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Old June 30, 2016, 01:36 PM   #1
fire4606
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Buds Gun Shop Negative

My complaint narative to the FTC

On 6-24-16 i orderd a pistol online from Buds Gun Shop. This pistol was priced at $1422, which is a very good price, about $300 less than i can get it locally, however Buds is often several hundred dollars cheaper than my local shops.

On 6-24-16 i received an email from Buds advising that mynorder had been received. My order was assigned order number 1677218.

On 6-24-16 I received another email from Buds advising my order was in processing and once it went to shipping I woukd be unable to make any changes.

On 6-24-16 I received a third email from Buds advising that processing was complete and that my order was sent to the shipping department. From this time forward I would not be able to change my order.

On 6-25-16 I noticed that my item had price dropped on Buds website from $1422 to $1393, after noting that I took a screen shot of the item so that I could submit it against the price drop guarantee that is provided via the Buds website and a second party vendor.

On 6-27-16 a charge of $1479.66 cleared my credit card and was charged to buds gun shop, this was for the pistol, non cash penalty, and insurance.

On 6-29-16 5 days after my order was placed, and two days after I had paid Buds gun shop, i received an email from Buds that there was a problem with my order and to call them. I did so that morning and recorded the phone conversation. After calling Buds long distance charged to me, i waited on hold for approximately 6 mins, after being connected to a customer service representative I explained they asked me to call them in reference to my order number. She then advised that there was a listing error, and that the price was for a refurbished pistol. I asked who refurbished the pistol, she put me on hold, returned and advised Dan Wesson refurbished the pistol, I advised her that was not accurate and asked to be conncted to a supervisor or someone who would not lie to me.

Dan Wesson doesnt sell refurbished pistols, this i knew but have since confirmed with Dan Wesson. I was then allowed to speak to Eric, who would not give me a last name, only advising he is the only one at ext 7721. He advised that there was a listing error, I advised him that it was not my error, that the pistol was still listed that morning on their site for $29 less than I paid. He said they could send me a refurbished pistol, which i explained to him i believed to be a lie, as Buds has never carried or sold refurbished Dan Wessons in the 6 yrs i have been a customer and watched their site, and because DW does not sell refurbished pistols to vendors, and still to this day Buds does not list any refurbished DW pistols.

Eric advised that he would refund my money that they have already had for several days in another 3-5 days. I advised Eric that I didnt want a refund, I wanted what Buds oferred to sell me, that I accepted, payment for which Buds accepted from me, He then advised me they didnt have any new DW Specialist pistols that I ordered, i askd him why their website shows them currently in stock, as they still do today show in stock 6-30-16, he would not answer that question.

Buds oferred to sell me something, even sending me reminder emails that the item was in my "shopping cart" pushing me to buy their product, i then accepted and purchased it, they then accepted my payment, i fully believe they have the pistol i ordered in stock but instead refuse to sell it to me and have cancelled my account. I have screen shots and recorded audio evidence of all of my claims
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Old June 30, 2016, 02:47 PM   #2
JWT
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Interesting narrative. I've always had excellent success from Buds. Obviously you have not. Keep posting the outcome. Seems they owe you what the offered in the original online quote.
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Old June 30, 2016, 04:03 PM   #3
fire4606
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From their email pushing me to purchase...notice they cant guarantee a price until i complete the checkout process....would be their words not mine....

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Old June 30, 2016, 04:39 PM   #4
NoSecondBest
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Half a story and another chance to get on line and bash a seller. Pretty soon the list will be complete.....every seller and manufacturer of firearms will have been bashed on line. I guess we should all quit buying from anyone.
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Old June 30, 2016, 06:54 PM   #5
TXAZ
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Forget the FTC, they're generally worthless in getting a one-off consumer issue addressed.
You can always dispute the charge on a credit card, which generally brings the seller to the table. At that point in time you have significantly more leverage.

But wow, 6 minutes on hold, that's amazing. I wish TimeWonder was 1/2 that fast.
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Old June 30, 2016, 07:08 PM   #6
fire4606
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"Half a story" means what??

What else would you like me to do, we had a completed legal contract, that they then backed out if. I can drive 11 hours to Lexington, file in small claims court and then return later for the court date and see how many continuances they get before we finally get to it...all of which is not cost effective or reasonable on my end.

I did not make any mistake in expecting a vendor to honor a sale.

So since small claims court isn't cost effective all i can really do is inform others. One google search shows its not an isolated incident or issue, not much else i can do but try to make it more evident.
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Old June 30, 2016, 11:24 PM   #7
TXAZ
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Dispute the credit card transaction (with good cause). Then it becomes their problem.
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Old July 3, 2016, 12:33 PM   #8
Armed_Chicagoan
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Negative on Bud's here as well. I ordered a pistol from them, and paid with a direct transfer to avoid the extra fee. A day or 2 later they said they were cancelling my order because they don't ship handguns to Chicago.

