I purchased a firearm on another board that was advertised as a “DSA BUILT RPD’ (verbatim).

The seller is a 13 year, paying member of the board, 100% feedback in almost 200 transactions

I finally got to shoot it on Saturday...well, try to shoot it. It did not fire with any of the ammunition I tried. It’s clear it is suffering from light primer strikes

I text the seller. He tells me he never shot it. Recommends I call DSA to get it fixed. I am now a bit peeved he sold me an inoperative firearm

I google the issue, find its common, and try some of the fixes recommended which basically involves making sure everything is tight, clean, in the right places, etc.

I go back to the range today to try it again....same result...

So on the way home I call DSA for warranty work. Sure, they say, give us the serial number and we’ll get you fixed up. I give it to them, and they tell me that serial number was sold as a stripped receiver. They didn’t build the gun. So sorry, you’re SOL.

So now I’ve been sold an inoperative gun that wasn’t what it was advertised as

I want my money back.

So I text the guy and recount all this

He says he thought it was DSA. He was told it was. Protests mildly.

I tell him I get it. But you advertised something that wasn’t what you said...and it doesn’t work...

I even tell him I’ll ship it back on my dime, and that he can keep $100 (of the $2800) to cover his shipping costs

And since then he has been comms silent. I sent him an email and a board message explaining my expectations as well

So how long do I give him until I escalate this on this board? This board will ban him from the EE, something I hope means something to him given his history on the board. If that doesn’t work I absolutely have 0 issue filing civil suit against him

I can call him tomorrow. I was thinking I would give him 24 hours and then warn him. And then 24 hours after that I begin the public shame

Thoughts? Should I not be asking for my money back?

Your approach sounds reasonable. 24 hours in generous but not letting it go on too long.

You are right to ask for your money back.

Proceed with all deliberate haste, don't cut him any slack.

Your ordeal sounds oh so familiar. I bought a Browning BLR in 308 from a guy in TX, different board. When I got the gun I noticed the receiver screws were buggered up, red flag.

I let it sit for 6 weeks then went to the range, no fire on most ammo, careful reloads and factory. I went back to seller, he said I may of caused the problem myself. He dug in & stuck with it.

I was driving by the Browning repair shop, Arnold, MO, thought I’d take it there. They said it was ‘unfixable’, messed up chamber, possibly improper reloads.

Browning was nice to me, gave me a bunch of parts I requested, sold a replacement at cost.

I’d be hitting this seller hard early. It seems he has already gone silent, a good amount of $$ involved. As in my case, I think he knew more than he’s letting on. Your offer to pay shipping, then let him keep $100 is very fair.

I think I would have something rehearsed to leave as a voicemail. Then call instead of texting. Then if he answers (which seems unlikely based on your posts) you can discuss how this is going to be resolved. If he doesn't answer leave the voice mail detailing exactly what you want and when you want it. I'm not sure offering him the $100 was a good idea. Either he was trying to screw you or it was a mistake. If it was a mistake there's no reason you should pay. But I get it that dangling a carrot might expedite it. Just not something I probably would have done.

I woke up this morning to a board message from him telling me he wouldn’t do anything about it and trying to blame me. The fact that the gun didn’t fire isn’t the reason I want my money back. When I bought it from him I knew DSA had a great reputation and warranty so I would he protected

When I texted him after it didn’t fire on Saturday he was the one that even suggested I call DSA. I didn’t ask for my money back then because I was fine getting the gun fixed.

I have escalated to the board cops. Who knows what they will say.

I am also going to try and call him.

EDIT. He answered his phone when I called him then when I said hello I guess realized who I was and hung up. When I called back he let it go to voicemail. My guess is even if the board cops tell him to pay me back he won’t. It’s likely he won’t make contact with me until the process server shows up.

Best of luck with such an aggravating situation, I am following this, what a pisser........

Deal with him the best you can.

If you end up with the rifle, could it be brought up to speed, even with additional $$?

Maybe you could end up with a workable gun, even if some has to be redone.

I’d want all $2800 of my money back, perhaps he did not know it was only from a receiver but the fact is that he sold you something that was not as advertised. Would you have paid $2800 knowing it was only a DSA receiver? I doubt it. He may have been ripped off when buying but there’s no reason for you to pay for the mistake.

Contact any lawyer friends you might have and see if they have any lawyer buddies in the sellers proximity. Maybe a letter from a local attorney might motivate him. If not just find one near him and see what they would charge to initiate contact with him. This will let him know you're not messing around and it will be easier and less expensive for him to do the right thing.

So the people on the board in charge of these things have sided with me. I guess I wait and see what he does right now


No. I wold have never have agreed to buy the gun if it wasn’t a DSA gun. I have a very good friend who owned a gun store for 20 years (for those of you in NoVA, the former owner of Virginia Arms). I consulted at length with him before I agreed to buy it. The fact that it was a DSA gun factored high in the process

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
I’d want all $2800 of my money back, perhaps he did not know it was only from a receiver but the fact is that he sold you something that was not as advertised. Would you have paid $2800 knowing it was only a DSA receiver? I doubt it. He may have been ripped off when buying but there’s no reason for you to pay for the mistake.

