Good Deed Costs Me Over $500 (Well, Kind Of)

J

Joe_Pike

New member
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.
 
An honest man, something you don't see much of now a days. Good job. Did the two of you agree on a price? It would have been difficult not to give it a new home.
 
I'm sure the new price was going to be hovering around $1,000 and I just can't swing that any longer after losing a good job a year and a half ago. Maybe he'll help me out down the road if I find something in his store that I like that's more affordable for me, even though I wouldn't expect him to.
 
Good work.

pax

Self-discipline is when your conscience tells you to do something and you don't talk back. – W.K. Hope
 
Based on my experiences with the LGS' around here, I would of offered them $425. IMO, an honest, friendly LGS in these parts is the exception.

BUT, it sounds like you have a very good relationship with this guy and you most certainly did the right thing.

Well done.
 
Me wonders since he had the gun listed @ $495, what he paid the unfortunate seller that too, had no clue to it's worth. You were a nice guy, but I'm betting the shop owner is not going to give the seller any more, now that he knows it's worth twice as much. He now will make $500 over and above his normal markup on a $1000 gun. Hope at least he gave you a box of ammo or something.........
 
I was going to say the same thing as Buck....

Do you think the LGS called the person he purchased it from and adjusted the price??
 
Do you think the LGS called the person he purchased it from and adjusted the price??
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I'm sure he didn't. He purchased it in good faith thinking it was a Model 10 and had it marked as such, and at $350 (what he paid) he would have paid too much in my opinion as I bought a Model 10 in nicer condition this year for $228.

All I know is that I couldn't have purchased the gun for the $495 after he trusted me to give him my opinion. People may think poorly of me for any number of reasons but it will never be because I take advantage of others after I gain their trust.
 
Good for you.

I just had a similar experience. FFL friend called me up and asked me to take a look at a Colt Officers ACP he had just taken in. He wanted to know if it was worth $500.

Once I saw it, I was baffled. It was heavily customized, with a compensated barrel and an extended recoil spring plug for a longer spring. It had some other bells and whistles, too. After making some inquiries, I was able to determine that "Comp Carry" customs similar to the one I was looking at were popular back in the 1980s, and were done by some of the major "names" in 1911 gunsmithing.

And then Bob Hunter (who posts here as Bob Hunter) dropped the bomb: he told me the parts probably cost $2000 to $2500 at the time.

I very quickly and VERY carefully returned the gun to my friendly FFL and suggested to him that he not be in a rush to make it his everyday carry piece.

I didn't even consider making him an offer. It's worth some money as it sits to the right buyer. Personally, my immediate reaction (before I found out what it might be worth) was to start figuring whether or not I might already have the parts to restore it to OEM configuration.
 
Bravo!

I would have tried and gotten a lower price on it, then taken it home and throw it up on Gunbroker for the proper price. :cool:
 
Years ago a San Francisco store had a flatside broomhandle. I didn't know squat about it but have wanted one since 5th Grade. So, off to another store where they had Breathed & Shroeder's book, System Mauser and bought the book. Took the book back to the first store and started identifying it. Flatside, early safety, large ring hammer, yep. It was an early one made around 1898-1899. Bought it and afterwards the clerk said had he had known it was an early Broomhandle, he would have asked a lot more for it. BTW, all matching parts too.
 
Do you think the LGS called the person he purchased it from and adjusted the price??
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He may still-after it is sold, to make sure he can get what he originally wanted. This is the difference between pawnbrokers Rick Harrison and Les Gold.
 
Good to be straight forward when possible but not always appropriate/practical. Example, when given the wrong change back I don't always complain. Person could lose their job or I simply goofed :)
 
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