Be Careful of Getting Ripped On Gunbroker!!!

haris1

haris1

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Greetings Fellow Smithophiles: I hate it when I see dishonest
ads on gun auctions. Maybe if the seller doesnt know better
he might just be incorrect with incorrect claims. I tend to think they are dishonest. I have seen people selling stainless model 19's and nickel 66's(which you can create with a tube of Flitz!!)
And there have been "custom shop"square butt snubbies on the auctions like prelock 629's and 19's and 66's and 625's. There were no 2.5" square butted 19's or 66's that I know of , nor were there 3 inch square butted 629's or 625's. This seller
bragged to me that they are made in his custom shop(his garage).The words custom shop is a giveaway-Smith doesnt have a custom shop!! They have the Performance center. Well, I thought I had seen it all until I saw 327 snubby on a gun auction(per forum rules,I cant mention the specifics on an ongoing auction but this seller says this is a one of a kind and thats Smith and Wesson is begging him to return this factory error!!! What is the factory error? ITS MISSING THE TRADEMARK STAMP!!! Guess what, look at any performance center gun and they have the pc logo on the gun and not the regular trade mark.
He says verbatim....."BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS GUN.THERE IS NO SMITH WESSON MARCUS REGISTRADA TRADEMARK STAMP ON THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF FRAME.I THINK THIS IS THE ONLY SMITH WESSON EVER MADE LIKE THIS.I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER SMITH LIKE THIS.A ONE OF A KIND GUN LIKE THIS IS INVALUEABLE TO A COLLECTOR.THE LEFT SIDE HAS THE PERFORMANCE CENTER LOGO.I CALLED SMITH WESSON AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THIS GUN WITH NO TRADEMARK STAMP,AND THEY BEGGED ME TO SEND GUN BACK,AS I THINK THEY KNOW HOW RARE THIS IS.THE GUN SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT THE FACTORY WITH OUT THE TRADEMARK STAMP.I AM DOING MORE RESEARCH,BUT AS FAR AS I HAVE SEEN,I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER GUN LIKE THIS."

When I look at the ad on this gun, the seller is correct that something is missing. What is missing is the 4 line address on the right side of the gun. Thats true. Whether its more collectible or is it just hype,
who knows. He did use the word"trademark stamp" which is not found on PC guns, but it is truly ,missing the 4 line address.

The phrase let the buyer beware couldnt be more true.
Someone will learn a very expensive lesson!!!
 
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This was sold on G-broker last year. I thought it was so funny I copied a pic of it. don't remember the details but I doubt :rolleyes: this was a factory box.
 
There was an add on GB yesterday for a pre model 38 Airweight bodyguard. But the pics showed a pre 37 air weight chief special.
So I contacted seller to see which ones was the gun being sold. I spent the next 30 minutes explaining the difference because the person thought that 38 special meant Model 38 too.
When I was done explaining the Pre Model 37 was the actual gun being sold. When I told her change title she seemed to not care that it was wrong....becasue she couldn't make changes as someone had already bid. buyer beware...
 
I just sold a "one-of-a-kind" nickel Model 38 to a friend at the LGS. What made it so special was that it had a small nick on the left side of the trigger guard, about a millimeter wide. I had never seen a similar nick in the exact same place on any other S&W I've owned. NEVER. Such a rarity allowed me to price this "one-of-a-kind" gem in the mid-three figures, and both seller and buyer went away happy.
 
Yeah, I'll bet S&W wanted that priceless holy relic back. From a chump who couldn't spell "invaluable".

If I find myself able to buy any more guns, it'll be from one of the local stores I've bought from for years.
 
The Good, the Very Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly

haris1 said:
The phrase let the buyer beware couldnt be more true. Someone will learn a very expensive lesson!!!
Click to expand...

I agree that you have to be very careful when buying or bidding on any gun online on any site. I have bought and sold dozens of guns on gun broker and other sites and I have generally had very good luck.

However, I have received three guns over the years that were cosmetically worse than advertised, and a couple that were showing some signs of excessive shooting. More frequently, I have been surprised the other way and received guns that were nicer than advertised.

One of the first ones I ever bought, I had a man in Florida that refused to send the gun as he decided that it did not sell for as much as he thought it should. He tried to get me to send more money than the bid amount. It took about 7 weeks to get my money back from him. That almost put an end to my buying online. He was a first time seller. Since then, I only buy from people that have a very positive and somewhat extensive feedback record, and that have clear and adequate descriptions and pictures of the guns they are selling, and of their shipping fees. Following those few rules has helped a lot.

Even being careful and dealing only with experienced sellers with good feedback records, you can get a gun that is less than what was advertised. My brother has bought a couple of M629’s (both pre-endurance package) online and both were shot out with excessive end shake. Both times the seller stressed perfect timing and solid lockup. My brother ended up spending a good amount of money on both guns to have S&W make the repairs.

Buying online is always a risk, but there are some precautions that can reduce, but not eliminate those risks.

1. Closely check the sellers history and feedback
2. Check for adequate and good clear pictures
3. Check for complete and comprehensive descriptions of the gun.
4. If you have a question ask it before bidding. If the seller will not communicate with you before the sale there is a good chance he will be even less communicative after the sale.
5. If the price is way too good, it probably is too good for a reason. (Some sites offer “buy it now” options or just plain listing prices.)