The seller doesn’t know this yet, but I am actually a member of the Virginia state bar. If he doesn’t send the money in a timely fashion now that the board police have ruled against I will file a claim in small claims court and have him served with notice of process. I hope it doesn’t get that far. If I have to I will work to get a judgment against him (the facts of the case favor me, plus if he doesn’t show up I can ask for a directed judgment against him). I will then have to go to Iowa to enforce the judgment, but I can take the judgment from Virginia and have it entered in Iowa, and then file for liens on his property, garnishment of his wages, etc. if I have to do that I will not be the understanding nice guy I’ve tried to be so far. At that point I will file also for my costs and might even consider damages. My oldest son’s best friend just started college in Iowa not far from where this guy lives. The kid is like my 4th child. I’m sure my son would love a road trip to see his bud while I enter judgment in his jurisdiction.

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
Contact any lawyer friends you might have and see if they have any lawyer buddies in the sellers proximity. Maybe a letter from a local attorney might motivate him. If not just find one near him and see what they would charge to initiate contact with him. This will let him know you're not messing around and it will be easier and less expensive for him to do the right thing.

I'm rooting for you Kevbo.

I think you should consider damages. The "seller" should regret not being up front OR making things right after the fact.

Some people don't know when to quit digging.

I had a somewhat similar thing happen on eBay. I contacted the seller and told him "I'd like to return this. It is not as-described. I'll be happy to pay the return shipping and you can deduct your shipping cost from the refund. This way, neither one of us takes a hit." He refused, citing "No returns" in his advert.

Only problem is, a "no returns" thing on eBay does not apply if the item is Significantly Not As-Described (SNAD). I noted that in a reply. He went radio silent. I opened a case with eBay.

He ended-up having to refund me in full and pay the return shipping. And now he had a black mark on his eBay record.

Go git 'im, Kevbo.

Google his user name, I'm betting if he's on that board selling, he's on others, even perhaps GB.

Could always leverage that, fact is now you should be posting on the original sale ad that the product was misrepresented, sellers going quiet, refusing to honor his representations, just so if he does get it back he's not going to be able to fubar someone else's day over this.

Good luck!

Never try to screw an attorney!

Hope it works out for you.

Kevbo I hope it works out for you. I think you are the kind of person to see the good in others. This guy has holes in his conscience that you could drive a truck through. Hopefully, the board members will coerce him into doing the right thing.

That money might be long gone by now. You know what they say about turnips...

This is what the mod said. Based on his conversations with the seller he is concerned he can’t pay me. Since the decision was made he has been in the thread but hasn’t responded to me. I am happy to give the serial number to him or the mod so they can confirm what I’ve said with DSA. I even offered to do a conference call with dsa so what I’ve said could be confirmed

We will see. I told the mods I was willing to try and work with him about the payment, try and find a way for him to put it on his card, something like that

I guess we will see

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
That money might be long gone by now. You know what they say about turnips...

I've eaten some deals where I felt the item wasn't as represented but the difference between not being willing to squabble over a $600 deal vs. a $2800 deal is pretty significant.

I think it speaks well of you to be willing to work with the guy on repayment, obviously if he's in a tough way on cash, its not going to be any better if he digs in & is hit with a judgement anyway. Dude should take the opportunity for grace when its offered

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
The seller doesn’t know this yet, but I am actually a member of the Virginia state bar. If he doesn’t send the money in a timely fashion now that the board police have ruled against I will file a claim in small claims court and have him served with notice of process. I hope it doesn’t get that far. If I have to I will work to get a judgment against him (the facts of the case favor me, plus if he doesn’t show up I can ask for a directed judgment against him). I will then have to go to Iowa to enforce the judgment, but I can take the judgment from Virginia and have it entered in Iowa, and then file for liens on his property, garnishment of his wages, etc. if I have to do that I will not be the understanding nice guy I’ve tried to be so far. At that point I will file also for my costs and might even consider damages. My oldest son’s best friend just started college in Iowa not far from where this guy lives. The kid is like my 4th child. I’m sure my son would love a road trip to see his bud while I enter judgment in his jurisdiction.

[/QUOTE]

^^^^^
I have a friend, who is also a member of the bar, who bought a classic sports car on eBay Motors a few years ago. My friend located a “recommended” transportation company and paid to have his “new” car shipped to him. When the trucker was about an hour out, he called and confirmed my friend’s address and then told him it would cost him an extra $300 if he wanted his car unloaded. A quick conference call between the two of us and we decided to immediately file a small claims law suit personally naming the truck driver in addition to the company he worked for. As the driver was walking over to my friend, to collect his additional fee, we served him. His response was “You got me.” Yep. The car was promptly unloaded and he left. For their troubles, the shipping company ended up paying my friend an extra buck or two to go away. I imagine filing a lawsuit would have the same salutary effect. If not, well, you already know what to do.