Made a bid on an item I could use the other day. It was a well known gun auction site.

The item was well photographed, and properly represented. I bid what I was willing to pay 24 hours before close of auction (no sniping here).

I won the auction.

Seller contacted me after the auction closed and said he made a mistake and the barrel I bid on had somehow grown 6" in length in the last few hours, did I still want it?

What really happened is his 28" barrel didn't sell (from a different auction), but someone offered him more money for my barrel after the close of the auction.

Basically a lier and a cheat.

Guess I'll go back to only buying from established members here at s-w forum.

(there, I feel better now)

the old hook and switch routine.
seen this done quite a bit in face to face retail lately as well.

Personally I dont let the temptation to employ this method get the better of me. Thats not to say ample opportunities haven't materialized.

Wisdom dictates that I take the lesser, but honest deal, and deal with you again than make a nearly non existent profit and score only once

That is ridiculous. I have just enough good experiences with AA, GB, etc to keep returning, but from time to time I get to deal with people like that and it urks me. Without defaming anyone here, I would love to have this guys username and which site it was so I can make sure not to bid on any of his stuff.

He set a high minimum bid, not a penny auction. Basically he feels his word and reputation is worth less than $75, or so.

People constantly complain about used car salesmen. I never pulled this stunt when I sold cars, or anything else for that matter.

edit to add:

I'll IM the name to those interested for now, may post a link at a later date if appropriate and not in violation of rules here.

M1gunner, sorry to hear about your trouble. It's a shame that there are those types out there... Most gun people are honest/trustworthy types, as are most people in general. But, there are always those folks that have no conscious, and will do anything to make a buck; raised by wolves, I guess...

I've had mostly good experiences on the auction sites, but a couple of instances of the seller not disclosing flaws that should have been disclosed, or (of course) overestimating the condition. Really gets me ticked, but not much you can do; goes with the territory... It is usually very difficult to tell condition of a gun based on pictures, and of course, some sellers make sure their pictures (and descriptions) are less than perfect.

I find it much less stressful to just be patient, and wait to see what turns up at the local gun shops, or gun shows, rather than falling prey to the unscrupulous seller on an auction site. This being said, I just picked up a very nice pre-war .22 Colt Officers Model, as those guns just don't seem to show up locally. Well, it was as described, the seller had great communication, and it was a decent price. So, there you go...!

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NRA Life Member

Up till a couple of years ago, the bad apples on the gun sites seemed to run less than 5%. Now it appears to me 50% is the normal figure. Even had a questionable offer here several weeks ago from a brand new, classified only- member.

On the bright side, I understand most of our future health care will be handled via the internet, I can't wait!

somehow I almost read this to read "the sellers nose had grown 6" in length".....

I've shared this with dealing with the good folks on the SW forum, but if one doesn't have integrity, they don't have much, if anything at all.

Seller contacted me again this evening, the barrel may have now shrunk to its original size.

He may do the right thing yet. This wasn't a typo, as the length and shape is easily identified by the photos, but I will follow through with my obligation if the seller does his part.

It helps that it is an easy drive to his shop for me if he trys something funny.

I just checked his open auctions on just one site, and he is listing over $30,000 of someone's inventory. If it is his, he really can't afford to be jacking folks around.

I wouldn't write off the whole process for a bad egg. The occasional louse shows up in any group eventually. In 36 GB-GA-AA purchases, I got one unredeemable louse. A couple started in a bad direction, but they eventually did the right thing. Haven't had a bad one in the SW Forum and would be surprised to see one. Same with AR15.com. Watch out for Glocktalk ads though.

As the Desiderata says: :...Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, ...."