Gun store in Bloomington. I put deposit on a gun and was sold back to orignal owner

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  • Squid556

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    Feb 26, 2022
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    Wabash Co.
    So heres the deal,
    I'm trying to gauge a couple things. Should I be upset, just not do business with them anymore, or things happen get over it.
    The story:
    LGS in Bloomington had a Luger P08 I liked (with leather holster from the correctish time frame). I only had about half the funds on me so I put it in layaway and said I'd be back in a week. In the mean time I ordered grip screws (it was missing 1), a 2nd magazine and a take down tool.
    Fast forward 8 days and I go in to pay it off. At first the guy cant find it, then another guy says oh sorry, the original owner picked it up and we put a credit on your account.
    To be clear, never called me or anything about it no longer being available.
    So the only money I'm out is the stuff I ordered ahead of time, yes I should have probably waited till it was mine to order stuff I guess? I've done that alot though. Is it wrong to think once it's in layaway its "mine"?
    I've been sitting on if I was just disappointed or I should legitimately be upset for a few days now.
    Curious what others opinions are
    Thank you and happy shooting
    Not cool man. If I did that, our shop would be out of business. If they didn't care to make it right somehow, I would just stop going there. Sorry you got a bum deal.

    I do see that behavior with our consignment items. Its not uncommon for the owner to take it back early, or sell it to someone else. But if we buy it to re sell and someone puts money down on it, there's no going back. Gotta be honorable.
     

    Chewie

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    6   0   0
    Dec 28, 2012
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    Martinsville
    I say put in your nicest tacticool pants and shirt, all your guns on your belt and all long guns over your shoulders. Strut in there all uppity and say "you all work on commission right? Big mistake! Huge! Excuse me I have shopping to do!" And strut out.

    Uh oh, someone watched "Pretty Woman"! LOL
     

    tscherry70

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    Dec 7, 2021
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    Bedford
    Yeah...
    Bloomington is pretty lacking, I just had a place I could burn an hour once a week handling guns before I buy them. It let me decompress from work as well which was nice. I wouldnt call it even a great place, it was just adequate.

    I'm not one to go in and cause a fuss generally, but I agree the push back would be unpleasant all around. I "vote" with my money and just wont go back. Simple enough.

    Back to seeing what pawn shops and Rural King get in on my lunch break I guess. Just another bored dude cruising RK with some licorice and sarsaparilla in my hand.....
    I'm fairly new to the area and was thinking of doing an FFL transfer with them. Well, not anymore. Thanks for sharing your story, I hope you get something from this besides your money back.
     

    Ark

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    Feb 18, 2017
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    Local Gun Store , American Arms
    If that's all the ****ing you got out of there with, consider yourself fortunate.

    Dude who runs the place has an ego the size of the freaking Hindenburg from being, basically, the only retail FFL in Bloomington. He thinks he doesn't have to compete with anyone because there's nowhere to go. There's a reason that while I was still living there, I'd drive to Bedford or Martinsville for FFL business. The story regarding the lost AK is somewhere in my post history.

    A sincere apology, explanation, and your cash back in your hand is maybe acceptable in a consignment situation. Half down is already a contract to complete the sale in my book, but sometimes things happen. What's absolutely not acceptable in any way is canceling a sale and telling you that instead of your money you get store credit on something else you didn't want to buy. I'm sure in his mind the labor of lifting your cash from the counter into the drawer (time which I recall from his lecture he valued at $75+ an hour :rolleyes:) entitled him to keep your money. Be careful when you do demand your money back, he doesn't try to skim 10% for "his time".

    Arrogant, condescending, greedy prick. It's been over two years since my final interaction with him and I'm angry again just thinking about it. This is not surprising at all. In a fair universe he'd be out of business and the guy who ran Traildust would still be around.
     
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    Freedom , yes really Freedom
    If that's all the ****ing you got out of there with, consider yourself fortunate.

    Dude who runs the place has an ego the size of the freaking Hindenburg from being, basically, the only retail FFL in Bloomington. He thinks he doesn't have to compete with anyone because there's nowhere to go. There's a reason that while I was still living there, I'd drive to Bedford or Martinsville for FFL business. The story regarding the lost AK is somewhere in my post history.

