isn't with the seller, he is selling something that is perfectly legal in it's present form. Again, I don't know the laws in this case. Let me repeat that, I don't know the laws in this case. Do you have to submit valid proof that you are a LEO to buy one of these magazines ? Or is it up to you to make sure that you can legally buy the item ? Because I know it is legal to sell them, at least to LEO. So selling them in and of itself isn't a crime. I would guess that ID is required and this is all a moot point, but I don't know.
In another post you mention lawsuits. You also mention the costs of all these law suits. You mention how lawsuits end up effecting most every part of our lives. I agree. And I don't see this as being all that different. Instead of just accepting the fact that you were duped, ripped off, cheated, placed in a bad situation ................. You instead choose to involve a government agency to work this out for you. I realize that this isn't about money, but never the less the guy is out I think $160. How much is it going to cost the taxpayer to involve ATF ? Will calling them get him back the $160 ?