doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ethical question

"have turned up at this dealer, and apparently the seller is taking them to a couple in the district to gain the best price."
You have viewed the guns at the dealers place of business.

"I do, never the less, have a good working relationship with him, and he looks after me."

You have the opportunity to make all parties happy.

Discuss with your dealer friend your proposal i.e. :"about the fairly complex, arcane, and specialised world of vintage English guns"

Make an offer to the dealer re some compensation for his good fortune and inquire as to the possibility of direct negotiations with the principal, who in short order will have at least 3 offers of fair value to consider. If direct contact is not available to you then deal with/through the shopkeeper.

Deals come and go.

Friendships are valued in lifetimes.

Good Luck.

John- I am not a "collector" or a "dealer" but I have had- and still do today- a few close good friends- ones that would "give you the shirt off their back"! I don't know anything about the League that you belong to- but if the other guys in it are like you-in today's "dog eat dog" world a true friend is beyond price, and I commend you- most of my best friends are in Arlington- that is a fact of life- can't be changed- but I have two that I trust like the brother I never had, that is a "code" few women understand-and in my view, friendships forged "in the heat of battle" are thus tempered and true- Some Nobleman from the 1700's once said "The more I know of man and his ways, the better I love my dogs"- and I can see the truth in those words too!!

Run With The Fox :
Thank you for including me in your posting.
My inclusion in the "League" is a much undeserved honor that was bestowed upon me on the date stated.
As far as I am concerned, the vast majority of our members and so many other Brothers in Arms (military and/or civilian) are members of this same League. Welcome, my friend.
My best to you,
John

Thankyou all for your input.
Not sure what I'll do yet.
RG

Do what you feel is right. That's worth more than any of the other considerations you mentioned.

Golfs With Wolves- you are right about the "go with your gut feeling" best move-and better to do something and not always be right than to do nothing at all- Golfs With Wolves- great choice- wonder if the wolf pack plays "best ball" my pet Latin phrase is: "Quid Audere, Vincere" which sorta echoes the "do something rather than sit there with your thumb placed strategically elsewhere" RWFT

Thanks John- same back to you- doubled and redoubled--RWFT

Lets reduce this to life as we know it in 21st century........always think of number one, YOURSELF.
Contacting the owner would only be unethical if their contact info came directly from the dealer. In this case if you contact the seller the issue of ethics lies with the party selling the guns.

"Lose their history and leave the district"? That just means you would not be a part of the transaction, it would seem. What about all the British guns that get sold to people out of the country? Are they losing their history because they are sold out of the country? And maybe the dealer doesn't understand the "arcane" tradition of double guns like you do, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. And I am a little sentimental. Maybe you don't see all that many guns over there like that with any regional history at all, especially with ties to the UK. I don't mean to pick on you personally but I think all too often we (gun nuts) perceive ourselves as uniquely qualified to advise people on ownership of nice guns; as if we are truly the cognoscenti--"those who know" and are a cut above other less fortunate individuals who haven't "read the book", the poor heathens. I say BS. We choose to know something about fine guns because we enjoy learning, and sharing the knowledge. Get involved with the deal if you can do so fairly to all people involved; but please don't do so just because you think you are uniquely qualified to be the proper guardian of the guns' prevenance.

How about just talking to your friend , the dealer, and ask him if he is going to "chase" those guns. If not, tell him that you have an interest, but did not want to butt in if he was interested. If you can't do that, then you must not have the relationship you are worrying about.