Looks like I got beat...
 

"Won" a T/C new Englander on Gunbroker 1/9/15; mailed payment that very afternoon.

Bank records show my check cleared 1/21/15.

No communication at all and no rifle as of this evening.

Anybody ever been down this road?

Seller has hundreds of positive feedback comments, whatever that is worth.

Perusing his feedback, none of it is more recent than 120 days; dig a little deeper and in all that positive feedback are several scenarios exactly like mine here.
Lesson learned: actually read the seller feedback, don't just skim.

People always mention mail fraud; while I did mail the check, I used first class Priority - no signature,etc required.

:bash:

Contact the seller by email and/or phone.

It's been three weeks since I sent PRBullet's Cecil Epp a postal money order for four packs of his bullets. Being it's an international transaction (Canada-Michigan), I'll be patient for another week.

I tried to be sneaky and not place the order on my Visa. Don't want the wifey to know about my growing stash of bullets or my hush money. If she finds out, I'm dead. :fighting0007:

That's why I always use Paypal. If they don't accept Paypal I don't buy.

We spoke on 1/9 (auction end) and 1/21.

As a seller on Gunbroker, I've always communicated with a buyer via email at:

1) auction's end

2) receipt of payment

3) payment cleared, which is often also

4) day of shipping w/ tracking number

Never had a dissatisfied customer with this system.

With this seller, I phoned immediately after auction's end (1/9) to arrange payment and emailed when my bank indicated the check had cleared (1/21)...





Pete- Paypal does not knowingly process firearms sales, period.

There is no debate or opinion required on this matter; the facts:


https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/he...TIONS_US&m=TCI


http://www.gunbroker.com/Support/Sup...spx?faqid=1112

That's a new one on me. I just bought a TC Hawken from Gunbroker, and used Paypal. He was even a dealer.

Now that I think about it. I've always used Paypal to buy and sell guns.

Who knew? Better be careful from now on.

Geez......

Stop it now!

Aw! Dang it. Whatever it was, I missed it. And MP & BPS hardly ever get nasty.

Hey JW, did you eat all my stale popcorn? :wink:

I hope you have a happy ending ModernPrimitive. I hope my ending is happy too.:happy0001:

Read Buyer Protection on Gunbroker site and follow instruction, helped me before.
Good Luck, Steve

It appears Cabin Fever has struck early this year. Seems this forum has hiccups between members during late winter the past few years.

Didn't care for the popcorn so I just swept it away.

JW

I'm glad you brought your broom. I forgot to mention the bag had a hole in it.

Eventually he will get his rifle.... or a refund, if pursued. Me? - Cecil at prbullet may have lost my postal money order under his tractor tires on a windy Manitoba day..... lol:D

I agree, read the buyer protection. Also, if you did actually get ripped off, and it's not just a snafu - (no excuse w/o communication to you) you can file a police report where the seller lives. At least you have proof.

I buy stuff now and then, if it's a gun, I usually use USPS money order. Then if you get stiffed there is a federal agency involved which can potentially help your cause. Possible mail fraud,etc. Other items PayPal provides decent options.

I'm hoping for you that since the seller has a lot of good reviews, there is just a mixup.
Keep us posted.

ModernPrimitive

My package from prbullet arrived finally. I am astounded how eerily similar the 50/40 260 grain Precision Extreme Elite bullets are to the now discontinued Buffalo SSB bullets I still have in 285 grain. The only difference I see is the contour of each's boattail. "Long & Slender" is the theme to this bullet, for I have never seen something like this before. I do not believe anyone else makes a 260 grain in 50/40-cal bullets.

The other package I received, the 50/40 180 grain QT Polymer Tips, tell me I'm looking at almost the exact same 50-cal roundball grain size, except in a bullet that's shaped like a nuclear missile. Because the bullet is so lightweight, I don't think I can push these very hard....... probably 85-90 grains max, to achieve 150 yards in a tight grouping. Again, I have never seen this before. Nobody I know makes a 180 grain missile bullet in 50/40.

I just purchased two freaks of ML Nature....lol

Hope your gun comes today and keep us posted please.

