Ripped-off on a S&W 629-1

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I assure you, you are not going to get help from Gunbroker. I ASSURE YOU. I've been there. You will quickly learn that in all the mumbo jumbo, gunbroker just pretends it is a clearing house of items, like craiglist. It in no way is an Ebay that will stand with you against a false description. No way, no how.

Gunbroker is the WORST when it comes to a problem.

However, you credit card WILL take care of you. Everything in the world is marked up to cover credit card fees. Part of those fees cover benefits provided by credit cards. Dispute resolution is one of those benefits you pay for every time you shop at the grocery store.

If you have even a mid credit card, they will give you back the disputed funds the second you file a dispute.
 
That's messed up.

I would consider my options carefully. But I'm not sure how I would proceed.
If the seller is refusing to take it back, especially without you having taken possession, that's a major red flag and implies guilt. ...But means your only recourse is through 3rd parties.

Tough call. Tough call.

If the seller would take it back, I'd probably eat the shipping cost and report the scammer to GB.
It sucks. But it's better than most of the alternatives.

You’re probably SOL. Everybody boasts about their online deals, but they neglect to mention the downside. They don’t mention the false advertisement on used guns, the dealers that sell their worst examples of new guns with bad triggers and finishes at discount prices in their online stores or Gunbroker, or any of the stuff that people wouldn’t buy in person, but pay for online.
That's not true.
There are plenty of members here that are transparent about their online dealings - the good, and the "bad" and/or "buyer's remorse" online deals. It's just that most people don't go looking for the bad, and you can't really tell beforehand whether or not you're about to get screwed.

I've shared all of mine.
My favorite was a shotgun that was held together by magnets. The seller, however, refused to accept that as a realistic possibility, told me to get bent, and refused to talk to me any more. With more poking, prodding, and minor threats of going to 3rd parities direct to his secretary/assistant, he eventually looked at photos and a video that I sent, and was even more surprised than I. We both ended up laughing about the skill with which he was duped by the previous owner, while issuing me a partial refund. (I still wanted to keep it ... just not for the price that I had paid.)

Now that I'm think about it... The top three worst online deals for me were all from well-known companies:
1. Badger Airbrush
2. Optics Planet
3. Western Gun Parts (via GB auction)

.
 
I would take off the sideplate and lay it on a jewelers block, granite countertop, sheet of glass, something dead flat. See if it’s truly sprung.

See if the hammer block is damaged (or, even still in there). And check for any of the pins being too long. (Doubtful). Make sure there’s no damage to the inside of the sideplate and bosses.

If the sideplate is indeed sprung, lay it face down on a jewelers block or other dead flat steel surface and knock it true with a lead Babbitt.
 
"I can't address the OP's issue, but I can state that I have purchased dozens of guns on GB. I have rarely been disappointed."


Same here. One thing I look for is how many guns they've sold. If they've sold over a thousand, I figure that they're in it for the long haul and will treat their customers right. If they've sold seven guns or something like that, I figure it's a gamble.
 
If you haven't had a problem gun, you can't speak to how gunbroker handles it.

I assure you, Gunbroker will immediately say they have nothing to do with descriptions and they are not holding money.

Do you send money to Gunbroker? No. So what can Gunbroker do, in all honesty? Nothing.
 
I buy a lot of guns on line, 99% S&W revolvers. I don't by off GB and like sights. If they aren't accepting responsibility what is their function. I buy only from forums with guys that
have reps. No one is going to blow their reputation by selling a damaged gun as hi condition To much sale on line is like smash & crash robberies. Hi dollar price would tend to put ones
mind at rest, effective tatic. If you deal enough you are going to get short stroked at some
point.
 
Picking up a new sideplate shouldn't be too difficult. Just make sure everything inside is properly installed, put a new plate on it and call it good. I doubt there is any damage other than the plate really. We live and learn...continually throughout life.
 
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I'd put in in a vise and squeeze it.
You would not!!!

I don't know-what's to lose? Equal pressure from all sides might help to straighten a slightly deformed side plate. If it doesn't work (and it probably won't), go shopping for a new one.
 
S&W sideplates are fitted to the gun. They are stamped in place, so that the fit is correct.
"putting a new plate" on is highly unlikely, if not impossible.

As I said, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, other than the screws need tightening.

S&W sideplates are not something you screw around with. If you do they will never fit right again.
 
Sorry this happen to you. It does leave a sickening taste in one's mouth. If you stay in the shooting, gun collecting, hobby for as long as I have your bound to get burned. It has not happened to me very many times, but sometimes it is best to just learn from it, swallow it, and go on. I have so many great gun memories and own some wonderful firearms that it so out weighs the few bad memories. But as I have already said, I'm sorry for you.
 
Or, as Jolly Roger suggested above, he found the seller and they went "for a ride." :eek:
 
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