Gunbroker Seller Shenanigans

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Skykomish

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Saw an item on Gunbroker that I wanted, decided to email the seller to ask a question before bidding. The seller emailed me back and I read the email, when I went back to the auction for that item to bid, I noticed the price was 50% more than before I asked the seller a question. There were no bids, just the seller raising the price of the starting price 50%

Am I wrong in thinking that this person is unethical and I should not do business with them? I realize that any seller can raise the price if there are no bids, but why would they do this, when they have a prospective Buyer asking a question about the item they want to sell?

Sky
 
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IMHO, "Prospective buyer" doesn't mean much. As far as the seller knew, you were some random tire-kicker who wouldn't follow through after he answered your question.

So no, I don't see anything wrong with the seller raising the price, especially if there aren't any bidders yet. For all we know, he meant to start it at the higher price from the beginning and just noticed his mistake as he was talking to you.
 
I've never heard where a seller can adjust a reserve after submitting the advertisment. You might post a message on the gunbrokers blog about it. Those guys would be knowledgeable about this. To me, I think that was unethical. I know most stores, who when an item is incorrectly priced as advertised. They usually sell the product for the advertised price. Regardless of it being the matter of fact or not. Or if they are taking a hit for a couple bucks. Its just good business sense im my mind.
 
Apparently you can adjust the price if there are no bidders yet, on gunbroker.

Thanks,
Sky
 
If you called the seller...why not just buy it direct from him and leave Gunbroker out of it.

I did that today...on a Marlin 1895. (wanted one with Ballard rifling, just because).

Gunbroker takes good care of the sellers, but buyers are guilty and cannot be proven innocent no matter what.

I had a seller lie to me about shipping last year, I refused to pay him because it was gonna take him 2 weeks to ship the pistol while he advertised fast shipping.

Gunbroker locked my account...so now I browse the site, find what I want, look up the sellers phone number if its not listed on Gunbroker and call them and deal with them directly.

6 guns so far I've bought that way at "Buy Now" prices...I don't buy used firearms so I don't do the actual "auction" thing.
 
If you called the seller...why not just buy it direct from him and leave Gunbroker out of it.

I did that today...on a Marlin 1895. (wanted one with Ballard rifling, just because).

Gunbroker takes good care of the sellers, but buyers are guilty and cannot be proven innocent no matter what.

I had a seller lie to me about shipping last year, I refused to pay him because it was gonna take him 2 weeks to ship the pistol while he advertised fast shipping.

Gunbroker locked my account...so now I browse the site, find what I want, look up the sellers phone number if its not listed on Gunbroker and call them and deal with them directly.

6 guns so far I've bought that way at "Buy Now" prices...I don't buy used firearms so I don't do the actual "auction" thing.
Click to expand...

I dunno about that. this persons phone is not listed. And it's against the policy of gunbroker, I think...
 
i don't think it's unethical. until you put a bid on it, he can change the price however he wants.
 
Hey, a Seller can make a mistake when listing an auction. They have the right to fix it if no bids have been made.
 
awful suspicious that all of a sudden he raised the price after your inquiry.

could be just a mistake that your email brought to his attention though...

or he could be trying to screw you.

guess we'll never know.
 
I don't suppose your question to him was "why are you listing it so cheap?":uhoh:

Seriously, it may have just been just a timing issue. By the time he realized his pricing mistake, you had shown an interest. It's really no different than a store incorrectly tagging an item. If a buyer spots it first, some will sell it at the lower price, some won't. As someone else mentioned here, a bid could have raised the price anyway.
 
I've been doing deals over the internet for close to 10 years. I've had disagreements with buyers & sellers over the years, but all were resolved amicable.

Gunbroker stands out as the ONLY site I've ever been screwed on.

Like others have said, Gunbroker is there for sellers. They will not lift one finger to help you as the buyer. All you'll get is a sympathetic email the will inform you how many transactions happen without a hitch, and caveat emptor.

The most recent scam involved a seller with items posted as "buy it now". Well, I wanted them and "bought it now". I sent an email, got payment instructions and mailed a money order the next day. I sent a follow up email letting him know that I had sent payment.

No Response.

USPS shows payment arrived.

No response.

I finally get an email about how I was mistaken and he had lots of items listed but I was mistaken and the item wasn't mine. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Not surprisingly, I found the exact same item relisted by the seller for a lot more money. I called him on this, saved screen shots, time stamps, etc. He refused to sell and said he would send a refund. When it didn't arrive, I emailed both him and Gunbroker about the transaction. Got no help from either.

Gunbroker was fully aware that I had bought & paid for said item, that the seller kept the item, had relisted it, and did not issue a refund. Gunbroker did nothing, told me to take it up with the Post Office, and explicitly refused to take action against the users account.

When I threatened legal action against him in his home state, with a letter from an attorney, my money was finally returned 3 months later.
 
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i've had a few sellers raise the price on guns when i asked about them but the guns were always priced ridiculously low & i'm sure my question alerted them to their pricing mistake.
i didn't whine about it i just moved on or payed the extra money if i really wanted it.
i have more problems with sellers getting irate when asking them what the reserve price is than anything else
 
I've never dealt with Gunbroker, but my opinion is this: As long as he is the owner of the ammo, he gets to say how much he'll sell it for. When you have agreed upon a transaction, that is the fixed price. While you're just asking questions, or nosing around, he can do whatever he wants with it.
 
Could have just been a mistake. Is the guy a "dealer" or just a normal guy? It's possible that a regular person could have put the item up, done a little searching and found out that his price was too low, then raised the price accordingly.
He didn't break a deal or anything - just changed his mind. Whether it makes sense or not, that's his right. But I don't think he was trying to screw you over because it borders on insanity to think that a buyer is going to just passively accept raising your price on the spot.

FWIW, the only time I've ever been screwed on any internet deal was by a seller on this board. It was on an Enterprise FAL a couple years ago. The guy gave me a "guarantee" that his rifle was reliable. It wasn't and he wouldn't refund the money eventhough that's the deal we made. Pretty straightforward lie.
 
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Yes, the seller realized he had one on the hook and raised the price to gouge you accordingly. I'd definitely tell him you refuse to do biz w/unethical people.
 
The seller had no one "on the hook" as there were ZERO BIDS.

Until someone actually places a bid, the seller has every right to add, delete or change information, descriptions, reserves or anything else because it is HIS auction.

There is nothing immoral, unethical or illegal about a seller editing his auction prior to the first bid. To suggest otherwise is whining.





.
 
I found a Springfield SOCOM on GB and went for the $1,200 buy it now. It's been about two months now and I have not heard anything yet, guess he changed his mind.

J.B.
 
There is nothing immoral, unethical or illegal about a seller editing his auction prior to the first bid.
Click to expand...

I disagree entirely. The seller advertised a product and received an inquiry from the OP. The seller immediately raised his price once he thought the OP was going to buy/someone was actually interested.

That's juvenile, cheap and unethical, regardless how you people try to redefine ethics.
 
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