Stiffed on an Unsafe S&W,What to Do

[Ancient1]

I recently purchased a 547 thru Gun Broker. On receipt,I noted that the firing pin area had serious peening,notified the seller of this & said I would like to look into the issue. See my 547 thread in "Revolvers,1980 to present" for pics & details. I also called S&W who said that it was OK to shoot & the condition was normal. I fired it 1 time with factory ammo & had a badly pierced primer.
I notified the seller of the dangerous issue & asked for a refund offering to pay any G.B. fees,postage & any other fees. At this time,he has refused saying that it was a consignment & the customer was paid off & had money issues also(I offered to pay his consignment fee.)
He also said I was too long,8 days,in requesting a refund,even though I notified him of a potential problem the first day. He makes no statement as to refunds or time on GB
How do I handle this? Go to GB? Get an attorney? Notify the ATF of a licensee willfully selling unsafe guns(ATF!!!,scary thought there!!!) Eat the $632 cost? Have it repaired(doubtful this damage)?
Anyone out there have this type of known very unsafe gun issue? What did/would you do?

 

[deadin]

Chalk it up as a somewhat expensive lesson about buying sight unseen.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Chalk it up as a somewhat expensive lesson about buying sight unseen.

I agree. An attorney will cost much more that the gun. If the seller won't cooperate now, he never will.

Contact Gunbroker and see if they can help.

Good luck.

 

[snowman]

I assume that you've left him very negative feedback, outlining the issue in concise fashion, along with his unacceptable response. It probably won't help your situation, but at least you're informing others so as to put a significant dent in his business.

Andy

 

[JOliver]

can you take some pictures...I'm betting our maybe we could pitch in a help fix or get some opinions

Jason

 

[Frizzman]

I know I'm and olf fashion Geezer but I never buy any gun until I can hold and check it out...I think you just got screwed. I don't think the ATF would be interested.

 

[Stevie]

Most deals I have participated in have a three day inspection, no shooting, no teardown period in which to return the gun.

I have been in a couple deals where the firearm in question is listed 'as is' no returns.

Hands on is always better. However, I collect a lot of old milsurps, both handguns and rifles, and it's not always possible to find one localy to your hands on!

 

[m657]

What's the cost in $/time in simply repairing it and moving on?

If it's something you wanted in the first place, what's the real cost of "a little paint & a few nails".....

The aggravation you feel is the type of annoyance I too have wasted far too much time on in some of my own affairs.

Good luck.

 

[delta-419]

Baring any recourse from GB, the gun sounds fixable. Again it is a lesson learned. It happens to all of us. Lawyers will take your first born and the Feds consider customer service a civil matter. I have one in the shop right now that I bought a few weeks back and I know better. But I fell in love with a tramp. It had a couple of FTF and locked up. The rounds that went down range were in the same hole. Dry firing it was as smooth as butter, loaded it did bad things. It will be fixed and will cost me, but thats the game! Good luck on what ever you decide to do.

 

[OKFC05]

First, go out to a quiet place in the country, go crazy, kick, scream, curse, tear branches, and generally act like a mad chimp.
Now tht you've made that part of your brain happy, use the civilized part to fix the gun and move on. I did on a "mint" 66 that had a butchered trigger and sear.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Other than bad feedback on GB, I doubt there is anything you can do that won't cost you lots of money.

I've been burned before, but never on GB.

I'd suggest sending it back to S&W, as they usually are the most affordable at repair. That's the only way that I can think to turn the proverbial "lemons into lemonade."

 

[Gary]

I doubt that you will get any recompensation from the seller. I would send it to S&W and have them to put it right. Hopefully it wont be too expensive. Other than that all you have is an expensive paper weight.

 

[gunsmith11]

That is why I only do face to face, buying or selling

 

[Ancient1]

Wise advice all that you folks have posted. I guess I am too old & honest. I had an FFL for 27 years starting in '67 & been playing guns for 47 yrs. I have never had this happen. Bad ones sure,but always made good by the seller. And in the 47 years I have done this,I have never had one returned back to me.
The issue is still being debated with him. Should it not be resolved,his reputation will get posted wherever I can. This is not about cosmetics but rather a safety issue,that's the bad part.
One thing,kind of hard to find a gun when the bears,mooses & elks live on your back porch. When I lived near Chicago there was a decent gun show every single week-end. Tom

 

[sigp220.45]

Here's a link to your other thread, with pictures:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/111678-need-help-547-a.html

I think I would just send it to Smith and let them do their thing. Since they told you it was safe to shoot, and you basically had to disassemble the whole thing after one shot, they may fix it. As far as the seller goes, I agree with the other sentiment that leaving feedback and reporting it to GB are probably your only sensible avenues left.

Hamilton is a beautiful place. I looked at houses there when I was considering transferring to Missoula from Cut Bank.

 

[m1gunner]

You asked for opinions, so here is another:

From what little I can see in the few photos provided, it appears the gun was overstressed from firing hot ammo. Be it hand loads or sub gun ammo, the end result is the same.

It looks like frame damage, and that can not be fixed seeing as this gun is no longer manufactured.

The final ruling would come from S&W, but it will cost you another $100 in round trip shipping to find out.

The best way out of it? List it on GB with a clear statement and photos on its problem. Start the bidding @ $150 with no reserve. It will sell, and you will recover some money.

GB is not an arbitrator, they will likely not help you on the previous deal. File a complaint with GB, then let it go. It isn't worth getting your blood pressure up over what is supposed to be a fun hobby.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Rule 303]

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you.

Contact S&W Customer Service, send it in and get it fixed.

Rule 303

 

[Pete99004]

Been lucky so far on GB but that has always been a fear of mine. Chaulk it up to experience and give the guy a some bad press for not working with you.

 

[Andy Griffith]

You asked for opinions, so here is another:

From what little I can see in the few photos provided, it appears the gun was overstressed from firing hot ammo. Be it hand loads or sub gun ammo, the end result is the same.

It looks like frame damage, and that can not be fixed seeing as this gun is no longer manufactured.

The final ruling would come from S&W, but it will cost you another $100 in round trip shipping to find out.

The best way out of it? List it on GB with a clear statement and photos on its problem. Start the bidding @ $150 with no reserve. It will sell, and you will recover some money.

GB is not an arbitrator, they will likely not help you on the previous deal. File a complaint with GB, then let it go. It isn't worth getting your blood pressure up over what is supposed to be a fun hobby.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

On second thought, I'd take this advice and disregard what I said earlier. Right now, you can sell it as-it and point out the damage and take the chance of getting quite a bit of your money back.

However, there is a small chance that it is not repairable in any practical way, and then you will have an expensive shelf piece if S&W customer service were to tell you that and you wouldn't be able to sell it on good conscience. Then, as well as being out the shipping charge, the only way to come out on the deal would be to piece the gun out for parts...which is a lot of trouble.

The odds are 50/50 either way.
Either attempt to get it repaired or sell it as is and let it be someone else's headache.
I've bought "project guns" before and they never, ever seem to come out the way I envision them. I guess I haven't spent enough money on them.

 

[ploz357]

Sometimes you learn the hard way. Happened to me once and hope it never happens again. It just changes the way you do business.