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Three Tees

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This is being sent as an alert to everyone using this site and doing any buying on Gunbroker.

I just got burned real bad to the tune of $470.00 from a seller on Gunbroker who goes by the username of woldson1. I won a Model 4506-1 from this seller nearly a month ago and he has my money but I don't have the gun.

Repeated phone calls to him and e-mails sent to his personal e-mail address as well as those sent through the Gunbroker links have gone unanswered since the auction ended. I sent him a money order (after a telephone confirmation that he was who he said he was) which he cashed so I'm out those funds. Requests to the Administrators at Gunbroker have been met with the standard disinterested electronic responses so it now appears I'll have to seek redress through the Postal authorities, the FBI, ATFE and the Spokane, WA court system.

Since this is apparently a case of Internet and mail fraud, I'm alerting everybody to the pitfalls of doing business with this individual.

I'm certainly open to suggestions from the group as to how best to proceed from this point on.

Thanks to all and watch out for this seller on Gunbroker. Again, he goes by the username of woldson1.
 
Call the local Sheriff. I suppose it depends on the jurisdiction but it has worked for me in the past.
 
He only has six feedback ratings-all are A+ BUT all are from the last couple of weeks.

That means (since you won nearly a month ago) you bid and bought from a guy with NO feedback!

Not something I'd do, but....

OTOH, looks like he was honest with the other buyers, maybe you'll get your gun after all.

Bob
 
I hope they catch that Piece of Filth. I have purchased firearms from Gunsamerica and Gunbroker and I always perform my due diligence. If the dealer is an FFL I request his FFL number and submit it to the BTAF web site to make sure it is legitimate. If it is a private person I request cell and home number and address and perform a search to make sure they match.

Sorry to hear about your loss. It happens. Just learn from it.
 
Sorry to hear about you not receiving gun. This doesn't happen much, or at least I've always had good experiences with Gunbroker.

Keep emailing and trying to call him. You never know, he might send you your gun if he knows your not going to stop.

If you have his email address, I would post it and let everyone email him to let him know we don't do business this way.
 
I took a closer look at woldson1 feedback.

This is really odd or I don't understand how it works. Gunbroker shows no transaction in the past 120 days (at least), yet all six feedbacks are dated in a six day period, 1/11/2010 through 1/16/2010. Feedbacks are by the seller but indicate that woldson1 was the seller. I'm confused.
 
It looks like several people have bought from this guy but no feedback was left. I'm also confused why he only has 6 feedback.
 
Stay on top of Gunbroker. You have fraud protection through them.

GunBroker.com Buyer's Protection

You have to wait 30 days (but no longer than 60 days) to file a fraud report with them. There's a $100 deductible, but you should get most of your money back.

Try to interest the Postal Inspectors in this. Ignore your local PO, they're not going to do anything. Talk to a regional or DC office. If they take up the case, your fraudulent seller will have no end of hurt coming his way.

Hang in there - we have to get to these cruds.

Buck
 
~Three Tees

I've purchased a substantial number of firearms through both AA and GB as well as here. Occasionally, I've run into a situation where the seller is just a procrastinator and it takes forever to get the gun. I once waited two months for a gun out of the classifieds here and I thought for sure I was burned. I'd take smith41mag's advice and stay on the phone and the e-mail.

Do you have a physical address?

Brian~
 
Years ago I bought a nice 1,000 Smith and they guy never returned CRAP for 6 weeks. He was in a snowmobile "wreck" & layed up in the clinic.....dan
 
I bought $350 worth of tools on auction (on a Fri. night), paid immediately, got a response from seller that he'd ship on Monday.
Delivery never came, emails and phone calls were ignored.

Two months later I read on a Automotive Forum that I hang out on that the seller had been killed in an car wreck that Sat after the auction.
 
Credit Cards and PayPal give you a layer of protection from those punks. It's too bad some sellers don't accept or charge 3%. If you mail an 'individual' a check or money order it's your own risk...
 
If the seller is in Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Missouri I'll collect for you if you have an address...trust me, I am the last person you want knocking on your door.
 
VM said:
I bought $350 worth of tools on auction (on a Fri. night), paid immediately, got a response from seller that he'd ship on Monday.
Delivery never came, emails and phone calls were ignored.

Two months later I read on a Automotive Forum that I hang out on that the seller had been killed in an car wreck that Sat after the auction.
Click to expand...

GTFO!!! That is simply unreal.

To the OP, all I can say is hang in there and try, TRY not to get too upset. Stay patient and things will hopefully work themselves out.

