Gun shop problem

I'm sorry. I wouldn't have given you a free mag either.

So that extra magazine was the tipping point for whether or not to buy the gun?
I would have asked for $10 off but worst case took the $5 off.

Salesman made an honest mistake. Nothing to get upset about.

I'm sorry. I wouldn't have given you a free mag either.

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The way I see it, the mag was not "free"- it was part of the package of items that the salesman described as being included to the customer for the price the customer agreed to pay.

There are three ethical options for this in my opinion:

1. Stand behind what the salesman promised and include two mags.
2. Discount the gun the full price of an extra mag (they might not have a mag in stock).
3. Void the sale.

The salesman promised a specific group of items in exchange for a specific number of dollars. How can you accept getting less for your money?

They missed a teaching opportunity for their salesman where he could learn the consequences of making these kind of errors.

Bob

The salesman made a mistake, how hard is that to understand. There is nothing unethical about it.

I agree with the OP. At the time he and the salesperson reached an agreement of sale, that magazine was part of the deal. the salesperson assured the op that the stated price included that second magazine, and it is irrelevant what the salesman thought . A real mistake would be if he stated the price for a lc9 and the op thought that was the price for a les baer 1911 he had moved too. Their was no mutual mistake about what was being bargained for. The terms as discussed by the parties included the mag, and the salesperson and store owner broke the contract when they didn't give you that mag. Thats evidenced by the fact that you were free to walk away once they idscovered their error

They should have thrown in the mag and been more careful about what they tell customers.

I have to agree with nofishbob.

Yes the salesman made what was probably an honest mistake, but the manager should have stood behind what his salesman promised the customer. I have had similar situations myself (not at the gun shop) and I either held them to the price I was quoted, or I walked. If you want to accept the price switch at the register, that's find, but IMO the OP was fully justifed in walking out the door.

In some respects the purchase of a firearm is akin to any other POS consumer purchase, where the salesman is mere functionary not authorized to negotiate terms. The goods are what they are. Price and packaging are set by others not present. The clerk just takes the money and offers basic customer assistance.

Firearms are a bit different, though, and at small gun shops the salesman often does negotiate such things as ammo or mags to go with a sale.

Is "Shooters" the sort of chain where you would expect the guy at the counter to be able to haggle in this manner? Or is it more like a Wal-Mart where nobody expects the clerk to be able to give you extra candy bars?

My LC9 came with 2 mags NIB from my LGS. Maybe this guy was pilfering the extra mag and trying to get away with the ole I'll sell you an extra mag at a discounted price routine, unfortunatly I've seen it done before.

Nothing really unethical going on; just a simple mistake on the part of the salesman. And unless there was something written down saying you were getting two mags with the gun there really wasn't any contract in force here. Not sure what kind of rules were broken either unless it's the one where supposedly the customer is always right. I guess management figured your continued business wasn't worth the cost of an extra mag. Live and learn.

browningguy said:

The salesman made a mistake, how hard is that to understand. There is nothing unethical about it.

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That's how I see it, too.

Granted the salesman made an honest mistake, but rules are rules. They should have given me the second mag. just to keep up their end of the contract

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I hate to be the one say this, but you did not have a legally enforceable contract.

I asked the salesman how many mags. the pistol came with and he told me 2. I bought the pistol and I checked the box at the checkout counter and there was only 1 mag.

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If this is what happened, there was no invitation to negotiate (and no negotiation). You asked a question of fact and he replied with a fact (even though later to proven false). You did not say "I will buy it if the gun comes with two mags".

But the real issue is that the "contract" was made under a mutually mistaken understanding of fact (that there were 2 mags included with the pistol). In this case, the contract is voidable by the adversely affected party given that the mistake had a material affect on the exchange.

(I am open to anyone with a law degree correcting me on this, though these statements are almost direct quotes from the law textbook sitting on my desk...)


Now, in my opinion they should have given you the second mag or maybe a 50% discount on the mag because of the mistake, but there was no contractual law or rule broken.

I think the gun comes with 1 mag, not two. That is certainly the case with the LCP. That said, the salesman made a mistake. Happens. The manager tried to give you some compensation for the trouble. Sounds above board to me. You dont want to shop there anymore, don't go.

