Conman: The ratcatcher

[oldskoolzzz]

I once contacted RQMS on the back of one of his ads and wanted to make arrangements to view a rifle, which he said he could not accommodate for a couple of days. When I contacted him prior to visiting at the appointed time, I found out he sold the rifle to someone else.

I would not deal with him again after this experience. Others can make their own minds up.

John

You sure the rifle wasn’t away for months having a full tickle with his airgunsmith

[T 20]

You sure the rifle wasn’t away for months having a full tickle with his airgunsmith

HW80guy ?

[Josie & John]

You sure the rifle wasn’t away for months having a full tickle with his airgunsmith

[Geezer]

You sure the rifle wasn’t away for months having a full tickle with his airgunsmith

“Airsmith”, please.

[oldskoolzzz]

“Airsmith”, please.

I stand corrected

It’s a small world when it comes to those good old freeads days man I miss them

[Geezer]

Back on topic, I wonder if situations like this might be alleviated if, say, it was a forum rule that if the buyer notified the seller within X (7, 14?) days of receipt (confirmed via tracking) that the item was defective or not as described, that the seller would take it back with a full refund, or lose sales rights.

Difficult to administer, and I’d suggest the buyer pays all the PF48 return costs to avoid an outbreak of “try it and see” or other forms of “buyer’s remorse”, but perhaps worth thinking about, even if only to decide against?

[Kevmcc]

Did he ever come back online to explain to the mods over this at all or has he just took the money and ran

[Unframed Dave]

Did he ever come back online to explain to the mods over this at all or has he just took the money and ran

He hasn't been on the forum since initially responding to me on the 25th. His sales access has been removed and if there is nothing positive forthcoming in the next few days, he will be an ex member.

In all liklihood, he's looking in using another account. We know it happens, but we will keep an eye out for any similar trading activities.

Dave

[rapidresponse1]

may i say dave you have handled this very well,mods do not have a easy time i take my hat off to you all for giving your free time up to run this great forum

[Rativity]

Did he ever come back online to explain to the mods over this at all or has he just took the money and ran

I haven’t heard anything, I told him this was a Christmas present for my boy, he confirmed that it had not been tampered with in anyway.

After failing to contact me via PM (refund), I then tried to call him only to find that he has blocked my number!

The whole ordeal has been very stressful, I have had sleepless nights, I can’t understand why anyone would do such a thing so close to Christmas?? especially knowing it is a child’s Christmas gift!!

[rapidresponse1]

well at least your son will get his present

[Josie & John]

Back on topic, I wonder if situations like this might be alleviated if, say, it was a forum rule that if the buyer notified the seller within X (7, 14?) days of receipt (confirmed via tracking) that the item was defective or not as described, that the seller would take it back with a full refund, or lose sales rights.

Difficult to administer, and I’d suggest the buyer pays all the PF48 return costs to avoid an outbreak of “try it and see” or other forms of “buyer’s remorse”, but perhaps worth thinking about, even if only to decide against?

Hmmm, not sure about this. Great in theory but what if the buyer is a tinkerer that has more curiosity than skill? It's then one word against the other's that the item was not as described.

In fairness, most sales on here work out well with just the odd one going wrong. On that note, what a great effort Unframed Dave made of the issue highlighted on this thread. Very fair and just the kind of mod a site like this needs.


John M

[STR8SHOOT3R]

Back on topic, I wonder if situations like this might be alleviated if, say, it was a forum rule that if the buyer notified the seller within X (7, 14?) days of receipt (confirmed via tracking) that the item was defective or not as described, that the seller would take it back with a full refund, or lose sales rights.

Difficult to administer, and I’d suggest the buyer pays all the PF48 return costs to avoid an outbreak of “try it and see” or other forms of “buyer’s remorse”, but perhaps worth thinking about, even if only to decide against?

Trouble is, as you say, “Buyer's remorse” and otherwise less than straightforward buyers are also an issue.

Some years ago, I sold an HW35. It was a very accurate rifle. The buyer seemed a sensible chap, asked all the right questions (like what ammunition does the rifle like) and a deal was struck.

Well, he turned out to be a total PITA. A few days later, he gets back to me and says that the rifle won't group. A few probing questions from me reveals that he's using the cheapest possible pellets (SMK something or other) so no wonder. I told him to try JSBs or H&N and he went away again. A few days later he's back again saying that it still won't group. We had a little chat and he mentioned problems with zeroing his scope, and a few other bits & pieces (real basic stuff) and it started to become obvious that he simply didn't have a clue what he was doing.

So I refunded him and took the gun back. I put the old scope back on it and immediately shot a clover leaf group at 25m. I still have it now and it's still one of the most accurate rifles that I own.

So yes, I sold a gun to an idiot. Sadly they walk among us.

[bighit]

Trouble is, as you say, “Buyer's remorse” and otherwise less than straightforward buyers are also an issue.

Some years ago, I sold an HW35. It was a very accurate rifle. The buyer seemed a sensible chap, asked all the right questions (like what ammunition does the rifle like) and a deal was struck.

Well, he turned out to be a total PITA. A few days later, he gets back to me and says that the rifle won't group. A few probing questions from me reveals that he's using the cheapest possible pellets (SMK something or other) so no wonder. I told him to try JSBs or H&N and he went away again. A few days later he's back again saying that it still won't group. We had a little chat and he mentioned problems with zeroing his scope, and a few other bits & pieces (real basic stuff) and it started to become obvious that he simply didn't have a clue what he was doing.

So I refunded him and took the gun back. I put the old scope back on it and immediately shot a clover leaf group at 25m. I still have it now and it's still one of the most accurate rifles that I own.

So yes, I sold a gun to an idiot. Sadly they walk among us.

Saw this a few times. They slate the selier and others join in and when the truth comes out those that commented saying the person was a scammer are no where to be seen on the thread saying they were misled. Mind you it was mostly Facebook groups I saw this on.

[oldskoolzzz]

Trouble is, as you say, “Buyer's remorse” and otherwise less than straightforward buyers are also an issue.

Some years ago, I sold an HW35. It was a very accurate rifle. The buyer seemed a sensible chap, asked all the right questions (like what ammunition does the rifle like) and a deal was struck.

Well, he turned out to be a total PITA. A few days later, he gets back to me and says that the rifle won't group. A few probing questions from me reveals that he's using the cheapest possible pellets (SMK something or other) so no wonder. I told him to try JSBs or H&N and he went away again. A few days later he's back again saying that it still won't group. We had a little chat and he mentioned problems with zeroing his scope, and a few other bits & pieces (real basic stuff) and it started to become obvious that he simply didn't have a clue what he was doing.

So I refunded him and took the gun back. I put the old scope back on it and immediately shot a clover leaf group at 25m. I still have it now and it's still one of the most accurate rifles that I own.

So yes, I sold a gun to an idiot. Sadly they walk among us.

They certainly do

I know a few folks like that which is why I always always prefer a face to face transaction so I can show the purchaser exactly what he/she is buying.

Like most of us would do we even take time to show those unfamiliar with the setup how the functions work and in some instances how to even set a scope up correctly or even how to recharge in the case of a pcp etc.

Back in the freeads days there’s been a few examples like this.

Once sold a chap a HW110 and he pestered me for ages with daft questions and finally claimed it was broken because the safety catch wouldn’t work try cocking the rifle first numpty

Another old boy newbie bought an Airwolf full kit from me via freeads no shooting experience whatsoever took me about 3 hours to run through every feature and how to set a scope up with him