I wish you the best with your dilemma,
Scott
 
While I appreciate the update on this seller, I also encourage caution in jumping to conclusions. As was mentioned in prior posts, life happens. Car wrecks, heart attacks, etc kill people every day --- even people buying/selling on Gunbroker. This might not be what it appears on the surface.

By all means, be persitent and follow up with the authorities. However, also be gentlemanly should the situation turn out to be a trajedy.

JMHO
 
Thanks to all of you who have responded to my post. Lots of good suggestions there and I will endeavor to follow them all.

Here's an update: Before I mailed this guy the Moneygram for this gun, I called him and spoke with him E2E (ear-to-ear) and got a good feeling from the conversation. The first person who picked up the phone was his wife and I heard her tell the dog to stop barking in the background so I had no red flags at the top of the pole on this one. It sounded to me like he was a solid seller although he had no feedback ratings on GB so, I might've been the first one to test the waters.

At any rate, I mailed him the Moneygram the next day after the auction closed, gave it a week to get there and called again to verify receipt. No answer. I dropped two e-mails - one through GB and the other to his PM address. Gave it three days - no replies. Long story short, here, I've followed this procedure weekly with the same results.
That initial contact took place on 29 Dec 2009 and it's 24 Jan 2010 as I type this. Wouldn't concern about the legitimacy of this transaction be appropriate by this late date? I surely think so.

I've bought gobs of guns from GB, AA, GA and on this site and have been burned only once before, long time ago, when dealing with a seller who went by the username BigJohnG1 on this site. He burned me on a Model 66-1 that turned out to be a paperweight rather than the 99% gun he claimed it to be but that's another story for another time. Suffice it to say, I've been pretty lucky doing Internet gun deals.

Rest assured I will follow this up with calls to the Spokane (WA) County Sheriff, small claims filing in the County Court system up there as well as buyer feedback ratings/fraud reporting to GB. I'm on top of it, guys, and I thank you all for the support and ideas you've provided to this post.

I gave him 'till the end of the month to either have the gun or my money in my hands so he's got a week to act.
 
First, if a local sherif comes to see me on the basis of a telephone complaint from anyone, the sherif and the county had better have deep pockets because we are going to court.

It seems that your only two-way communications with the seller were verbal. I would send the seller a certified, return receipt requested, letter detailing the transaction and demanding either the gun or payment within a reasonable specified time frame. I would also have the letter notarized. I would not copy this letter to anyone at this time. As noted before, the seller may be unable physically to comply with the terms of the sale.

By this letter you will have established the facts as you see them and can use it if further action is required. Your future action should depend on the seller's response or lack of same.

Good luck with Gunbroker.
 
Phone Company

Other things you could try to see if this guy is just ignoring you is to have your local phone company check this guys phone number to see if it is still operable--they can do this very easily. If it has been disconnected or no longer in service you know you have problems.

He may have bailed or they could have had a storm (ice) go through or a fire or something.

If it's still operable try calling him from a different telephone, friends ,neighbors, etc., he may just be ignoring you by your telephone number.

Good Luck.
 
R. G. Amos said:
First, if a local sherif comes to see me on the basis of a telephone complaint from anyone, the sherif and the county had better have deep pockets because we are going to court.
Click to expand...

LOL!!!!!! Funniest thing I've read in a long time. Somewhere around 95% of all work LE is called to do is on the basis of a 9-1-1 call or a phone call to the non-emergency number of the department. Darn little of it is because of a complainant coming to the station or flagging-down a patrolman. Considering the size and population of the US, I'd guesstimate that 50,000 contacts are made by LE EVERY DAY in America based on a "telephone compliant." Good luck getting any lawyer in America to handle your suit, because they all know they'd get laughed out of court.

Why is this germane? Because you should not dissuade the OP from calling the police. That's what they're there for. IF this situation had happened in my state, I can think of three felonies the seller is potentially able to be charged with. The bottom line, though, is that if this is a legit deal and the guy is just lazy or has a genuine problem like being in the hospital, the police officer / deputy will investigate what is going on, and either resolve this issue with a prodding "get-r-done or you'll be arrested for not delivering the product you've been paid for" (a.k.a. Fraud and Felony Theft) or the buyer will get a call back from the officer stating, "spoke to the guy's wife - he's in the hospital (or whatever)." This is a fairly simple matter that is handled all the time by LE.

Only if the problem persists with no resolution should any enforcement action be taken, and at that point, it is certainly warranted. Another side benefit to calling the police is that someone trustworthy "all the way over there" (where the OP is not at) will be doing a face-to-face verification of legitimacy (or lack thereof) for the concerned poster here.

