Have you ever backed out of selling someone a gun, "just because", of a feeling.

[george burns]

I had a guy who I kept blowing off who wanted an XDS I had for sale, just because it didn't feel right. He seemed shady and sent me a dozen emails, which showed me he knew nothing about guns. Then tried to knock down the price, and finaly asked for some ammo. The ammo thing bothered me more than anything else.I asked if he had a CCW etc, and got no answer, which was followed by some nasty emails. But i had decided prior to them that I was not going to selll him a gun that belonged to me regaurdless. I couldn't understand why anyone would ask for a few bullets, assuming that he was going to go to a range, "like a normal person" buy a box of ammo, and test fire the gun, the fact that he asked for a few bullets, seened weird to me, and either it was a kid, or someone who only needed a few bullets. In either case it made me change gears immediatly. Any similar experiences?

 

[Kleanbore]

No.

I would not be inclined to discuss it in a public forum if I had.

 

[pert near]

Never had the situation but I've noticed that a lot of forum sales require that the buyer have & show a CCW & FTF & 2 bills of sale be signed by both. Good idea. Never include ammo. Have someone with you at meet.

In your particular case, if the guy sent nasty emails you may even want to talk to a LEO.

FWIW...

 

[george burns]

Why, it shows caution and accountability, on my part. I could have sold the guy the gun, and said "hey he had the proper ID that the state requires, not my problem. But instead I took it upon myslf to say NO, it doesn't feel right. Shouldn't we strive to do that.

 

[george burns]

No he was just angry that I decided not to sell him the gun, nothing threatining to call police about.

 

[MistWolf]

No.

I would not be inclined to discuss it in a public forum if I had.

There is nothing wrong with saying you refused to sell a firearm to someone because you thought the buyer was shady

 

[Axis II]

very odd indeed. I have 2 rifles i don't use anymore and every time the gun show comes around i just cant make myself sell them to a stranger. this world is getting too f-d up and you never know what they are planning. the few bullets thing is either a kid or someone wanting to do something illegal. are you even allowed to sell ammo without a certain license and sell ammo and guns together?

my LGS a few months back told a guy to take his new gun out to the car and then come buy the ammo because he didn't have a ccw so the gun and ammo wasn't allowed to be purchased or let leave the store together.

 

[Axis II]

online sales did it for me when my buddy says he's buying a canoe from craigslist and wants me to go with him because he had never done it before. he calls the woman who was around in her 40s to meet at a large gas station mid ways from him. we get to the gas station and no van with canoe so we wait and she calls him and acts like we are doing something shady and says she is at another store down the road. we drive down the road and seeing how both of us are 6ft6 300lbs i wait in the truck so we don't scare her and all of a sudden a younger guy gets out of another car so then i get out and hes like whats this all about? My buddy's scared to death and i got the old butterfly feeling also. i explained that i was there to help with the boat and look it over for him.

he told me he did all kinds of research online and it was worth almost $1k with ores, life jackets, etc. they wanted like $350 for it at first but then said they wanted $375 so my buddy gives them more in which i figured was a scam and we get home and he shows our other buddy who's a canoe enthusiast and he says LOL that's a dicks sporting good special-you got hoses! he says the whole setup is worth $300 new.

 

[reddog81]

There is nothing wrong with saying you refused to sell a firearm to someone because you thought the buyer was shady

I'm assuming he meant that if he had done a "shady deal" he would not be talking about it on a public forum, but I could be wrong.

As to the OP - It sounds like that was the right thing to do.

 

[george burns]

Absolutely, thanks. If it doesn't feel right, you just shouldn't do it, regaurdless of whether they have Fl , ID or not. You're gut is the best indicator.

 

[MistWolf]

If the deal sets off your Spidey Sense, you can bet there's a good reason

 

[Kleanbore]

I'm assuming he meant that if he had done a "shady deal" he would not be talking about it on a public forum, but I could be wrong.

You are--but that would be true also.

It is not a good idea to cast aspersions about, or to question the character of, anyone who is not a public figure, even if you believe that the post or conversation is anonymous or private.

 

[george burns]

In the case of an annonoumous person and a situation that never happened, it's more theoretical than practical. No names were mentioned nor dispersions cast, other than my gut reaction. My feelings are my own and cannot be held against me in a judgement call. "A guy" or "someone" is different that using a name.

 

[TXAZ]

Yep. About 6 years ago I put a new Glock on backpage for sale in Arizona. A guy called and I gave him the address came by wanting to buy the gun. (Lesson # 1 Meet them somewhere FTF NOT at your home). I was asking near retail, he showed up, looked very young but was interested and had cash. Turns out the kid had turned 18 that day. I told him I was not inclined to sell him the gun. He then got pretty huffy and told me that since he just turned 18 and was legal to buy it person to person I "had to sell it to him".
Grabbed the gun, told him he was trespassing and asked my wife to call the cops. He left, I changed the ad, sold it for a really nice discount to a Marine vet that could have been his dad.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

I don't see anything wrong with posting the situation online since details are extremely limited, and the potential buy never happened anyway. I think the OP did good in using their gut.


