Still waiting for my guns

Retired W4

Retired W4

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I first checked the forum rules to make sure I am not in violation of said rules.

17 days ago I was the high bidder on a 1936 RM and two other hand guns. The auction house, which I will name in time, and their "third party shipper" have been dragging their feet and making at least one false statement, maybe more, to me about the status of the transaction. After several emails with both parties it seems that things might finally be moving along. I see this as gross incompetence, but I could be wrong, although I doubt it. Yesterday, while talking to the owner of the shipping company, he told me that all the guns from the auction had been shipped, only to find out that my were not. How in the world could that happen? That left me wondering what happened to my three guns. My patience is wearing thin. I will report on the progress made, if any, as time goes on. I will also name the auction company and their shipper in due time as a service to anyone who might get involved with these people. Bidders beware.
 
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Retired W4 said:
I first checked the forum rules to make sure I am not in violation of said rules.

17 days ago I was the high bidder on a 1936 RM and two other hand guns. The auction house, which I will name in time, and their "third party shipper" have been dragging their feet and making at least one false statement, maybe more, to me about the status of the transaction. After several emails with both parties it seems that things might finally be moving along. I see this as gross incompetence, but I could be wrong, although I doubt it. Yesterday, while talking to the owner of the shipping company, he told me that all the guns from the auction had been shipped, only to find out that my were not. How in the world could that happen? That left me wondering what happened to my three guns. My patience is wearing thin. I will report on the progress made, if any, as time goes on. I will also name the auction company and their shipper in due time as a service to anyone who might get involved with these people. Bidders beware.
Click to expand...

Very sorry to hear about your difficulties.

Please keep us informed!
 
I have found that far too many people cannot handle the logistics of a process worth a darn. I am not generally patient with that, so I tend to avoid such people and entities after one bad experience. When I find a person or entity that has their stuff together, I tend to stick with them.
 
Thanks for your post, RW4.

That seems very odd. It seems possible to me that if the house is one of the larger, reputable auction houses, perhaps they mislaid, somehow, your guns, and someone said, knowing all the sold guns had gone out, that they had shipped...

I just think a larger, reputable auction house would have to be plumb nuts to deliberately deceive a customer like that...

If it is simple incompetence, I sure hope they have enough sense to apologize profusely, and perhaps waive all or part of their buyer's fee.

Best of luck, and yes, please keep us informed. How this plays out is something that it is important for our community to know.
 
Depending on the size of the auction and the number of lots sold, 17 days isn't uncommon. Misrepresenting the status of your purchase, however, is unacceptable.
I once received a pistol from an auction company that I did not bid on. I bought other guns from the auction but they mailed me a pistol through the USPS that wasn't mine. I called them, of course, and returned it.
I hope nothing like that has happened to yours W4.
 
Truckman said:
I know of many success stories told here by others, but instances like this are why I do not participate in auctions of any kind...Good luck and patience to you, Tom...:(...Ben
Click to expand...

Auctions can vary from pleasure to pain. Pleasure is when a poorly informed auctioneer has no clue about guns or how to photograph them. Still, you see enough to realize there are some special items there and you get them at the right price. I've done rather well in that respect with milsurps. Pain is when it comes to shipping.
 
Yesterday the owner of the shipping company said I was confused about our phone conversation. I know what he said and I know what my response was. Then his further statements sounded like he was whining about how difficult it was shipping all those guns. He said he was waving his labor and material cost because of the delay (17 days) in getting the shipping bill to me, so it would only be $215, which is $10 more than the bill he sent. Thank you so much.

Bradford has been silent through the whole process. I guess they think that because they handed every thing off to the "third party" that they contracted they are no longer responsible. Crickets.

I authorized the $215 yesterday and I and my FFL are waiting for a tracking number. The quality of their packing job is yet to be seen. 18 days and counting.
 
It's frustrating. I had a major delay like this once with a rifle from GB. Seller jerked me around and said he hadn't received funds , but my bank account said otherwise. He was a large dealer. I left bad feedback on him and he denied everything and called me another novice pandemic buyer. I don't understand why people can't just be honest. Customers are more likely to be understanding than when you lie to them.
 
Hope they get it straightened out. I can't see why they would lie. As others have stated, customers are generally understanding when issues arise.

Gaslighting a customer and telling them they misunderstood what you said is pretty galling. If there is an option to leave feedback I would do so and tell the owner exactly what I planned to do.

I hope the packing is to a higher standard. I had a shipper insist packing a gun I was shipping to a forum member. It showed up scratched. I have never allowed a shipper to pack a gun without me present after learning that lesson. The buyer was understanding even though I offered to refund the shipping cost.

