I prefer to buy local whenever I can.
Sometimes I need something I am not going to find in a timely fashion locally so off to the internet jungle I went.
My target? A nice solid original stock for my mid 50’s 20 gauge Superposed. I needed (still need) a LTRK Y tang stock. Anyone who plays with these things know this is a tough row to hoe.
After about 5 months of looking I run a cross an ad in one of the big gun sites. Guy is listing two sets and one looks as if it will be right for my gun.
Emails are off and I am excited. Pictures look good and the descriptions seems to match the pictures.
Send off my hard earned money and the wood arrives today. Inspect the fore end first and I am very excited. All is in order.
Unwrap the butt stock and it smells faintly of varnish. This starts a close scrutiny that turns up a crack in the toe of the butt stock. There is finish inside the crack on both sides and the crack is seriously darkened. Next I notice the butt pad is standing off the stock in the same area about a strong 1/16” . Check the checkering and all is in order there.
Contact seller. Send picture of the areas of concern. “Happened during shipping. When it left here there were no cracks. You will have to file a claim”. Knew right away I was in trouble. Then he emails again and states that he is concerned about the butt pad and that I may have removed it and damaged the butt stock and he would have to check his picture of it to make sure the screws were clocked correctly. Yeah never mind. He ain’t sharing the pic and I ain’t buying his line. I will just take my deserved lumps and move on.
In the end I sent an email stating I was not going to waste my time pursuing the issue. Then a statement of my opinion of his ethics. Rewrote it six times toning down my language trying to maintain some civility. Final draft fell somewhat short but was a significant improvement over the first draft.

Final analysis is simple. I am the one to blame. I was not careful enough to demand close up and detailed pictures of the entire stock. Period. That is the buyer’s job, not the seller’s.
As the man here says “Caveat Emptor”.

This is just a reminder the woods is full of wolves. Don’t be a sheep.

You are way nicer than I would have been. But, as you said "caveat emptor"!

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

There are two ways of saying what will happen. 1) Biblically, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, he will reap! 2) Karma is such a drag!

I prefer #1, and I try hard to stand back and stay out of God's way. And I work hard at not sowing the wrong kind of stuff!

Ivan

ITs a 2 way street Sir. I sold a Person a 1873 DOM 1888 in 38/40. 12 Clear pics, described well, no rounded screws, $2000.00 rifle sold in a few days. 2 weeks later buyer Itches the rifle was not as described. I split return costs. Upon receiving the rifle I noted parts swapped ie... receiver cover plates screws rounded and toggles most likely swapped out as the action was different in operation. I WAS STUPID AND REFUNDED HIS PAYMENT BEFORE I GOT THE RIFLE BECAUSE HE WAS ITCHING TO GB AND EMAILING ME. So I learned a Lesson IF YOU BUY FROM ME YOU GET GOOD PICS OR DROP BY MY HOME BY APPOINTMENT OTHER THEN THAT SOLD AS IS WHERE IS WITH NO NO NO RETURNS.

I had a similar recent experience on a vintage air rifle. Not enough pictures, and not CLOSE enough on the ones that were posted. I should've asked the boring basics WE all tire of answering when selling: "Any dents, dings, cracks, rust?"

Thanks for posting the reminder for us.

Agreed, just a reminder to remain vigilant when dealing on line. That’s all.

Mom sold an unusual piece of art glass on E-bay, returned broken, except not quite the same piece! E-Bay always takes buyers side, regardless of scam! Mom no longer uses E-Bay!!!

Ivan

When buying a 3rd gen, be sure you know the right number for the one you want, LOL...

I have a similar story. I sold a stainless pistol magazine on Ebay. The buyer claimed it was damaged and of course Ebay took his side. He returned a BLUE magazine that was damaged. So I was screwed. I called Ebay and complained but was told that they protect the buyer, not the seller.

I quit selling used items on eBay just to avoid those kind of things.
IMO if you want to sell used items and not get ripped off,
you just have to accept the inevitable negative feedback from wanna be crooks.

I'll tell you a story about Gun Parts Corp. that happened to me last week.

