I've never backed out of a sale because of a gut feeling, but I would do it in a heartbeat. The risks of what could happen over a bad sale outweigh the risks of being sued for an alleged breach of an agreement to sell.
Have you ever backed out of selling someone a gun, "just because", of a feeling.
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entropy
Member
Those happen. I had a gal come in and buy a Taurus 85, a box of wadcutters, and a pack of Glasers. She lived about 1/4 mile from the shop, and the area was starting to get rough. She told me she was concerned for her safety. Her family came in and wanted to to see a Taurus 85, because they wanted to know why she'd chosen that gun to end her life. Her body was found in her car, one round to the side of the head, (I saw the evidence photos-the Glaser's terminal ballistics were extreme!
) the gun was missing. I'm not 100% convinced it was a suicide-there was a note, but it was not in her usual handwriting. If it was a suicide, it would take one cold (and stupid) cucumber to take a gun from a suicide scene, particularly in a mall parking lot. After work that night, I stopped at the bar, and stayed til close.
VThillman
Member
Good point. Value judgment.
If it came to that, however, I would have to think very hard about just how I had allowed an agreement to take place.
Wisco
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That's really the best bet for those who feel the need to be more rigorous in their vetting than the state. But, I have a feeling it's a control thing for some people - the need to be the one making a yes or no decision on the quality of person buying their gun.
Personally, I'll sell to anyone who isn't rude and who I believe to be an 18+ year old resident of WI.
BigBL87
Member
I've never backed out because of a feeling, but here in IL you have to run a FOID check on any private sale. When I sold my PT-92, someone contacted me and we agreed to a price, etc.. He sent me his FOID information, and it came back revoked. Obviously didn't go through with the sale, but said he didn't know why it would be revoked but he understood that I couldn't sell it to him. I did some googling and found some underage drinking charges he had but nothing I knew of that would revoke his FOID, so who knows. In the end, ended up selling it to someone I met in person and who had a valid FOID.
Every single firearm that I have ever sold was sold either to a private buyer whom I knew extremely well or to or through a dealer whom I knew well. That goes back as far as 1958.
I do not intend to ever change that practice.
In a hypothetical situation in which I might elect to not sell a firearm to someone whom I knew, I am confident that we would never get to the stage of having an agreement from which I would have to withdraw.
I do not intend to ever change that practice.
In a hypothetical situation in which I might elect to not sell a firearm to someone whom I knew, I am confident that we would never get to the stage of having an agreement from which I would have to withdraw.
tark
Member
I never sell a gun unless I can meet and talk to the potential buyer. I have never turned down a buyer because I smelled something fishy, but I did refuse to sell a pristine Remington model 81 because the buyer wanted to refinish the stock. The original Remington varnish showed age cracks. The bluing on the metal is 99% and he wanted the wood to match the metal. I still have the gun.
Ignition Override
Member
This website is so worried about certain totally vague gun deals being discussed on a "public forum".
This is a more polite website than AKfiles, but they discuss everything, and THR can appear to be a dainty, prissy Mary Poppins worried about using the wrong fork with tea and biscuits, compared to the material openly discussed there, where no concern is evident.
This is a more polite website than AKfiles, but they discuss everything, and THR can appear to be a dainty, prissy Mary Poppins worried about using the wrong fork with tea and biscuits, compared to the material openly discussed there, where no concern is evident.
Trunk Monkey
member
The going rate around here is 25 bucks
Trunk Monkey
member
I bought my most accurate & favoritest rifle, a .358NM, because of the previous owner's 'gut feeling'.
He listed it in the paper that I picked up as I headed out-of-town for business. I called him and he already had a guy coming over to look at it-told him I'd check with him when I returned.
Called him up& he still had it! Went over to buy it and I asked him why the other guy didn't. His explanation was that he looked at the condition of the guy's truck, and between that & some things the guy said, he just got a strong feeling that the guy didn't take care of his stuff & that if he sold him the rifle, it wasn't something the guy appreciated and would take care of-simple as that. The guy got a little huffy but there was nothing to be done about it. He told me that when he saw my eyes light up and the way I was handling it, he knew it was going to a good home.
The 'feeling' certainly worked in my favor.