I personally would never sell a gun privately like that, just doesn't set well with me. I have sold non-firearms related things through CL and actually prefer that the buyer comes to my home. I am always armed in these situations and feel more comfortable being on my own property. I live rural, have preventative measures in place when not home and am not too worried about someone coming around after the transaction.

I'd much rather have the "home field" advantage than meet somewhere where I have next to no idea of the surroundings. IE, an ambush would be a lot harder to employ pulling into someones driveway in the country than me pulling into a gas station in the city.

 

[Kleanbore]

I don't see anything wrong with posting the situation online since details are extremely limited, and the potential buy never happened anyway.

That's really not the point. It is prudent to avoid making what could be construed as defamatory statements about anyone else to any third party, in writing or otherwise.

If the statements can be shown to be true, there would be a sound basis for defense against legal liability, but being threatened with a lawsuit is but one of the risks that I would want to avoid.

Be careful what you post. There is nothing anonymous about the internet.

I think the OP did good in using their gut.

So do I.

I personally would never sell a gun privately like that, just doesn't set well with me.

I agree.

 

[Kleanbore]

Yep. About 6 years ago I put a new Glock on backpage for sale in Arizona. A guy called and I gave him the address came by wanting to buy the gun. (Lesson # 1 Meet them somewhere FTF NOT at your home). I was asking near retail, he showed up, looked very young but was interested and had cash. Turns out the kid had turned 18 that day. I told him I was not inclined to sell him the gun. He then got pretty huffy and told me that since he just turned 18 and was legal to buy it person to person I "had to sell it to him".
Grabbed the gun, told him he was trespassing and asked my wife to call the cops. He left, I changed the ad, sold it for a really nice discount to a Marine vet that could have been his dad.

In most cases, a lawful offer lawfully accepted is a contract. Of course, if you had reason to believe that the prospective buyer was a prohibited person, or if he did not meet some other requirement of the ad, you would have a basis for not going through with the sale.

I'm not sure just how someone coming to your house in response to an advertisement could be "trespassing".

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

That's really not the point. It is prudent to avoid making what could be construed as defamatory statements about anyone else to any third party, in writing or otherwise.

If the statements can be shown to be true, there would be a sound basis for defense against legal liability, but being threatened with a lawsuit is but one of the risks that I would want to avoid.

Be careful what you post. There is nothing anonymous about the internet.

Being that the details are extremely limited I think that's a very long straw to grasp at, but I get what you're saying.

 

[george burns]

No names were used nor any references the party concerned. from the statements recieved I had a feeling the person might not even be a citizen, not even sure if it was a man or woman. Therefore between the amount of emails and the total absense of any knowledge of firearms. And the request for bullets, I feel completely at ease with any of this. And I believe that if you knew what I didn't put down here you would have done the same. Too many pieces didn't fit.

 

[Dragon breath]

I had a S&W Sigma 9mm listed on Armslist a couple of years ago. I set up the meeting at a local Walmart and when I arrived the car I had been told to look for was already there. The guys standing beside the car were heavily tattooed ( including face tattoos on one of them ). I instantly had a bad vibe about them. I didn't even stop my car, I drove right by them and out of the parking lot. I stopped about half a mile down the road road and sent a email saying that I was not going to sell to someone with prison tat's.

 

[danez71]

In most cases, a lawful offer lawfully accepted is a contract. Of course, if you had reason to believe that the prospective buyer was a prohibited person, or if he did not meet some other requirement of the ad, you would have a basis for not going through with the sale.

I'm not sure just how someone coming to your house in response to an advertisement could be "trespassing".

That's all true.

However. IF, the agreement was made the day before, when the buyer was 17 (Ex: Lets meet tomorrow at chuck-e-cheese parking lot at 2pm - $400 for xyz gun) , that would fall into "voidable" contract territory due to age at time the agreement/contract was made.




To answer the OP, Nope. I have only sold and will continue to only sell to someone I know very well (close close friends/family) or it gets sold/traded to an FFL.

 

[DeepSouth]

I know a guy, yes really, that backed out of a sale because the buyer said in passing that he had voted for Obama. The seller told him if supported politicians that supported gun control then he supported gun control, so he'd help him be consistent.


I personally have never backed out of a sale, but i want say I never will. If someone says something that made me question their intentions or legal status I'd back out with a clean conscience.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

However. IF, the agreement was made the day before, when the buyer was 17 (Ex: Lets meet tomorrow at chuck-e-cheese parking lot at 2pm - $400 for xyz gun) , that would fall into "voidable" contract territory due to age at time the agreement/contract was made.

And you got your law degree where ?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Some of the responses in this discussion would give Shannon Watts an orgasm.

If you're that freaked out about selling your gun have them meet you at a gun store and have an FFL do the transfer. Is that really that hard to figure out?

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Don't think I've ever backed out of a sale of a firearm or anything else. I would if I thought the buyer was underage or a prohibited person. I tend to like to get deals done, closed, and then move along without too much communication or drama. If you have someone's real name and where they live, it's usually not to hard to find their social media accounts for a bit of extra background if things start to seem odd. Not my first play, but I wouldn't be beyond, "Hey, can you email me a scan of your DL so I know who I am dealing with."