Ramblings on Gun Deals

For me I only have one deal that went bad. Paid for 45/75 leaver with lots of extra's itwent into my name the guy never shipped. Long story the RCMP & CFC > CFC very slow so much for all the daily hits took a year for the RCMP to track him down with the CFC's help. Anyway its not over yet but atleast the guy is getting his due from the RCMP. And I am out 800 bucks and the rifle still.
 
Don't always comment on stuff like this, but I figured since I live on EE, I'll add my 2 cents. I've made, I guess, 300 or more deals of all sorts; scopes, rifles, shotguns, computers, reloading stuff, a couple of gps, and everything but the kitchen sink. I've bought, sold and traded. I can't say that all deals have been perfect, you're bound to run into something. For my very first deal, a member accepted a trade from me and I neglected to say that the muzzle of the rifle was chipped. At that time, being somewhat naive, I didn't think it affected the rifle. To his credit, he gave me a positive feedback and did not mention that I failed to say this. I still owe him one. CGN thrives because of gunnuts like dusty61. Since that time, I've tried to fully describe any product I have for trade or sell, and even then, I've learned that what may be unimportant to me, may be important to someone else. I guess what I'm trying to say is full disclosure and open communication would be key in any deal. Some guys like to talk about it, some just say "I'll take it", either way, I try to disclose all that I can.

Thanks to all who I've dealt with, it's been a pleasure. And Merry Christmas!
 
I bought 2 rifles recently. Had committed and deposited to one and found a way better deal on another same cal. So I bought both and sold one for what I paid and made a few bucks on the second and was left with a freebie scope. Still doesnt make up for all those I sold and lost on. I changed my mind on the cal once I did some serious digging and discovered it was not useful to me as I had something way better already FYI and I did not buy with the intention of selling. We screw up and get wrong stuff sometimes. I was lucky this time.
 
I have done deals with many members here and for the most part everyone I have dealt with have been very good.

There was the rifle I bought off of Doug for my daughter a few years ago. She tried it out but it was just too light for her to shoot off-hand and I decided to sell it for the same price I paid. Doug was the guy who bought it back........

The one deal that did scare me however was a trade. The other guy was on and off the deal for close to 4 weeks before he finally committed. Once the deal was struck I mentioned to him that I would be shipping his new rifle in a plastic case and would appreciate if he did the same. He whined about the extra cost and I said hell I would EMT him 30 bucks to buy a cheap case. (These were ~$800.00 rifles we were trading BTW)

I shipped his new rifle out with insurance and tracking and waited for mine to arrive. 5 days later his was in his possession as per Canada Post and he was not answering my requests for a tracking number for my rifle. When he finally got back to me 2 weeks after I shipped his rifle to him he wanted to renegotiate the deal and admitted he had - and I quote: "Not gotten around to shipping out the rifle." I made it VERY clear to him if I didn't have either my original rifle - or the one I had traded for - in my hands within 5 days I was going to start legal action.

5 days later I had the new rifle in my safe. The interesting thing was that he had mailed it in the gun case I had used. I then asked him for my $30.00 back as it was obvious he had not used it for the purpose it was meant for. After weeks of listening to excuses that ranged from car accidents to loosing his job I finally was reimbursed.


Low ball offers do not bother me but sometimes I get a chuckle. I was once selling an excellent condition NEF 30-06 rifle for an asking price of I believe $250.00. A very well know member of the board sent me a PM offering $100.00. He happened to have a bunch of once-fired brass for sale at the same time which he was asking $25.00 per 50 so I replied to him declining his offer but countered with an offer of $10.00 per 100 for his brass. He never bothered to reply .................
 
I'll be the first to admit I'm a lousy with communications.. I give buyers and sellers my alternate info just in case.. Hell, If there is a problem call me it hasn't arrived and I've not been on CGN for a week Call...

I've had 3 or 4 deals where things have gone a little wonky.. Sold 2 rifles and the wife switched the shipping labels.. That makes the deal a little funny.. But the buyers repacked and reshipped the rifles.. I paid the shipping and it all worked out...
I've had a couple folks that the deal seems to be the order of the day...When the conversation starts what's your best price.. I like to turn it around and say what's your best price...
Funny how some never respond...
 
I look at the EE as a place to GET snf GIVE good deals.

I have sold some stuff that has been essentially useless to me that I have been ready to toss out at prices that refect that. The buyers were happy and I got it out of my basement to a place where it will go to good use.

I have bought stuff that I want and paid close to new prices and always been happy wi the goods when they arrived. Better or more than described.

Only had one deal that went sour. Item sold for less than the I'll take it price I offered after I made the offer. But there may have been a communication failure there and I have to give the seller the benefit of the doubt.

My thanks to all the great CGNers that have helped me get rid of stuff that I don't need anymore to a good home and also to those that have help me keep my family ( we all shoot and hunt ) stocked up in good deals on brass and stuff.

Make sure you give a better deal than you offer and then you can be pleasantly surprised when some one returns the favor,
 
Nearly all of my deals went well. Met lots of great people on CGN. Had a couple of deals that were a little bit of a pain in the you know what, but, things got worked out, "in most instances."

Had a couple of "great" people who were more than generous; therefore, only motivated me to be as generous with others on this site.

Again, for the most part, a good bunch of people on this site. I consider myself fortunate.
 