One of the scarcest listings I ever saw was on Guns America where the guy was a first time seller with no verified address, selling a like new three inch 686-4 plus (7-shot) for $499. The one picture was a picture off another auction site and still had the other auction site's name on the picture. There was almost no description, but what was there had misspelled words and very bad English. I have never before or since seen a listing or auction with so many red flags.

As the original posted stated, “Caveat emptor.”
 
"As new in box", "looks unfired". "As" and "looks" are completely subjective and should never be the basis for a purchase, but you see it all the time on GB and GA. Just sayin'
 
My experience with incorrect Gunbroker listings has been that they usually fall into one of these catagories:

1) False information listed deliberately as a scam.

2) False information listed inadvertantly, but the seller insists that it is correct, and doesn't want to hear differently.

3) False information listed inadvertantly, and the seller actually appreciates learning the correct information. Some of my best deals have come out of these situations after back and forth communication with sellers. ;)
 
I love the auctions in which an overpriced gun is described as 'rare' to justify the high price.
Gunbroker is a great way to buy a gun, but you must use due diligence. I have bought and sold many guns on Gunbroker and have never been burned. The worst thing that happened was a revolver I bought had a non-matching pair of grips. A strip and stain job took care of that.
If the seller uses weasel words and phrases such 'selling it for a friend, who assured me that it is unfired', 'according to my buddy', or 'I am not a gun expert, but I'm told that this gun is very rare' avoid it.
 
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Excellent post finesse_r

Buying online is always a risk, but there are some precautions that can reduce, but not eliminate those risks.

1. Closely check the sellers history and feedback
2. Check for adequate and good clear pictures
3. Check for complete and comprehensive descriptions of the gun.
4. If you have a question ask it before bidding. If the seller will not communicate with you before the sale there is a good chance he will be even less communicative after the sale.
5. If the price is way too good, it probably is too good for a reason. (Some sites offer “buy it now” options or just plain listing prices.)
Click to expand...

I would add a couple of caveats:

6. If advertised as "rare", move on. It's overpriced.
7. If the pictures are blurred or don't show detail I assume the seller is trying to hide something and move on. If truly interested, ask for additional pix.
8. "As is" should raise red flags.

I have bought online many times and, by using the above tips, have been rewarded with acceptable "as advertised" purchases and several much better than expected!
 
"...I THINK THIS IS THE ONLY SMITH WESSON EVER MADE LIKE THIS.I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER SMITH LIKE THIS.
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LMFAO. I've never seen $1,000,000 cash, therefore it must never have existed before. I am selling this $1 million cash for only $3 million because its so rare!

BUT AS FAR AS I HAVE SEEN,I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER GUN LIKE THIS."
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As one would expect, if you've never seen something odds are pretty good that you haven't ever seen it.

Winning on gunbroker. LOL
 
Wasn't an internet purchase but was a distant transaction, but that's the only deal of its kind that was misrepresented to me. Otherwise I've had pretty good luck buying sight unseen (other than pics)
Partially my fault for not walking away but this guy was a licensed dealer and I thought I could trust him on the gun's description.
My point is they don't have to be private sellers. There are unscrupulous dealers out there too that knowingly misrepresent their sale items.
As mentioned, check the item and the seller as best you can and if it sounds too good... well you know the rest.
 
I buy guns off these sites like I would a used car.....just assume it's had the guts shot out of it and base my bid on that. Some of these people that misrepresent what they have simply just don't know any better. You can usually detect a real shyster pretty easily.
 
I think sometimes folks who know a lot about guns think that everyone selling guns should know everything about what they are selling.

Heck go to an average local gun store and ask a clerk who's wearing a glock on his hip, to tell you about their revolver selection. The amount of misinformation you will get is amazing.

But the clerk WILL tell you about all the movies he's seen where the glock he is carrying was used.

If you are an uninformed buyer you kind of get what you deserve. If you don't know or aren't sure ask someone you know to help you out.

As for condition of a gun in an online auction/ad, reminds me of a long thread a while back. It went on for pages and the buyer was UPSET because the gun was not in exactly the condition HE thought was described.

Well after the usual: "get a lawyer", "have your lawyer send the seller a letter", we finally got to "get him for mail fraud" The buyer contacts the postal authorities and here's the gist of the response;

"condition of an item is subjective. Any disagreement is to be worked out between buyer and seller" "if the buyer paid for an item and the seller NEVER shipped it, we will investigate"

Do your homework or you get what you get.

Dave
 
I imagine with the high demand and desperate gun/ammo buyers come more scammers trying to make a quick buck on all manner of remote transactions. It isn't just limited to high capacity & plastic now. Look at the listings very critically and where there are holes of information, ask the seller for more pix or to clarify.
If the seller can't be bothered or dodges...pass. If it seems fishy...pass.
I have had good experiences on GB & GA by employing a respectful yet skeptical philosophy. Be careful out there guys!
 
The Buyer has to beware

All my fellow smithophiles have made really good suggestions.
If we would make a list of all the things to be wary of, like good pictures,return priviledges,previous feedback of the seller,throwing the buzzwords like "rare" or "the only one I've ever see" and took them to heart, we would bid on less items but would also have fewer disappointments. and Finesse_r
made a set of great principles to follow. Thanks to all
regards
Haris1
 
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