Was I wrong?
- Thread starter Beentown71
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It's one thing to make some money on the deal & one thing to rip off someone that bad! I myself would not buy any thing from that place ever again!triumph666
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sounds like you were at a gun store that does some extreme low balling(especially for a trade), i see no reason why you should feel guilty for offering him a very nice price for his gun.....business is business but bending some1 over is bending some1 over...shame on the the gunstore for offering 225 for a trade in price on a colt!
Any supposed wrong committed against the business was made up for when he offered a better price for a gun and also explained the true value and then letting the elderly man make an informed choice.
The shop owner could have said its worth X amount but I have to make a profit so I can only offer Y, and its a pretty safe bet he had internet back in his office when the employee brought in back. The low offer price suggests he didn't really want it, the OP called the shop employee "tacticool", I'm thinking revolvers aren't really that shop's ideal product line.
The shop owner could have said its worth X amount but I have to make a profit so I can only offer Y, and its a pretty safe bet he had internet back in his office when the employee brought in back. The low offer price suggests he didn't really want it, the OP called the shop employee "tacticool", I'm thinking revolvers aren't really that shop's ideal product line.
warningshot
New member
Business is Business and that was the shop's business you were poaching.
Hanging-out in gunshops, making deals with persons unknown to you while the shop owner is distracted, and trying to buy guns in the parking lot.
I am a gun nut. I know that is not the case here. But don't kid yourself. There are plenty who will believe it. Who will come to your defense? The shop owner?
Hanging-out in gunshops, making deals with persons unknown to you while the shop owner is distracted, and trying to buy guns in the parking lot.
I am a gun nut. I know that is not the case here. But don't kid yourself. There are plenty who will believe it. Who will come to your defense? The shop owner?
In the case of the model 29-3 that I bought, the salesman asked me to look at the gun and the gunsmith told the man what he thought was a fair price.
I know that I pushed over 8 grand last year at the same shop to buy their guns.
They know I will be back. I have asked them to look out for a nice 6 inch 27 and 57. I know they will call me as soon as they get one or see one for sale or trade.
Geetarman
I know that I pushed over 8 grand last year at the same shop to buy their guns.
They know I will be back. I have asked them to look out for a nice 6 inch 27 and 57. I know they will call me as soon as they get one or see one for sale or trade.
Geetarman
Cheapshooter
New member
You didn't take their business, you prevented a theft!
Sorry, but you were at least partially wrong.
If you think a dealer doesn't offer enough on used guns, don't sell your guns there. Tell all your friends not to sell their guns there. Get on the internet and tell anyone that will listen not to sell their guns there. Heck, I'll beat you to it:
You will not get a good price from any gun dealer for your used gun, any more than you will get a good price if you sell your car for cash at a used car dealer. People sell their guns at gun dealers because it's quick and easy, not because they offer top dollar.
However, when you are in a gun dealer's shop, under the roof he pays for every month, what he offers a seller is between him and the seller. It's none of your business. The dealer doesn't run the shop so you can hang out there and cherry pick his used gun deals. If you want to do that, open your own shop and see how easy it is.
The saving grace is that at least it sounds like the seller turned the offer down first. That lets you off the hook a bit. If you had said something during the negotiations, you would have been way out of line.
If you think a dealer doesn't offer enough on used guns, don't sell your guns there. Tell all your friends not to sell their guns there. Get on the internet and tell anyone that will listen not to sell their guns there. Heck, I'll beat you to it:
You will not get a good price from any gun dealer for your used gun, any more than you will get a good price if you sell your car for cash at a used car dealer. People sell their guns at gun dealers because it's quick and easy, not because they offer top dollar.
However, when you are in a gun dealer's shop, under the roof he pays for every month, what he offers a seller is between him and the seller. It's none of your business. The dealer doesn't run the shop so you can hang out there and cherry pick his used gun deals. If you want to do that, open your own shop and see how easy it is.
The saving grace is that at least it sounds like the seller turned the offer down first. That lets you off the hook a bit. If you had said something during the negotiations, you would have been way out of line.
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Edward429451
Moderator
So you know the ins and outs of the accounting portion of a gun shop? They were not clearly trying to take advantage, they clearly made an offer. You are clearly tring to rationalize this to your rightiousness.
