Time to vent... Tried to purchase a rifle private party and wasted my time

[ThemGunsThough]

Alright, so I have to vent to someone so here it goes. By the way, this listing that spurned me was not from this forum, let's just say it was posted on the only other local website that has a firearm classified section and rhymes with "harms fist".

So here it goes....

Just this past Wednesday, a guy named John Kennedy answered my e-mail regarding a firearm he listed and then left me his phone #. I texted him and he tries to bypass meeting at an FFL insisting I buy from him directly. I wanted to check out the gun and told him I don't feel comfortable breaking the law. He then tells me if I don't feel comfortable just buying directly from him then we can go to Fishermans (FFL for the transfer). Later that same day, he tries to rush me to meet him at his house and tells me he's going to sell it to someone else right away if I don't come buy it so I respectfully walk away from the deal. He then immediately says we can meet up the next day (Thursday). I ended up calling out from work and took Thursday off so I can make this deal happen. Well on Thursday, I texted him in the morning and he says we're all good to meet at 11am, as I gave him a 3 hour heads up. Well, as i'm on my way he says "we have to scratch this for a bit, I got called in to work". Not even an apology, he just literally blows me off last minute. I text him through out the day to see if I can come by some other time since I took the day off. Well, he finally texts me back late Thursday night saying he had a bad day and we can meet first thing Friday morning (which is the day I post this). He already gave me his address as he refused to meet at any public location. I tell him i'll be there 8:30am and will let him know i'm on my way at 8am. Today, I did just that and although he never said anything back I just assumed we were all good. I show up at his house and texted him saying i'm outside and he doesn't answer. I call him 4 times, no answer. Finally, I just walk up to his door and he finally answers on the 3rd ring. Barely dressed (can't take that one back) and totally shocked/scared/oblivious, he asks me if i'm there to buy a gun and I mention i'm there as we agreed so I can check it out first. It looked like he was hiding something behind the door and he tells me that he got robbed and all the guns are gone. Having had enough of this crap, I walk away to my car, full-alert, with my hand on my holster because I get this wierd vibe from him. He lives in a house that is behind 2 other houses and is quite hidden from the main street. Luckily, nothing happened to me and I made it out his long driveway just fine. If anyone shops the classifieds outside of NWFA, be extra careful. It helps that there's a feedback system here to get a little bit more peace of mind. This guy has quite a few firearms listed and just seemed really sketchy.


Alright, i'm done... Just wanted to vent and share.

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[Larrytpdx]

WOW! What an experience. ArmsList ain't what it used to be.

 

[PaulB47]

he tries to bypass meeting at an FFL insisting I buy from him directly

This wouldn't bother me. It's up to sellers to make whatever conditions they please, on a sale. If you don't agree, then don't continue with him.

As to the rest of it, well, there are a lot of flakes in this world. Generally at the first hint of such nonsense, I walk out of any deal. It's not worth trying to deal with people like that. You may want that gun, but "there are a lot of fishies in the sea."

 

[ThemGunsThough]

WOW! What an experience. ArmsList ain't what it used to be.

I hear ya, man. Only God knows what this man's intentions really were... I forgot to mention I had to call out of work today as well to get this deal done. I've heard of people trying to bypass the law but I work for the Federal government, have a family, and make an honest living. I can't afford to risk any of that to save a transfer & bgc fee. Not worth it to me. When I saw him though, it made the hairs on my back stand out. It was crazy and I think I may stay away from that "other" website from now on.

 

[ThemGunsThough]

This wouldn't bother me. It's up to sellers to make whatever conditions they please, on a sale. If you don't agree, then don't continue with him.

As to the rest of it, well, there are a lot of flakes in this world. Generally at the first hint of such nonsense, I walk out of any deal. It's not worth trying to deal with people like that. You may want that gun, but "there are a lot of fishies in the sea."

Exactly.

 

[AMT]

Having multiple guns listed for sale, and only giving out his home address to make the sale, I wouldn't doubt that he may have gotten robbed.

After leaving there and thinking about the whole "scenario" I'd start to question how many of the guns he has listed were stolen.

Luckily nothing happened to you and you got out alright.

 

[UserNameInUse]

Later that same day, he tries to rush me to meet him at his house and tells me he's going to sell it to someone else right away if I don't come buy it so I respectfully walk away from the deal. He then immediately says we can meet up the next day (Thursday).

This would have ended it for me. One sign of BS and I'm out.

 

[11Charlie]

Dang man that sucks!!! It just goes to show you that you trust your instincts and the hair on the back of your neck.

I have always tried to take a friend with me when dealing with people on things that feel sketchy.

 

[Quartermaster]

I met with a buyer off of arms list a few years ago to show her my 1973 Ruger Super Blackhawk. She had limited mobility so I offered to stop by her place the day before the sale so she could look it over, and be 100% sure about buying it. Pulled into a mobile home park in Gresham, but I didn't want to judge. "House" was in some significant clutter, but again, I'm not above anyone else. She really liked the gun, and we set a time/place to meet the following day. I waited for two hours trying to get ahold of her, and was never able to get through to her. I left, and later that evening I get a call from her, "Uh, I missed a call from this number?" "Yeah, this is the guy you were buying the .44 magnum fro..." "OH MY GOD I WAS ROBBED LAST NIGHT AND THEY TOOK EVERYTHING I HAVE AND I HAVE NOTHING LEFT..." click.

