Bad time at a Gun Shop in CO

[Dravur]

Well, I'd like to tell a story about a gun shop that I used to do business with... until recently.

They have always treated me well, and until now, would never say a bad word about them....but... that was then.

I was in there last Saturday and they had just gotten in a HK4 with the .32 and .22 barrel. I looked it over and decided I wanted it in my collection. I like HKs and that one I have never had before. I checked it out in the Blue Book of values and it seemed priced ok. Not a great deal, but not bad. It was a consignment gun and had come in just a few minutes before I got there.

Well, I also happened to talk to the owner of the gun while he was there. We talked about the HK 4 and he left. I decided to buy it. I filled out the paperwork and then told them I had to leave, but would come back on Monday to pick it up as I had to go let the dog out and finish some errands.

So... on Monday, I get a call from the shop saying that the owner of the gun called and he raised the price on the gun $100 and to see if I still wanted it. Now, this is after I had made the deal on the gun in the first place. This did not sit well with me. I called up the actual owner and asked him what was going on. Now, he did not know that I had made a deal on the gun and he offered to call them and move the price back. He did the honorable thing.

The problem was... He did not call them. The gun store called him and suggested raising the price. This was after they had sold it to me.... They lied to me about what happened and tried to pawn it off as the owner raising the price. The gun really wasn't worth the extra $100 and I declined the sale, even though the original owner volunteered to correct it.

So, beware Green Mountain Guns in Lakewood CO. They used to be a good store. Now, apparently, it's all about the Benjamins.

 

[stonecutter2]

Yeah, that sounds kind of shady, after having already started the purchase process. Sad to see one that you wanted go, but as a matter of principle i probably would have done the same as you.

 

[pbearperry]

Evidently,the gun store likes the gun owner better than you.I too would be mad.

 

[rbernie]

Evidently,the gun store likes the gun owner better than you.

Perhaps, but it may just be that they like the fifteen percent cut that they get on the extra Franklin. All this for an extra fifteen bucks.

Dang - sorry to hear this.

 

[PTK]

GMG went downhill recently, for sure. While trying to sell firearms of my own, they pulled the same thing with my consignment items and lost sales repeatedly, then tried to charge me a fee to take MY guns out of consignment. I'm just glad I managed to get my firearms out of there...

Try doing business with The Gun Room on the corner of Carr/Colfax, or, of course, Jensen's in Loveland off of I25 and highway 34.

 

[Vonderek]

Yeah that sucks but you should have put a down payment on it and gotten a receipt before you left. They would have been legally bound to sell it to you for the original price. Until money exchanges hands "I'll take it" doesn't mean much.

 

[nathan]

Its all about the money. THe king of the hill.

 

[Dravur]

I've done that a few times in there. Done the paperwork, but couldn't wait for the background check. Never had a problem until now. I've never had to worry about putting money down on a gun for them to hold it. I have literally bought dozens and dozens of guns there over the years.

I have always come back for a gun, never left them hanging. They don't seem to be able to do the same.

I guess I will have to limit my business to places I can trust. Jensen's is great, but they get enough of my money. hehe. 5280 armoury is a good place, fun to look around and I haven't been to the Gun Room in years. Their prices always seemed a bit high.

 

[Justin]

That's going to be a seriously costly $100. Ill certainly never darken their door.

 

[tydephan]

I don't blame you one bit for walking away.

You might consider calling the owner of the shop and explaining the situation to him and letting him know it cost him a long-time customer. You never know how things like this play out. He may not even be aware this type of thing is happening. If he is, then he's made a conscious decision to mess over his customers, and he'll be out of business in a few years.

 

[earplug]

Why consignment?

Lots of eyes are on the classified sections of this forum and others.
The more pockets involved in a private transaction the less profit.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I bought my second rifle ever at GMG on my 18th B-day, they were good then. Seems like the falling apart happened after they moved. Now they don't have time for their customers and the inventory is so-so.

Jensen's is great, but they get enough of my money. hehe. 5280 armoury is a good place, fun to look around and I haven't been to the Gun Room in years

I dunno about Jensens, I got soured pretty bad there.

Matt and Gena (5280) are good people, I've been doing business with them for a long time. I dropped by there about a month ago, they were so busy you could barely move from one side of the store to the other. Tremendous inventory and awesome prices.

Gun room is a neat shop, fair prices and lots of used inventory. I've bought a few milsurps there.

