I stopped by a LGS today to look around and chat with the owner as I do once in awhile on my day off. It's a small shop and he gets a few interesting things in here and there. If he gets a Smith & Wesson revolver in that he has questions about he'll have me look at it (not that I'm an expert by any means, but I know more about them than he does).
Anyway, he hands me a gun that is priced at $495 and asks me if I think it's priced about right. He had the gun listed as a Model 10, and for a Model 10 I thought it was overpriced. The thing is, it wasn't a Model 10 and I told him just that. I told him that Model 10s didn't have adjustable sights and beyond that the gun was an N-Frame not a K-Frame. I told him that I thought I knew what it was but wanted to look at his Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson that he had on the shelf. So, I checked the serial number and dated it as a 1935 model. Then I went to another section to narrow down the model, and just as I thought, it was actually a 38-44 Outdoorsman with Magna grips.
My knee jerk reaction was "Give him your credit card and pay the $495 and be on your way". And, I could have done that, but I didn't. If I had been at another shop and was looking and they never asked me for my opinion on anything like that I would have bought it in an instant. But, I've been going in that store for a good bit and he trusts me to give my opinion on stuff when he has a question. So, I told him what it was and told him the grips might be worth what he was initially asking for the gun. He was shocked to say the least.
I could have bought it without saying anything and he would have made money and I would have walked out with a gun worth more than twice what I paid for it. But, I was glad to be able to help him out a bit and still be able to sleep at night.
Anyway, he hands me a gun that is priced at $495 and asks me if I think it's priced about right. He had the gun listed as a Model 10, and for a Model 10 I thought it was overpriced. The thing is, it wasn't a Model 10 and I told him just that. I told him that Model 10s didn't have adjustable sights and beyond that the gun was an N-Frame not a K-Frame. I told him that I thought I knew what it was but wanted to look at his Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson that he had on the shelf. So, I checked the serial number and dated it as a 1935 model. Then I went to another section to narrow down the model, and just as I thought, it was actually a 38-44 Outdoorsman with Magna grips.
My knee jerk reaction was "Give him your credit card and pay the $495 and be on your way". And, I could have done that, but I didn't. If I had been at another shop and was looking and they never asked me for my opinion on anything like that I would have bought it in an instant. But, I've been going in that store for a good bit and he trusts me to give my opinion on stuff when he has a question. So, I told him what it was and told him the grips might be worth what he was initially asking for the gun. He was shocked to say the least.
I could have bought it without saying anything and he would have made money and I would have walked out with a gun worth more than twice what I paid for it. But, I was glad to be able to help him out a bit and still be able to sleep at night.