Weird dealer at a show.

[gym]

It's almost as if they don't want to sell the gun sometims. I looked at an ak, "off brand" and asked if I could charge it and pull the trigger, the guy said yes sure. Then ehrn I went and moved the safety, to proceed to check the gun, he yelled , "don't do that" , no one uses safetys on ak's it leaves a mark. I realized that any further conversation with him was useless, and just handed him back the gun. Then I looked at a bunch or ruger 22's he had, I asked if there were any with a threaded barrell, he said no, then I saw 2 on the lower shelf, so I asked heim, what about those. He said "oh yea" I forgot about those, "brand new guns same price as Buds. Then he said we are getting in suppressors for them next week. So he knew he was getting in supressors, but didn't know he had the guns that he ordered them for? There must be some special test that he took. They had someones wife shoing me riifles that didn't have a clue to what I was asking, "simple things" like what caliber is that one. So my theory that gun stores "some" don't sell nearly as many as they could if they had a trained salesperson behind the counter. Which I find true in at least 50%, so don't blame the internet. You need qualified people working the counter these days, not whoever is around or works cheapest.

 

[thebaldguy]

Politeness and honesty go a long way. That goes for everyone. I won't ask them to cut a tie unless I'm really serious about buying it after inspection. If the price is outrageous and they won't budge, don't ask to cut the tie as you have no intention of buying it. If I am really serious about buying a gun, I will politely ask them to cut the tie so I can look at it closer before I purchase.

I see too many people ask ties to be cut without any intent to purchase just to "check it out".

 

[wideym]

There was probably something wrong with the pistol and he didn't want you to find out. I had a guy try to sell the shop were I work an old Colt single action, but he didn't want us to take it out of the display box.

The reason was that the cylinder wouldn't time correctly and the side of the gun laying in the box was rusted and discolored since at one time the velvet lining had gotten wet. He was POed that we wouldn't "trust" his price estimate since he was giving us a "good" deal.

 

[Onmilo]

You were in Illinois, not at all unusual to find "weird" dealers at gun shows.

If the gun was brand new I could understand him not wanting to cut the tie off.
Since it was a used gun and his reply was to "discuss" any issues after sale in place of, "If there is anything wrong with that gun I will refund your money up to the end of the show.", I would be a bit leery.
My humble opinion after doing the gun show scene here for thirty some years.

 

[HavelockLEO]

I worked for a gun dealer like that for a while and didnt even know it. I've known the guy since I was a kid and went to school with his kids.

After about threee shows I started to notice little things and thought to myself it was just that i hadnt ever really interacted with him growing up and just went about my business.

Then, at a show in New Bern one rainy weekend he went off on a guy that was pierced and tattooed up, for no other reason than he was pierced and tatted, the guy walked away very, VERY mad. Not too long after I was explaining a Colt HBAR (that I had owned and traded to my dealer friend) to a young Marine from the air station and I told that I'd used it for proficeincy training while I was in the Marine Corps and about how many rounds I'd put down the tube. Needless to say the rifle sold, but after the guy left with it I get read the riot act about being TRUTHFUL about used guns.

I didnt work but one or two shows after that, I lost all respect for my friend and his businesss practices. Not to mention that he didnt return some ammo I put on the tables to sell myself.

I havent been to a gun show in a few years since that.

 

[BCCL]

I would understand maybe not letting just anyone that asked, but as I said in my original post, I had asked him his best price and agreed to it, which I would think meant he understood I was more than casually interested, as far as I was concerned I was buying the gun the hang up, was that he didn't want to let me inspect it until after he had my cash in his hands.

In reality, short of all the hassle of trying to take him to court, what could I have done if I had handed him money and then found the gun damaged, and he refused to take it back. Especially since this wasn't a local store.