I just had a questionable experience with an out-of-state gun dealer, and I'm interested to hear the opinions on whether or not I handled it correctly.
On a Tuesday, I found a gun I'd been looking for listed for sale on the gunshop's website. The place seemed reputable, I googled their name, found no complaints; I searched THR, found nothing at all. The price was fair, and they claimed the gun was "in stock."
I called the store directly, and asked if they had the gun in-hand. "Yes, I have it right here" was the response. "They're hard to find it seems," I said. "Well you can stop looking" was the reply.
I had my local guy send his FFL, and I paid for the gun with a credit card (not extra fee) over the phone. I called 2 days later to confirm the FFL had arrived. "Yes, it's right here." and he read me the FFL's name and address. "We have everything we need." This is Thursday.
On Fiday, I figured my local guy would call me to arrange a time to pick up the gun. No call. I get home from work to find a message on my machine. "We couldn't process your CC payment, please give us a call." Ok, I give them a call. He reads me the CC number, a couple of numbers are transposed, so we straighten them out.
Monday, no gun. But when I get home, there's another message. "Sorry, the card was declined." This is my daily-use card, I use it for everything, and I'm nowhere near the limit. I call them, and to keep things simple, I agree to use another card. I give the info and wait for it to go through. (I insist on waiting.) It goes through. Next day I check my account online, and sure enough, my card's been charged. (Tuesday)
Wednesday, no gun. Thursday, no gun. Friday, no gun. I call down to see what's the hold up. "We just haven't gotten around to shipping it, yet. 'He' might get it out today." I politely tell them that I paid 4 days ago, and that I'd like it shipped today." I call back at 6 pm. "He couldn't get it out."
So I cancel my order over the phone, giving them my CC information again. As of today, there is no refund on my account. (Once the refund is made, I will report the card lost. I don't trust these people with my information.)
This gun is hard to find right now. I figure they didn't have it, but wanted to make the sale, and thought they could get it soon. When it didn't come in as expected, they started "having problems" with my credit card numbers in an attempt to stall me. This is not a one-man shop, and they admitted that UPS came directly to their shop on a daily basis, so "no time to ship it" simply doesn't fly. I can't think of any reason they didn't send me the gun other than having lied about having it to begin with. I stopped short of asking the guy for the serial number. I felt that doing so would have turned things hostile, and made getting a refund more difficult.
Did I do the right thing, or was I just too impatient?
On a Tuesday, I found a gun I'd been looking for listed for sale on the gunshop's website. The place seemed reputable, I googled their name, found no complaints; I searched THR, found nothing at all. The price was fair, and they claimed the gun was "in stock."
I called the store directly, and asked if they had the gun in-hand. "Yes, I have it right here" was the response. "They're hard to find it seems," I said. "Well you can stop looking" was the reply.
I had my local guy send his FFL, and I paid for the gun with a credit card (not extra fee) over the phone. I called 2 days later to confirm the FFL had arrived. "Yes, it's right here." and he read me the FFL's name and address. "We have everything we need." This is Thursday.
On Fiday, I figured my local guy would call me to arrange a time to pick up the gun. No call. I get home from work to find a message on my machine. "We couldn't process your CC payment, please give us a call." Ok, I give them a call. He reads me the CC number, a couple of numbers are transposed, so we straighten them out.
Monday, no gun. But when I get home, there's another message. "Sorry, the card was declined." This is my daily-use card, I use it for everything, and I'm nowhere near the limit. I call them, and to keep things simple, I agree to use another card. I give the info and wait for it to go through. (I insist on waiting.) It goes through. Next day I check my account online, and sure enough, my card's been charged. (Tuesday)
Wednesday, no gun. Thursday, no gun. Friday, no gun. I call down to see what's the hold up. "We just haven't gotten around to shipping it, yet. 'He' might get it out today." I politely tell them that I paid 4 days ago, and that I'd like it shipped today." I call back at 6 pm. "He couldn't get it out."
So I cancel my order over the phone, giving them my CC information again. As of today, there is no refund on my account. (Once the refund is made, I will report the card lost. I don't trust these people with my information.)
This gun is hard to find right now. I figure they didn't have it, but wanted to make the sale, and thought they could get it soon. When it didn't come in as expected, they started "having problems" with my credit card numbers in an attempt to stall me. This is not a one-man shop, and they admitted that UPS came directly to their shop on a daily basis, so "no time to ship it" simply doesn't fly. I can't think of any reason they didn't send me the gun other than having lied about having it to begin with. I stopped short of asking the guy for the serial number. I felt that doing so would have turned things hostile, and made getting a refund more difficult.
Did I do the right thing, or was I just too impatient?