Was I wrong?

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nope you did right. obviously the guy didn't accept on the spot, and the store wasn't serious about wanting that gun. such a low ball offer is almost insulting.
your not taking their business, they obviously didn't want his business in the first place.

though i probably would have asked the old man what HE was trying to get out of the revolver and made a bit from there


the only reason the guy might want to sell the the store over you is to avoid any type of legal issues, but this is unlikely.

Edward429451 said:
Let me get his straight, you guys feel justified in ripping off his business because you think his prices are too high/low?
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how are you ripping off the business? this is how purchasing items goes, to the HIGHEST bidder! not to mention the older fella didn't agree to the stores ultra low ball offer means that the stores bid is too low for the man to consider. OP i would have done the egggs-act same thing, without hesitation, hell depending on the model and condition i might have tried to out bid YOU.
 
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You shouldn't feel the least bit bad. Hell, a reputable shop owner would rather have a deal brokered that's the best for everyone.

I was at a Pawn shop once looking to trade a S&W .40 and the guy is like, "Just find someone willing to buy it, I can only give you $150, just list it at the local gun club and someone will probably be willing to just buy it outright." And he was right, I sold it cash and carry for like $350, the guy even drove to my house to pick it up.

Before that deal happened I was at another shop where I was looking into consigning it and the clerk was like, "that guy over there might be interested in a .40 cal, see if he'll just buy or trade." Turned out the guy was only interested in trading a 9mm Sigma for a .40 cal Sigma, which I was not interested in, but the shop owner could have made a quick buck off me because a gun that cheap probably would have sold quick.

The price is what the market will bear anyway, I don't think there's anything wrong with chiming in and offering to pay more than a trade in price. It's better for you, it's better for the seller.
 
You did him a favor.

I think you help the Guy. Now he knows it is worth more. I hope you get it. It is called price discovery!
BILLDAVE
 
Passed up the chance to buy a Sauer Luftwaffe M30 drilling for $250,old woman was selling off her husbands belongings and their house, to buy a small condo she could take care of.Told her the worth of it and she later sold it at auction.This thing was 100% mint right down to the case,ammunition,sling,manuals.Uncle said he was proud of me,but she's probably dead by now,and i'd still have that drilling.
 
Anyone taking a gun to a shop as a trade in and expecting to get a "reasonable" price/value doesn't have a very firm grasp on reality. Every market is a bit different, but in my area, a shop will usualy give 40-50% of the expected retail value. This doesn't mean that the dealer is making a 50-60% profit either. A big chunk of that pays rent, insurance, wages, utilities, etc. If you want full retail/market value, sell it yourself.
In the OP, the store offered $225. Did the seller attempt to negotiate a better deal? If not, thats his own fault. Very rarely will anyone throw their top dollar offer out at the start of a negotiation. A low offer may also mean that theres not a huge market for that particular gun in that area, and the dealer may have to sit on it for quite a while. He knows what his customers buy. A quick check on Gunbroker indicated that an Acaconda is running $800-$900. To my way of thinking, a $600 offer from a private buyer is trying to 'rip off' the seller as much as a $225 offer (that likely could be negotiated up by the seller) from a dealer.
I have a great relationship with the owner and manager of my local shop. I wouldn't think of interfering with a deal in progress. If the owner leaves the shop with something Im interested in, I'll talk to him and give him a card. I got a great deal on a US&S 1911 from a guy that came to trade it. The manager told the guy what he could offer on trade, then actualy ASKED me if I was interested. I told the seller what I thought it was worth at auction, and what I was willing to pay -which was a lot less than actual retail value, but 50% more than the shop. The guy took my $, bought his new gun, store got a sale, and I got a great deal on a collectable. EVERYONE was fully informed, and everyone left happy.
 
I buy guns all day long for our shop. We would have offered more than $225 for it (IF condition was good) more so if he had the original box and papers. I'm sorry but sometimes the asking price on Gunbroker is much higher than the actual book value on a gun, and Colt revolvers aren't any different. They aren't exactly high dollar unless in great shape and have original box and papers.

