I am evil...

I don't think what the OP did was unethical (apparently not legal in NC though).
Businesses have lots of competitors, including individuals. Offer a better price than your competitors or lose the deal - that's how markets work.

Individuals are able (for now at least) to buy items from other individuals freely in this country. As a business owner, you must compete not only with other retail businesses, but with individuals as well.

Sometimes I buy guns from local gun shops, but the vast majority of the time I buy from individuals because I get better deals. There is nothing uethical about that.

The problem comes when one uses a business owners property to conduct their own free enterprise.
I don't think you'd go far peddling tamales or burritos in a Mexican restaurant or bringing a cooler of hotdogs to the ball field.

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I would have told him about the Mossy 500 mag limit plug and how to remove it and asked him if he still wanted to sell it.

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I likely would have done this but just so he didn't change his mind added that an 870 with and extended tube could hold even more and only cost $40 or so. Also that he could make the mod to the 500 but would cost $180 or more than it was worth to him when he sold if for $175.

I used to work at a gunstore in Arizona (Arizona Sportsman) in the 90's. At least once a day several people would come into the store and would be looking to sell their guns. When we bought the guns we generally offered 50% of what the blue book said that they were worth. Since that's a low-ball offer there were several times that the owners refused the offer and decided that they wanted to keep it or just flat out didn't like the offer and they left the store and I decided to take a 'smoke break' and to see if I could make a deal with them for slightly more.

The owners would have minded us doing that, but none of the managers did (they were doing the same thing occasionally).

As far as informing the gun owner in question about the the plug I personally would more than likely tell them and make sure that they knew. My self image is generally that I'm a pretty honest and straight forward and I like to think of myself as being helpful. To not tell them about the plug is to go against that.

That's up to the individual doing the bartering though. I can kind of see why they'd believe that a grown man with the resources that we have at our disposal today should be better informed about their own gear.

I couldn't have bought it from the guy without first letting him know his mistake.
Not judging, just saying.
Far too many times when I was young(er) and dumb(er) I got "taken" on a deal, only to find out after the fact, that I got took. It sucks, and I always kinda resent it.
I couldn't do that to somebody.
It feels better to cure ignorance, than exploit it. And so, I'm broke, but I sleep well.

No input on the ethical issue. That's up to you.

I'm just wondering how good a relationship you have with the pawn shop. If I were the owner and someone I didn't know listened to what I offered someone and then offered more, there would be a very colorful confrontation.

Just wondering if you know him well, because I suppose that may make a difference.

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I was in a Pawn Shop near Ft Polk in 2000 and a young Soldier came in with a nice WWII era M1 Carbine. The gun appeared to be in excellent condition and appeared to be well maintained and he had five magazines with it.
The proprietor offered him $200.00 and wouldn't budge.
When he went back to get some paperwork to conclude the sale, I clued the kid in that he was being ripped off and we exited together.
Come to find out he had a family and pay problems and even with AER he was going to be a couple hundred short of cask for the month.
As a Senior NCO I offered to spot him the money until his pay was squared away and I met him at his Company area the next day and did so.
He got to keep his carbine, I got my cash in two weeks and the Owner of the Pawn Shop had to go find another GI to rip off.
I don't have any sympathy for those who prey on the Men and Women who serve our Country.
Sorry.

The guy was happy taking your money only because he did not know any better. You're bold by stating in your post title that you're evil. By your very statement that says that you know what you did was wrong/unethical but you did it anyways. If you don't know what you did was wrong then you have a more serious problem. You should have informed the guy that there was a plug. Ethics are disappearing like our guns. But hey, that's the world for you.

You are ignorant on ethics. You can quote all you want, but what you did was still wrong.

Ok my opinion is worth less than that Mossy 500. But I'm not understanding this. Mr. Ignorant walks into a pawnshop to sell a shotgun because "Who would own a shotgun that only holds 3 rounds". So the shop worker sees an opportunity to flip a gun and offers the guy a lowball (by some standards) offer rather than show him how to make it hold more. The guy balks and decides to leave according to "Barry". Barry then takes a shot and offers the guy $25 bucks more. Low and behold the guy takes it. Now, should he have done that inside the store? Idk. Not my call. But he didn't do anything different than what the store worker did except offer the guy more money. So I really don't understand all the flaming.

Now, having said all that, Mr. Bear? Can I buy my shotgun back? Or maybe we can trade. I have this old gun. Think it's something like a Colt 3rd Model Dragoon. Idk. Think that's what my gramps called it. I'm sure he meant Dragon though. It works. The metal is smooth but it's rusty colored. Idk. My gramps shot it once when I was a kid. But it's heavy and only holds 6 rounds. It has numbers all over it. They're all the same number 19411. Idk what that means. Wanna trade me back for my shotgun?

Or as the one of the other sayings goes......

'Wise men teach the inexperienced. Fools take advantage of them.'


But hey, you got a good gun!



For the record, as a private person, I don't think its a matter of 'ethics'. It's a matter of being gentlemanly and treating others as you want to be treated. Its about the 'golden rule', not the 'rule of law'.

Just curious. Would anyone here pay more than $175 for a used mossberg 500? I wouldn't.

Not long ago I bought a new mossberg 500 at Walmart really cheap. From then until now Walmart has raised the price on that gun $40. Should I run over to Walmart and pay them another $40? Hardly. Matter of fact, the guy behind the counter had ZERO idea what he was selling. Do I feel bad? Nope. Is it worth an extra 40? Not to me. I think it holds 5 rounds but frankly I don't bother with How many rounds it holds. IDT it's legal to hunt with more than 3 in the gun anyway.