    A sincere apology, explanation, and your cash back in your hand is maybe acceptable in a consignment situation. Half down is already a contract to complete the sale in my book, but sometimes things happen. What's absolutely not acceptable in any way is canceling a sale and telling you that instead of your money you get store credit on something else you didn't want to buy. I'm sure in his mind the labor of lifting your cash from the counter into the drawer (time which I recall from his lecture he valued at $75+ an hour :rolleyes:) entitled him to keep your money. Be careful when you do demand your money back, he doesn't try to skim 10% for "his time".

    Arrogant, condescending, greedy prick. It's been over two years since my final interaction with him and I'm angry again just thinking about it. This is not surprising at all. In a fair universe he'd be out of business and the guy who ran Traildust would still be around.
    Right ..... I miss Nyle at Traildust. He was a cool dude and I spent many a lunch breaks there. Whatever oddball caliber I needed he had and he'd ask me about it. Made me killer deals on 50 bmg ammo when I needed it. Hell, I needed an arisaka firing pin one time and he had one, then talked about it forever.

    I found what I assume now is your old story and others since I went looking. They really run a ****show there it seems. They fooled me for a few months I guess. I never thought it was the best but Bloomington really is pretty garbage. I tried Four Seasons today, the guy and lady (daughter?) were very friendly but their prices were absurd, no wonder they how so much milsurp when its double what it should be priced.

    Where did you go in Bedford/Martinsville? And one of the shops in Martinsville closed a few months ago. Seems like LGSs are drying up around here, well decent ones anyway.
     
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    Freedom , yes really Freedom
    I'm fairly new to the area and was thinking of doing an FFL transfer with them. Well, not anymore. Thanks for sharing your story, I hope you get something from this besides your money back.
    Thank you. I dont know who the cheapest transfers are around but Gold and Pawn in Ellettsville has been good to me. Calls me right away when stuff came in and the people are friendly and chat me up about whatever came in, let me know about cool stuff coming out of pawn, etc
     
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    Freedom , yes really Freedom
    Save the mag, screws and take down tool and find another Luger.
    I plan to. Always wanted one that why I jumped on throwing that one in layaway. I only probably have less than $50 in all 3 because the mag is a repop anyway. They had a half dozen of them at Four seasons when I stopped in today but the prices were insane, double or triple what they should be on lugers. Makes the ones on gunbroker look like a steal.
     

    Ark

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    Right ..... I miss Nyle at Traildust. He was a cool dude and I spent many a lunch breaks there. Whatever oddball caliber I needed he had and he'd ask me about it. Made me killer deals on 50 bmg ammo when I needed it. Hell, I needed an arisaka firing pin one time and he had one, then talked about it forever.

    I found what I assume now is your old story and others since I went looking. They really run a ****show there it seems. They fooled me for a few months I guess. I never thought it was the best but Bloomington really is pretty garbage. I tried Four Seasons today, the guy and lady (daughter?) were very friendly but their prices were absurd, no wonder they how so much milsurp when its double what it should be priced.

    Where did you go in Bedford/Martinsville? And one of the shops in Martinsville closed a few months ago. Seems like LGSs are drying up around here, well decent ones anyway.
    Nyle was awesome for weird milsurp calibers and reloading stuff. Bought lots of paper packs of Romanian 8mm Mauser from him back when I was new and poor. Probably wouldn't be able to stock the store like that nowadays, but man it was great while we had it.

    Four Seasons was okay. Their prices were always a joke but at least it was a cool place to stand around and wait on a transfer. The problem for me was the hours were just too inconsistent, being a one man operation (as I recall).

