Have you ever managed to put one over a dodgy dealer or a wise guy?

[ccdjg]

In another thread the trials and tribulations of being a dedicated collector were touched upon, and mention was made of the pleasure to be got from getting the better of a wise guy. This made me smile and think about the odd occasions when I have had a bit of luck in this respect.

One in particular comes to mind, which involved a dealer at an arms fair several years ago. I had been looking for a Lincoln Jeffries Scout pistol for a long time when I heard that this dealer had one for sale. I phoned him and a price of £150 was agreed verbally and I arranged to pick the item up at an arms fair the following week, which involved me in a 250 mile round trip. When I got to the dealer’s stall on the day, he informed me with no apology that he had had a better offer and sold the gun. Needless to say I was not best pleased and it was a while before I simmered down and could look round the rest of the fair objectively. After half an hour’s rummaging I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted a nickel plated Scout pistol lurking under some other bits and pieces on a general millitaria stall just few stands down from the rat’s. On enquiring, I found it was priced at an unbelievable £50 . Of course I practically snatched the stall holder’s hand off. I then took great delight in casually producing the pistol in front of the rat dealer and thanking him for saving me £100. The icing on the cake was when I told him that I had found the gun just a stone’s throw from his stall, as he prided himself at his skill at going round the stalls before an arms fair opened to the public and cleaning up any airgun bargains that might be going. The look on his face is something I will long treasure.

Has anyone else a similar tale to tell? I would love to hear your experiences

[Josie & John]

Well done John - excellent result!

John

[gingernut]

That'll be the day!

[I. J.]

Not a doggy dealer or a wise guy but I got this http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Airs...ml?sort=6&o=62 off a local dealer for less than a fiver. A Normay Vixen Export (original internals - I checked before I bought it) for £120 and a tidy Diana G55 for £90 off another.

ATB
Ian

[micky]

In another thread the trials and tribulations of being a dedicated collector were touched upon, and mention was made of the pleasure to be got from getting the better of a wise guy. This made me smile and think about the odd occasions when I have had a bit of luck in this respect.

One in particular comes to mind, which involved a dealer at an arms fair several years ago. I had been looking for a Lincoln Jeffries Scout pistol for a long time when I heard that this dealer had one for sale. I phoned him and a price of £150 was agreed verbally and I arranged to pick the item up at an arms fair the following week, which involved me in a 250 mile round trip. When I got to the dealer’s stall on the day, he informed me with no apology that he had had a better offer and sold the gun. Needless to say I was not best pleased and it was a while before I simmered down and could look round the rest of the fair objectively. After half an hour’s rummaging I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted a nickel plated Scout pistol lurking under some other bits and pieces on a general millitaria stall just few stands down from the rat’s. On enquiring, I found it was priced at an unbelievable £50 . Of course I practically snatched the stall holder’s hand off. I then took great delight in casually producing the pistol in front of the rat dealer and thanking him for saving me £100. The icing on the cake was when I told him that I had found the gun just a stone’s throw from his stall, as he prided himself at his skill at going round the stalls before an arms fair opened to the public and cleaning up any airgun bargains that might be going. The look on his face is something I will long treasure.

Has anyone else a similar tale to tell? I would love to hear your experiences

No experiences like that, but nice one, l have had deals were people have had better offers than agreed but they kept to their word.

[trevor1]

many many decades ago,when "Sheridan"was a relatively new name in town,I spotted a minty rifle in a pawn shop window. The vendor showed me the gun with it's full-length walnut stock and suggested I might pay $120NZ for it."Can I try it?"said I. "Sure",said he. I surveyed his on-counter ammo supply. .22 and .177 stuff. I tried the big slugs and of course they didn't fit."Nope",said he,"it uses .177 pellets". I popped one in the breech and it toddled out the muzzle onto the floor."That's not very good",I remonstrated. The vendor eyed me and then said,"you can have it for thirty bucks!" A neat deal. At the time only one dealer in NZ stocked .20 ammo! A little knowledge was an advantageous thing on this occasion.