I know you. You're the guy who calls me to fix your furnace and then stands there beatin me up tellin me your brother could have fixed it for forty dollars! You're the guy who calls me out for an estimate and I spend two hours with you detailing every thing I'll do, and now that you have your plan, you keep calling everyone else with my quote until someone says they beat it.
You're the guy who asks for references, asks about my insurance, watches me work hoping I do something wrong so you can cry foul and get your price reduced, and you have the gall to act as if I AM the bad guy!
Most you guys have no clue wht it takes to run a business. You have a Attorney born sense of entitlement which makes you all act like children and spoiled brats. I would have expected more from a bunch of so called responsible law abiding people here.
Edward429451 has inspired me to say what I really think.
I don't lie, cheat or steal & if I offer someone a price for something and they accept it, it was none of those. All this equating of theft and dishonesty with making a low ball offer is ridiculous.
I suppose if I go to an auction and walk away with Grammie's antiques for well less than they're worth, thats theft too? I guess for the rest of my life I must inform every poor sap what their goods are worth?
There's a sucker born every minute and two to take him. If I don't get it someone else will. So save your self righteous moralizing until being a smart business person is made illegal.
I don't lie, cheat or steal & if I offer someone a price for something and they accept it, it was none of those. All this equating of theft and dishonesty with making a low ball offer is ridiculous.
I suppose if I go to an auction and walk away with Grammie's antiques for well less than they're worth, thats theft too? I guess for the rest of my life I must inform every poor sap what their goods are worth?
There's a sucker born every minute and two to take him. If I don't get it someone else will. So save your self righteous moralizing until being a smart business person is made illegal.
Edward and Nate hit it right on the money. The shop is not stealing from anyone that is business and it is no one elses business how they want to run it. If you don't like it go elsewhere. They have their reasons for the price they offered.
But I also see nothing wrong with what you did. Considering you waited till they were done negotiating and you were out of the store. They didn't make a deal so you technically didn't take any of their business. As long as you are not purposely waiting around for these deals to steal them I see nothing wrong about it.
But I also see nothing wrong with what you did. Considering you waited till they were done negotiating and you were out of the store. They didn't make a deal so you technically didn't take any of their business. As long as you are not purposely waiting around for these deals to steal them I see nothing wrong about it.
I think that's why most people get estimates. Estimates are just that, they're given so that a prospective customer can evaluate the worth of a job and make an intelligent decision when deciding on which contractor merits the work, at least in terms of price. If your "estimate" is too high when compared to equivalent competitors, it's probably time to "re-estimate" your estimates.
If you begrudged me asking about your references, your insurance and a myriad of other possible pertinent inquiries relating to your competence and honesty, rest assured you'd never get the job-no matter how low your estimate was.
You think?
Did it ever occur to you that the seller could just as easily "negotiate up" the offer from the private buyer as he could the dealer?Is there ever a limit in terms of offering too little in terms of business ethics? Would offering five bucks to an obviously ignorant and disadvantaged (in the case at hand, an uninformed, possibly senile old man) prospective seller for a firearm valued at close to $1,000.00 ever constitute an ethical transaction?
Ethics are absolutes in some sense. It's a difficult argument to differentiate "business" ethics from just doing the right thing. The dealer referenced by the op was clearly caught in the act of doing the wrong thing-and I don't feel even a little bit sorry for him.
Edward429451
Moderator
I don't begrudge people asking for references or insurance. Thats what makes me legit and helps me in the long run. My point is the mentality of the folks who expect the most for the least, and badmouth the shop when they don't get what they want and have zero clue what it takes to stay legit.
High prices mean no work so I can bid real competitively. When I get underbid, you the customer can be assured of one thing...It takes what it takes to do a job and the other guy will make his money somehow off of you. He''ll steal the equipment from his day job, or cut corners in other ways. There is no free lunch.
So you guys have this thread a little backward. It's not the gunshop guy is a bad guy, he's doin what you should be doin and quoted his honesty, what more do you want? Go hang out your own shingle and be the guy that pays 6 or 8 hundred dollars for used gun and we will all cheer you!