Weirdest damn experience ever. Took a year off that site because of it. I think the "robbery" excuse is that a robbery actually didn't go as planned... If you catch my meaning.

 

[ThemGunsThough]

I met with a buyer off of arms list a few years ago to show her my 1973 Ruger Super Blackhawk. She had limited mobility so I offered to stop by her place the day before the sale so she could look it over, and be 100% sure about buying it. Pulled into a mobile home park in Gresham, but I didn't want to judge. "House" was in some significant clutter, but again, I'm not above anyone else. She really liked the gun, and we set a time/place to meet the following day. I waited for two hours trying to get ahold of her, and was never able to get through to her. I left, and later that evening I get a call from her, "Uh, I missed a call from this number?" "Yeah, this is the guy you were buying the .44 magnum fro..." "OH MY GOD I WAS ROBBED LAST NIGHT AND THEY TOOK EVERYTHING I HAVE AND I HAVE NOTHING LEFT..." click.

Weirdest damn experience ever. Took a year off that site because of it. I think the "robbery" excuse is that a robbery actually didn't go as planned... If you catch my meaning.

The way you described her answer at the end brought me back to the sellers' door step. Well, we just have to pray for these kind of people regardless.

 

[DB is Here]

I will only meet in public places unless I know someone...had a weird craigslist experience selling a car once. So I've learned my lesson well.

 

[Larrytpdx]

The "I was robbed!" excuse seems to be fairly common for whatever reason(s). I've gotten it a couple times doing Craigslist deals. I always thought they just sold it to someone else though.
No shortage of flakes and low-lifes out there. One reason I always carry.

 

[etrain16]

To the OP - you hung with that deal far longer than I would have. There is nothing I want to buy and nothing I want to sell that is worth that level of hassle and possibly danger. If my spidey senses start to tingle, I cut the deal. And no one, ever, ever, ever gets my home address. I'm surprised your guy would give that out - pretty foolish on his part, especially after advertising to you that he wanted to bypass an FFL.

My experience with AL 'excuses' are almost always "my car just broke down". The last time it happened, I was at the FFL, waiting for them to arrive - we had just texted an hour before. They no showed, I texted back, I got the short response, then nothing again. The last gun I listed on AL, I got 10 interested buyers, all backed out, every single one of them, and 8 of them had cars that 'just broke down'.

I would feel better if AL had a feedback area like we have here on NWFA. I listed that same gun here and sold it to a nice member in under 24 hours, no problems, no hassle. AL has gotten much worse, seems it's mostly bottom feeders there now. I still use it only because sometimes what I list here just doesn't get any interest from NWFA folks, but I'd much rather do business here, hopefully with someone with at least a little feedback.

Watch your backs. Trust your instincts. And never get in a position where you are desperate to either buy or sell - that's when people get sloppy and bad things happen.

Some red flags for me on a deal:

* Poor communication is #1 - cryptic responses, don't answer questions, take forever to get back to you, etc.
* Ask to do business on a firearm outside an FFL - instant end to the deal
* Keeps changing the terms of the meetup or the deal - once we've agreed to price and date/time, that shouldn't change except under certain circumstances - if you say your car broke down, I'll probably end the deal

 

[Larrytpdx]

AL has gotten much worse, seems it's mostly bottom feeders there now.

MUCH worse. I only go there to compare prices now.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

This kind of poo is why, for some time now, I've only dealt with folks from this site!

 

[ThemGunsThough]

To the OP - you hung with that deal far longer than I would have.

Yeah... I'm a little too brave and patient when it comes to a good deal. My wife joked that my 280pound 6'4" frame probably scared him a bit.

 

[11Charlie]

Yeah... I'm a little too brave and patient when it comes to a good deal. My wife joked that my 280pound 6'4" frame probably scared him a bit.

my wife tells me that all the time.

I have a tendency to make people look small at 6'8" and 320

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Yeah... I'm a little too brave and patient when it comes to a good deal. My wife joked that my 280pound 6'4" frame probably scared him a bit.

my wife tells me that all the time.

I have a tendency to make people look small at 6'8" and 320

DANG!!! Now you guys are scaring me away from dealing with people on THIS site!

 

[Quartermaster]

DANG!!! Now you guys are scaring me away from dealing with people on THIS site!

Balderdash! Size means very little.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.brei...dgun-charges-female-client/amp/?client=safari

 

[Kristina]

It helps that there's a feedback system here to get a little bit more peace of mind.

I always look at the potential other party's posts as well. For example, I've been a member here for 3 years, but only in the last month have I bought anything to receive feedback. My posts were the only thing a seller had to go on when assessing whether or not to deal with me.

Also, not everyone is, uh... down with the paperwork so to speak, so a person's posts can be very informative in that regard.