doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Professional Lookers

Interesting reference. I happen to know a wealthy banker that was interested in Blands, so he called'em. After a very condescending exchange he decided to look elsewhere. Forever.

I think I hear sirens.
Someone must have called for a "Wha-mbulance"

In my line of work, we submit formal proposals for very expensive industrial equipment. Even a fast bid might cost a few thousand dollars to generate.

This is 'part of doing business' because we understand no one buys a multi-million dollar piece of equipment without due consideration. At least not usually.

That said, we also have 'tire kickers' - companies who you come to realize have asked for bids for 5, 10, 15 years and never bought anything.

There's a sort of natural process of selection when it comes to this sort of situation. Their requests tend to get shuffled to the bottom of the heap. They might not ever get a bid at all if things are busy. Their prices tend to be not carefully scrubbed.

In those cases, I simply remind the less experienced people I work with that the term 'customer' is used for people who buy things, or at least might.

GregSY we have customers that act like our estimator works for them! As we say, No pay, no stay. Some "customers" we just can't afford.
Had a husband and wife team that would demand 10's of thousands of dollars in changes to a spec house! I'd let their offer set for about 23 hrs, and then just say "No" in big letters on it. They wrote a half dozen PA's before we caught on to their angle. No one ever closed them to my knowledge. It was just their way to see what they could get a builder to agree to. They wanted it all for nothing.

It was that kind of stuff that makes me sympathetic to what John said at the beginning.

Crap, or get off the pot.

Better than the Amberlamps.
Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/0h9zJtYyjKE

I would have appreciated the favor of a return call some 10 or 12 years ago when a new found friend had just introduced me to the magical world of sxs's. I called the gentleman in Houston to see if he had an Arrieta in 16 gauge. He was busy, said he would call me back, and never did. Within the week I had a cased two barrel set on the way from a responsive dealer in the Carolinas.

I was a serious buyer that went elsewhere. I was very reluctant to post this, but I was gonna burst if I didn't.

Mike
Flower Mound, TX

He probably thought you were one of his pesky "Professional Lookers". He thinks he's got this thing all figured out. Looks like he was wrong in your case, Mike.

I stand by what I said earlier about his rant backfiring on him.

SRH

I've discussed a gun with John Boyd. He was absolutely truthful and receptive to my questions in reference to the gun. I did not find him to be put off by any of my questions, which were thorough and extensive. I purchased this particular gun from John, at a fair price and the item was as described. I was an interested party and not a tire kicker and I was treated well by John. Frankly, I don't blame him for being put off by the tire kicker customer. I'm not a gun dealer, but have sold a few guns along the way. I've had people approach me regarding some of my guns. A friend of mine was interested in a pigeon grade 101 I own. He asked me if I would sell it to him for 'what I had in it'. I thought about it and said yes, because he's my buddy. Then, he wanted to shoot it. Mind you, this is a 99% Win 101 pigeon. I let him shoot it and he shot it great. Then, he said, well I will think about it. I'm not sure I want to spend $1000 for a brand new Win 101 pigeon grade trap. It does kick a bit. So, he handed it back to me to take home and clean......and yeah, I know what John means. My tire kucking buddy sort of pissed me off and affirmed my belief that no good deed deserves to go unpunished.

Years ago I was looking for a superposed. I went to a local gun show and I found one and looked it over, the dealer was very nice and didn not hesitate to let me look at it. I passed on that gun and went over a few isles and found a nicer one a little cheaper. When I asked to see it the dealer kind of looked me up and down and hesitated thinking this young kid(I was in my 20's) did not fit his idea of a superposed buyer. I passed right on the spot and went back and bought the other gun. First thing I did was walk back the the other dealer and point out the gun I bought and that he should have looked at a potential buyer differently. For years later he remembered me and was quick to show me anything. I like to believe he learned something that day. Don't judge a book by its cover!!!!

I've had the same thing happen at a local shop that deals in high end Beretta's and other fine guns . Several times I been in there looking to buy(with money in pocket) and the owner always talks down to me. Never will probably buy anything from him because of his attitude towards me but I sure do make a point ask a lot of questions and handle everything just to annoy him!!!! He caters to rich folks and has no idea I have way more gun knowlage than he could ever think of having. He only knows the little world of guns he deals in. I have to bite my tongue when all the guys I shoot skeet with recommend him to another shooter or talk about buying something from him. To me he will always be an arrogant/phony person.

This is a very interesting thread and many fine points brought out. But my first question is what is a 'professional tire kicker' and in that regard how many of them are there in the context of all the other potential buyers? I think quite slim.

I don't think I am a professional tire kicker however I am very ignorant of all the possible sxs that I might be interested in. I watch and look constantly at many sites and do ask questions. It is a valid way of becoming more educated about sxs and what may interest me. I do buy and buy frequently but if the dealer is not interested in answering my questions I certainly go elsewhere. There are many, many guns but from what I ascertain from years on this site there are not a lot of buyers. Best to treat each one as a potential buyer for they will buy at some point and I would want that sale!

From a personal position my retirement is based on retail properties and renting them out. Times are slow right now and I've had to decrease my rents by 15 - 20%. I still get many people who think I am asking too much. I do get a lot of these people through the door to see the properties. Each viewing costs me $25 and I look at each one as the one who is gong to take the lease. What if I had the attitude John has? I might not be able to retire as I expect.