moral question

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Tell them that it is worth more, and if you can afford it offer to buy it from them for a fair price. If not, accept it and offer to pay them the difference later, or you ccould give it back to them once they pay you. You probably won't notice the money at all over a lifetime, while you would notice the trickery.
 
Honesty is the best policy.But dishonesty is the second best policy,so you would still be up near the top in policy choices if you say "Done" and walk away with the rifle held close to your heart.A good deal is one in which both people walk away happy.He isn't asking you to appraise the thing,he's offering a deal.Fortune is smiling upon you.Ask him if any ammo comes with it.:D
 
I'm very impressed that most of y'all would treat the other man as you yourself would want to be treated. That builds a nation where one would want to live.
 
I took my dads 52 Marlin 39A that was missing parts and failing to feed. I cleaned it up and got it running butter smooth, this is one sweet old rimfire. Then I offered to buy it from him. He asked me what it was worth and I screwed up and told him the truth. It went back in his closet instead of home with me. :banghead:

But I sleep better and I got to shoot and fondle it for a couple weeks. :cool:
 
RoostRider: "I would never put a painting this valuable on my wall ..."

Actually the wall is the safest and best place to store valuable art, so long as it is out of direct sunlight and not in the playroom or smoking room, and properly anchored. Art in the closet gets crunched, art on the floor gets kicked or spilled on, art in the cellar gets moldy or flooded out, art in the attic gets dry and cracked.

Back to guns, I'd tell the guy the gun is worth more than he owes, and that while I'd happily take it to settle the debt, he'd be doing me a big favor by making that trade. If he was a tenant, I'd offer to give him a few more months free, particularly if it looks like he might need them. Whatever deal you have to make, don't let him take it back; he'll go and sell it to a pawnbroker or gunshop for a little more than he owes you, in order to pay you cash. Get that gun. But don't become a swindler in the process. Let him be doing you a favor, and repay the favor as and when you best can. There are many, many ways to repay a favor like that besides cash.
 
Jim,
I got the gun from someone who bought it from a gun show along with another gun. He pawned the other gun and it flagged stolen. So when they asked him about it he told them where he got the guns from and who and how many. Both guns had been stolen 10 years ago and the insurance company had of course paid the original owner for them. They could not find the man from the gun show and told me I could buy it back from the insurance company if the original owner did not want to.
 
It's something I've wanted all my life and would have a hard time finding? It means so little to him he doesn't even know what it is? I think I owe it to him to not burn him like he is offering to be burned, but I don't owe it to him to get top dollar - from someone else. I wouldn't offer to pay extra, I would take the rifle and close the deal. THEN I would research it and tell him it was worth more and in fairness I am giving him $X more. You'll both be happy. If you aren't able to give him $X right then, tell him you will give it to him later, after all you waited for your money from him.

If you think that's not fair enough, ask yourself what would happen to him if he walked into the majority of gunshops with it.

PS - I had a THR member buy a gun from me for much less than it was worth out of my own ignorance. I was philosophical about it and held no grudge, until he PM'd me and asked if I had any other guns to sell and to call him first.
 
onehitwonder-that would just-well you know. To bad you bought it fair and square and got shafted. But on the other hand,it is positive that a gun stolen 10 years ago was caught on the radar
 
I have to say I"m glad the owner had a chance to buy it back. I know I own many sentimental guns and would probably break down into tears if ten years after they were stolen they made there way back to me. An expensive gun tends to hurt a lil more
 
None of the above. Explain that it'd be ok with you, but that you think it's worth quite a bit more than what they owe you. Ask him, "Are you sure you want to do this? Did you research the value?"
 
How would you wanted be treated if situations were reversed?
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This is, IMO, always one of the most useful moral questions around...
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Lets see....where have I seen this concept before?
Oh yeah, it was called "The Golden Rule." It's been MIA so long that people are forgetting we once lived by it.
Wow...I really AM an old curmudgeon :D
 
Again thanks for all responses. However it is a moot point at the moment-I just discovered the "renter" skiped town.
 
