Buying Gun On Line

here are a few snips of advice from other sites:

• get in touch with your states attorny general. that is fraud to the max.i've heard about these buttheads from other sources
• FWIW the big auction/sale houses are far more worried about the good will of the sellers than the buyers. That's who makes the money for them. And it's hard to blame them; for every legit complaint there a probably a dozen more related to "buyer's remorse" (remember, bunches of folks shop dead-drunk on the internet and commit to things they can't afford or don't want when sober). They are a for-profit business.
  
  A lot of folks have found out the hard way that if you leave bad feedback for high volume sellers, the buyer gets banned.
  
  The only protection you have is similar to buying from an individual. Pay with a US Postal money order and wherever possible get them to ship USPS. AT least then you have a resource on your side that they will fear. And in the not-so-unusual situation where the buyer is really in the wrong, the Postal Inspectors won't harass a legit seller. Not saying this is one of those at all. It sounds like Bud needs a 340 Wby enema.
  
  I won't buy a gun from ANYONE who won't take a postal money order and I never use a credit card unless I have a prior relationship with the seller or it's a national house like Cabela's.
• send them the gun back and take the $75 pop as evidence of learning such a lesson. 
  
  

it seems the major point of contention that i am seeing is the shipping fees... while i certainly sympathize w/ the small business owners trying to eek out a living, i don't think that is really a case here. bud's flat-out messed up, and are blatantly refusing to make it right.

the more that comes out of this, the more bs it seems that place is pushing...

here's a tidbit that might be useful:

Jon Coppenbarger wrote: Do get your money back from the charge! Get all your paperwork together for proof to the credit card company. Copy of the ad and what they sent. That company will then if they lose want the gun back so make them send a pick up tag for the return. Making them pay. As long as they can get Away with it they will and the only way to help them stop is to make them pay for their mistakes The bottom line is unles you make crooks tow the line they will keep burning folks.

I liked the idea of contacting Weatherby - these guys do give them a bad name.  Have already e-mailed them on my experience.   

Phewww,

Threads like this make me nervous about buying a gun off the net again.  I've bought 2 and haven't had any bad luck.  Both were through GA.  Both were stores.  I talked with them over the phone and they were rather re-assuring but I had to take their word on that since they were over 1000 miles away!  Guess I'll be a little more cautious should I venture to buy online again.

I do agree with the gang that by posting some threads here and there regarding your experience, it will snowball.  I've seen it happen before. 

Hope it all works out!

TasunkaWitko - thanks for the info & the contact with Derrick.

Thought about it a bit, and you know - I have to say no to calling & here's why. 

Regardless of what they do now, their treatment of a paying customer is unacceptable.  As someone earlier observed, it's easy to do the right thing when a transaction is routine, but their character as a business is revealed when things vary from the norm.  Even if they were to now make things right it wouldn't mean much.  A customer should not have to meet such resistance when dealing with a seller. 

well, it looks like bud's gun shop has already caused itself a lost sale or two. this guy here was looking closely at a CZ from them, but now won't touch it with a 10-foot pole. chances are, the deal wouold have gone though just fine, but it looks like he doesn't want to deal with a place that has no character.

http://www.huntamerica.com/wwwthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0& ;Number=708414&page=0&vc=&PHPSESSID=06c27c9334f4 9fe3c55c21ba6b06e29b#Post708414

I've notified GunBroker & Weatherby, we'll see what, if anything comes of it.  Seems there were a fair amount of people considering a buy with Buds & are now backing off.  Here's something to consider:

Buds would not lower the cost by $150.00 to cover the brake, but would drop the 20% ($280.00) restock fee.  Why?  If they're not willing to take the little $$$ hit, why take the larger $$$ hit?  I suppose they could sell it locally, but don't think it's out of line to think they would do that because if I sent the gun back they could relist it as having never been out of their shop & sell for full price.