Gun purchase tomfoolery and shenanigans

[CajunBass]

I don't see the problem here myself.

Seller presents item "as is." You accept sale, then get mad when you find out seller may have sold the grips to someone else. How did you get taken? You saw the item being sold. You knew the price. You agreed to the price. You said in your original post, not once, but twice, it was a good deal.

Maybe the seller did sell the grips to the shop. Probably did. He probably tried on a set of Hogues but settled on the Pach's for whatever reason.

But the key is you saw the item you were buying and agreed to the deal. You knew it didn't have the original grips with it. Maybe that's why it was a "good deal."

 

[Camster]

Reminds me of the BRISK business some folks would do on GB or in small shops with old Colt autos or off beat LLAMA pieces. It was a very common practice to see the piece with no magazine or an aftermarket model, rather than the colt 2 tone or the original LLAMA
But if you searched around about 75% of the time the seller was also selling the original Magazine on another auction

Or guys that list a original two piece stock set with matching wood(as found on something like a Browning 22 takedown) as two separate auctions.If you get the first piece ,you're compelled to bid any amount to complete the set.I won't play that game.

 

[Matt Hooper]

As I am in MA, please list the store!

 

[BAM-BAM]

Engine49Guy..... great point..... lots of Dealers over the years have been stripping out the "extra" magazines.........selling used guns with just one magazine and then offering "extra" mags for sale.

Anything over 2 I can see......... but the second..... a gun shipped with!!!!!

 

[Donn]

All that and you still did business with this outfit? The owner pulls a stroke like this and you still handed over the $$$. Sorry OP, but the old country tune comes to mind. "I've got some ocean front property in Arizona." Interested?

 

[Hapworth]

So I was purchasing a gun tonight sight unseen since it was a pretty good deal...

Well, there's the problem right there...

Whether it was just the seller, or the seller and store owner in cahoots, nobody did anything wrong within the parameters of the offered deal. I personally don't like the "cannibalize and sell separately" practice and would've declined purchase if I'd discovered it before money changed hands, but it's certainly the seller's right, just as it's my right to refuse.

Unless items or assurances were offered then not delivered, CajunBass nails it: no one's in the wrong here, it just happens not to feel very good but also accounts for the compelling price.

 

[Hapworth]

...I have to ask why two private parties were meeting at an FFL's place of business to do a transaction?

Along with OP's stated reason, convenience and personal safety, too.

 

[*chris*]

BTW...perhaps its time to move out of Taxachusettes to a less oppressive state in the Union....Florida is very gun friendly.

I lived in Florida for 5 years, love the place. When it was time to start a family we moved back to where our families are. I am only 20 minutes from the New Hampshire border which is a pretty free state in its own right. Kids in the schools here, not gonna move them.

I don't feel taken, that is why I titled the thread "tomfoolery and shenanigans" not, "I just got ripped off!" I thought the story was funny when I figured out what happened instead of the line of bs I was fed by the shop owner. The seller left before I figured everything out.

I will take back my scumbag comment and change it to slippery!

Chris

 

[weatherby]

Chris you ever hit the western part of the state.
I have a few places you would like the owners.

 

[Muss Muggins]

So I was purchasing a gun tonight sight unseen since it was a pretty good deal. We meet at the FFL and it was missing the stock stocks and had ill fitting Pachmayrs on it. The stocks that came on this particular S&W revolver are quite unique and hard to miss. The second clue some tomfoolery was taking place was the hogue grip strap was in the box, but there were no hogue stocks to be found.

I go ahead with the buy anyway since it was a good deal and as the FFL is filing out the paperwork I take a look around the shop. The shop is pretty new so they don't have a lot of stock. What do I see on another counter? The proper wood stocks with a $40 price tag on them. I pay the stupid tax and buy the stocks that should have been sold with the gun. Now my interest is piqued, why are there brand new Pachmayr stocks on the gun, a Hogue strap in the firearm box and I found the original wood stocks?

What do I see on the back wall? A Pachmayr K/L frame stock box on the wall with a Hogue grip in it!!! I lost it... So I grab the box, remove the hogue stock from the blister pack and then proceed to open the revolver box and show the shopowner that I had the mounting strap for his hogue stock that was in a Pachmayr box! Furthermore, the hogue stock was branded S&W!!!!

So I am like, here is the deal, you pulled this switcharoo obviously before I got here. I don't care about paying you the $40 for the wood stocks, just trade me the hogue stock for the K/L frame Pachmayrs and I will be on my way.

What scumbags, thanks for letting me vent!

Chris

So, who do you think is the bad guy? The person you bought the handgun from, or the FFL? I see a couple possibilities.