The hardest problem will be getting a local agency interested in something that occurred via commerce across state lines. They may question their jurisdiction and want to kick it up to the Federal Level, IF action eventually has to be taken. At the knock-and-talk level of finding out what's going on, the local agency should be able and willing to do something for you.

The letter idea certainly won't hurt, but at this point, it's not sounding like it will help, either...
 
Well, here's the latest update on this mess. My m.o. has been cashed (yes, Virginia, you're out $470.00) and this creep still refuses to answer phone calls or e-mail made since this past weekend. Not even an answering machine on which to leave a message. He probably doesn't even live at the address to which I mailed it anymore (if he even lived there in the first place).
As they always say, "Caveat emptor" and, yep, I got sucked-in!!
He goes by the username woldson1 on Gunbroker and for those of you who may be interested, the auction number was 150888467.
I got the shaft and he got the gold mine - he got away with my money and I ain't got no gun. After talking it over with my attorney he suggests I just lick my wounds and slink away from this deal as it'll cost more than what I lost to go after this goblin, principles be damned. BTW, I e-mailed the Clerk of the Spokane County Court in an attempt to get advice on downloading the requisite forms to bring civil suit against this crook and have received NOTHING in reply. That was ten days ago.
BTW, for all you legal beagles out there, is it appropriate to post his name and address on this forum? I sure don't want to open any legal Pandora's Box whereby he can come after me.
 
Try to find out if there is a local Sportsman/Hunting/Game Coommisson forum in his state -the one here is Hunting Nebraska- there may be hope in finding an attorney who is a member who may help and there maybe someone who know's this guy ... ya just never know...

I'd bet if he is on GB, he is registered on other sites...

I'd call the ATF office in this guy's area...;
I think a ***PM*** with his information is preferable to a public viewing...

I'd send him an other letter in *normal* mail mode BUT: on the outside, on both side's of the envelope in big black letters I'd write: I HAVE CONTACTED THE ATF AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF YOUR STATE...no letter inside... just the envelope!

The reason I'd send it normal mail.... the PO can tell him where it came from and he can refuse it knowing it came from your STATE....
 
Certified mailings are used when one has to prove that a. he sent a letter and b. the recipient got the letter.
The way you send certified mail is thusly:
#1 Send the certified letter-keeping your receipts.
#2(here's the fun part) CC the addressee with a copy of the letter but send it uncertified to the same address. When you send the uncertified letter get what's called a "proof of mailing" so you have a receipt in hand showing that you mailed the uncertified letter.
There exists a presumption in law that a letter addressed to a person at a particular address and mailed thereto is presumed to have been received by that person. If you have proof you sent the letter, than the burden then falls on the addressee to prove he dod NOT get the letterWhat this does is give you the extra layer of knowing that even though the certified latter was returned unclaimed or refused, he did get the uncertified letter in his mailbox. What he does with it is up to him, but the law won't allow him to hide behind the "I never got it" defense.
Proof of mailings cost a fraction of a certified letter and can be very useful in connection with certified mailings.
This little tidbit courtesey of 28 years of being sneaky :D
 
Hey Three Tees.... I live in Spokane, WA. I dont know if I can be of any help, but let me know if I can try and help.
 
"I e-mailed the Clerk of the Spokane County Court in an attempt to get advice on downloading the requisite forms to bring civil suit against this crook and have received NOTHING in reply. "

Here in NC those forms are on-line. You might search on the court's state web-site for them.

Then, if any members of the Forum are from that area, maybe they can refer you to a local attorney to file a "small claims" action for you. I'd rather the attorney get the money in fees than the seller keeping it. All it might cost you would be a phone call and filing fee.
 
gunpowder said:
Try to find out if there is a local Sportsman/Hunting/Game Coommisson forum in his state -the one here is Hunting Nebraska- there may be hope in finding an attorney who is a member who may help and there maybe someone who know's this guy ... ya just never know...

I'd bet if he is on GB, he is registered on other sites...
Click to expand...

I think calling the ATF would be a big waste of time, because since no gun actually was transferred, there's no issue with the ownership or transfer of a firearm. They are not money-collectors; this is a simple internet fraud/theft, not a gun crime.

Your first suggestion on the other hand, is a great one. In my state, the State Rifle Association will lend a hand in these matters, because they don't want gun-owners getting a bad name from fraudulent people like this. Don't know if they do that out there or not, but it's worth a try.
 
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