How to use the Appraisals, Fakery, Dispute Resolution and Mediation Forum

It's wise that before anyone buys or sells anything, they should spend some time trying to find out as much as they can about the item before committing to any kind of a buy, sell, or trade business transaction with another collector. If you're looking to research a piece to find out more about it, or establish its value, then perhaps start by looking through our on-line knowledge library of articles.

For on-line Internet buyers and sellers of old milsurps in the private sale arena, there are a distinct lack of services available to help ensure a "fair exchange of values". Often the seller doesn't know what to charge as fair market value, nor does he know how to describe the piece. Sometimes the buyer gets the piece and whether by accident or design, finds it isn’t in the condition originally described by the seller. Finally, once the sale is complete, there are times that deals go bad and the buyer (or seller) doesn't know where to turn for help in resolving disputes.

If you feel you've been wronged as the consequence of doing a deal with another member, either here or on another Internet forum, then you may open a public line of communication with them using our Member Disputes Forum (click here), in order to attempt to resolve the matter. It's specifically designed for dispute resolution between members on deals gone bad. This main Appraisals, Fakery, Dispute Resolution & Mediation Forum should not be used for that purpose.

Before we begin, we would ask you to re-read our Web Site Usage Agreement, Site Disclaimers and Member Rules of Conduct again, particularly focusing on the section titled SALES, PURCHASES OR BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN USERS.

We at MILSURPS.COM believe it would be helpful to everyone, particularly on high value transactions, to provide some form of appraisal, fakery warning, resolution dispute and mediation service, that helps folks go beyond the "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware) catch all phrase.

So, we have introduced this Appraisals, Dispute Resolution and Mediation Forum, which is a public forum designed to provide this value added service for our MILSURPS.COM Contributing Members, as well as our Free Registered Members only. The purpose of this forum is to help all of our members stay informed and be aware of private sales that may of interest, but also give them a place to gather and discuss valuations, authenticity and possibly avoid items of a questionable provenance.

This forum differs from our Commercial Auction/Sale "Gossip" Forum, which is also public area for discussion about milsurp auctions and sales found on various COMMERCIAL on-line Internet sites. That forum is NOT to be used for discussion or comment about private sales, by individuals who may be advertising their personal firearms or accessories. Its purpose is for general public use including viewing by guests, as well as un-registered users and it should remain focused solely on discussions of items for sale at Commercial "for profit" establishments.

On the other hand, the Appraisals, Dispute Resolution and Mediation Forum may be used for discussion or comment about BOTH, including private sales by individuals who may be advertising their firearms or accessories in our own Quartermaster Stores area, the Guns, Parts and Accessories Quick Shopper area with its WTS (Want to Sell), WTB (Want to Buy) sub-forums, or on other bulletin boards, such as Gun Nutz (CGN), Gunslingers (CGS), or Gunboards.

Besides the staff moderators of MILSURPS.COM, this forum is supported by members of our Milsurps Advisory Panel. Combined, these members have hundreds of “man years” of experience in collecting old military surplus firearms and accessories, so it’s reasonable to assume you will be receiving some of the best and most accurate advice on the Internet. In addition and assuming both sides agree to an arbitration process, we have a highly professional experienced mediator available, to assist Contributing Members with the communications between buyer and seller, for those rare deals that haven't gone as planned. For more information about our "free" arbitration and mediation services, contact badger@milsurps.com.

Having said that, please note that the opinions expressed by members within this forum, are solely those of each individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Military Surplus Collectors Forums, or the ownership of this site. MILSURPS.COM accepts no legal liability or responsibility for any claims made or opinions expressed herein.

We hope this addition to Milsurps.Com assists you in enjoying our shared hobby of collecting old milsurps, but more importantly, adds another layer of safety and security in knowing what you buy is correct and fairly valued.

Regards,
Doug