1. The seller knowing what he had, arriving early, trading it out with the FFL.

2. Seller not knowing what he had, FFL realizes it, talks him into a trade.

What did the seller represent that you were getting when you arranged the deal?

 

[Frizzman]

I almost never see older S&W's with original, wood stocks or boxes... I think its the trend of stripping the guns and selling that stuff on auction and other sites. It seems common practice these days. A nice, vintage with cheap rubber on it is ofter a deal breaker for me...That would sour me on that shop and there would be no further business from me. His choice to do that and my choice to spend my money elsewhere.

 

[one eye joe]

DID HE TRADE YOU THE HOGUES (WHICH ARE USELESS W/O THE MOUNTING STRAP THAT YOU NOW OWN) FOR THE PACHMAYRS ? ? ?

I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT YOU THOUGHT THAT THE GUN WAS A "GOOD DEAL" AS IS, AND YOU BOUGHT IT. THE MERCHANDISE WAS NOT MIS- REPRESENTED TO YOU BY EITHER THE SELLER, OR THE THE DEALER. THEY DID NOTHING WRONG. THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO WRING THE MOST MONEY OUT OF A FIREARM. THAT'S NOT ILLEGAL. ITS NOT A BAIT AND SWITCH SCHEME, ETC. I WOULD HAVE A FRIEND GO TO THE STORE AND OFFER THE DEALER A SMALL AMOUNT FOR HIS HOGUES W/O A MOUNTING STRAP---IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THEM. (I HOPE THAT YOU DIDN'T GIVE HIM THE MOUNTING STRAP BACK) TAKE THE PACHMAYR BLISTER PACK, ALSO, SO THAT YOU CAN SELL OFF YOUR PACHS…..

PERSONALLY, FINGER GROOVE GRIPS DO NOT APPEAL TO ME BECAUSE THEY DON'T FIT MY HAND. I WOULD RATHER HAVE GOTTEN "A GOOD DEAL" ON YOUR REVOLVER WEARING THE PACHMAYRS (WHICH I LIKE AND USE FOR HARSH CONDITIONS--HUNTING, FISHING, CAMPING) THAN PAID MORE TO HAVE THE USELESS, TO ME, HOGUES. IN ANY EVENT, I WOULD NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THAT DEALER IN THE FUTURE…….

 

[Goblin]

That shop won't be in business for the long haul if they keep that up. Lots of new business owners think that's the way to get money in the door faster, but it won't be sustainable. Good customer service is what makes a business successful.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Engine49Guy..... great point..... lots of Dealers over the years have been stripping out the "extra" magazines.........selling used guns with just one magazine and then offering "extra" mags for sale.

Anything over 2 I can see......... but the second..... a gun shipped with!!!!!

CDNN was famous, or infamous, for removing magazines from brand new guns, and selling the magazines as extras.

Used guns, I suppose, are one thing. A new firearm, however, ought to include every item shipped with it when it left the factory.

 

[Rustyt1953]

You are certainly aware of your surroundings. Good eye.

 

[Malpaso]

As I am in MA, please list the store!

Yes, please.

 

[Old cop]

I'm not sure how far you want to push this, or what the legal ramifications might be, but you could "out" this shop on the internet if you feel that strong about it.

 

[*chris*]

I'm not sure how far you want to push this, or what the legal ramifications might be, but you could "out" this shop on the internet if you feel that strong about it.

I really have no hard feelings, I just think it is a shady way to sell a gun. If the guy thought his price was too cheap, I would have had no problem paying another $50 for the grips that came with the gun. I more fault the seller than the gun shop.

I didn't even haggle the price at all which is unlike me.

Chris

 

[F75gunslinger]

My Feeling is it went like this....

The seller arrived before the OP, and as the dealer was looking the gun over and doing paperwork, he offered to buy the grips ( both Hogue and stock ). The seller probably didn't know what he had, and was interested in putting a bit more cash in his pocket for the deal. I'm guessing the OP was probably told the gun had rubber grips on it. I prefer to see whatever I'm buying, and will turn down someone who can't give me decent pics and a list of what is included. I say good job to the OP for being observant and seeing the situation. I'd honestly say that the dealer is a bit slippery, but the blame should ultimately fall on the seller . i also think the OP should post the shop's name so people can be aware of their slippery nature.

 

[amazingflapjack]

When I send a gun to someone that has valuable and removable components on it, I have the shipper put the buyers name on the label so that the FFL can see who it belongs to. I then instruct the buyer to tell the dealer to wait for him to open the parcel-just better for everyone.