BerettaForum.net con artists>Beware

[gruntrus]

By suggestion from another Beretta owner on TFL site, I posted a classy in the said Beretta forum. Within 2 hours I had 5 guys wanting pics to their e-mails. E-mails because I was not yet allowed to post pics, per their R&Rs. No big deal.

Every one of the "buyers" told me I did not have the correct pistol identification, and of course, it was worth less than half of what I thought it was. The numbers on the pistol matched the serial #s on the box and it turns out in the end the pistol is worth MORE than I thought it was. However, in the mean time the scenario gets more suspicious.

I lightly vented in the thread that I was sick of what seemed to be the organized brow-beating of sellers, and that I suspected it was actually a tag team effort by several members there. ( I mean, come on, 5 buyers all telling me the exact same thing and all offering a similar price of %50 less?! Within 2 hours of posting?!)

One member suggested I run a check on the serial #s as it may be a limited run pistol, worth even more, and that is what it turned out to be. In the meantime the Admin. "Beretta1556", IIRC ,shut down and deleted all of the classified thread, blamed me for the problem and wiped out my INBOX and SENT box of PMs. I am not a "tinfoil hat charlie" believing in conspiracy B.S.. This, however, is an extremely suspicious case of grifting, con, getting caught, and then trying to sweep it away.

It ain't just buyer beware. Sellers have to be wary too, and the BerettaForum would be an area you need to better CYA than any other Forum I've ever been in. The con artist culture is being perpetuated by the Admin that are supposed to nip it in the bud, in THAT forum.

You are now better advised on selling in the BerettaForum.net. It is our duty to warn others of the scams running out there, as we experienced them.

[snaptafar]

and of course there are two sides to every story...

no scams, no cons; just questions for clarification about what appeared to be an oddball configuration per your description. clarification that tmk, you never provided.

Found the pics, but still no pics of FS-D reference.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345930

Why you refused to link over to the pics you posted on this site 4 DAYS AGO escapes me. Would have saved you a lot of consternation.

and BTW, regardless of what the box says, it's just a D model.

[gruntrus]

Cons working an internet forum is no new thing.

Particularly when there is easy money to make trying to take advantage of supposed ignorance. I don't know everything about Beretta 92s, but I know when I'm being "worked" by a set of cons.

Admin. told me thread was cancelled as I never provided photos; I was not allowed to post photos per the Admins R&Rs!! So, I e-mailed them and there was no question the e-mailing photos were just fine, in detail. And the cons began. The only place I was allowed to post a photo was in my avatar, which I did, of the pistol. So, enough of the BS about how I never provided enough of anything, as far as pics are/were concerned.

Pistol in question won't be going to GB, as it is SPF. That's right, $750. Now please explain the 5 guys from your Forums trying to tag-team a seller, all trying to get me to sell it for between $300-325? All of them responding in PMs, moving communications to e-mails where the photos had to be directed, within 2 hours of my posting. And yes, my PM box was magically emptied out; that was not my imagination or a lie, as their Admin. is now claiming.

Please explain why the Admin. did not just ask me in a PM about the buyers who were doing this? I NEVER made an "open threat"* of any sort towards the Beretta Forums until Admin. "Beretta 1526", shut down my ad. and blamed everything on me?! That was when I said I'd let people know what's going on in his forums, and that it was a con, as far as I am concerned. If you want to categorize disclosure of possible grifting activity as a "threat" then I guess you must have the BBB and DOJ on speed dial.

I was taking it all in stride as just a bunch of players working a racket, raised the price when I found out the pistol was more valuable, and BAM. Admin. "Beretta 1526" shuts it down, deletes everything in the thread along with my PMs. It was actually becoming somewhat entertaining until I was blamed for the whole thing, and THAT is part of what tells me there's more to it. Pistol is sold, bad guys are exposed and they do not like it. Imagine that.


* in a different forum the Admin. is claiming I made an "open threat".

[Beretta1526]

First off, your pistol is nothing more than a 92D Centurion, imported by RCI in Woodinville, WA. The only "special" thing about it is that it was made in Italy and was imported by someone other than Beretta USA.

Furthermore, just about the same exact pistol sold on CalGuns.net not too long ago for a whopping $325. See this link:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=145463

So if someone was questioning your pricing and you can't handle it, don't respond. If somoene is giving you a bag of crap via PM on the forum, contact a moderator or admin.

Had you bothered to ASK ANYONE about posting photos on The Beretta Forum, you would have been directed to the thread related to that in our Forum Office (http://www.berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=26307).

Finally, you absolutely made a threat. I'll quote it to remind you:

...You perpetuate your own problem and I'll spread the word to other gun and pistol afficionados alike all around the internet and the gun ranges.

Feel free to copy/paste my response here to you, anywhere you like. It is a Personal Message but it should be made public what you are endorsing with this action. I'll make sure it is public knowledge.

That, is a threat.

.

[gruntrus]

No embellishments, no lies on my part. I had/have nothing to hide as I have been accused of. All of the thread and my PMs box was wiped out as if to hide something, because they DO have something to hide. I gently and nicely called them on their BS, and that's what happened.

You can take my warning, and as one of my instructors says you can buy it, sell it, or give it away. I posted this here as to the nature of the area; "Feedback". The pistol is SPF. End of story. Buyer/Seller beware.

[Beretta1526]

The thread is still there, you just can't see it. I have no idea what happened to your PM's, other than you must have deleted them. There is no undelete, so they are gone.

Regardless, your snide responses and jacking the price up (twice, BTW) were enough to remove your thread. Had I seen the thread earlier when you jacked it the first time, I would have removed it then. There were members that were genuinely interested in the pistol until you pulled that move. That alone shows that you are the one to be wary of. I'm sure that there are quite a number of forums that would ban you on the spot for that behavior.

Beyond that, the fact that you chose to go on a tirade without any sort of prior discussion on The Beretta Forum further supports the need to keep an eye out for you.

.

[gruntrus]

No tirade. I'm warning fellow gun enthusiasts of the tactics I found in your Forum.

There is no tirade. I have not called you any names. I have not made any threats to you, as you accuse me of. I have not called you a liar as you have done with me, and I have not lied. I do not delete any of my PMs so as to have possible follow-ups with interested parties, when I have a weapon for sale. Duh.

All of my transactions that I have made in all weappns orientated Forums be they are made FTF, FFL, or PIF scenarios have been 100% on my end. No problems.

You were not interested in knowing who these people are doing this **** in your Classifieds section. Why not? You simply wanted it gone and to let me know it was all my fault-that's a con my friend. Times are tough and money is thin and that sort of easy money can be addictive. I'm not interested in it. I'll have nothing further to reply to here.

[Beretta1526]

You were not interested in knowing who these people are doing this **** in your Classifieds section...

...I'll have nothing further to reply to here.

I specifically instructed you to contact a moderator or myself if you were having an issue with another member. You had plenty of opportunity to do so. Instead, you chose to take your problems elsewhere. I also intentionally left your membership open on The Beretta Forum so that you could at least do the right thing and discuss it there. You didn't, so now we're over here. Now that you didn't even bother to attempt to log onto the forum there since 12:15 this afternoon, it shows that you have no intention of anything other than this nonsense. As such, you've been banned on The Beretta Forum.

As for you having nothing further to reply here, I do hope that this is the case, but somehow doubt it.

.

[JohnKSa]

I think that everything that needs to be said (and then some) has been said.

I've deleted several posts, remember on TFL, dispute threads are limited to participation by the involved parties.