this is a damn shame, now that i've lost time money and effort i don't think i'll be sending back my tent to get "reprocessed", thanks weedhound for the info. my self esteem growing level was at an all time low, at least now i can carry on my journey to knowledge. i am keeping the poles setup, they still work for holding my light up, $400 light stand is what i ended up with then.
i would have posted sooner but comcast was failing me also for the last week.