Why should we assume the seller was truthful in his statements? For all we know the gun was hot. The seller clearly had no use for a hunting gun or he would have known the hunting regs. The seller appears to be hiding something IMO.

sappyg said:

Just curious. Would anyone here pay more than $175 for a used mossberg 500? I wouldn't.

Not long ago I bought a new mossberg 500 at Walmart really cheap. From then until now Walmart has raised the price on that gun $40. Should I run over to Walmart and pay them another $40? Hardly. Matter of fact, the guy behind the counter had ZERO idea what he was selling. Do I feel bad? Nope. Is it worth an extra 40? Not to me. I think it holds 5 rounds but frankly I don't bother with How many rounds it holds. IDT it's legal to hunt with more than 3 in the gun anyway.

Why should we assume the seller was truthful in his statements? For all we know the gun was hot. The seller clearly had no use for a hunting gun or he would have known the hunting regs. The seller appears to be hiding something IMO.

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This is my thought as well.

"Taking advantage" would have been paying $200 for a $1500 WWI vintage M1911 to a little old lady who didn't know any better.

Paying $175 for a used Mossy 500 is not too far off the mark. And even so.....nowadays.....it takes 15 minutes for a seller to Google search and figure out what they have and what it is worth.

Only the very elderly or mentally handicapped really have a good reason to not know how to research a gun. Hell, even my 87 yr old grandfather has a smart phone (although he wouldn't know how to research gun values, but I will chalk that up to age - I will be in the same boat when I am that age, for sure).

Read the manual!

The complainer had clearly NOT read the manual! No bad ethics here... nothing to see folks...

I don't have any sympathy for those who prey on the Men and Women who serve our Country.

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Did I miss something?
What in the world does this have to do with this situation?

Think you missed my "ignorant" joke Barry. Or you're a real stand up guy. Both are possible. It's a real, authentic, #'s matching Colt 3rd Model Dragoon. Been in the family since 1863. Saw use in the Civil War. Still works. Appraised value 20 years ago of ~$8000. But will NEVER leave the family. Would be a really ignorant trade for a $175 Mossy 500.

I think bainter1212 is right.

$175.00 is a very fair price for a used Mossberg 500, he wasn't cheated at all. You are not obliged to hold a class and teach him how his shotgun works. The manual exists, the internet exists, he choose not to research and learn about his shotgun. Again, the ignorant man got a fair price.

That being said, I'd have told him about the plug (mostly not evil).

It would have been WAY more of a "****-you" to the guy if he took the pawn shop up on his offer, and came back two weeks later to see his gun priced at $329 with a sign saying "Mossberg 500 12ga like new! Holds 6 shells!!"

THAT would make me angry, instead of knowing I sold my gun to someone that may actually use and enjoy it, not just exploit my ignorance to turn some cash into more cash (and not that much, either). Wouldn't it have been worth it to the owner to confide in the guy and then have him as a regular customer...? Just a thought.

Just IMO. Everyone is ignorant at some point. Best to free them on their ignorance rather than promote it. You never know anyone's situation, for all we know he could have been avidly trying to enter the gun/hunting culture, but his relatives/spouse could be staunchly anti's and he can't just hang out on the net and do research all day like we all do or have a lot of answering to do. Ask me how I know. My parents would have NOT taken kindly knowing that I had bought a gun and took it into their house before I moved out, yet I fully planned on being a responsible owner (kept my two Mosins at a friend's house through the last year of HS). So if I was looking for a HD shotgun (because my knucklehead parents think they can stop an intruder with a cell phone) and somehow had three hours to myself to buy it and spirit it home (with the Eye of Sauron none the wiser), I couldn't be super picky if I hadn't done enough research. It goes bang, and appears to have a tube that holds five rounds. Looks doable...

And if I was in Barry's shoes... I would have told the guy about the plug, and not offered to buy it because I happen to already have one... But if it was a gun that I wanted... I would have rather made a friend out of the guy and we could have went and shot it all the same... Then, if his story is similar to what I've posted above, I'm always happy to provide room and board for a firearm in an Anti home

There you have it....natural selection at it's best!

About two years ago I went to a gun show. I always try to be at the head of the line and then scan the tables for deals. As I am walking along, there is a table with a couple of guys sitting there and a couple of dozen nice handguns, including a pristine 4" Colt Python, no box. I stopped and asked, how much are you asking for the Python? The reply was, "$1000." My reply was, "Sold."

Of course, apparently, there will be someone come along shortly and inform me that I am unscrupulous and I should have told the guy I will take the gun, but, I want to give you $2500 because that would be the market value based on the closed auction prices on Gunbroker. Who's first?

OP - It was a fair and square deal on your part. Congrats.

MadMurdock85 said:

I have this posted in my windows so no one can say they didn't have warning.

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Hard to do business that way, isn't it?.... at least if you are selling something. Anyone one not employed by you cannot legally buy items from you. If you are a pawn shop, I suppose people could redeem items pawned there, but from what I understand of the pawn business, that'd get expensive quick when people did not redeem their items. perhaps rewording your sign might be a good thing. It'd be interesting to see the statute that prevented anyone not employed by you from buying items from you.

Some of you need to loosen up. One hundred seventy five is very fair price paid for used field grade Mossberg 500.