Sam
He listed it in the paper that I picked up as I headed out-of-town for business. I called him and he already had a guy coming over to look at it-told him I'd check with him when I returned.
Called him up& he still had it! Went over to buy it and I asked him why the other guy didn't. His explanation was that he looked at the condition of the guy's truck, and between that & some things the guy said, he just got a strong feeling that the guy didn't take care of his stuff & that if he sold him the rifle, it wasn't something the guy appreciated and would take care of-simple as that. The guy got a little huffy but there was nothing to be done about it. He told me that when he saw my eyes light up and the way I was handling it, he knew it was going to a good home.
The 'feeling' certainly worked in my favor.
Sam
Trunk Monkey
member
Now this really makes no sense to me. If we're talking about a dog or something living I get vetting the new owner to make sure I'm not selling fluffy to a Chinese restaurant but if I sell you a gun it's none of my business what you do with it after that. It's your property to do with as you please.
Wisco
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Worked well for you, but what a sad way to treat another human (the other guy) on the part of the seller. Maybe the guy had saved up for a nice gun at the expense of his vehicle.
Also sounds like a recipe for making enemies...
Wisco
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How do some of these people get to the point of a face to face meeting to finally figure out they don't like the guy?
That's what email and text and phone calls are for - weed out the weirdos and flakes.
If the messaging sounds sane enough to meet, it's rude to waste someone's time because you don't like their clothes, car or whatever.
Unless the guy shows up in Klan robes, sporting a swastika tattoo or is carrying a bible and talking about the end of days or some other nutjobbery, I wouldn't refuse a sale if the guy looks it over and the price is agreed upon.
That's what email and text and phone calls are for - weed out the weirdos and flakes.
If the messaging sounds sane enough to meet, it's rude to waste someone's time because you don't like their clothes, car or whatever.
Unless the guy shows up in Klan robes, sporting a swastika tattoo or is carrying a bible and talking about the end of days or some other nutjobbery, I wouldn't refuse a sale if the guy looks it over and the price is agreed upon.
That risk, I think, far more significant than something along the lines of being sued for breach of contact.
Consequences could vary greatly.
It was more than just the condition of the guy's truck; his overall demeanor, the conversation and comments he'd made...until the money & rifle changed hands, it was still the Seller's property to decide what to do with.
I will grant you this one; keep in mind, this was pre-email & cell phone days...or at least, at the very beginning of them. It may be one of the reasons if I am selling something locally, I do not do it from my home (as this seller had done), and always arrange a meeting somewhere public & neutral.
Sam
Actually, no. That decision has been made once a lawful agreement has been reached.
In some jurisdictions, that would require something in writing, but in most, other evidence will suffice.
Hooda Thunkit
Member
There is not a chance in hell that I am going to email a scan of my DL to someone..
I wouldn't mind showing it at time OS sale, to verify residency, but that's as far as I'll go.
Berger.Fan222
Member
Fair enough. But if something seems off about the deal and I think I need it, we won't have a deal. I'd probably accept a passport or a military ID as a substitute.
Trunk Monkey
member
If you ask for a copy of ANY document you can use to steal my identity we don't have a deal
Captcurt
Member
A couple of times I had my doubts. The Quadriplegic who bought handguns from me seemed a little odd. He ran a motorized wheelchair with his mouth, but hey, he passed the background check.
TomJ
Contributing Member
As BigBL87 mentioned, in Illinois we're required to run a prospective buyers FOID through the state police website to confirm it's valid, so we at least know the buyer can legally purchase the gun. That being said, while I've never backed out of a deal once it was made, I have refused to sell a gun to people I wasn't comfortable with. I was tactful in dealing with them and instead of telling them I wasn't comfortable selling them the gun, a conversation that rarely goes well, I'd tell them another buyer beat them to it. I don't want to be the person who provides a gun to somebody when that person is giving off signals I'm not comfortable with. I've learned, however, not to make those decisions based on the persons looks. I've had buyers send me FOIDs with pictures that looked more like mug shots. They ultimately wound up being very nice people, and we wound up talking for a half hour of more when we met (always in a public place) to complete the sale.
What a ****** bag. I own several guns that are worth more than my car. Can't imagine somebody being snobbish enough to not sell me a gun because I drive a beat up car.
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