Buyers "Remorse", Handgun

[Rule3]

Well I know we have had a "Sellers Remorse" thread but how about a Buyers version?

I went against my normal grain a purchased a New handgun. I'll keep the brand name out to eliminate bias. No, it's not a S&W.

The gun was by my standards pretty damn expensive. I have had several problems with it and sent it back to the factory twice and they have also send me a replacement spring.

This gun was one of those "Just gotta have at the moment" guns.

So, even though the gun is working now, I have lost faith or confidence in it. (It was going to be a carry piece)

Besides that, I really just do not like it as I thought I would.

I have sent the company a long politely worded letter on just how unhappy I am with their product and pretty much what I am writing here. I did complement them on their customer service which was, in all honesty, very prompt and they paid the shipping.

So I now have a expensive gun which I really no longer want. It's not like it will increase in value much due to inflation nor is it a collectable so if I sell it or trade it I'll take a big hit on the price.

Or, I can just throw it in the safe for some other time but that to me is a even bigger waste of money that could go towards something else.

So do I sell/trade it, take a loss and just chalk it up to a bad decision/purchase and move on? I guess the worst thing is that it cost so much. I wouldn't have minded as much if it was a $200-300 gun.

Or just dwell on it day after day until it makes even sicker.

 

[sheriffoconee]

I have done it..
Get rid of it, even if you take the loss, and get something you know you will enjoy. It will be a funny story in 6 months, or a year.......or longer....

 

[J.P.60]

Sell it. Better to take a small loss now than to look at it every time you go into the safe.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

Sell it. Better to take a small loss now than to look at it every time you go into the safe.

Ditto. I hope it's not a Walther P88 or an HK P7M8 or something like that.


Bullseye

 

[mwtdvm]

Kenny Rogers said it best.... "Know when to walk away and know when to run.."

time to walk away

 

[Ron H.]

Sir, sell it and move on. Been there, done that.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[Erich]

That's interesting. I have had a similar experience - my wife bought me a really interesting, well-reviewed gun for our tenth anniversary from a small maker (the name of which I will not discuss, as I feel they could not have given me better service.

The lovely thing didn't work for me. Customer service could not have been better - they tried over and over again to make it work. But then there was a sort of shocking serious failure of the gun . . . which was repeated immediately after they fixed it the first time. As I was still unable to get my sample to run properly for me, I suggested that they buy the gun back from me . . . along with the spare parts and custom leather I'd purchased for it. They did so.

Here's the difference: I was never able to make my gun work for me. If the company was able to make the gun work for you, I think your lack of confidence in the machine (while it's something I understand and to which I can relate) is your problem. I'm wish you did not have the bad experience, but if you're not confident in the piece, sell it and take the loss yourself.

Or . . . have you considered putting it away for a year and then pulling it out of the safe to see whether your confidence is restored after 200 flawless rounds in 2012? If not, you can always sell it then . . .

 

[Capt Steve]

OCD1, Come on now, we are all (well most of us anyway), friends here. What gun are you talking about? Granted disclosure won't help you sell it but confession is supposedly good for the soul. (o;

 

[m1gunner]

My brother made a bad decision once. It took him years to finally rid self of the unwanted item. In the end it cost nearly half a million bucks.
He said that divorce was the best decision he ever made, wish he had done it years earlier.

Hopefully your mistake won't cost this much. Dump what you have for what you can get for it, and get what you really want. Life is too short. We are still talking about guns, right?

 

[cussedemgun]

Interesting story, same as I've heard several times from several different sources about their bad 'JUDGEment".

Sooner or later we all get old enough to realize there is a reason for being "brand loyal".

My advice, "sell it & move on, don't look back or dwell on the negative!"

Jim

 

[Rule3]

That's interesting. I have had a similar experience - my wife bought me a really interesting, well-reviewed gun for our tenth anniversary from a small maker (the name of which I will not discuss, as I feel they could not have given me better service.

The lovely thing didn't work for me. Customer service could not have been better - they tried over and over again to make it work. But then there was a sort of shocking serious failure of the gun . . . which was repeated immediately after they fixed it the first time. As I was still unable to get my sample to run properly for me, I suggested that they buy the gun back from me . . . along with the spare parts and custom leather I'd purchased for it. They did so.

Here's the difference: I was never able to make my gun work for me. If the company was able to make the gun work for you, I think your lack of confidence in the machine (while it's something I understand and to which I can relate) is your problem. I'm wish you did not have the bad experience, but if you're not confident in the piece, sell it and take the loss yourself.