I would have expected them to keep the $5 fee for the background check.

Most of the LGS's I deal with just factor that into the price, so you don't feel like you're being nickeled and dime'd at checkout. But, I know its factored in.

Lesson learned.

Always check the product AND contents of package before paying.

I'm assuming this was a new gun. The number of magazines included should have been specified in the manufacturer's catalog or spec sheet. The OP's "contract" was to buy the gun, as per the manufacturer's written specifications. The salesman's oral representations, made in good faith but mistaken as to the facts, do not override the written specifications. Since there was a material misapprehension, the OP's recourse was to void the contract; he could not compel the seller to honor what he thought was the contract. As to the fee for the NCIS check, that's generally understood to be nonrefundable.

The gun shop represented the merchandise falsely - it may have been an honest error, but it was THEIR error, and influenced you to purchase the firearm.

You WERE due the refund for the pistol.

And a $5 call-in fee? If this was a regular NICS check, this is just another profit center for the store; since it was a charge accrued as a direct result of their misrepresentation - honest or otherwise - of the merchandise, they should have refunded that, too. (I'm not aware of any local gun shops charging a NICS fee, but then with a TX CHL they don't have to do a NICS check on me anyway.)

Always a good idea to check the product pack-out before paying.

(Did you pay cash or by credit card? If I got a $5 charge on my Visa/MC/Discover/Whatever, I'd consider contesting it.)

Hmmm....

If salesman said two at bargain table (counter ) manager / owner should give 2 at price quoted!

Yes Simple mistake/ But even Simpler Solution...value the customer as to what your salesperson offered. If there was not enough profit margin to consume a magazine and make (keep) the customer happy, he needs to go sell something else.

Firearms are generally a 10-12% profit margin with anybody....(minimum)

$300.00 firearm = $36.00 @ 12% So he takes a $10 hit on firearm sell and sells two boxes of ammo that net him about 25% profit each and sells a holster, and gun oil, and ear muffs...etc. etc.

I would have said well it really does not come with 2 mags, but since salesman said it did...ok! Can I get you some ammo....or some targets? got a special on those!

Its just simple to give the customer what was offered....my .02?

Only thing I can add is the shop must be working on a heck of a tight margin to lose a sale over nothing more than a mag and also losing a customer for life.

Strange!

Tomcat, you beat me to it.

It depends on whether the gun was shipped with two magazines. (There seems to be conflicting information here, with one poster saying he got two, another, one. I had always read it was one. Perhaps Ruger changed their policy or something.) If it was supposed to have two, and the shop pocketed one and tried to resell it, this is unethical - in fact, it is theft. If it only comes with one and the salesman said he would "throw in" another magazine but a supervisor overruled him due to its being a mistake, they are not legally obligated to give you the second mag.

WRT keeping the background check fee, they do this here if they have already run the check, and the fee is $10. (TN uses TBI for background checks, not NICS, but it is still instant.)

tight is right.....some new guns as low as 5-8%


so a $30 mag breaks the sale for them if, if the 2nd mag is not included. i do much with 3 local stores and 1 of them would offer it up a used one, another would offer to split it with me and , one would say 'so sorrie charie'. i have no problem with any of them.

I was fishing around concerning the LC9.....they have a kit above the (assumed) box set that comes with a Gun rug, Holster, and Extra Magazine

Cabela's List it from $389.99 - $549.99 with a range of 4 models incl. 2 with lasers (more pricey!)

The boxed Gun at $389.99...The Kit at $429.99...A $40 difference for the Holster, Rug, and 2nd Magazine!

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Ruge...ucts&Ntt=LC9&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

But while he is not legally obligated ...... It was not a customer error...it was employee error....If I were shop owner I would suck it up, and tell my employee to be more careful!

Ever notice when a salesman says it comes with one mag & the customer gets two you never hear the customer giving one mag back to the store because of an alleged contract? The salesman made a mistake and the shop missed the opportunity to give a little in order to win over a repeat customer. If this is the worst thing that happened that day it was still a pretty good day.