No, you're not out of line to complain here. It's how we find out about questionable contacts, etc.

The bad news is that you're SOL, but I think you already understand that. Your experience in this instance is representative of what us "old timers" have learned over the years. Many of us buy only from the mfrs direct, or from endorsed, official distributors (as Canaan has recently moved to). In any other instance with ASICs of any kind, you're doing a crap shoot if you pay in BTC. IMHO.