Rant about crooked antique arms dealer.

sam1911 · May 3, 2010, 09:09 AM

The post is pretty long I wanted to give as many details as possible. I happened upon an old ammo can that had a bunch of weird looking sights. I had no idea what they were I had never seen sights like these. I got these Fri. Sat. we had a gunshow. I took them there to see if anyone knew what they were. The first few people I asked didn't know either. Then I seen a guy selling a few 1903's. One of them had the same sights as the ones I had. I showed him some samples I had brought in with me his eyes became excited and he quickly brought himself back down. He asked me some questions about them and I told him I had no clue what they were that was why I asked him. He said without the rest of the mount and some other odds and ends they weren't worth much. I then told him I have an ammo can that is full of these sights and some round sights with a bulls eye type insert. My can had about 20 to 30 of these sights in it. Some just said Redfield most said Redfield Palma. I thought they were worth some nice change but I wasn't sure. He quickly put on his used car salesmen hat and started telling me I didn't have the right ones and blah blah. This guy knew exactly what I had and he knew I didn't. He talked me into selling the whole can to him for $250.When I got home I researched them some more and I was devastated by what I found out. This clown stole 2 to 3 thousand dollars from me and my family for $250. He gave me his card and told me if I find anything else like that to call him. My wife just told me that as soon as we found out what he had done she did call him. And surprise he wouldn't answer or call her back. He is out of Orange Park FL. It is near Jacksonville FL. I'll give his last name Meadows. If you are looking for one of these sights and you come across his name now you know how much he paid for them. Thanks for allowing me to vent about this.

amd6547 · May 3, 2010, 09:26 AM

Congratulations...Your tuition to the School of Hard Knocks is paid in full.

PetahW · May 3, 2010, 09:33 AM

Yep - Welcome to the real world.

[He talked me into selling the whole can to him for $250]

Since you didn't say he had a gun pointed at you, nor was wearing a mask, one would presume you took the $250 willingly.

YOU made the mistake, by doing your homework AFTER selling out, ILO before.

That's exactly how many folks get ejumikated - by our mistakes.

The trick is to learn by our mistakes, therby gaining priceless experience.

.

simonkenton · May 3, 2010, 10:18 AM

That is a sad story.

You have such a great weapon in your arsenal. The internet.
In ten minutes, you could have posted pics of your sights on this, and other forums, and you could have quickly learned the value.

**Mike Irwin** · May 3, 2010, 10:21 AM

He didn't steal anything from you.

You sold it to him, and you learned a valuable lesson.

Do your research BEFORE you sell something.

Not after.

Was he unethical? Yep. But that's a sad fact of life. The only person who is going to protect you from unethical people is... you.

That said, I do feel badly for you. I've been involved in the periphery of the antiques business for a long time, and it's common to see this kind of thing.

It's also common for someone to sell something and get a fair price for it (for example, $100), but later claim to have been robbed because the dealer didn't give them the retail price of $250.

As Rick on the show Pawn Stars says to many people who come into his shop, "I wouldn't stay in business if I gave everyone retail price. I have to buy it for a price that will let me make money on it."

Look at it this way. Along with your lesson, you've got $250 that you didn't have before. Given that you had no, or little, money in the sights in the first place, you have $250 of pure profit. Not much solace, but it's something.

I'm going to close thread for the simple reason that threads like these often turn into a feeding frenzy of people bashing the original poster.

Cheapshooter · May 3, 2010, 10:22 AM

What PethaW said!
Unscrupulous dealer, probably, Uninformed seller too quick to get his money without knowing what he had, definitely!

May 3, 2010, 09:09 AM	#1
sam1911 Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2008 Posts: 2	Rant about crooked antique arms dealer. The post is pretty long I wanted to give as many details as possible. I happened upon an old ammo can that had a bunch of weird looking sights. I had no idea what they were I had never seen sights like these. I got these Fri. Sat. we had a gunshow. I took them there to see if anyone knew what they were. The first few people I asked didn't know either. Then I seen a guy selling a few 1903's. One of them had the same sights as the ones I had. I showed him some samples I had brought in with me his eyes became excited and he quickly brought himself back down. He asked me some questions about them and I told him I had no clue what they were that was why I asked him. He said without the rest of the mount and some other odds and ends they weren't worth much. I then told him I have an ammo can that is full of these sights and some round sights with a bulls eye type insert. My can had about 20 to 30 of these sights in it. Some just said Redfield most said Redfield Palma. I thought they were worth some nice change but I wasn't sure. He quickly put on his used car salesmen hat and started telling me I didn't have the right ones and blah blah. This guy knew exactly what I had and he knew I didn't. He talked me into selling the whole can to him for $250.When I got home I researched them some more and I was devastated by what I found out. This clown stole 2 to 3 thousand dollars from me and my family for $250. He gave me his card and told me if I find anything else like that to call him. My wife just told me that as soon as we found out what he had done she did call him. And surprise he wouldn't answer or call her back. He is out of Orange Park FL. It is near Jacksonville FL. I'll give his last name Meadows. If you are looking for one of these sights and you come across his name now you know how much he paid for them. Thanks for allowing me to vent about this.

May 3, 2010, 09:26 AM	#2
amd6547 Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2006 Posts: 2,313	Congratulations...Your tuition to the School of Hard Knocks is paid in full. __________________ The past is gone...the future may never happen. Be Here Now.

May 3, 2010, 10:21 AM	#5
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,389	He didn't steal anything from you. You sold it to him, and you learned a valuable lesson. Do your research BEFORE you sell something. Not after. Was he unethical? Yep. But that's a sad fact of life. The only person who is going to protect you from unethical people is... you. That said, I do feel badly for you. I've been involved in the periphery of the antiques business for a long time, and it's common to see this kind of thing. It's also common for someone to sell something and get a fair price for it (for example, $100), but later claim to have been robbed because the dealer didn't give them the retail price of $250. As Rick on the show Pawn Stars says to many people who come into his shop, "I wouldn't stay in business if I gave everyone retail price. I have to buy it for a price that will let me make money on it." Look at it this way. Along with your lesson, you've got $250 that you didn't have before. Given that you had no, or little, money in the sights in the first place, you have $250 of pure profit. Not much solace, but it's something. I'm going to close thread for the simple reason that threads like these often turn into a feeding frenzy of people bashing the original poster. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

May 3, 2010, 10:22 AM	#6
Cheapshooter Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 8,306	What PethaW said! Unscrupulous dealer, probably, Uninformed seller too quick to get his money without knowing what he had, definitely! __________________ Cheapshooter's rules of gun ownership #1: NEVER SELL OR TRADE ANYTHING!

May 3, 2010, 09:33 AM	#3
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	Yep - Welcome to the real world. [He talked me into selling the whole can to him for $250] Since you didn't say he had a gun pointed at you, nor was wearing a mask, one would presume you took the $250 willingly. YOU made the mistake, by doing your homework AFTER selling out, ILO before. That's exactly how many folks get ejumikated - by our mistakes. The trick is to learn by our mistakes, therby gaining priceless experience. .

May 3, 2010, 10:18 AM	#4
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	That is a sad story. You have such a great weapon in your arsenal. The internet. In ten minutes, you could have posted pics of your sights on this, and other forums, and you could have quickly learned the value.