Sad sad story.

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Freightman

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
335
Location
N.W. Texas
I work part time at a gun store and a man came in with aJennings 9MM wanting to trade it in for a 40 M 27 Glock, nothing odd here I would to.
The sad thing is when I got the Blue Book down and looked up the Jennings and showed him what it was worth, a shocked look came over his face. He said " I got this at a gunshow and the dealer assured me I was getting a good deal, I paid $300 for it"
The blue book list it at $50 now I work for a dealer in a store and we keep the place open with repeat customers if we treated people like this we wouldn't be in business.
This kind of "screwing" is what makes it hard on a honest gun dealer.I hate it that we couldn't offer the man more but we price our guns according to the BB and we trade them according to the same BB.
This guy now has a bad opinion of gunshows and enough bad feelings playes into the anti hands and will get the gunshows closed down, and I enjoy them.
 
poor guy.:(

i've seen them have glocks for $599 but above that they would have $799 marked out like you was getting a deal. and at the next table you could get one for $520
 
It's terrible that people try to take advantage of the less knowledgeable, but at the same time, the buyer needs to do at least SOME homework.

It wouldn't take too much research to discover that a Jennings 9mm isn't a very good gun and $300 is not a good price.

It is a sad story though. I hope the guy wasn't put off too much by the experience. :(
 
You think thats jacked up?

I was at my local store doing my weekly "lets see if they have anything new tour" when a guy comes in wanting to check on the value of a "Colt" .45 auto he just bought off some guy for, I think, around $300 something. When he pulls it out to show the clerk I'd been talking with we noticed it wasn't exactly a "Colt" .45. It was a HiPoint .45!

Yeah it sucks seeing people be taken like that. But I have to agree with gbelleh, if your making a purchase of a firearm, or anything worth a large sum of money, know what the heck your doing first.
 
We do not even trade for a Hi Point, or a Jenninge as a general rule only if they buy a gun then we sell them as is at the same price that we allowed no garentee and with a lesson to the buyer in gun value. I have to sleep at night.
 
If it was purchased from a vendor at the show, then there's a good chance he could wait until the next show and then go back and discuss a refund.

If it was purchased from an individual then there's less recourse. Of course hopefully he at least got the name and phone number of the seller.

It is a shame, however, to see someone get so thoroughly screwed.
 
i say tough luck. this is just another man getting a lesson he won't forget. anybody who waltzes into a gun show and thinks he can trust everybody was born yesterday.
 
Relatively inexpensive lesson, all things considered. Could have been much, much worse. Maybe he'll pick up a copy of that Blue Book now.
 
"I got this at a gunshow and the dealer assured me I was getting a good deal, I paid $300 for it"
Click to expand...

What a MAROON! I'd probably bust out laughing right there....:)

I have no sympathy for this idiot, people like him are the reason gunshows are all overpriced junk nowadays. If they can snag just a couple suckers....:banghead:
 
While I do feel a little sorry for the guy with the $300 Jennings I have absolutely NO sympathy for the guy with the $300 High Point.

Can't he read? What part of High Point did he mistake for COLT ?
 
Sad allright...

but this guy is kinda like the fella who kept sleeping on the railroad tracks until a train hit him- and now he's got hard feelings toward trains. Live and learn. Even the ridiculous commodity known as "internet research" would have prevented this guy's problem, if he were interested enough to read up on his prospective purchase. I'd hate to go car-shopping with him.

I guess we could post signs at the entrance to gun shows, reading "Hey Goober, put the egg money in your sock- because you can get SCREWED here."
 
I haven't been to a gun show in several years, but I've been able to get better deals than I've seen offered according to dealers blue books.

I think this example makes a case for the importance of researching a firearm's value before buying it.
 
P.T Barnium said " There is a sucker born every day" he also said " you can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but not all the people all of the time"
 
....he also said " you can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but not all the people all of the time"
Click to expand...
Wasn't that said by Lincoln?

I agree that the guy learned a fairly inexpensive lesson. It was unethical of whomever sold it to him, but it wasn't fraud...just VERY high markup.
 
Caveat Emptor!!!

Let the buyer beware. Both the statement and the idea have been around a long, long time. Nothing has changed. You can't get taken if you won't allow yourself be taken - particularly at gun show. Good shooting;)
 
Hummmm.

Perhaps a related quote. Way I remember it is - -

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, and them's pretty good odds."


:D
Johnny
 
Enough people on this thread have quoted the Latin and the English: Caveat Emptor = "Let the Buyer Beware." It's a shame, but it could be a relatively cheap lesson compared to some I've heard about. There's another saying that perhaps belongs in this thread, the capitalist's "An object is worth exactly what it will fetch." A less generous one would be P.T. Barnum's "There's a sucker born every minute." The fella in question had to be in one big damn hurry to buy a gun. A trip around the tables at any gun show I've ever been to, and a question here and there, would have quickly established the worth of the firearm in question.
 
In the age of the Internet - which is effectively an Encyclopedia with over 3 billion pages - there are precious few reasons available to explain one's ignorance.

"Getting taken" can be a harsh lesson. Redemption is gained if/when one realizes that it was a lesson...and then putting the experience to practical use.

TM
 
I can't see making fun of the guy. We all sit here smug in our varying knowledge levels of firearms that at least we know a POS like a Jennings and what it's not worth, but let's face it - we all have holes in our knowledge. Yes, do your research before buying, but come on - do you honestly thing you couldn't get screwed on a purchase in an area of which you are less than knowledgeable? As an example, I don't know diddly squat about heat & air conditioning. If I pay somebody to work on the HVAC at my house I pretty much have to take his word that he's not shafting me. Does that make me make me a "maroon", to borrow Wondernine's term? All I can do is a bit of research and make sure I get multiple quotes on the work, but in the end I'm still shooting in the dark.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
What's the deal with that Blue Book Values!!
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
Okiecruffler
O
B
  • Locked
New Toys
Replies
2
Views
544
10-Ring
1
L
  • Locked
Sad Story
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
ultradoc
U
N
  • Locked
Gun and ammo prices
Replies
13
Views
855
Steel Horse Rider
S
Lennyjoe
  • Locked
A fun weekend and a new gun (Ruger SRH)
Replies
2
Views
441
Lennyjoe
Lennyjoe
Back
Top