Dealers refusing to inspect firearms for transfer

[hrrl]

Hi guys,

Seems to come up lots when people are are buying a firearm interstate they want a dealer on the other end to give it a once over and condition report before buying.

Always seems dealers are either hesitate or refuse to do though. Just a quick inspection, or being offered payment for a proper one, reasonable requests still refused.

Seems like the kind of thing they could profit from by adding to their services. $50 for an inspection report at buyers expense, people would pay for sure.

But no?

[BRNOmod2]

In WA we have the requirement of a "Serviceability Certificate" for the particular firearm when applying for lic - LGS/dealers provide them - some free but most charge fee - some charge nominal some try and "price gouge"

[Joom]

I suspect dealers (where not legally required as in WA) just don't want to get caught up in a dispute between buyer and seller.

The condition of something is subjective to some extent. If they give it the thumbs up then the buyer isn't 100% satisfied they won't want to waste their time arguing with the guy over returning it to the seller or partial refund etc. for having given it a thumbs up.

[Hucka]

More likely if they've vouched for the gun and their is a failure they'd have some sort of liability on it I expect.

If they're just effectively the delivery guy then it's back to the seller.

[cala90]

I sold a gun late last year to a bloke in NSW. He wanted my LGS to inspect the gun before he bought it. Took it down there and he was happy to go over it for him.. I understand some wouldn't want to be in the middle if something did go wrong.

[Chronos]

More likely if they've vouched for the gun and their is a failure they'd have some sort of liability on it I expect.

If they're just effectively the delivery guy then it's back to the seller.

yep, most gunshop staff and even owners are usually not gunsmiths and wouldn't have things like bore scopes and go-nogo guages on hand

I agree a shop could offer a condition report for a fee but i understand why they don't

Chronos

[JOY]

yep, most gunshop staff and even owners are usually not gunsmiths and wouldn't have things like bore scopes and go-nogo guages on hand

I agree a shop could offer a condition report for a fee but i understand why they don't

Chronos

Why wouldn't they offer a condition report wouldn't it be in their best interest to offer such a thing?

I might buy a new rifle so I'm not getting ripped off if this is the case

[cala90]

Why wouldn't they offer a condition report wouldn't it be in their best interest to offer such a thing?

I might buy a new rifle so I'm not getting ripped off if this is the case

Well at the end of the day the dealer isn't selling the rifle - only transferring it to the buyer on the other end. I probably wouldn't want to give the OK to a prospective buyer then something goes wrong once they receive it.

[AusC]

Why wouldn't they offer a condition report wouldn't it be in their best interest to offer such a thing?

That's the thing, it's not. If they vouch for the gun and something goes wrong they've just gotten themselves into the s**t.

As it is, they're just doing the transfer paperwork as is legally required. The actual sale/deal/agreement is between buyer and seller, if something goes wrong after the fact the store is not involved.

[scrolllock]

CBF seems to the be the practice down here

[on_one_wheel]

Sounds like incompetents to me or just plain useless.

Any firearms dealer worth his salt should be able to assess a rifle for condition.

Perhaps they dont want to earn more money by charging a fee for a report ?

they could easily cover thier a$$es by working under a disclaimer wich would use phrases such as, " it is my professional opinion that " and "at the time of inspection this rifle appeared to be of .... condition "

How hard can it be , condition of the stock, metalwork finish , rifling condition, crown condition, bolt and action wear , dose it chamber easily, dose it eject well, optics / sights , trigger weight / feel, fasteners , .....its a 10 min job that would pay the equivalent of $ 300 per hour.

[Swarm]

Bit harsh painting every dealer as incompetent with one broad brush mate.

"Any firearms dealer" Who is that exactly? The owner of the shop only? Every staff member? They can't all be gunsmiths with 30 years experience under their belt, some of them are just working retail picking things off the rack for customers.

Any owner of a shop has his hands full already without doing dozens of inspections if he's the one expected to know it all.

Just saying...