    The shop in Martinsville did close up. I used to drive to Angee's in Bedford for transfers but they went on a very limited schedule in 2020 before I moved away. The radius you had to travel from Bloomington to find a proper LGS began to get very long indeed. It's one of the reasons I feel out of the habit of just browsing shops. Now after the Great Panic all the deals are gone and so is the inventory. No point anymore.
     

    gregkl

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    Thank you. I dont know who the cheapest transfers are around but Gold and Pawn in Ellettsville has been good to me. Calls me right away when stuff came in and the people are friendly and chat me up about whatever came in, let me know about cool stuff coming out of pawn, etc
    That's interesting. I once went there to transfer a number of AR15 lower receivers and he wanted to charge me $25 per lower to do the transfer.

    I drove out to Bob's in Spencer. He charged me $20 for all of them. I now make the trip. It's worth it. Once he even did the transfer for free. Nice guy to work with.
     
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    I'd go back in, get a few expensive items laid out on the counter, take up a lot of time. Take it right up to the time of doing the 4473. Look around a little bit more and then remember that you forgot your wallet. Tell them you have to go get it and then don't go back. Maybe next day call and tell them you lost your wallet and don't have the money for the purchase.
     
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    Freedom , yes really Freedom
    That's interesting. I once went there to transfer a number of AR15 lower receivers and he wanted to charge me $25 per lower to do the transfer.

    I drove out to Bob's in Spencer. He charged me $20 for all of them. I now make the trip. It's worth it. Once he even did the transfer for free. Nice guy to work with.
    Ahhhh, I forgot about Bob's. Basically no inventory and his hours do not mesh with mine but hes a cool guy to chat with. Did some expensive stuff on consignment with him before too. I just forgot about him doing transfers. He has random cool stuff, he asked me if I had something to shoot old +p+ sub gun 9mm and since I did he gave me some he had laying around that he didnt want to sell somebody and mess something up.
     
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    Freedom , yes really Freedom
    I'd go back in, get a few expensive items laid out on the counter, take up a lot of time. Take it right up to the time of doing the 4473. Look around a little bit more and then remember that you forgot your wallet. Tell them you have to go get it and then don't go back. Maybe next day call and tell them you lost your wallet and don't have the money for the purchase.
    I've worked in customer service too long to be vindictive. I know it's not typically the guys at the counter that are the problem with these places it's the higher ups that act like ***holes.
     

    BigMoose

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    Right ..... I miss Nyle at Traildust. He was a cool dude and I spent many a lunch breaks there. Whatever oddball caliber I needed he had and he'd ask me about it. Made me killer deals on 50 bmg ammo when I needed it. Hell, I needed an arisaka firing pin one time and he had one, then talked about it forever.
    Yeah do I ever miss that place. I always called it the "Everything but the receiver" gun store..
    He had a LOT of stuff.. and not just the surplus, the Ammo and gun parts were a godsend.

    I remember getting a number of 80s USGI M16 bolts (minus the carrier) there.. have them as spares except one, which is in active service in the M4
     

    Onebad06vtx

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    Alot of common questions:

    #1 I dont believe it was consignment. From the bits of conversation I got it was a "good old boy" and they felt bad and sold it back to him.

    #2 had a receipt with the item on it, saying what my remainder was. Was allowed to be on layaway for 60 days. The 4473 aren't done till paid in full and handed over.

    #3 it was at American Arms in Bloomington.
    That dont surprise me,I wont buy NOTHING from them.
    Been there twice to give them a chance,wont be back.
    They S**K
     

    Onebad06vtx

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    I'm fairly new to the area and was thinking of doing an FFL transfer with them. Well, not anymore. Thanks for sharing your story, I hope you get something from this besides your money back.
    I tried doing a ffl transfer with them,called them and he got crappy with me.
    I won a nice piece for a cheap price off of gunbroker and they tried to say they would sell me the same thing for the same price,sure they would!
    I got the piece for 1/4 of the regular cost.
    I said screw it and had the item sent to four seasons in Bloomington.
     

    gregkl

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    I tried doing a ffl transfer with them,called them and he got crappy with me.
    I won a nice piece for a cheap price off of gunbroker and they tried to say they would sell me the same thing for the same price,sure they would!
    I got the piece for 1/4 of the regular cost.
    I said screw it and had the item sent to four seasons in Bloomington.
    4 Seasons is good to go as far as transfers. Just call them first and tell them you are coming. They have weird hours.
     
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