Should I go through with this auction?

[Yoda]

Here's the situation:

I bid on four separate auctions, all by the same dealer, for parts for a Webley revolver. No one else was bidding, so I wasn't surprised when I won them all.

When I was notified that I'd won the first one, I looked up the seller's e-mail address and sent him note giving him my contact information, advising him that I expected to win the other three auctions over the next few hours, and asking if he insisted on a postal money order, or would take a check, or would take plastic. I explained that I'm currently in the Gulf, so a letter with a money order or check might take a few extra days to reach him.

He didn't asnwer.

As I expected, I got computer-generated "You won" e-mails notifying me that I'd one the other three auctions. A day afterwards, I sent another e-mail to the seller, with a consolidated list of all four of the auctions I'd won and again asking how he wanted to handle the deal.

No answer.

Another day, a third e-mail from me, and still no answer.

Finally, FOUR DAYS after the auction, I get four separate obviously-computer generated e-mails from the seller. They look a whole lot like the automated e-mails I originally got from the auction site. I reply--my FOURTH e-mail to the seller--asking for confirmation that he's really there and asking if he can send everything together in order to save on shipping and handling.

It's been another day. Nothing. I'm not sure that I'll send the money, but I'll bet I'll get a negative feedback from the seller. Maybe I can give him a call when I get back to the states this weekend.

Darn.

Done ventting. Thanks for listening.

- - - Yoda

 

[rbernie]

Can you call the number provided in the dealer's contact info?

 

[jbkebert]

Well by bidding on the auctions you agreed to pay if the auction was won by you. I understand you are furstrated I had a similar occurance on e-bay. I had purchased 3 items from the same seller and I wanted them to combine shipping and save some $$. I sent 3 or 4 e-mails and no response and finally sent a not so nice one. The guy got back in touch with me a few days later probably a week and a half had gone by. He apologized over and over and told me he was out of town for his nephews funeral Talk about feeling like an a$$. The seller you are dealing with may be on vacation may be busy I don't know. Just for now give them the benifit of the doubt and hold on a couple more days for a answer. Do not skip on your debt to the seller. If you do get a bad feedback on yourself. If it is justified give him a bad feedback as well only if justified. A red flag on a seller is a hell of lot more damaging then a red flag on a buyer.

 

[CoRoMo]

Notify the auction site of the unsuccessful attempts first.
If he posts negative feedback, they will have your notice first can remove the negative feedback. Hopefully.

 

[kingpin008]

People have lives. Sometimes they take importance over other things.

I'd give him a few more days, or just deal with it and send the payment in the format originally asked for by the seller in the auction.

 

[Cannonball888]

Perhaps his email service is filtering your messages as spam. Perhaps the email address he registered with the auction site is an old one he no longer uses. Best to contact him by phone.

 

[Geezer Glide]

You should have asked those questions before you bid.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I'd start digging through the fine print "policy & procedures" type of stuff on GunBroker. I think I remember reading something in regard to an issue such as yours.

 

[woad_yurt]

Good luck with getting a timely response from Gunbroker. The one time I contacted them about a deceptive seller, it was about a week before I got any response at all and it was another few days before I got what amounted to "tough break." Now, if I bid on Gunbroker, I do it knowing that I'm on my own.

To the OP: Since you're the one with the money and the seller will want his/her money, I have a feeling that he/she will come to you sooner or later. Do email Gunbroker, though, and voice your issue. That way, from the outset, you'll be on higher ethical ground when or if the seller makes any groundless noise complaining about you.

BTW: Who is the seller? Tell us so we can avoid going through the same problems.

 

[DHJenkins]

I'd call them. There's plenty of people selling online who have no idea what they're doing.

 

[Yoda]

Thanks...

Thanks to everyone. I'll be back in the states late Saturday, and I'll give him a call then. Where I'm at right now (Persian Gulf), it's a real pain to call out. I'll also drop a note to GunBroker.

I've completed several dozen internet auctions for guns and gun parts, and I've really only had two less-than-satisfactory experiences.

One posted an ad for a "1917 Enfield," but he said he didn't have a camera and couldn't post a photo. I called him and got him to verify that it really was a US Model 1917 "Enfield" in 30-06. What showed up? A Brit Lee-Enfield, sporterized. I talked with the seller over the phone, and he said he coudln't take it back because he was selling it for a dead friend, and he really didn't know much about guns anyway...yadda, yadda, yadda... then the calls stopped going thru and he never replied to the e-mails. Dumb.

The other time, I won an auction for a Chinese SKS that took AK mags. The price was about right ($250), but even though the original ad listed $35 for shippingand handling, after the sale the seller said he just discovered he needed another $200 to ship it. I kept telling him that UPS or FedEx would certainly ship it for less than $50, and he kept telling me they wouldn't and he needed a lot more money. The sale eventually went through, but it sure wasn't very slick.

Cheers to all!

- - - Yoda

 

[DHJenkins]

PM me. I'll call him today.

 

[Yoda]

Many thanks to DHJenkins

What a decent guy! He just made the call for me and then sent me an e-mail. The seller apparently is moving to a new building and not checking mail right now.

- - - Yoda

 

[walker944]

Yoda - Best of luck to you. I hope all turns out well in the end. I certainly understand the stress and tension of going through such situations.

Weird things do happen from time to time with folks. I've had two really weird Internet gun sales in the last couple of years. Thank goodness both ended pretty well....well at least I didn't get screwed. One was a purchase of a Baby Eagle 9mm on GunsAmerica. After offering to buy, I emailed the guy and he responded fairly quickly. We exchanged info all proper-like. Everything was good to go. I then sent the guy a certified check and waited...and waited...and waited. After a reasonable period of time a person starts to get just a bit anxious and nervous. I sent emails, left voicemail messages, with no reply to anything. Finally, out of the blue, I got a letter from him stating that he had to go to the hospital for some kind of emergency. In the letter was my certified funds check. They said he decided that he didn't want to sell. I really don't believe his whole story, but my opinion is just that. I think the guy realized that he was selling for a LOT less than the gun was worth. Oh well...

Another incident was with a fellow member of THR. I offered to buy a gun after lots of emails and IMs, and sent the certified funds check immediately. Immediately after the guy confirmed receiving my check, the emails and contact went dead. Finally a week later I got an apology email, but the guy still did not ship. I finally got the gun 3 weeks after he got my check. All was as advertized, but it was a hell of a lot of aggrevation that I did not need. He did explain that something had occurred in his life that caused a lot of turmoil, etc. However, that was a very LONG 3 weeks for me!!!

While it's virtually impossible to verify what others claim to have occurred as their reason for delaying shipping or not communicating, everyone should understand (am I'm sure the vast majority do) that when a buyer sends money to someone that they don't even know they are extremely vulnerable from that very minute until the item shows up in the mail. Given the economy and the anticipated worsening of it, I'm sure there will be more and more fraud taking place. Sadly, some of it is bound to happen within the gun owner community. Therefore, it is more important than ever for us to be very open and free with communicating...especially if you are the seller.

In addition to all the other helps and tips folks have given, (and this is a comment to everyone) I'd like to also mention that looking at a person's feedback (on gun auction sites) is revealing. A person with a lot of transactions and feedback is the most revealing. You can read comments from previous transactions and get an overall fee for what your experience may be like. Conversely, if the person has no, or very little feedback, you may want to be a little leary or skeptical. However, that does not mean they are to be distrusted. Afterall, everyone starts at zero. It just means they don't have an established history to review.

 

[walker944]

...and by the way...way to go Jenkins!!!