- my FFL was in Lake County and said they never had an issue before with Bud's selling to Chicago residents.

- it is not and never was against the law to sell a handgun to Chicago residents, even with the pre-McDonald ban on possession.

Then they took nearly 2 weeks to refund my money.

Meanwhile, I discovered Lanbo's Armory which had the gun I wanted at a better price than Bud's and didn't cite imaginary laws to refuse to sell me a gun.

Screw Bud's.
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Old July 3, 2016, 12:56 PM   #9
Sevens
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I like Bud's, they've done right by me the two times I've bought from them and my range buddy has had multiple good experiences from them also. Furthermore, I think their success and pricing has really set the tone for the market, for the good of all buyers.

With that said, the info presented here appears very concise and comprehensive and it seems like a very solid beef. AND this absolutely a method for resolving such a conflict. I hope that it gets resolved and I totally support the position and method the OP has taken. I look forward to seeing it taken care of.
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Old July 4, 2016, 05:50 PM   #10
Bill DeShivs
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You expect them to sell you a pistol the don't have??
They screwed up, admitted it, and offered you a refund.
And, you actually think they REALLY DO have that gun-and just aren't selling it to you??
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Old July 5, 2016, 12:00 AM   #11
dogtown tom
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Quote:
TXAZ Dispute the credit card transaction (with good cause). Then it becomes their problem.
What good cause? OP says Bud's offered him a refund......he won't take it.
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Old July 7, 2016, 09:31 AM   #12
texagun
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I doubt if I would spend much time disputing a $29 price difference claim. I just would never buy anything from Bud's again. And I would publicize the bare facts of why "I won't be buying from Bud's again" on my favorite firearms website. Then I would let it go.
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Old July 8, 2016, 09:20 AM   #13
zukiphile
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fire4606
My complaint narrative to the FTC
I don't know anything about about Illinois consumer protection code. What you describe would be prohibited as a "bait and switch" or other deceptive or unconscionable sales practices in many states.

There several elements to bringing a consumer action to a successful conclusion. An element you have covered is good documentation.

Next comes the determination to fight the matter through to the end. A description of the time and inconvenience involved will dissuade many potential plaintiffs. Finally, a judge may just dislike consumer protection laws and decline to enforce them.
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Old July 8, 2016, 10:23 PM   #14
JWT
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Bill DeShivs has it all summed up correctly. Can't send what they don't have. Full refund offered. Case should be closed.
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Old July 13, 2016, 07:42 PM   #15
fire4606
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I understand reading comprehension is difficult.

They absolutely had in stock what i attempted to purchase, and they STILL do, $1500+ items actually dont move all that fast. To this day they are still listed in stock and have not been listed any differently since.

There was no $29 price difference, there was a $288 price difference, 1710 normal price minus the 1422 my purchase price is $288, they then had a $29 further price drop AFTER i purchased to $1393.

I was never worried about the $29 but the $288 and the false statements and lies from Buds, multiple similar complaints on reseller ratings that are similar to mine now.
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Old July 13, 2016, 10:40 PM   #16
A pause for the COZ
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I have purchased quite a few fire arms from Bud's even a few on LayAWay.
I have never had even one issue.
That being said, Having used them and noticed how they operate.
I can tell their system is just waiting for poo poo things to happen.
Pretty sure on most items they don't actually have physical possession of items.
Quite a few are just drop shipped from a ware house. Theirs or some one else s.
So all of my orders have been for lower priced standard items every one else has in stock.Less likely to have a poo poo moment.

I believe I will continue to follow that rule with Bud's.
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Old July 14, 2016, 02:19 PM   #17
H.W. French
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Without seeing the original item description from your purchase receipt it's hard to tell but if the SKU's/Product Number are the same it could be they had a DW "blem" but failed to add that detail in the generic description used for the regular Specialist. They may have caught their mistake, but don't want to take the hit for it. If the SKU/Item number/Model number match what is currently listed as new I think they should make good even though it's a painful lesson. They do have a lot of fine print to cover their butts though. If me, I'd probably just take the refund and go somewhere else. I've been doing business with them for years and have never had an issue with them, but I wouldn't hesitate to take my dollars somewhere else.
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Old July 14, 2016, 06:48 PM   #18
armedleo
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Personally I've had no complaints and dealt with Bud's on a few purchases and they've delivered what they said. My only little rub is that the price listed reflects a "cash discount" and the actual credit card price has I think a 3% increase added. But, I know this up front and still the prices are quite reasonable. So much so, gunwatcher's pricing has directed me to Bud's on more than one occasion. Best pricing I've found has normally been between gunbroker.com and Bud's.
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