I just had a gun transaction go bad, and I'm wondering what the community's take is on the situation:
I found a gun for sale on an out-of-state gun forum. The gun had been on the boards for a few months and (in my opinion) priced pretty high. The seller had lowered his price a couple times, but there didn't appear to have been any interest. I offered the seller $100 less than his shipped price, he countered with my price plus shipping, I agreed. I sent the seller my FFL's information, as well as all my information (full name, address, phone number, etc) and asked for payment instructions and a final price. He replied saying that he's shipping the next day and will get me the price then.
Mind you, at this point in time all I have is the seller's first name and an email address - no last name, address, phone number, etc.
I don't hear anything for a week. I was going on vacation, so I figured I'd deal with it when I get back. I got back from vacation a week later (two weeks since the promised ship date), there's still no contact from the seller. But, there is a voicemail from my FFL saying the gun had been sitting in his shop, and to come and get it.
So I drive out to the shop (which is an hour out of my way). I'd never been shipped a gun prior to making payment, so I was a bit surprised by the whole situation, but I figured the seller must have sent payment instructions with the gun. If nothing else, I get a chance to inspect the gun before its transferred, and I contact the seller as soon as I get home.
But when I arrive, the shop owner approaches me very flustered. Apparently the seller told him not to transfer the gun to me because I hadn't paid. Clearly the FFL feels very uncomfortable being stuck in between the two of us, and now I look like an ass in front of my FFL (whose relationship is very important to me).
So I drive home and email the seller. I get a response right away - he claims he emailed me tracking and payment instructions a week ago (an email I never received), and now wants MORE than the agreed upon price. Basically he's now demanding his last asking price. His justification was that he was "being nice" by agreeing to our original price.
WTF? This feels an awful lot like bait & switch to me. I mean, I want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt - glitches happen, maybe he really thinks he sent me the payment info (even though he claims he sent it a week after he told me he was shipping the rifle). But the guy had my number, he easily could have called if he was concerned. And I didn't try to pick up the rifle until my FFL called me two weeks later, so clearly I'm not trying to rip the guy off. But instead he tells my FFL not to transfer the gun, waits for me to contact him, and demands more money? Feels awfully sketchy to me...
So what are you thoughts? Assuming he's not trying to scam me, is this guy justified in demanding more money? Or was I right to walk away?
I found a gun for sale on an out-of-state gun forum. The gun had been on the boards for a few months and (in my opinion) priced pretty high. The seller had lowered his price a couple times, but there didn't appear to have been any interest. I offered the seller $100 less than his shipped price, he countered with my price plus shipping, I agreed. I sent the seller my FFL's information, as well as all my information (full name, address, phone number, etc) and asked for payment instructions and a final price. He replied saying that he's shipping the next day and will get me the price then.
Mind you, at this point in time all I have is the seller's first name and an email address - no last name, address, phone number, etc.
I don't hear anything for a week. I was going on vacation, so I figured I'd deal with it when I get back. I got back from vacation a week later (two weeks since the promised ship date), there's still no contact from the seller. But, there is a voicemail from my FFL saying the gun had been sitting in his shop, and to come and get it.
So I drive out to the shop (which is an hour out of my way). I'd never been shipped a gun prior to making payment, so I was a bit surprised by the whole situation, but I figured the seller must have sent payment instructions with the gun. If nothing else, I get a chance to inspect the gun before its transferred, and I contact the seller as soon as I get home.
But when I arrive, the shop owner approaches me very flustered. Apparently the seller told him not to transfer the gun to me because I hadn't paid. Clearly the FFL feels very uncomfortable being stuck in between the two of us, and now I look like an ass in front of my FFL (whose relationship is very important to me).
So I drive home and email the seller. I get a response right away - he claims he emailed me tracking and payment instructions a week ago (an email I never received), and now wants MORE than the agreed upon price. Basically he's now demanding his last asking price. His justification was that he was "being nice" by agreeing to our original price.
WTF? This feels an awful lot like bait & switch to me. I mean, I want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt - glitches happen, maybe he really thinks he sent me the payment info (even though he claims he sent it a week after he told me he was shipping the rifle). But the guy had my number, he easily could have called if he was concerned. And I didn't try to pick up the rifle until my FFL called me two weeks later, so clearly I'm not trying to rip the guy off. But instead he tells my FFL not to transfer the gun, waits for me to contact him, and demands more money? Feels awfully sketchy to me...
So what are you thoughts? Assuming he's not trying to scam me, is this guy justified in demanding more money? Or was I right to walk away?