Also it depends on that shops particular location and what they move fast. I am more likely to give more money for a handgun because we move them much much faster than long guns. Based on our location and customer base, we don't give much for high end shotguns, very high caliber rifles, or AR15's because they generally sit on our shelves the longest.
 
I think its fair game. They never know - when they Say $225 the guy might say its worht $1,000 - I think in that type of situation its the consumers responsibility to negotiate.

He could at least have hopped on Gun Broker to see what they are actually selling for. Or called a bunch of stores to see what they might charge for that or similar guns, then figure 70% of that price would be a fair deal.

But I don't think that offering the poor guy more money is unethical of you.
 
Having worked in a gun store for years what you did would have really upset the owner of the store and he probably asked you to leave and never return had he seen it.
But in my mind what you did was the right thing to do.
1. You didn’t interrupt the sale.
2. You waited until he was alone.
3. And you offered a business card and suggested to continue outside the store.
4. The store was not being honest offering that little on a colt.
There ridiculous offer was your gain.
Personally I feel you did good.
 
Yes you were wrong. If you pay their rent and employees and electric then you can steal the business they have attracted with their location. If we caught you doing that here you would be rudely ejected and asked to never ever return. It is a very sore spot for most shops. More so when it involves a Colt LOL.
 
Ozzie, How is it right to steal business from a business while on their premises? I just cannot understand some folks values. If you witness unfair practices start your own gun shop next door and compete on the same playing field. Perhaps when you need to pay lights and phone and taxes and licensing and employees that 600 bucks shrinks a bit.
 
You were wrong if you did it inside the other person's place of business. (if I correctly understand what happened) You don't have to pay rent, wages, utilities, taxes, insurance in there. The owner does.

Talk to the person outside. Not considering the ethics, there is a question of a potential firearms exchange inside a licensed dealers establishment that they have nothing to do with.

The other person came into the store, I assume, of their own will. Not forced to.

Should be handled differently.
 
Just as a FYI. I am not a revolver guy (I own 2 revolvers out of 10 handguns). I purchased it for myself and not to resell (if I do sell it I have no qualms about it). I offered $600 because that is what I had on me to buy a Kahr, holster, ammo and a bi pod. This is the largest dealer in the area maybe one of the largest in a few states.

The old guy wasn't just old but "dusty" old :D. After talking with him I realized that he is showing his age plus some mentally and I let him know that these guns sell for about $800 or more retail (used). He was fine with it. Now that I have thought back on it...screw the dealer. They were trying to take advantage. I didn't step in and stop the old guy from doing the deal even though I wanted to. I waited while he pondered a deal he knew wasn't right deep down. I handed the card with my offer and left it at that. He called me a half hour later.

I don't know too many 80+ year olds who are gonna jump on GB to find out what a firearm has been going for :confused:

I am now the owner of a nice Anaconda pics later.

Beentown
 
Well we all have bills to pay...

I see both sides of this. Their offer was pretty low and you saw an opportunity and made a choice. I think since you didn't interrupt it, you didn't do a whole lot wrong BECAUSE why wouldn't the seller just take it somewhere else. So he was offered 225, what if another guy offered $300 a day later, the end result is the same: the shop loses out. Shops probably get less than 30% of what walks in, and there are many reasons. Any successful shop isn't going to be very concerned about losing out on 1 revolver which was probably worth $1000 tops giving them 775+.

I understand that its their business and that they have bills, but so do the rest of us. Only the strong survive. We are all capitalists living in a capitalist country. If I were a shop owner I would expect it to happen but of course I wouldn't be happy if it did. Its one of those things that comes with the territory IMO.
 
