I think i did pretty good.

[GotGlock]

Some guy walked into the shop with an old SW box saying he found this in his grandma's attic. SW model 38 bodyguard airweight. It was im amazing shape, looks unfired. In the box was the original cleaning kit, never opened or used, and a receipt dated 1976 and 5 lead nose .38's. I think someone bought the gun with a box of ammo,loaded it, and left it as you see it now.I offered $40, he took it.







So what do you think.

 

[lee n. field]

He sold his Grandma's gun (or his Grandpa's)? :banghead:

 

[GotGlock]

Im assuming its his grandpas, and he said it was either sell it at my shop or he was bringing it to the police station to be turned in. I couldn't let that happen.

 

[GunNut]

So you offered him $40 for a gun worth what? $3-500?

 

[MaterDei]

If you knew this gun was worth more why did you offer $40? Not taking the high road as I see it.

 

[GotGlock]

yep, and he took it, what do you want me to do. I asked him how much he wanted and he said name your price, so i did. Let me state this guy was not hardup for money, drove a nice car, and just didn't want anything to do with the gun, so i saved it from the police station. Saving firearms from destruction= High road.

 

[Airman193SOS]

I'll take it off you as is for double the purchase price. How could you possibly say no to 100% appreciation overnight?

 

[MCgunner]

It didn't burn your fingers when you touched it?

Hm, grandpa's gun, right, likely story.

 

[GotGlock]

My boss ran the numbers on the FDLE website, its clean.

 

[S&Wfan]

Some guy walked into the shop with an old SW box saying he found this in his grandma's attic. SW model 38 bodyguard airweight. It was im amazing shape, looks unfired. In the box was the original cleaning kit, never opened or used, and a receipt dated 1976 and 5 lead nose .38's. I think someone bought the gun with a box of ammo,loaded it, and left it as you see it now.

I offered $40, he took it . . . so what do you think.

Well, since you asked . . .

You raped 'em. You took advantage of someone in an area of expertise they are not familiar with and you chose to screw him after he'd chosen to trust your place of business.

That person will surely tell the story to someone else who'll tell him how he was totally ripped off. He'll then tell everyone he knows about the bunch of crooks that run the _______ gun shop. (I assume you meant you worked in a gun shop).

It's bad for the long-term reputation of a business to rape customers. You are 25 years-old, according to your profile. I've been in business most of my life (I'm 56) and I'd have fired you for doing this deal if you worked for me. A person's long-term reputation is soooo important and it doesn't take much bad "buzz" on the street to put someone out of business today. Then again, so many employees don't give a damn about their employer's well-being either.


Since you asked . . . there are lots of folks in this world who take advantage of people and choose not to treat them fairly. They never make it long-term in our 5-state corporation. They are bad for business. Then again, in some of our stores we have the THIRD GENERATION of trusting shoppers on the books!

Hey . . . come to think of it . . . if the guy took only $40 for that gun, he may have "found" it in someone's house he broke into and you may have bought a hot gun. The fact it came back "clean" either means grandma doesn't know it's gone yet, or fails to have the serial numbers for her deceased husband's gun.

Either way . . . what goes around, usually comes around.

Think about it. Would you want someone to have done you this way on something you aren't an expert on, or do it to someone you love?

I think not.

Since you asked . . .

There's a saying we teach our managers and sales people:

"You can shear a sheep many times . . . but you can only skin that sucker ONCE!"

Since you asked.

T.

 

[MCgunner]

My boss ran the numbers on the FDLE website, its clean.

Ah, good, well, that'd been my first thought, a thief. Of course, it might not have been noticed missing or reported, yet. Or, some folks don't keep serial numbers on guns like we who've been there do, now. Having been a victim of gun thieves, I'm touchy about such things. I won't pass any judgements on the business ethics thing. I'll let the others run you through the ringer on that, ROFL!!!!

 

[GotGlock]

Well its not in my shops policy to buy used guns so i adopted the low ball method, it makes most people leave, but when someone says ok, thats fine with me. I told him your best bet was to do a private sale, he just wanted to get rid of it, so i honestly don't care what anyone thinks, i made out like a bandit.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

...i made out like a bandit.

Interesting choice of words.

I'm reminded of why I stopped going to certain shops, once I learned that they were taking advantage of naive people who dropped by, instead of educating them and maybe making lifetime customers. It made me think that they were viewing me as just someone they'd be able to rip off in the future.

On the other hand, in this day and age it's easy enough to determine the approximate value of anything. No doubt some responsibility is with the seller, to know what they're selling.

But still...maybe by your way of thinking you did good, but in my opinion, you didn't do right.

 

[Bartkowski]

If you knew this gun was worth more why did you offer $40? Not taking the high road as I see it.

Isn't that just so sad, he got a great deal, by taking advantage of someone.

It isn't the nicest thing to do, but if I were in his position I would do the same thing. It might just be me, but I don't like to pay more than I have to for something.

 

[2RCO]

You got quite a good deal but you already knew that way before you posted here. However; Had I been in your shop when you did this you would have most likely never seen me or my business again. Mainly because dealers who rape sellers rape buyers as well. I believe that a Business or even an Individual has a reasonable margin of profit to make off something they buy from someone else so no you shouldn't have given $400 or $500 but you gave barely 10% of fair market value-- had you given him $200 or even $150 I would have given you a pass. Had this guy known what it was worth and wanted to get rid of it I would have given you a pass. But I very seriously doubt when you mentioned a private sale you told him what the value was. I drive a nice car live in a nice house dress nice, for years as a Banker wore nothing but suits so I guess it's Okay to screw me as well.