I really have little against the OPs behavior. The guy DID turn him down granted. The rest of you guys sound like a bunch of children. You know you're wrong and all you have to do is think if it were your shop, could I stand out front soliciting your customers? Hmm?
High prices mean no work so I can bid real competitively. When I get underbid, you the customer can be assured of one thing...It takes what it takes to do a job and the other guy will make his money somehow off of you. He''ll steal the equipment from his day job, or cut corners in other ways. There is no free lunch.
So you guys have this thread a little backward. It's not the gunshop guy is a bad guy, he's doin what you should be doin and quoted his honesty, what more do you want? Go hang out your own shingle and be the guy that pays 6 or 8 hundred dollars for used gun and we will all cheer you!
I really have little against the OPs behavior. The guy DID turn him down granted. The rest of you guys sound like a bunch of children. You know you're wrong and all you have to do is think if it were your shop, could I stand out front soliciting your customers? Hmm?
Had the OP interjected his opinion and offer into the middle of the negotiations between the seller and the dealer, then he would have been wrong IMHO. However, this did not occur as the OP only made an offer after the seller had declined that of the dealer. The dealer is out nothing because he wasn't getting the gun anyway.
Now, there may be many reasons that the dealer offered such a low figure. Perhaps he was trying to take advantage of an old man, or perhaps Anacondas just aren't the type of gun that appeals to his clientele and therefore he would have to sell it for a price substantially lower than market value, we simply don't know. Many of the more reputable dealers that I know will often refer people looking to sell guns to other dealers or customers when the gun in question isn't of the type they specialize in.
Capitalism is, however, a two-way street. If you aren't willing to pay as much for an item as it's worth, you need to be prepared to be outbid by someone who will. While I understand the dealer's need to make a profit (I work in retail myself), the gun in question could sell fairly easily for four times what they offered. Regardless, the OP did nothing wrong as both the dealer and seller had decided to walk before he ever took action.
Now, there may be many reasons that the dealer offered such a low figure. Perhaps he was trying to take advantage of an old man, or perhaps Anacondas just aren't the type of gun that appeals to his clientele and therefore he would have to sell it for a price substantially lower than market value, we simply don't know. Many of the more reputable dealers that I know will often refer people looking to sell guns to other dealers or customers when the gun in question isn't of the type they specialize in.
Capitalism is, however, a two-way street. If you aren't willing to pay as much for an item as it's worth, you need to be prepared to be outbid by someone who will. While I understand the dealer's need to make a profit (I work in retail myself), the gun in question could sell fairly easily for four times what they offered. Regardless, the OP did nothing wrong as both the dealer and seller had decided to walk before he ever took action.
So are you racked with guilt when you underbid someone else? You seem not to realize that in most areas you could fairly easily make a 400% profit on an Anaconda that you bought for $225.
Well, if you buy a gun for $600 and re-sell it for $900, you've just made a 33% profit. $900 is not at all unreasonable for a minty Anaconda.
If you only solicit the customers who have already decided not to do business with me, I don't really care as I'm not out anything. I fairly routinely refer customers to other businesses when I am unable to meet their need for whatever reason. Guess what, those customer usually appreciate my honesty and return later to do business with me for other goods or services.
The time value of money on that deal would mean that they'd have to keep the gun in inventory for about, oh, 50 years in order to finally get into loss position!
Okay, I'm exaggerating, but there's a point where profit is egregious.
The only issue here is that the guy hadn't made a decision yet and was still in the store when OP jumped in there and made his counter proposal. That timing is where the line was crossed. A little. Since the guy didn't accept the offer from the store it was obvious he was going to look for a better deal and you gave it to him.
Bummer that the gun shop tried to rip him off. Personally, I think you did the old guy a service and in the overal scheme of things, ya did the right thing.
--Wag--
Okay, I'm exaggerating, but there's a point where profit is egregious.
The only issue here is that the guy hadn't made a decision yet and was still in the store when OP jumped in there and made his counter proposal. That timing is where the line was crossed. A little. Since the guy didn't accept the offer from the store it was obvious he was going to look for a better deal and you gave it to him.
Bummer that the gun shop tried to rip him off. Personally, I think you did the old guy a service and in the overal scheme of things, ya did the right thing.
--Wag--
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