Ozzie, How is it right to steal business from a business while on their premises? I just cannot understand some folks values. If you witness unfair practices start your own gun shop next door and compete on the same playing field. Perhaps when you need to pay lights and phone and taxes and licensing and employees that 600 bucks shrinks a bit.
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So he should pay the gas bill for two months with one customer? An elderly customer that has no idea what a gun is worth? They were clearly trying to take advantage. This place moves hundreds if not thousands of guns a day. There is no need to try and make this much on a used buy. They knew better.

I am self employed and I would never "inflate" my price because an elderly person doesn't know what they should pay.

Beentown
 
I agree that the store offered the old gentelman far too little.

However, their is a difference between making an offer, and telling someone what something is worth.

In other words, if someone asked me what the market value of an on average market priced $500 gun was and I said $200, thats lying. If they asked me how much I would give them for it and I said $200, thats not. Sharp business practice? Yes. Is it dishonest and deceptive? No.
 
Business Ethics

Isn't supposed to be an oxymoron, but today it often is. You didn't do wrong. Had you interrupted the offer telling the old gent you would give more, in their place of business, that would have been wrong, from an ethical point of view.

I respect ethical dealers, and even steer business their way. These guys are acting as badly as the stereotypical used car salesman.

I got my eyes opened a while back to just how GREEDY some people can be, just because they can. Was at a gun show, outside, getting some air chatting with a guy and a guy walks by with a double .410 and an AR-7 with price flags on them. We both wander over to the guy, and the fellow I was talking to (a dealer) starts talking deal with the guy. I was interested in the .410, and said so. MY ethics said, let the dealer make his deal, after all, he did get there first, and then buy from him, giving him a little something for his trouble. I even held the gun while they counted cash.

Guy gives $150 for the .410, its a Chinese one, hammer coach gun. I have one in 12ga, and thought it might need some company. The dealer carries the gun 8 yards to his table, I offer him $175, AND he says No, and tags the gun at $225. I didn't think that was very nice, my 12ga cost me $200 brand new a couple years before. I left him, spent over $1000 at the show, bought 2 pistols and a rifle. Even stopped back to see him before leaving, and offered $200. He still refused. I politely told him I hoped he sat on that gun fofr 8 months!

3 months later, next show, I wandered by, and he still had it on his table. I didn't even make an offer, and I know he saw me. Some gun dealers are just greedy jerks, and when I run into ones like that, I don't do business with them. And neither do my friends. And, whenever possible, we let them know why. They make a few bucks taking advantage of people, but in the long run, it usually bites them in the butt. Or it does if I have anything to do about it. We get enough bad image from gun haters and the idiots in the media, we don't need any more.
 
I really like Smith and Wesson model 29s. I have an older 29-2 and was at the range back in November and a guy came in with a 29-3. It was another 6 inch and he was the original owner. I would not have noticed it except the salesman I usually deal with saw me and asked me to take a look at the gun.

The guy wanted $850. The salesman took the gun inside to talk to the gunsmith.

The gunsmith said the gun might go for $650 on the market and much less on a trade.

I asked the guy if he would take $600 cash. I told him if he wanted, to follow me to the bank and I would give him cash for the gun.

He thought about it a minute and said he would.

I have never bought a used gun on the spur of the moment, but that gun just really rang my chimes. I talked to him at length about it and he said the gun had about 200 rounds through it or less.

I have had NO regrets about buying it and it shoots as good as it looks.

I have some pictures posted somewhere on the forum.

The guy got more from me than he would have gotten from the dealer. I have the pleasure of knowing the gun has a good home and will be taken care of.

A real win-win for me.

Geetarman:D
 
At the time, how did you know the guy had not been in there before and was offered more and made an ahole of himself?

At the time how do you know there was not something wrong with the gun?

Lot of variables.

Others have given good reasons why you were not "wrong." Won't argue with their points.

But I could see the owner of the business telling you to leave the place and never coming back.

JMO.
 
OP

I have a tinge of guilt for trying to "take" their business, in their place of business but they were trying to take advantage of an uninformed customer IMHO.

Was I wrong?

Beentown
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Wrong for the store, right for the old guy.
 
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