It is a fucked up situation but what you typed is just wrong. Not everyone is entitled to the price LO was offering. Also you don't have to pass the bar to see that Vortex as a company has no liability at all in this. They just fill the orders sent in and then when paid by LO ship them out. Vortex does not have to do squat for anyone here and that they are trying to help shows they care about their customers. That doesn't entitle everyone who bought a scope from another vendor at a higher price the right to get some refund from Vortex for the difference. That is what it boils down to plain and simple. @Scott_at_Vortex and @Shamus Terry are going above and beyond anything they have to do either legally or morally. That is the take away from this situation.
I didn't mean to open a can of worms, but I'll bite since you want to continue trying to flame me...
I was being hypothetical when I suggested that if Vortex was going to sell scopes to peeps for $1800, then they should offer that price to everyone and maybe even reimburse those who paid more to other vendors who were respecting and honoring Vortex's pricing policies without bending any rules (IDK, like many of the vendors who are paying to keep the lights on around here by advertising on this site like Europtic, Camera Land, etc).
Liberty Optics was offering a killer deal with their pricing and I don't fault anyone who took advantage while it lasted.
But, make no mistake, it was shady. Them (Scott at LO) getting away with skirting the MAP pricing rules hurt the other stocking vendors who were respecting Vortex's rules and put them at a disadvantage, and sounds like it may have contributed to making the line longer for LE/Mil peeps who qualified for that "special" pricing getting their scopes.
I never ordered from Scott at Liberty Optics, mostly because I'm impatient, but also because I recognized that his lead times were longer than my credit card companies' charge-back windows, which was sketchy. Caveat emptor.
I'm not against Vortex helping those who got hosed and lost money, if they can and want to, of course they should.
But if Vortex is going to continue to honor the Liberty Optics price, then they have effectively undermined their other vendors who kept things above board, and it is akin to lowering the official price... which is then a disservice to those customers who weren't as "lucky" and paid more.
Sorry to be so controversial.