Selling guns on consignment....

Ron M.

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Currently I have two guns for sale on consignment at a LGS. The last time I put one up for sale, it was "sold" within a week, but the buyer took TWO months to come up with the cash. Pulling it from sale would have cost me DROS fees, and a waiting period, so I had to live with it. This time, I put my guns in their hands a week before a gun show was scheduled nearby. I figured at a show, someone would be required to not only go through the DROS process on site, but pay in advance. Hope this is true. I would think that there should be a time limit in place for completing purchases...
 
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My lgs takes one the responsibility. So if you put a gun on consignment and I want to buy it BUT I put it on layaway the lgs pays the seller and I buy it from the lgs when I'm done with the layaway

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I would think that there should be a time limit in place for completing purchases...

The two consignment purchases I've made were cash NOW, not even 50% down and payment in full within24 hours. I assume each LGS has their own rules.

Unless the owner of the firearms agrees ahead of time two months is way to long to wait to get paid.
 
....I assume each LGS has their own rules.

....

They do,,so ask ahead of time to see their consignment policy.

A LGS I worked for paid the consignee by check 60days after the 1st of the month after the gun sold!
If it sold on May2,,the check went out 60days after June 1st.
Lots of unhappy people, but that was their policy and they stuck too it. They used the customers money for 2+ months.

Another local shop used to pay consignee the end of the month that the gun sold in. Their book keeping style I guess was to pay bills at the end of the month (sounds reasonable enough). You could wait as long as a month or as little as a day or two.

Any consignment gun not sold and you want returned to you (consignee) needs to go thru a 4473/NICS check to get it back to you.
That used to burn people up too, but should have been made perfectly clear to them when the consignment was being taken in and wether the NICS check transfer is going to cost them or not.
 
The LGS that I frequent has a 90day return policy...

I bought a nice looking Colt Detective Special and upon getting it home found out the cylinder would sometimes only rotate halfway to the next cartridge.I took it to a gunsmith to see what it would take to repair it and was told it would cost almost half of what I paid for it.

Took it back to the LGS and got full credit on my CC except for the background check. The original owner was told to come pick it up.

It's a necessary evil that can protect any or all individuals involved.
 
Some of these policies sound outrageous.
I've used two different LGS for consingnment sales...one paid immediately and the other waited about a week to pay me.
 
Consignment

My only experience selling on consignment was not good. I left a really nice 15-3 at my favorite LGS with specific instructions "do not let anyone dry fire this revolver". OK no sweat. Two days later I returned to ask how it was going; and there, to my horror, were 3 teenagers passing my 15-3 back and forth dry firing the heck out of it and playing with like a toy:eek: I retrieved my gun, told the shop owner what I thought of his operation and left. Never again. Hope you have better luck.
 
I occasionally take guns on consignment as I set up at gun shows. My policy is simple: If the gun(s) sell the consignor is paid the following Monday(the shows end on Sunday) in cash minus my consignment fee. If it doesn't sell I'll offer to keep it for the next show or promptly return it to them.
Jim
 
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Well, I returned to the LGS which had my two guns for sale about two weeks ago...when I remarked to the guy at the counter that I didn't see them on display, he checked and said they were sold...no cash was put in my hand then...told to wait for the background check to go through. I returned two days ago, same sales guy didn't seem to recognize me..I saw a pistol on the counter that was to be picked up that day...I told the guy it was mine, and when would I get the $240 due me. He said...and I couldn't believe my ears...that the buyer had ten days to check it out before I would get my money. How can they warranty someone else's property? Once DROS goes through, it's the buyers, period. Guess I will have to log in to Yelp and update my previous review, from excellent to "eh".
 
Well, I returned to the LGS which had my two guns for sale about two weeks ago...when I remarked to the guy at the counter that I didn't see them on display, he checked and said they were sold...no cash was put in my hand then...told to wait for the background check to go through. I returned two days ago, same sales guy didn't seem to recognize me..I saw a pistol on the counter that was to be picked up that day...I told the guy it was mine, and when would I get the $240 due me. He said...and I couldn't believe my ears...that the buyer had ten days to check it out before I would get my money. How can they warranty someone else's property? Once DROS goes through, it's the buyers, period. Guess I will have to log in to Yelp and update my previous review, from excellent to "eh".

Sounds like you need to use a different LGS!!!
 
Sounds like you need to use a different LGS!!!

There are three regular folks behind the counter on various days. The owner is very upfront and approachable, and the fellow who brings his son along, likewise...but this ONE guy just exudes arrogance, and a "see if I care" attitude. Time to go to the boss, I guess and find out what their policy actually is. If this guy was giving me the runaround, he'll hear about it soon enough.
 
GET IT IN WRITING.