Or . . . have you considered putting it away for a year and then pulling it out of the safe to see whether your confidence is restored after 200 flawless rounds in 2012? If not, you can always sell it then . . .

Erich,

I also had a experience much like yours a few years ago and I will mention this gun, a Rohrbaugh Stealth R9. Over $1,000. That's when I was in the pocket gun craze, Seecamps and such. Just couldn't get the gun to function. Spoke directly with Carl (Karl)? who actually offered me my money back which I accepted. They were (are) some of the nicest folks I ever dealt with in the gun business. The gun was beautiful and really a work of art but just had to many problems (for me) others love them.

I would rather not mention the brand of this gun as I am not out to smear any reputations. They got the gun to work and customer service was fine. I just do not think the gun is what I want now and have a bad taste if you will.

I can try and sell it myself but that involves all the hassles of doing so.

 

[major kong]

Bummer dude. Get rid of it and get something you feel good about.

 

[David LaPell]

I think we can say we have all been there. I remember when I bought one of those Beretta storm carbines. The high cap mags kept falling out of the gun. Alot of money just to shoot a bunch of teeny 9mm's. For $450 less I could have had a decent 12 gauge pump. Sell it and move on, nothing like seeing a gun in your safe that you are going to hate.

 

[jkc]

I have decided to throw in the towel and get rid of a long gun with which I've been messing around for the last couple months. It's a gun with interesting potential, but with peculiar problems, which someone with more time and patience than I have may easily resolve. In fact, what I perceive to be problems may not bother another user to the same degree as they bother me. Nevertheless, life's too short to monkey around with inferior equipment, hoping that it can been rectified. Cheaper in the long run, I think, to take the hit of depreciation, and move on. Thanks to eBay, GunBroker, and similar auction sites --- worldwide yard sales --- it's relatively easy to dispose of unwanted stuff.

 

[Engineer1911]

Python buyer's remorse

In 1988, I bought a Colt 8" Python 38 Special Target revolver unfired. A $400 gorgeous royal blue POS. The owner was getting a divorce and had to sell ALL his guns and split the money with his ex.

The barrel was cross threaded. Adjusting the rear sight full right just hit paper at 25 yards, shot 18" left of point of aim. Sent back to Colt and was told it was within specs. I told Colt customer service that they needed tighter specs.

Called Ahlman's Gunshop in Morris, MN. Send it to us. For $175 a new 357 mag cylinder was fitted to the frame and the barrel was correctly installed. All is well. Found a Colt collector who gave me $800.

I have a strong opinion of the legendary Colt Python and Colt customer (dis)service that is less than positive.

 

[Brian41]

I found that I didn't really like the way Colt DA revolvers shoot. Fortunately I bought them at good prices and traded them off on a S&W Model 25, 30 and some cash.

I also bought a Model 357PD new because the price was reduced and it was a .41. I've shot it once and don't care for the hi-viz sights, finish or IL. It was an impulse buy and will likely get traded off sometime too.

 

[chief38]

I have bought guns in the past that I just "had to have" at the time, shot them once or twice, cleaned them and then they just sat in the safe for many years. By the way, they all functioned perfectly, I just never had much desire to shoot them after the initial purchase.

Last year I sold four such guns and bought a gun that I had always wanted, but never bought. A New In The Box Series 70 Colt Gold Cup National Match from 1973 or '74. I probably overpaid by about $100.00 or so, but I have NEVER regretted it, as it was never shot when I bought it, was in pristine condition with all the original stuff (box, papers, tools, etc) and now it has become my most used target shooting gun! Since the time I bought it, the price of those items has gone up anyway, and I am one happy camper - never missing the 4 guns I sold.

Bite the bullet, get rid of it and get yourself something you REALLY want!

chief38

 

[panther]

I've bought a gun before just because the guys in the shop talked so highly about this model that I felt left out not owning one. After taking it to the range, I realized, this wasn't that great a gun after all. I could out shoot any of them with an old model 10.
If you do decide to sell, post it here on the classifieds, with good pictures, or wait for a gun show in your area and take it there. You'll probably have a better chance of getting a fair price for it. If you take it to a shop, they will offer a lower price for an outright sale. Maybe you can dicker a better price if it's for trade toward another gun.
Don't sweat it, lesson learned, move on.

 

[imjin138]

I beleive all of us here have had that experience, I would sell it take the loss and buy something else you want and chalk it up to a learning experience.

You will feel better eventually

 

[cass]

Good candidate for the "best ever" karma????