I have a set of grips on my WWII Colt Commando that needed upgrading to be perfect. I'm looking on the internet for the grips, and saw that Gun Parts had those grips for sale. I logged on to their site and saw a picture of an absolutely perfect set. I ordered the grips and they arrived in short order. I was thrilled to unwrap them.

I was terribly un-thrilled when I saw them. They were so well worn that there was hardly any checkering left and the rampant Colt logos were smoothed out so badly they were hardly recognizable. Yes, they were advertised as "used," but the picture on their site was just bait, and in no way representative of what I received. Not worth the time or money to get this straightened out - just chalk it up to a learning moment.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

THOSE DIRT BAGS HAVE BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS...GOT BURNED SAME WAY 2 TIMES...I WAS A DOLT ORDERING FROM THOSE CROOKS THE 2ND TIME.


I'll tell you a story about Gun Parts Corp. that happened to me last week.

I have a set of grips on my WWII Colt Commando that needed upgrading to be perfect. I'm looking on the internet for the grips, and saw that Gun Parts had those grips for sale. I logged on to their site and saw a picture of an absolutely perfect set. I ordered the grips and they arrived in short order. I was thrilled to unwrap them.

I was terribly un-thrilled when I saw them. They were so well worn that there was hardly any checkering left and the rampant Colt logos were smoothed out so badly they were hardly recognizable. Yes, they were advertised as "used," but the picture on their site was just bait, and in no way representative of what I received. Not worth the time or money to get this straightened out - just chalk it up to a learning moment.

I sold an autographed baseball on Ebay to a guy in NY. I used priority mail with tracking. It showed delivered in three days. A week later he emails and asked if I had shipped the ball. Said yes and it shows delivered, he writes back and said it had not been delivered. Since I had insured it, I went to the Post Office to start a claim. Was told to have him do it in NY, since the problem was on his end. I emailed the buyer and told him what the P.O. on my end said. Never heard from him again and no bad feedback was posted. Scam or no scam??

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Not sure you were at fault. I once bought a wristwatch online that was used (older model, hard to find, etc.) and the seller had dozens of high quality photos - literally dozens. What I did not realize until I received the watch was that they were ALL posed in such a way as to hide one particular spot but given the overall impression that the photos covered the entire watch. That one spot had a HUGE ding in it that lowered the value of the watch considerably. The CC company agreed with me after reviewing everything. Sometimes there are intentional deceptions that due diligence can't cover.

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Who watches the watchers?

Here is A funny online purchase story.

I have a 2014 mid Size Polaris Ranger 570 EFI. You can not chain up the front wheels in stock condition because inside of tire is to close to steering connection and strut. Spaced out 1 " the front is still a bit narrower than rear and you could run chains when it is icy, so I go on Ebay. No 1" spacers are shown to be compatible with my mode. But after reading and checking I buy a set for another model. I receive them and they work fine, the issue being that my rims use flat lug nuts and the spacers come with tapered lug nuts. Using the tapered nuts to mount the spacers, which have taper bottom mounting holes to mount them on the hubs. Then use my original flat lug nuts to mount the wheels on spacers with everything fitting and working perfectly. I am a happy camper.

So, I send the seller a note telling him that his spacers would work fine on my model and explain how and why this is true. Thinking he would be pleased to know his spacers could be used on more models.

LOL. I get a note back apologizing for the fact that his spacers did not fit my application.?? Obviously the nitwit did not read the note I sent at all or only actually understood Chinese. He also offered the refund my money upon return of spacers or give me a $9.00 partial refund, I thought about it for a bit, figured stupid should hurt a bit and accepted the $9.00 partial refund.

Chukar60, you were lied to and ripped off it’s not your fault you trusted a dirtbag. I’m sorry you were treated so badly. This is why I buy locally. pS - I would have sent the first draft ... honesty is the best policy. It cuts both ways.

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I invest in Lead and Copper!

Sometimes you wonder about their mark up also. When I was singing 20 years ago I bought a tux on line for what the cost of a rental was locally. I received one, which I knew would need altering 2" larger in the chest than what I ordered. I asked about returning it and got the reply "Never mind". Three days later one the size I had ordered showed up.

I performed in that tux for 16 years. I cannot imagine what the mark up was on that or what it was on the local retail they want $$$ for.

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Front sight and squeeze