Jim in Anchorage, a family member was a landlord until the cost of feeding 8 units in a building with electricity, water and gas outstripped the gross income from all the tenants. He decided to sell the whole thing, get out of the landlord business and run south with the money to build a house free and clear with no debt.

If he had stayed in today still being a landlord, the sitaution would have been impossible because there would not be any good tenants left to pay rent, pay utilties, pay thier expenses etc. It would have been cheaper for these people to stop renting and go buy themselves a home leaving my landlord family member upside down.

He got out when the getting out was good. Yes there was protests because things were quite good in those years.... too good to be thinking of jumping ship as it were. Very few times unpleasant converstations with problem tenants one month behind.... fast forward 15 years... all of the good tenats back then are all gone, either dead, bought homes or moved out of a state that is increasingly draconian in shalt nots and do nots.

Fast forward to today... things are better and better because were exercising one thing. No. Debt.

We learn from FDIC that Credit Unions are starting to fail. Hopefully by the time ours does fail (Oh boy...) our vehicles will be free and clear and we will be positioned to be liquid, king cash and mobile to respond to any problem in the near future.

We think things are good now.... but watching our Neighbors, some in good times others not so good.... we think that even more so in the future Debt is going to become matters of life and death between those who owe money and those who try to collect debts.

We already have several neighbors who are renters of homes. They have been exercising, in training; to learn how to sleep in a tent situation with camping supplies in case they have get evicted and only have a patch of land somewhere in the hills to live on. Seeing these tents up along with ever improving... skill in outdoors camping and getting ready for really bad times is something.

Think about it for a second. Renters of homes practicing camping out, living in a tent so that if they are EVICTED because of money issues, they simply pack the camp, tent and all into thier car and drive to thier patch of paid for land in the hills and start over.

Down here in the lower 48 we are even expecting entire Apartment Complexes to maybe default because there are not enough tenants paying on time for the owner to pay on HIS bill to the commercial owners above.

What do you think is going to happen when thousands of renters are tossed onto the street because the complex has closed or was foreclosed just like a regular home?

They are going to become rather.. unhappy and it will not be good.

However. Bad news aside... there is one bright spot. HUD.

Plenty of those still up and running for as long as our Government is in power and able to manage these tenants and units at much reduced rates.
 
At lest the place is not trashed.the only problem I see is he[someone?] cut a a 1x2foot piece of linoleum out of the floor in the kitchen.:confused: OK thats enough,lets go back to guns.
 
How would you wanted be treated if situations were reversed?
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It is the responsibility of the seller to know the value of his goods. When I go to sell something, I check blue book and average market price.

Excepting for cases of naive little old ladies with their late husband's collection, if someone was simply too lazy to research the value of his firearm, i do not feel bad for paying far less than it's worth.

If it was a good friend or somesuch, I'd probably inform him of his blunder. Just some guy who owes me money for goods/work done and can't pay in cash? I'd take that rifle and run.
 
Agree. I know nothing about paintings,but if I sell off a Rembrandt original for $10, I have no one to blame but myself for not doing the work to find out what it is really worth.
 
Too Quick, Too easy

For me the real fun is in the looking for an item, not in finding it. I have set out to find everything from manuscripts to weapons to pocket watches. If I found a firearm that I had looked for for a long time, at an unbelieveable price, what would I do tomorrow. Myself, personaly, I would help the guy find a buyer who was paying a fair price, take the money I had coming and go look for another one. I would rather have a friend and a good opinion of myself than any firearm I can think of.

blindhari
 
Inform him exactly what it is and how much it is worth. If he gives you the rifle, good for you. If he doesn't, offer to buy it from him. (Apply guilt-trip liberally if you can)
 
Take the gun saying "OK [strike]but you realize I am giving you a break[/strike] if you're offering this rifle to square your debt with me, I accept." and burn rubber geting it home?
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Now that I've fixed it, this version is my choice.

He shouldn't owe money that he can't repay and he should know what he's offering in exchange for remission.
 
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