Selling

One of my sales which I just can't get out of my head is I answered a Cgn's ad for ammo. After we agreed on a price I met him and he handed me the money, I counted it and he was $5 short so I pointed this out to him and he said it was $5 less because he had to drive to meet me. So I said I had to do the same thing, we met at a half way point. Finally he handed me the $5. I left a positive feedback and he never did. This guy was really unappreciative and I would never deal with him again.
 
Rick, you mention Doug, Dusty, Supercub, Whynot...etc...etc... everyone of them have been on this site since the day it originated. Never ever had a bad deal with one of them, and would bet my safes that it was on it's way if I made a deal with em... but I'll be the first to tell you guys now to watch it from here on out. To many scammers in the EE now. Do deals with guys that you know and trust, like the guys Rick mentioned for starters. Newbies with nothing on the feedback...screw it, let em get their feed back up themselves. I'm not trying to be a prick, just saying it like it is. I've sent guns out before the money even got here but nowadays if I don't know the guy I'll wait for it to pass. As far as the lowballer that you sold the gun to, you got a better heart than me, I'd just end it there and then. I put a gun back in the safe not long ago just cause I was getting lowballed. It don't have to go that bad.
 
Thumbs up to Noneck180. I just bought some Swift Sirocco's for my 7mm-08. Easy deal and super fast shipping...no serious haggling just a very easy meet in the middle approach with Christmas around the corner...thanks again...
 
glang1 said:
SuperCub, how the sand pounding going. :D

I've done a few deals on CGN, so far all have been positive although I did have to wait about a month to get one rifle. I paid promptly after closing the deal.

George
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yeah again sorry about that, last time i listed a gun for that guy!
 
My beef for deals is people saying "plus shipping", then using astronomically-inflated prices instead of having a good guess (from utilizing the CP system as frequently as me), or actually packaging it up and getting the dimensions/weight ahead of time for exact quotes.
 
667 said:
I still think ads in the EE should be reply-able...
The threads would be awsome...
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I used to agree. But back when it was reply-able, I saw two things. First is people "replying" to a buddy's ad to keep it near the top with "PM sent" and other nonsense, and second people posting to say that the price was too high. Personally I think that's low class BS. An ad is not a discussion board. I like it the way it is now.
 
I just screwed on a deal , the person I was dealing with kept changing the deal as we went . I was the seller . Well I should have read the persons trade rating because they have done this to other people . I found out this person was doing this under on handle , and changed the to a spouses handle to boost her trade rating . I gave the later of the two a bad trade rating . and hear is the kicker the left two bad write ups on my trade rating for the same deal . But on the good side I learned a leason and will check trade ratings before the future deals are done . and all the deals I have done before worked out very well .
 
IMHO, persons should expect low offers as we move forward in this current economic climate. A low offer is a realistic starting point for a serious negotiation.

If you dont like the price don't buy - you probably could live without the item. If you dont like the offer don't sell. If you must sell, lower the price. Very simple.

Never take it personally. After all, they are just guns and most folk have way too many sitting around!
 
the problem is that most of the guns/items that are sold in the EE are used and from private sellers, and unless people put FIRM beside their price they should expect some bargaining. selling used invites good-natured bargaining, and many people also dont feel like they 'got a deal' unless theyve knocked a few bucks off the price or in the case of retailers got them to throw in a box of ammo or something.

unless its already a really great deal ill usually offer a tiny bit less than asking price. for example if someone wants $290+shipping for something ill offer them $300 shipped. or if they want $55+shipping for a small gun part ill offer $60 shipped. im bargaining what, 5-10 bucks?
yet from reading this thread some of you get all pissed off about this :rolleyes:

likewise i expect people to bargain a bit on the items i post. if they dont bargain too much i usually throw in something extra if i happen to have something suitable laying around. fiber optic sights, a sling, snap caps, whatever.

if someone posts a really lowball offer on something i just tell them no thank you and move on. no reason to be a #### about it.
 
Fish'n expeditions

I've only been around for a little over a year,I found a few good deals at first, but in that short time prices seem to have inflated, a lot guys seem to be on fish'n expeditions when their sell'n rifles. You can usally see that by the # Btt's but yet they still won't negotiate the price. If a gun has over a 1000 views its time to put out the small bait and forget about the whale.
 
RickF said:
On the other hand, I sold another rifle to a different member a while back. No names mentioned. Throughout the negotiations, his main purpose seemed to be to beat me down the last 50 cents. I had it advertised at a price plus shipping. First the price came down a bit and I threw in some dies and brass…and I thought we had everything settled. Then he went to work on the shipping. After the shipping was agreed on he then went to work on who was paying the insurance…
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Some people like dickering, some don't. Personally i think the #### part of dickering is an accurate description.

Usually i come down in price once, and then just say no to further price cuts after that. Saves time and stress for me, but i think my stuff is usually priced very fairly to start with.

But why let it bother you? If the guy doesn't want it at your best price, help him to move on. Just say no.
 
I have been really happy with the deals I have done - note, deals done. During the selling process I have come across some lowballing and I have resonded with a simple "no thanks". Those who have bought from me and those I have bought from have had good comms throughout the deal and the tansaction has been smooth. I think the EE provides us all with a good service and allows us to have a semi-liquid market for the sporting tools we all enjoy owning.
 
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