Faith Justified

[BE Mike]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a used SA Trophy Match on GB. The trigger pull seemed pretty light for a pistol of this sort, but nothing that caused a red light to come on in my head. On the first trip to the range, the pistol went full auto. As a precaution, I had only loaded a couple of rounds. Fortunately, no injuries or property damage resulted from the mishap. I e-mailed the gun shop where I purchased the pistol. They said to send them a repair bill and that they would consider reimbursement. I didn't feel confident with the hammer and trigger that came in the gun. I ended up buying a trigger pull kit with sear, hammer, 3 leaf spring, disconnector and mainspring from Cylinder & Slide. The quality of the new parts is head and shoulders above the OEM parts. Over the years, I've done a lot of work on my own pistols, so I went to work installing the kit. The sear was slightly oversize and had to be fitted, the hammer was a little bigger, so the grip safety had to me modified. The most time consuming thing was fitting the manual safety. The pistol now has a great trigger and is safe. The gun shop in PA reimbursed me the cost of the kit, including shipping, which I think is more than fair. My point is in the many, many years that I have been involved in the shooting sports, I have found that companies in the industry go the extra mile to please their customers. There are exceptions of course, but over the long haul, most of them are top notch. My faith in the shooting industry, doing the right thing, is renewed.

 

[throttletony]

thanks for sharing. I think most of the **good/long-term** shops go the extra mile. It usually pays off much better for them to have a happy customer than to save $x.

The internet is changing that a bit though, and mediocre companies that run good sales prices can and will stay in business, whereas 30 yrs ago they wouldn't

 

[indiucky]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a used SA Trophy Match on GB. The trigger pull seemed pretty light for a pistol of this sort, but nothing that caused a red light to come on in my head. On the first trip to the range, the pistol went full auto. As a precaution, I had only loaded a couple of rounds. Fortunately, no injuries or property damage resulted from the mishap. I e-mailed the gun shop where I purchased the pistol. They said to send them a repair bill and that they would consider reimbursement. I didn't feel confident with the hammer and trigger that came in the gun. I ended up buying a trigger pull kit with sear, hammer, 3 leaf spring, disconnector and mainspring from Cylinder & Slide. The quality of the new parts is head and shoulders above the OEM parts. Over the years, I've done a lot of work on my own pistols, so I went to work installing the kit. The sear was slightly oversize and had to be fitted, the hammer was a little bigger, so the grip safety had to me modified. The most time consuming thing was fitting the manual safety. The pistol now has a great trigger and is safe. The gun shop in PA reimbursed me the cost of the kit, including shipping, which I think is more than fair. My point is in the many, many years that I have been involved in the shooting sports, I have found that companies in the industry go the extra mile to please their customers. There are exceptions of course, but over the long haul, most of them are top notch. My faith in the shooting industry, doing the right thing, is renewed.

Nice story....I only sell used guns and I had a 1911 that one of my customers bought that ended up being a lemon (remember Finnegan?) and although I have a sign that says "All Used Gun Sales are Final" I let him trade the gun back in for full value and then sold it at a $300 loss as a parts gun...I had another young man buy an Izzy Mosin made in 1942 that he was SHOCKED to find some pitting on when he took off the stock. He then said the gun had appeared to be fired before he got it from me and that I had told him the gun was unfired....This was on a gun forum and my cousin saw it and told me about it...Now obviously 99% of the comments towards the young man (who was just getting into surplus apparently) were pretty harsh towards him but my cousin got on there, told the young man who he was, and stated for him to bring the gun back to the shop and I would give him a full refund...The young man sheepishly came in, I gave him his $132.65 back in cash, took the rifle and told him to never step foot in here again...(I had never told him a 1942 Izzy Mosin was unfired, I actually told him they were fighting with these the day they were made....I don't like being called a liar...)

Even if the customer is wrong (as in the case of this young man) I find it is best to work with the customer...From a business standpoint as well as a moral standpoint.....I am glad this outfit did the same for you...I don't think I am "one of the good ones" per se but I will always try to make it right with the customer and practice what my spouse calls "GunHarmony"...Making sure every gun goes to the person that will appreciate it the most.....

 

[BE Mike]

Nice story....I only sell used guns and I had a 1911 that one of my customers bought that ended up being a lemon (remember Finnegan?) and although I have a sign that says "All Used Gun Sales are Final" I let him trade the gun back in for full value and then sold it at a $300 loss as a parts gun...I had another young man buy an Izzy Mosin made in 1942 that he was SHOCKED to find some pitting on when he took off the stock. He then said the gun had appeared to be fired before he got it from me and that I had told him the gun was unfired....This was on a gun forum and my cousin saw it and told me about it...Now obviously 99% of the comments towards the young man (who was just getting into surplus apparently) were pretty harsh towards him but my cousin got on there, told the young man who he was, and stated for him to bring the gun back to the shop and I would give him a full refund...The young man sheepishly came in, I gave him his $132.65 back in cash, took the rifle and told him to never step foot in here again...(I had never told him a 1942 Izzy Mosin was unfired, I actually told him they were fighting with these the day they were made....I don't like being called a liar...)

Even if the customer is wrong (as in the case of this young man) I find it is best to work with the customer...From a business standpoint as well as a moral standpoint.....I am glad this outfit did the same for you...I don't think I am "one of the good ones" per se but I will always try to make it right with the customer and practice what my spouse calls "GunHarmony"...Making sure every gun goes to the person that will appreciate it the most.....

Good for you. It is impossible to please everyone. I gave the gun shop an A+ on GB before I went to the range, because the transaction was very good. When I contacted the shop about the incident, I didn't demand or even expect any reimbursement because used guns are usually sold "as is". I just informed them of what had happened. I fully expected to end up eating the cost of the replacement parts. The representative of the shop voluntarily offered to pay for the parts. It was a righteous thing to do and I'll likely either do business with them again or sing their praises to those contemplating it. I'll probably snail mail them a thank you card because they deserve it.

 

[churchmouse]

I had a similar experience with a local shop I frequent a lot. They talked me into a Thompson Auto Ordinance in stainless. I have had a bad experience with one in the past but some of those issues I take blame for. The new gun was a total turd. I told them of the issues and they traded me out of the gun on the spot for another 1911 with a bit higher price tag. They sent the gun back for repairs.
I gave them a +1 as well.

 

[level0]

Hey share the wealth on the name of these good gun stores! I'm a USDS and BGF guy 90% of the time, but it's nice to have some recommended places to look.

 

[BE Mike]

The gun I bought on Gunbroker was sold to me by Presque Isle Gun Shop in Pennsylvania. I sent them a "thank you" card this morning, mentioning the name of the representative who helped me.

 

[BE Mike]

Hey share the wealth on the name of these good gun stores! I'm a USDS and BGF guy 90% of the time, but it's nice to have some recommended places to look.

Sorry, it looks like I'm not up on the latest abbreviations. What do USDS and BGF mean?

 

[wabashman]

Very nice of the seller to do that for you.

However, you had my hopes all up once you named the place. My family has a place up in Presque Isle, WI. Was hoping there was actually a gun shop up there, but alas, the one you used is several hundred miles away.