January of this year, I decided not to wait in the long line to pick up my student loan check. I figured I'd come back later that afternoon and pick it up after the line went down.
So, as luck would have it, I was in a friends' gun shop when a middle-aged gentleman walks in, looking to sell a rifle. It seems a friend had given him the rifle years prior, but it wasn't his style. He was more of a wood stocked gun guy. Guy says he knows that it's worth more, but he only wants $1,000 for it, so he can pick up some new HAM radio equipment he wants. Josh, the store manager, didn't have the money, so he had to turn it down. I tried to get the guy to hold the rifle and a $1,200 check until I could meet with him the following day and give him cash. He said he'd rather not wait, he'd just take it to another shop. Well, Josh asks him to wait a few minutes and calls another friend, Jim. Josh tells Jim what the guy is selling and what price he wants. Jim flew there like his tail-feathers were on fire, looked the rifle over, went down the street to his bank, and brought the gentleman $1,000 cash.
The rifle: A NIB, never-been fired, still lightly coated in packing grease, factory mags without even so much as an insertion mark, HK-91.
If I had waited to pick up my check, I could have had it. Instead, I got to watch Jim get it. When Jim left, he was still mulling over whether he should leave it in NIB condition, or hook up his registered sear and take it out for some full-auto fun. Jerk!
I'd have been torn between leaving it in pristine condition, shooting it, or putting it up for sale online, where I'm certain I could have sold it quickly for more than $1,000.