I'm new to The Firing Line, but not new to enjoying firearms, and am interested in how others feel about a practice I've encountered on Gunbrokers auction site....
A little background first. I normally try to support one of my LGSs when making a firearm purchase, but have been known to look elsewhere. This is particularly true if I'm looking for old, unique or simply hard to find.
Recently I began looking for a Kadet adaptor for a CZ75B. They have been in short supply, and my local sources tell me even CZ-USA personnel are not sure when they will have a new supply. In fact the rumor locally (I live 10-15 miles of the CZ-USA headquarters) is that the Kadet kits could be backordered for some time.
Given the availability challenges, I thought I'd see if I could find a kit in someone's inventory, or even a used kit on Gunbroker. After a quick search, I hit the jackpot when a couple of kits were offered via buy-it-now auctions. Not so... After asking specifics about availability, it became clear these sellers had no inventory, nor could they get access to a kit through their distributors. Instead, they knowingly were listing kits for sale in an attempt to book a future sale when the kits became available again....
I get it that guns can be available for sale locally and on Gunbroker, and that can present a challenge if the dealer doesn't get the listing pulled quickly after a local sale. This situation is different, and in my opinion, is deceitful, reprehensible and borderline fraudulent. Why doesn't Gunbroker clean up these games? What a complete waste of my time dealing with these two hucksters. In one case the seller suggested that buyers should call to check availability (alluding to the different situation described above), but in the other case there was nothing to suggest the kit was not available.
Before getting too aggressive with Gunbroker, I would be very interested in opinions of those that routinely sell (and buy) on Gunbroker. Am I missing something?
A little background first. I normally try to support one of my LGSs when making a firearm purchase, but have been known to look elsewhere. This is particularly true if I'm looking for old, unique or simply hard to find.
Recently I began looking for a Kadet adaptor for a CZ75B. They have been in short supply, and my local sources tell me even CZ-USA personnel are not sure when they will have a new supply. In fact the rumor locally (I live 10-15 miles of the CZ-USA headquarters) is that the Kadet kits could be backordered for some time.
Given the availability challenges, I thought I'd see if I could find a kit in someone's inventory, or even a used kit on Gunbroker. After a quick search, I hit the jackpot when a couple of kits were offered via buy-it-now auctions. Not so... After asking specifics about availability, it became clear these sellers had no inventory, nor could they get access to a kit through their distributors. Instead, they knowingly were listing kits for sale in an attempt to book a future sale when the kits became available again....
I get it that guns can be available for sale locally and on Gunbroker, and that can present a challenge if the dealer doesn't get the listing pulled quickly after a local sale. This situation is different, and in my opinion, is deceitful, reprehensible and borderline fraudulent. Why doesn't Gunbroker clean up these games? What a complete waste of my time dealing with these two hucksters. In one case the seller suggested that buyers should call to check availability (alluding to the different situation described above), but in the other case there was nothing to suggest the kit was not available.
Before getting too aggressive with Gunbroker, I would be very interested in opinions of those that routinely sell (and buy) on Gunbroker. Am I missing something?
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