doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Desperate times?

OK,

This is the gun and the dealer:
http://www.gunsamerica.com/940706614/Gun...2X12X_7X57R.htm
I talked with him on the phone and he went over the gun with me asking the questions. The scope was described as perfectly functional. In fact, the mounts would not hold the scope on the gun. The scope had the elevation tourette move on the shaft, the adjustment knobs were stuck. The ocular is moving. The gun had the rifle barrel relined. One of the triggers, while working, had a very hard pull and a lot of creep.
After letting him know that the gun and scope were not what he described he did not return my phone calls, neither did he answered my e-mails. I delt with his secretary in order to return the gun. He refunded the cost of the gun but not the shipping. I feel that I had to pay shipping and insurance for his misleading description, which, in my opinion should have been his expense. It is not a matter of money, but a matter of respect and honor.
I have bought guns in poor condition from other sellers, but they were described as they were and I did not feel taken advantage of.
I have found problems with guns that I bought that were not discussed before the transaction, but other dealers stood behind their word, even if I forgot to ask the right questions or they forgot to fully describe it.
The intention of the topic is to bring awareness on this dealer. It might be malitious and unfair to some, but this is my side of the story. You make whatever you want out of it.
Serban Ionescu

The on-line Ebay seller rating system works well. If I see someone with a rating below about 98%, I stay away. Did the site you bought the gun from have a rating system? Too bad we don't have ratings posted outside storefronts on Main Street.

Bill: It's less than a "cop-out"--It's a big nothing, nada, zero, zilch; nothing but an anonymous poster hiding his identity while making unspecified accusations of generalized dissatisfaction with an unnamed "dealer." Oh! poo!

As I read it he took a look at a mail-order gun, didn't like it, returned the gun according to some "look-see" arrangement, got his money back, and paid postage (to avoid having to actually leave his home to go shopping). Oh! double-poo! EDM

The rifle barrel being "relined" should have been mentioned in the advertisement...that alone should warrant a "total refund"....maybe even some "pain and suffering".

I recall a thread just last year about a high dollar Purdey SxS that had "hidden sleeved barrels" that the same seller had listed as original....

I wonder if that poster got his shipping refunded ?

Serban is a real guy, I sold him a gun and he was a pleasure to deal with. I have dealt with Steve before with good results too.
Steve

EDM try reading the thread before you rant...

As the rifle bbl in a drilling are generally built to a minimum contour I would for sure be leery of one of the intensity of a 7x57R having been "Relined". That alone would take this gun out of the "Like New" condition he listed. Even if he had honestly not noticed it, he should have refunded shipping Both Ways, after that was brought to his attention. My Opinion

I think it would also be very worthwhile to mention names when a seller does the right thing, when a deal "starts to go wrong." If the dealer gives a prompt refund, or pays to have the broken stock repaired, etc. his name should be mentioned.

As an example, I bought a new turkish SxS at Cabela's earlier this year. It "doubled", firing both barrels with a single trigger pull. They promptly provided a full refund, with no hassle -- and are to be commended. By the way, they also offered to have it repaired, if I wanted to keep it.

Lets give credit where it is due...

JERRY

So, the plot thickens. Here we have a pre-war (70-years-old or older) 12-bore Sauer shotgun with rifle barrel attached, and scope detached, priced at $5,500. One might question what element of the $5,500 price a 4X scope contributes to a relatively expensive collector's item of a shotgun/rifle combo with iron sights? Or what is the chance of buying a similar shotgun/rifle combo at any price anywhere else? Or whether or not a relined rifle barrel on a 70+ year-old shotgun is a plus or minus in the eyes of different beholders? Or whether the subjective issue of trigger pull ("...hard pull, creep...") isn't something that different persons might evaluate differently?

I have only met Steve Barnett in passing at such places as the Vintage Cup, and someday, if and when I get to Mississippi, I'd like to see his shop, which from his ads looks like a place to spend a whole day. Steve is a major Parker dealer and to the extent that I have seen his guns displayed and handled a few, he is a top notch dealer with things of value to sell. But this is the Internet, where everybody gets their say, even Silver, who paraphrased says:

"It might be malicious and unfair to some...[for me]...to bring awareness on this dealer...[as I]...have bought guns in poor condition from other sellers...[and]...this is my side of the story."

So here is the solution to this sort of difference of opinion in the future: TO SAVE POSTAGE, get in your car and drive from Montana to Mississippi (or wherever) to look at an antique $5,500 shotgun/rifle combo next time. You can fiddle with the trigger and see if the removable scope suits you; if the cost to the prior owner to "reline" the rifle barrel did not add value to your way of thinking, then walk away...all that's lost is, maybe, 2,500- to 3,000-miles on your vehicle and 4 or 5 days of your time. Or maybe paying postage to look at someone else's $5,500 antique gun and having the stay-at-home option to say "yes, I'll keep it," or "No, I'd like my money back," ain't such a bad deal after all.

My understanding is that dealers like Steve Barnett with actual stores and national reputations always give a right to return for reason or no reason whatsoever. Silver got his money back. The idea that dealers are to pay a potential buyer's postage, which is incurred solely because the buyer chooses not to shop in person at the seller's store, is just plain silly. And the idea that the detachable scope (not even pictured in the auction listing) translates into a gun "...in poor condition" Oh! Poo!

And having since read the listing and the complaints (no doubt added belatedly due to Eightbore's jab), the complainer is still just "Silver" who tried to buy a $5,500 antique gun over the Internet, wasn't pleased, sent it back and got a full refund of the purchase price. Ordinarily this is the happy end to the mail-order look-see story.

Query: Had "Silver" driven to a seller's store, would he have demanded his mileage and a per-diem for his time and meals?