doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why 3 day inspections are important

Yup, I wish I still had mine, but it was nice of Frank Conley to picture it in his book. They are pretty hard to find, especially in high condition. Mine came from a friend who charged me $39.00 apiece for a trio of rust covered guns including a beautiful Neumann and an EE Lefever with 20" Krupp steel barrels. All three guns ended up in very high condition after a minor cleanup.

dudley: guess you did not read the above, so here it is again:

an unconditional three day inspection period is a two edged sword...

yes, it gives the buyer last right of refusal after receiving the item.

however, it leaves the seller vurnable to tire kickers, thieves and in the case of internet transactions, the possibilty that the receiving dealer will convince the buyer that he is better off buying a better gun from him...

best return policy is this:

"Returns are handled on an individual basis. You can expect that I know what I am selling. You are expected to know what you are buying. All items are guaranteed to be as advertised. If I make a gross error in description, you may of course, return item with my apology"

this way, both seller and buyer are responsible. and it heads off the competitive receiving dealer.

and dudley, have you ever shipped a really nice gun to an internet customer, who decides to return it for what ever reason and does a poor job of packing and ships it back the cheapest way. only to find that when you get it back the stock is broken? well, i have...

my thirty years of experience in the hobby gun dealing business have taught me what works and what does not work. maybe, when you have some more experience you will learn the same.

and one more question, dudley: as you have decided to attack me for my business practices, what about your business practices? do you have any feedback anywhere that we can look at?

i do. go to gunbroker.com and search for items for sale by ed1. there you will find my public feedback record since 2001.

Selling sight unseen is a bit of a risk for both parties, but it would seem that a return policy is a risk any legitimate seller would take. We've all heard stories where a buyer finds a problem with a gun and reports it to a seller who admits, "sorry; I missed it." It happens. Also, we all know that one person's idea of "condition" may be different from another's. I personally would never buy a gun without a full return policy unless it was a parts gun or something to use for home decor. As for the condition upon return I would assume that good communication and insurance would take care of that.

fin: what you say makes sense and is reasonable.

as for a return policy, i am noticing that more and more sellers on gunbroker have no stated return policy or they clearly state no returns or all sales are final.

i certainly will not buy from anyone who does not have a return policy or will not accept returns for any reason. i dont know how they do business that way, but they do.

and as for shipping insurance, i have found that getting a claim approved and a check issued to cover full loss, is a big hassle and takes a lot of time and negotiation. and one often has to settle for a partial recovery and take a loss.

and here are some reasons why buyers return merchandise:

- item has major flaw that was not mentioned in sales description. as a result it is worth significantly less than what i paid for it. seller will not pay for repair. so i have no choice but to return it for refund or pay for repair myself.

- since i made deal, i found something i like better and want to get out of this deal, so i can make another deal.

- i thought item was worth much more than i paid for it. so i thought i could flip it and make a quick profit. turns out it is worth the same or less than i paid, so there is no profit to be had.

- when my wife found out i had bought another gun, the crap hit the fan...so i gotta send it back and get the money back, so i can move back into the bed room...

And yet another reason why the "wimmenfolk" have no business meddling with a man's prerogative to invest his hard won $ into guns- instead of such frivolities as a new washing machine or snow tires for her car- right from the Gene Hill playbook, who apparently took no crap from Marcia Hill- right on Gene-o!!

Ed- tire kickers don't drop $25 shipping both ways to see your gun. That's a loss of at least $50 to THEM. Not to mention the trouble involved in receiving, shipping, and any FFL fees.

For whatever its worth, I haven't bought a gun from you because I don't trust your interpretation of "gross error".

I like "three day" or "no return" auctions. At least you, and other bidders, know what you're getting up front. No snake in the grass during the transaction.

phunter: as americans we all have the right to refuse to do business with anyone for what ever reason...

and, if my 99% positive feedback record on gunbroker is not good enough for you, then that is ok too...

keep in mind that my business terms have evolved over the years, based on my experience in dealing with people i dont really know. one of my goals is to weed out those who represent a potential bad outcome for me and my consignment customers...

Fair enough. You can do business as you want. But, don't come on here expecting me, or anyone, to trust your judgement on what is considered a "gross error" in the listing. No sane person would touch that with a ten foot pole...even if they trusted you.