[Binners]

Not having anyone over with this, in fact quite the opposite, I agreed a price on this rare rifle with one of the 'premier' traders at Bisley/ brum only to find out a collector (who knew the deal had been struck) offered nearly double what I actually paid. Strict morals and sound judgement go along way and I will save his blushes

On another occasion, I agreed a price on a BSA Juvenile (much rarer than any Junior ) in a gun shop locally and when I seemed too keen, he upped it by another £15 Still, £130 wasn't too bad

[Garvin]

Great story, John. What are the odds of not just being stiffed by a rat of a dealer, but of finding the exact same gun for a bargain price at the same fair. Not surprising nobody can top that!

I don't have any stories remotely as good as that. But what others have said about people keeping their word on price, despite having a better offer, is heartwarming. I sold a gun on here and the bloke I'd struck the deal with thought I'd had a better offer from someone called STU as I'd marked the thread as SOLD...

Seriously! I had to reassure him (no names, you know who you are) that I would never renege on a deal done and that at worst I would offer to split any surplus down the middle with him, the rightful buyer, if I got a better offer. Entirely his choice too: buy at agreed price or let it go and keep half of the difference.

[Garvin]

many many decades ago,when "Sheridan"was a relatively new name in town,I spotted a minty rifle in a pawn shop window. The vendor showed me the gun with it's full-length walnut stock and suggested I might pay $120NZ for it."Can I try it?"said I. "Sure",said he. I surveyed his on-counter ammo supply. .22 and .177 stuff. I tried the big slugs and of course they didn't fit."Nope",said he,"it uses .177 pellets". I popped one in the breech and it toddled out the muzzle onto the floor."That's not very good",I remonstrated. The vendor eyed me and then said,"you can have it for thirty bucks!" A neat deal. At the time only one dealer in NZ stocked .20 ammo! A little knowledge was an advantageous thing on this occasion.

Nice one, Trev. Did just a small part of you want to tell him what an fool he was before you turned him over (or afterwards, perhaps)?

[trevor1]

I felt no guilt Danny and I really wasn't THAT smart!
Around the same time I cheerfully traded my .25 BSA IMD for a ratty Webley Senior with two barrels!! Paid the same chappy $350NZ for a working 8mm Giffard! Talk about swings and round-a-bouts!

[DT Fletcher]

On a trip across the country (which in the US is a lot of country) made a habit of stopping at all the antique malls. There was this huge one (Davenport, Iowa, if memory serves) that I went through and it wasn't until the very end that I saw it; a Crosman Town and Country Sr. in mint condition. Looked at the muzzle and it was the rare .177 cal. version; worth about $600 at the time. Slowly I turned over the price tag and my heart skipped a beat when it read $35. When checking out I had the nerve to ask for a professional discount and they cut the price by 15%.

[ogilkes]

On a trip across the country (which in the US is a lot of country) made a habit of stopping at all the antique malls. There was this huge one (Davenport, Iowa, if memory serves) that I went through and it wasn't until the very end that I saw it; a Crosman Town and Country Sr. in mint condition. Looked at the muzzle and it was the rare .177 cal. version; worth about $600 at the time. Slowly I turned over the price tag and my heart skipped a beat when it read $35. When checking out I had the nerve to ask for a professional discount and they cut the price by 15%.

It pays to bargain, even with a bargain!

[piggy589]

It pays to bargain, even with a bargain!

So I did,a couple of years ago an online ad. entitled BSA air rifle £50,with the single worst image ever,the profile looked familiar though.
Drove to the address around ten miles away and a bleary eyed youth answered the knock at the door.
He handed me an Airsporter that had been completely brush painted in gloss black,action,stock,the lot.
On the plus side when I examined the action it was marked Airsporter S .177.
I stressed the lack of sight units and the paint job and bid him £30,"Hmm ok" was his reply.
My instincts were to run back to the car before he changed his mind.

[Abasmajor]

On another occasion, I agreed a price on a BSA Juvenile (much rarer than any Junior) :

Hi Pete,

Couldn't let you slip that one in unnoticed.

Opinion is still divided on this issue. You believe the Juvenile is the rarer and everybody else thinks the Junior is less common !

When are you going to get Lakey to sort this out once and for all ?

Regards

Brian

[larrylamppost]

i got a venom 77 vantage for £75 from my local gun shop,this was about 5 years ago and the clueless manager offered it to me for £75 having bought it in 5 minutes earlier for £45.he was happy and i was overjoyed.