I guess the point of my message is if you are gonna do something like this don't tell me the story because this is the response you'll get.

 

[19-3Ben]

Great deal. shady, but I won't judge you for it. Its on you. you got a fantastic revolver for a fantastic price.

 

[Vonderek]

I got no dog in this fight but I think it's ironic talking about ethics or lack thereof when I read so many posts from guys saying "it never ran right so I sold/traded it" and nobody holds their feet to the fire.
Just saying...

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

all things considered if I had been in that particular situation I would have probably started higher in the way of price but never the less I see no reason to react as if he ripped someone off, if I was offered that gun for that price I would've jumped on it assuming that the person selling it had just got it for cheaper (though it may be unlikely) or he really just didn't want it either way I would be happy to take it off his hands pending that the serial number came up clean.

 

[Old Dog]

I'm confused. First you ask:

So what do you think.

Then you state:

so i honestly don't care what anyone thinks,

Count me in with S&WFan. I don't care if you don't care what I think, but I do think that what you did was reprehensible. A good gunshop's employees would take the time to educate a prospective seller about a quality piece and its value, even if the seller wasn't a "gun person" -- you never know who talks to whom, and business is business, as others have noted. Even if I'm never gonna set foot in a business again in my life after a one-time transaction, that doesn't mean I won't be giving positive or negative referrals about that particular business if the subject arises ... And taking advantage of an ignorant seller is why there are businesses I'll never patronize, and I'll be very vocal in recommending against.

I think it's ironic talking about ethics or lack thereof when I read so many posts from guys saying "it never ran right so I sold/traded it" and nobody holds their feet to the fire.

I can't speak for everyone here, but as for me, and the members I know, would never sell or trade a defective or malfunctioning firearm without disclosing its problems.

 

[BikerRN]

I think you should've offered $200. That way you would still have a nice profit margin when you resell it but you wouldn't be "fleecing" someone.

Sometimes doing "right" isn't popular or the least costly, but then again you are the one that has to look at your face every morning in the mirror. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I had done that to someone. If a knowledgeable seller wanted to sell it for $40 then that's a different story.

I doubt that your shop would be one that I would frequent much. I have dealt with the same shops for over twenty years because while they make a profit they don't fleece the public and they have earned my trust, as I have earned their's.

BTW, I paid $200 for a LNIB 442 from a friend that didn't want the gun and we both walked away happy and are still friends.

Biker

 

[GRB]

You said you wanted to know what we thought of your purchase. I think it was pretty bad how you seemingly took advantage of this guy. Once you got whacked by a few people here though, you changed your tune to say you don't care what anyone thinks. That is a typical losers reply to good strong criticism.

I knowingly would never do business with the likes of you. You described your self fairly well, at least what I think of you and your business practices when you wrote:

i made out like a bandit

Then again, maybe the guy who sold you the gun made out like a bandit, and as I see it that would be justice for you. You said your boss ran the gun on the FDLE site, so you know it is clean. Whom are you kidding, or should I ask, are you that much of a unprofessional not to realize that a search of the FDLE is extremely limited and covers information only from Florida law enforcement agencies? They provide only info they have decided to make public at that (in other words there are lots more agencies out there who may have it listed as stolen, and even an agency in Florida may list it as stolen but not given access for said info to that site or to the public). If you think that is incorrect then I suggest you check on the site itself at:

http://www3.fdle.state.fl.us/fdle/

As for your saying you took the high road by getting hold of a gun that would have otherwise been destroyed, give it a break. Your sense of ethics certainly seems askew. The ends just do not justify the means in this case. The right way to do it would have been to offer something close to, but allowably, under fair market value for the piece - such as wholesale value. Offering and giving $40 for that revolver was a disgrace as I see it.

On the other hand, had the guy offered you the revolver at that price, saying he was well aware of the value but still wanted to sell it at that price just to be rid of it, that would have been a different story. The fact is though, based upon what you wrote, it apparently did not happen that way.

Regards,
Glenn B

 

[wcwhitey]

Integrity is defined as how you behave when nobody is looking! Nice gun, It is on my list as a must have. Most people are smart enough to realize that if they sell a gun to a store that there will be some built in loss. I also think that most people are ok with that because they realize that the store has overhead and is in the business of making money. Basically you bought it as a individual using the store as your access point and then hit him over the head some more. On the other side of the coin I think the instincts of the other posters are right on. Anyone accepting $40 for that gun has to be on crack, my radar would have went crazy and steered me away from that deal.
Not trying to flame you but this is called the High Road for a reason. Bill

 

[Ala Dan]

WoW~!

You made a better deal on that S&W model 38 at $40, than I did on my best
deal ever; $120 for a 1972-73 (2nd series) 99% Colt Agent that came without
box, docs, and ammo~! enjoy

 

[mavracer]

I'm dissapointed in you even more now that you have been shown the error of your ways and now you defend your actions like a little kid.
A.you were dishonest withholding the guns worth.
B.you took advantage of someone else(I wonder if grandma knows he found it)
C.you know its a steal at $150-200 yet you offer $40
D.then you get mad because we call you on it(not the high road way)

I'd have even given you credit if you told hi you'd like to gime him $150 but only had $40.

 

[GotGlock]

I paid him exactly what the gun was worth to HIM, he could have easily said no, and left. Criticizing my integrity isn't needed, epically by anonymous joes on the internet. I would love to see you all in the same situation and say, no , here let me pay you 160 more then what you already agreed on just so i can sleep better at night. Lighten up, im going to shoot my new .38. Have a nice day.