doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Don't Deal with Travis Sims of Midway KY

I recently bought two guns sight unseen from this "gentleman"...a Lefever G and a Parker D. Neither had any defects other than normal patina according to the descriptions. The Lefever was specifically described as being crack-free. Lo and behold, the Lefever has 4 major and one minor crack in the head/wrist area, two of which are very much "alive". The Parker has a replacement buttstock ("possible refinish" according to Mr. Sims) and the entire action and trigger bow are quite heavily pitted, even though they have been aggressively cleaned. Parker is also off face and has reamed bbls with fresh reamer marks in the left bore and chamber.

This gent refuses to reverse the transaction. He says he is not a gunsmith and he couldn't see any of these problems, ergo his descriptions were honest. I should have asked questions before buying, he says (even though my offer was contingent on "no hidden or expensive surprises). Since he isn't an FFL holder, I can't even ship the guns back to him while we sort this out.

And I thought Midwest types were honest godfearing folk!

Anyone live around Mr. Sims? I have an assignment for you if you do. Esp. if you have an FFL. Email me.

That sucks. I don't understand why people behave that way. I hope it all works out for you.

I suspect he has cashed your check, and has spent the money.

Sounds like misrepresentation to me.

I guess this happens more than I suspected.

My brother the Dallas lawyer after hearing me discuss the joys of double guns for years, recently decided to take the plunge. He bought an Ithaca NID Grade 5E for some ( to me anyway) serious coin. I gave him all the questions to ask, and was on the phone with him when he inspected the gun at his receiving FFL. During our inspection we find a few little things: 1) the stock is so loose on the action that it rattles, and cannot be tightened down. Turned out was punky, oil soaked and cracked through the head, big time. 2) What was billed as SST was actually NON - selective trigger 3) There is a big gouge, a chisel mark or something on the top of the action next to the top lever. Undisclosed minor issues such as blemishes in the bluing on the barrels, and chipmunk gnawings on the stock just add to the disappointment. I told him: " dont even accept the shipment, send it back." Dealer refused to accept the return. The dealer told us: "I am not a gunsmith and I guarantee nothing and I didnt notice the stock was loose and I sure didnt see it was cracked and I am not skilled enough to tell a SST from a Non-selective trigger and by golly I dont know where the gouge came from and no I wont take it back. If you dont like it, tough - sue me".

My brother is pretty pugnacious and just might indeed sue the guy.

You wonder how folks like him stay in business.

Dealers name will be available shortly.

I guess the lesson here is deal only with people with reputations, and remember that the really good deal may actually be too good.

Regards

GKT

I had the same type of problem with SLY on auction arms.com.
I dont remember the jerks name, but it was the most miserable
transaction that I have ever had. Overdescribed,packed horribly,
cracked in shipment and refused to return and answers were very
assinign. Beware of this one also.

I believe we need a space (archive) on this board, other than this particular area, devoted to great service and poor service. The Hunting Report has the "good, the bad and the ugly". Conceptually this would allow anyone to post a favorable/unfavorable report and the individual or company named to rebutt the report. The archive would be ongoing to allow any board member to acess the report (members signed in only). Fairness would allow both sides to be presented.

Jim

We could use some guidelines on how to share this kind of information without exposing ourselves to liability for slander...

DGH, that's a real bummer. Hate to hear about deals like that.

One correction, however. Here in the REAL Midwest, we don't regard KY as part of our region. It's the northern South.

AMEN, Larry Brown.

Stallones, with that name you should'a stayed away from him! ;-)

JC(AL)

I will be sure to never do business with that guy. I'll tell you about a similar problem in reverse I had that worked out. I sold a very nice L.C. Smith Field grade on Gunbroker a few months ago to a guy (whose name I have regretably forgotten or I would happily publish it). This guy had the winning bid but told me not to bother to even ship the gun as he was not going to send me the money due to a blemish on the barrels that he just couldnt get past. Never mind that I had pictured the blemish and offered a three day inspection period. Since this prick wouldnt even send me a check and complete the transaction, I had to eat the listing and final value fees which totaled around 40 bucks. When I said I was going to list him as a non-paying bidder, he said he would "ding" me as well. Long story short, I felt I would only hurt myself by doing this,so I let it drop, since I didnt have a lot of feedbacks (all were positive) and was trying to build my business.

I sold the gun a week later at a gun show for 100 more than he bid anyway. But he can burn in hell.