I still do quite a bit of business with the Firing Line.

There's always Gunsmoke, too.

But since you're already that far North, take a trip up to Rocky Mountain Shooter's supply. My sister works for Tim, good people up there. And a really nice layout. The range is kinda spendy, but always busy. And you can shoot centerfire rifle indoors there, though it's only 25y.

 

[Dravur]

Ill have to try RMSS as I think they are in Fort Collins and I could stop at Serious Texas BBQ for a Texas Taco on the way. YUM

Well, I do need a new place for my non "Tacticool" gear and guns so I guess Ill have to start trekking up to Fort Collins.

 

[Blind Bat]

This sounds like a solid case of 'bait and switch' to me. Maybe it's legal because they got the blessing of the owner but clearly not ethical.

Call the BBB and the local pd and report the fraud. If we have two instances of the same scam in this thread they are screwing lots of people.

 

[frogomatic]

yeah, GMG has gone to pot as of late. The last couple of times I've been there, I was highly disappointed.

Not to long ago I was looking to either sell or trade one of my nicer AR's. long story short, they offered me $400 cash/trade value for a gun that's has $400 leupold glass on top, and close to twice that much in trigger, stock, and upper. And it's not like they were overflowing with AR's at the time either. I asked if they would come up on their offer a bit, and I was treated very rudely for doing so. in so many words I was told to take the $400 or get the hell out. So my AR and I left, and I haven't set foot in the place again.

a month later I sold it privately for $1500 (I would've taken $1000 either time) and that $1500 went straight to one of GMG's competitors.

word has been getting around about them, and their greed will be their undoing.

 

[Beaux Nehr]

Maybe write them a note showing them they lost a repeat customer over $15.

Maybe it will be a wake up call

 

[CoRoMo]

I recently had a bad time at a gun shop in this state, but this shop has not been mentioned here so I hesitate to do that. And because they have always been my favorite shop of all, and I've bought a couple rifles there and took a friend in who bought a handgun from them. Now I just don't want to ever go back there. I think I'll eventually give them one more try.

I've bought from a few of the dealers in Loveland, Jensen's included. Those guys aren't in the business to be friendly, but they know their stuff, and that's what I look for. If I make it over to the metro this weekend, I'm gonna have to stop in at 5280 and see what you guys are talking about.

 

[MattTheHat]

That's going to be a seriously costly $100. Ill certainly never darken their door.

As someone already pointed out, it's not even $100. It's their consignment charge on $100!

Sad.


-Matt

 

[searcher451]

Sad to say that lots of jerks are out there, in all forms of businesses, the gun industry included. You have done the right thing by deciding not to do business with the shop again. So long as you let the owner of the gun store know your reaction, and so long as you let your friends in the area know why you are no longer going to shop there, there's not a lot else that you can do -- except to post your experience on THR, of course.

 

[DCR]

If you truly made the deal, and want to teach the shop a lesson, take them to small claims court seeking specific performance (if allowed in your jurisdiction - some small claims courts only allow money judgments). Subpoena the owner to testify - though he'll be a reluctant witness because he will have gotten an extra $85 - regarding the phone calls.

Just a thought -

 

[Dravur]

Honestly, I dont want to press it. THe original owner was a cool guy who offered to make it right. He didn't know they already had a adeal on it and If they do sell it for him at the higher price, he will score some extra dough and that is cool as he was straight with me.

This is all about how the store acted. I don't think they acted well, and I think taking my biz away will cost them more in the long run, but I did want to get the story out there and let people know what these guys will do.

 

[psyopspec]

They had a great reputation when I first moved to Denver, and I've bought a few accessories there in the past. Looks like when I come home with some expendable deployment income to add to my gunsafe, I'll be going somewhere else.

 

[.455_Hunter]

This is very strange- Several of my friends and I have had multiple successful dealings at GMG, both consigning and buying.

Are you still sure this is not some sort of poorly executed mix-up? The consignment counter is a busy place at GMG, with offers and counter offers flying back and forth.

Call the store and ask to speak with Merv- He has been outstanding with me in the past.

If there was intentional malfeasance, then it is a sad time indeed for Denver Metro gun buyers and sellers.

 

[paul45]

I would print this thread out and hand it to the owner, with a gleam in my eye.....

 

[junkman306]

.455 Hunter, read post #9. He said he's dealt with them alot doing the same thing and this time they failed.