I would hate to see a 36 RM damaged in transit.

L
 
ColbyBruce said:
Retired W4, if the shipper sends them via USPS they will sit in the parking lot at the plant in Palmetto until Thanksgiving. I hope you specified a different carrier.
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FedEx. That gives me $4000 insurance, which is about what I have in it. The Palmetto Distribution Center is still a mess.
 
Retired W4 said:
FedEx. That gives me $4000 insurance, which is about what I have in it. The Palmetto Distribution Center is still a mess.
Click to expand...

There was a death at Palmetto earlier this week. Apparently there is some sort of signal blocking device on the premises to disable cell phones so employees had to run to a supervisor's office to use a hardline to call 911. The person expired before EMS arrived.

I believe things are going to get worse there.
 
Retired W4 said:
Bradford has been silent through the whole process. I guess they think that because they handed every thing off to the "third party" that they contracted they are no longer responsible.
Click to expand...

I won't use an auction company that doesn't have their own FFL and do their own shipping.

Shipping prices have gone up, but $215 to ship three pistols (one box) second day air is absurd even with insurance.
 
I looked up Bradford. I'd not heard of them.

Looks like sort of a generic auction house, probably mostly dealing with estates. Perhaps that explains, in part, their poor handling of their transaction with you. There's no excuse for their refusal to try to step in and help you with the shipper.

The seller, as I think is true of most if not all of us on the forum here when we sell a gun, should take responsibility until the sold gun is safely in the buyer's hands.
 
llowry61 said:
Hope they get it straightened out. I can't see why they would lie. As others have stated, customers are generally understanding when issues arise.

Gaslighting a customer and telling them they misunderstood what you said is pretty galling. If there is an option to leave feedback I would do so and tell the owner exactly what I planned to do.
Click to expand...

Haven't you heard? Gaslighting and accusing the customer of having a faulty memory are SOP in most businesses these days. Integrity is just a word in a dictionary.
 
Every good deal I have run across on Auctions, I always get beat out of at the very end. They get ten bids at the end of the bid time which jacks up the price to where its not a great deal anymore. I only buy guns online if it is a buy not an auction.
 
Hopefully the OP will get his guns soon.
There is a local auction house near me that specializes in firearms. They sell thousands of guns every year and often have high dollar examples. They post their upcoming sales several months in advance and usually have good descriptions along with many photos of every item in the sale. They also have phone bidding and I believe now do internet as well.
A couple years ago a good friend of mine consigned 40 firearms to one of their auctions and did well, even after their commission. When he went down to pick up his check, they being only 25 miles away, he was told that a shipment of handguns to one of their big buyers in the south west was broken into while in route and was were missing several guns, including some of his sold items. Fortunately the buyer had purchased insurance on his own, which was in addition to that provided by the auction house.
It is a down side to internet buying, whether an auction or direct sale, and a risk we all have to consider when going that route.
Nothing beats being there in person when buying anything.

John
 
Last edited:
My guns, including the RM arrived at my FFL today. The shipper failed to include the seller's (the auction house) FFL, which he needs to log them in. Seems like it's just one thing after another with these people. It only took 22 days.:mad: Turns out another friend, who is a dealer got three Winchester rifles in the same auction and he freaked when he found out the cost to get them. He knows what it cost to ship and transfer. He does it all the time. btw, he is still waiting on them to ship. :confused:
 
If at all possible, I prefer to purchase from sellers who are FFL's. If you're not, then shipping can get crazy. Often with FFL's you can find what you're looking for with free shipping.
 
Retired W4 said:
My guns, including the RM arrived at my FFL today. The shipper failed to include the seller's (the auction house) FFL, which he needs to log them in. Seems like it's just one thing after another with these people. It only took 22 days.:mad: Turns out another friend, who is a dealer got three Winchester rifles in the same auction and he freaked when he found out the cost to get them. He knows what it cost to ship and transfer. He does it all the time. btw, he is still waiting on them to ship. :confused:
Click to expand...

Well at least its moving! Very frustrating I know!
 
This is a fulfillment issue, not an auction issue.

I think there are 5 possibilities:
-stolen
-repacked with unsold inventory
-someody there wanted it and sidetracked it for themselves.
It was shipped but the internal documents weren't completed.
-Shipped to the wrong address.

If they never had your shipping address that narrows it down a little. The other possibility is that someone in the fulfillment department has a racket diverting guns in which case ATFE is your friend.
 
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