Supporter
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
February 4, 2017
Sometime back I bought a pistol on GB that had been described as "excellent". I telephoned to ask and was assured it only had a small flaw in the wooden grip. I used BIN and paid with a credit card. It arrived and the barrel was actually corroded. I complained and they wouldn't answer any of my emails. Long story short, the CC company got my money back.
Since then, I have faithfully asked questions before I commit to buy. Just makes sense to me because a seller's "excellent" can turn into the buyer's POS.
My gripe is online sellers who say "ask questions before bidding" or similar things...and then they ignore you and your questions. This has happened to me countless times in recent weeks. The listing will say "use photos to determine condition" and you ask for clarification and get nothing.
I know people are busy but I ask the questions days in advance and still get no satisfaction. How often does this happen to you?
Rimfire
"LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO SPEND IT WITH AN UGLY GUN!" - John Taffin
Dans Club
October 17, 2008
Yeah you need to be careful when buying online, I always check feedback and ask questions if I have a concern with condition.
I have only returned 2 firearms in the last 10 years because of condition not as described
As far as questions not being answered I haven't had much of a problem, most seem to respond, if I don't get a response I don't bid.
August 28, 2009
“use photos to determine condition” is always a red flag for me. It is extremely difficult to determine exact condition based on photographs. Ask questions and/or talk to the seller to get a feel of their honesty and preciseness in describing the item. Be wary of how the item is described with terms such as "test fired", "almost unused", "xxx condition for its age", etc. People are generally afraid to outright disclose the "problems" with the item.
DWF Supporters
June 11, 2017
I imagine if we posted a thread about buyers that there would be some horror stories. I'm bidding on a 22 DW right now, and thought the seller was ignoring my ?'s. Turned out he was busy, and was quite helpful when he got back to me.
I bought a gun last week, and got a text that it had been sold out of their store. I was standing in my bank getting a Cashiers Check at the time!!
Seeing many pics at GB where the gun looks like a black lump. Not very helpful. Also the sellers with 1 picture and no
description wanting top dollar.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
Maybe not very helpful, I have only ever bought one gun online/auction. That particular transaction worked well, and it was a good gun, exactly as presented.
No Force on Earth gets me to buy a gun online or at auction, but I already own many more than I shoot, and I'm probably going to do some down sizing in the next year or so.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
Supporter
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
February 4, 2017
Most all of my transaction have been satisfactory. Use photos to determine condition is a turnoff, as Harley says. Some sellers, like Keystone Arms will have 40 or 50 extremely high photos. Great sellers. I have tried to advise a local gun shop on what views to post. I was not appreciated. I am going to start a consulting firm. If you take my advise it is free. If you don't take my advise you pay triple. Since no one ever takes my advise I think I will make a fortune.
With that being said, sometimes a few visual clues can make a listing with with awful pictures a tremendous buy. Some sellers do not wipe a gun down. What looks like rust is fingerprints.
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