i used to be a little leniant about it, but got burned a few times ... ruined it for everyone. never lost a significant amount luckily, or i always recovered the money. nowadays, i only trust close (real) friends who i've known for a while -- outside of selling it. you also have to have a decent cash and product base to allow for layoffs like that...and i (for the most part) stick to my circle of friends so it's usually not an option.