Semi,

I didn't get nasty, I basically just agreed with a statement MP made. No big deal, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it! :biggrin:

BPS

Me either, but I sure hope he saw my last post that got deleted. ;)

Having a good relationship with your friendly neighborhood banker pays dividends!

On Wed a.m; still having rec'd no communication from the seller, I went into the bank to collect all info relevant to the payment for the auction.

As I spoke with the Mgr he suggested that having made payment from my business account, I should avail myself of their "concierge service" for missing/lost checks.

10 minutes later we were on a recorded line to the seller's business phone; the branch manager introduced himself, mentioned he was calling on my behalf to trace a lost/missing check and turned it over to me.

The first thing out of the seller's mouth was that he had not yet received my payment; I told him that was not so.

Then the branch mgr interjected that he was currently looking at an e-copy of the cashed check on his screen and read the seller's business account number to him.

Stunned silence, and I thought the guy had hung up.

The mgr then mentioned that the fact of the matter was that my check had cleared into his account 2 weeks ago and that he, the seller, was ultimately attempting to defraud me by keeping both the funds and the rifle.

Oddly, the seller then said that he was confused but now remembered my purchase; he said he felt that the selling price was too low ( I met his reserve price, fwiw) and that he was deciding whether to cancel the auction and return my money or ship the rifle.

He was reminded, again, that this call was on a recorded line and, given his statement, it would behoove him to send one or the other quickly.
We ended the call on that note.

Bear in mind, I sent payment within 2 hours of the auction's end which the seller rec'd 3 days later as verified by the USPS Priority mail number. The check cleared within 24 hours of deposit, yet he sat on it for 3 weeks "deciding"!!
Frankly,I wasn't very hopeful.

Well, this afternoon the UPS man dropped a box off at my shop.

I was shocked.

The bonus round
 

After the call, the branch mgr and I spoke a bit more-hunting,fishing,etc.

We do a fair amount of business, so we're not quite strangers.

Anyway, he mentions his brief fling with blackpowder guns and that, if I'm interested, he has "a long gun put away which I might like."

Naturally, I'm interested...so for $100 and a bottle of wine, I now also have a .54 Lyman GPR which looks like new!

In the end, that reticent Gunbroker seller actually did me a solid.

( I ain't sending a thank you note)

Great news! Good thinking going to the bank :D
And yes, it worked out in your favor big time!

Don't forget to leave a truthful review. Maybe that will help others not have to deal with what you just did. He thought the gun sold for too little, yet he set the reserve.... wow.

Wow, what a great ending to the conflict - then getting the almost new GPR for a Benjamin Franklin, unless that bottle of wine surrendered was vintage Dom Perignon.

Hopefully it was a Costco brand.... :p

Glad to hear that MP! I guess there's a little truth to the old saying...

"Every cloud has a silver lining!"

BPS

Big hats off to the Branch Manager. Nice job Sir!

Sorry to hear this story. I've bought many and sold a few on GB over the years.

All my transactions have been positive. Can't GB shut down bad customers?

This was the first issue I've ever had on GB other than a couple non-paying bidders over the years.Frankly, it wasn't the money so much as the principle. (ain't it always?)

I am glad to have avoided using their Fraud Claim process as it seems onerous especially given that communication w/GB is strictly via their message system,afaik, with reply times rangng from 24-72 hours.

My one complaint with GB policy is that the timeframe which they designate for communications, transactions,etc, to transpire seems more suited to the Pony Express than the internet age.

For example, in the case of a non-paying bidder by the time all is said and done,hoops are jumped through, listing fees are refunded,and you have re-listed the item, a full 30 days has passed.

Might be wise to expose this seller's practice in a review, giving him the lowest grade possible. I just purchased a couple antique Catholic medals online from ebay. I depend on the seller reviews, prior to these-type transactions.

I will do future purchases with prbullet / Cecil. My only objection to my transaction was receiving a 50-pk of orange 50/40 sabots, instead of my blue request. :)

That's alright, I'll paint them. :s4:

I am not sure that he has a choice... Orange may be the color that his contract with MMP dictates....