The OP sounds more like a down payment than a sale. My experience was with an SKS and an H&R Varmintmaster. The LGS ( friendly folks but not true friends I shot steel challenge with every week) were to list both online "in a few days". Days turned into weeks/months & no online adds, every excuse under the sun. Meanwhile on hand stock was getting less & less, shelves becoming more bare. I read the writing on the wall & got the guns back without paying anything & the store went belly up w/o warning in a few more weeks. It would have been uncomfortable to run into them again had I not gotten them back as it's not a huge town.
 
There are three regular folks behind the counter on various days. The owner is very upfront and approachable, and the fellow who brings his son along, likewise...but this ONE guy just exudes arrogance, and a "see if I care" attitude. Time to go to the boss, I guess and find out what their policy actually is. If this guy was giving me the runaround, he'll hear about it soon enough.

Did you have to sign a contract? If so what were the terms?

When putting guns on consignment a contract protects both parties. No contract is a big red flag.
 
I have a car related consignment story. A friend of mine had a fairly nice Buick Grand National. Nothing special, but solid popular car. He didled around for a few years getting it in top running condition. Well one thing leads to another and soon he's married with a little gearhead on the way. He decides to sell his GN. Tries to sell it himself with no success. So he takes it to a local classic car lot. My friend would have happily sold his car for $10,000. The car lot guy puts on the full sales pitch to buy the car for $5,000. My friend turns him down, but agrees to sell on consignment for $11,000 or more with my friend getting $10,000. Well needless to say, the car languishes on the car lot for 6 months. My friend gets antsy about the car not selling and finally gets a call from the dealer where the dealer had told him the best offer he has gotten is $6000 of which he will keep $1000. My friend went by and got his $5000 check which bounced the first time. The second time around it went through. Anyway, a few days later my friend was driving home from work and sees his old GN parked in a driveway on his very street. He recognized it from some subtle pin stripping he had done to the car. He stopped to chat the new owner up and tell him the mods he had done. He found out the new owner had paid $15,000 for the car. It turns out, that to avoid a lawsuit and possible prison time the car lot owner allowed my friend to keep the $5000 the lot owner had paid my friend and gave him the $15,000 the car actually sold for and paid my friends lawyer fee of ~$5,000.

There are some lessons in there. Pick the one(s) that apply to you and act accordingly.
 
WOW, WALK ME THRU THE MATH.

I have a car related consignment story. A friend of mine had a fairly nice Buick Grand National. Nothing special, but solid popular car. He didled around for a few years getting it in top running condition. Well one thing leads to another and soon he's married with a little gearhead on the way. He decides to sell his GN. Tries to sell it himself with no success. So he takes it to a local classic car lot. My friend would have happily sold his car for $10,000. The car lot guy puts on the full sales pitch to buy the car for $5,000. My friend turns him down, but agrees to sell on consignment for $11,000 or more with my friend getting $10,000. Well needless to say, the car languishes on the car lot for 6 months. My friend gets antsy about the car not selling and finally gets a call from the dealer where the dealer had told him the best offer he has gotten is $6000 of which he will keep $1000. My friend went by and got his $5000 check which bounced the first time. The second time around it went through. Anyway, a few days later my friend was driving home from work and sees his old GN parked in a driveway on his very street. He recognized it from some subtle pin stripping he had done to the car. He stopped to chat the new owner up and tell him the mods he had done. He found out the new owner had paid $15,000 for the car. It turns out, that to avoid a lawsuit and possible prison time the car lot owner allowed my friend to keep the $5000 the lot owner had paid my friend and gave him the $15,000 the car actually sold for and paid my friends lawyer fee of ~$5,000.

There are some lessons in there. Pick the one(s) that apply to you and act accordingly.

SO, your buddy got the original 5,000$ plus 15,000$ plus another 5,000$ lawyers fee, for a total of 25,00 on a car the dealer sold for 15,000$??? PLEASE PM me that lawyers name, DANG.
 
IF WE'RE GONNA GO OFF TOPIC.

On my first home sale. We contracted for 3-6 months with a realtor. The first 2 weeks we were showing the house app 25x every sat/sun (the only days we agreed to show it). Week 3 and beyond NO showings. It turned out the realtor had put the house as under contract so nobody could show it and talked us into dropping our price. She ended up selling it to her sisters best friend. She swindled us good & we felt like idiots. At closing Karma caught up with the buyer when her own representative really stuck it to her with SURPRIZE mtg interest increases etc. She ended up paying way more $ than the $ we lost. Both of us took it in the keister. Wouldn't surprise me if both realtors were working together, but I have a suspicious mind. That was the most expensive lesson I've learned, next was the home contractor gambit. I don't even trust myself anymore.
 
I have bought at least 4 handguns over the last couple of years at local auctions. Rules are when the auctioneers hammer drops title passes to new owner. No refunds, tryouts, etc. Pay before you leave auction house.
Got to do your homework and inspection before you bid!
 
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