Question on handling an unhappy buyer

[RBruce]

I recently sold a rifle on Auction Arms. The buyer decided that he was unhappy with it and wants to return it. The rifle was fairly represented on the auction with many clear closeup photos. The description was accurate. He didn't ask any questions, and now claims that it had been refinished. After he first received the rifle he asked if I had refinished it. I had not, and told him so. I bought it about fifteen years ago from a gun collector who I worked for. It was/is in excellent condition so I only shot it once. It has been a safe queen since. The dilemma is that if I don't refund his money, my 100% rating on AA may be in jeopardy (A+144). On the other hand, if I do, it will cost me AA fees, shipping and FFL transfer fees, not to mention the hassle. Was the rifle refinished, perhaps. It was not represented to me as refinished when I bought it, and I didn't suspect that it was. It is very clean, and looks original to me, but I don't claim to be an expert. I listed it for what I though was a very fair price after reviewing other similar rifles that were listed on various gun sites. Maybe he thought he was getting a steal, I don't know. Any helpful thoughts will be appreciated.

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[Blumax]

RBruce. As a somewhat limited buyer on AA and GB, but a 250+ buyer on eBay, I can tell you that as a buyer I ALWAYS check on a seller's score. Having said that, I would have absolutely no problem buying from someone with the reputation you have on AA. We (both buyers and sellers) know that you are NEVER going to please all of the people all of the time. Just add in your rebuttal to AA and let you record speak for itself. Blumax

[Badger]

Hi ....

Just my opinion, but with your postive rating, I also wouldn't have any problem buying from you, even with one unhappy camper leaving a negative feedback. I tend to put those into context of the whole.

Two questions:

1. Did your autcion ad imply any kind of inspection period and return policy on the item? If you didn't, then I'd offer to take it back as a sign of good faith, however, the buyer should be paying the AA fees, shipping and FFL transfer fees.

2. Can you post pics here of the item, which if members here view and confirm as you do that the rifle hasn't been refinished, perhaps that will help the buyer get over "buyer's remorse"?

Finally, sometimes it's not worth a fight, so maybe you could find out if there's a discount this buyer would take to keep the rifle and move on? I realize it feels "tacky" doing something you don't feel you need to do, but sometimes the cost of the fight to prove you're right, simply isn't worth the time and aggravation.

Regards,
Badger

[spinecracker]

Sometimes unscrupulous buyers will say they want to return a perfectly good item in an attempt to get you to drop the price. Seen it plenty of times on Ebay and other places.

[RBruce]

1. Did your auction ad imply any kind of inspection period and return policy on the item? If you didn't, then I'd offer to take it back as a sign of good faith, however, the buyer should be paying the AA fees, shipping and FFL transfer fees. ans: no, but I have accepted returns in the past when I made an error.

2. Can you post pics here of the item, which if members here view and confirm as you do that the rifle hasn't been refinished, perhaps that will help the buyer get over "buyer's remorse"? ans: I can post the photos, however while I never considered that it was refinished, it is possible.

[RBruce]

Here was my description. Some viewer suggested that I add the note about the W on the receiver. The buyer never asked about the rifle, nor did any of the several hundred viewers.

"Very nice Underwood with pouch and two Underwood magazines. SN 2460801 with barrel marked Underwood 11-43. NOTE: The W on the rear of the receiver indicates that it is a rare receiver manufactured for Underwood by Universal Windings Co."

[Wulf]

I feel for you. I had the same exact thing happen on an item I sold recently. I think people get buyers remorse sometimes. That is a nice looking UEF though. I'd like to have it in my collection.

[Brit plumber]

I can't beleive that the buyers not happy with it! Ask him why he thinks its a refinish, as you can't tell. If I saw a mint military weapon like that, my first question would be, "Is it a refinish?" So why didn't he ask?

[Aragorn243]

On another thread on another website, I read about a situation similar to this where the individual had a complaint about the rifle. The seller accepted the return and when he got it back, parts had been swapped off of it. The buyer held it to get needed good condition parts and returned it with the worn parts of the rifle he owned.

I would be very careful in a transaction of this nature. I'm not saying this is what this fellow is doing but you never know.

[bearhunter]

I really feel sorry for you fellows in the US. That kind of crap just doesn't seem to go on in Canada. Now I've never dealt on any of your auction sites so I can't say one way or another but to tell the truth, the pics you showed aren't exactly decent representative pics. There are no decent overall shots or stock detail shots. That stock, looks very smooth, to me, for a wartime production finish. The buyer should have requested more pics. Personally, I wouldn't have bid on a so called excellent specimen with so few representative pictures. All in all, the old "Caveat Emptor" rule applies both ways. Buyer beware and Seller beware. I think you are telling the truth as you know it so don't get me wrong.

Unscrupulous individuals as described above would soon be booted off any Canadian sites, including this one.