Are you comfortable?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Fyrtwuck

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2005
Messages
9,959
Reaction score
2,921
Location
Blanchard
I don’t know about everyone else, but my comfort level from buying anything on this site is pretty low. I know the ownership of the site has changed hands several time, but I see that as part of the problem.

Used to be that a member of the site had to post a certain number of “meaningful” posts and we got a chance to meet a few people and make friends and build trust.

That’s not the case today. Some members have gone straight to the “for sale” are of the classifieds and nothing else. It’s pretty obvious when the same members post five to ten items of the same page every day.

Not that it’s going to matter to anyone else, but I won’t be buying anything from someone who isn’t what they used to call an “established” member
 

dennishoddy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
84,545
Reaction score
61,822
Location
Ponca City Ok
I've been screwed by a regular forum member with several thousand posts in the past that is no longer on the board by their own choice, and another that is still on the forum.
Be aware, post count doesn't equate to honesty. That is the reason I'm rarely a participant of the forum sale ads.
I pretty much have to be a personal friend and deal privately before I do any transaction.
Your experience may be different. My experience is that I've been screwed 2 out of the four times I've used the classifieds. ( I have 4 transactions in my reviews, the other 2 are not reviewed)
Pretty much when I get online in the evening, I'll go to the classifieds and delete every post before looking at them. That cleans up the discussion part of the forum for me.
 
Last edited:

DavidMcmillan

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
9,393
Reaction score
13,611
Location
Oklahoma City
That sort of thing happens where ever transactions take place, and all of us have varying levels of comfort. I have been quite fortunate, having bought and sold several items over the years here. I have never had a bad experience, and have met some very nice folks. Probably the least satisfactory experience was with a long time store in Tulsa.
 

dennishoddy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
84,545
Reaction score
61,822
Location
Ponca City Ok
That sort of thing happens where ever transactions take place, and all of us have varying levels of comfort. I have been quite fortunate, having bought and sold several items over the years here. I have never had a bad experience, and have met some very nice folks. Probably the least satisfactory experience was with a long time store in Tulsa.

I have in inherent trust in the honesty of the common person to do as they say which has been proven to be my downfall in these transactions.
Instead of insisting on the money first in my hand before sending product, I agreed to send the product the same day they sent the money so they would pass in the shipping process. In both cases, I got screwed. The other two of the four, it was cash in hand or hit the road.
Guess I've learned my inherent trust in humans isn't to be trusted.
Here at the house in the country, if I need to get rid of something, I just put it down on the road with a sign that says free to a good home and it just goes away.
Put a Sears walk behind rototiller down there today that I haven't used in a couple of years and it was gone in an hour and I didnt' have to mess with some dishonest POS or drive 50 miles to sell it at a loss in time and fuel.
If I lived in the metro area it might be different.
 

O4L

Sharpshooter
Staff Member
Special Hen Moderator Moderator
Joined
Aug 13, 2012
Messages
14,505
Reaction score
18,554
Location
Shawnee
I've only had one small issue dealing with anyone here and he is gone.

I try to only deal with established members in good standing.
 

tRidiot

Perpetually dissatisfied
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
19,523
Reaction score
12,712
Location
Bartlesville
To speak to @dennishoddy's point, I have done literally dozens of transactions here and I haven't been disappointed much, if at all, I don't think. But the vast majority of mine have been face-to-face, and the mail-order ones have been with established and well-respected members. I know that's not always a guarantee, but I feel like I have been here long enough to have a good feel for whom I can trust and anyone else, I'm not going to risk my money on in a mail-order sale. I'm also not going to risk anything I can't afford to lose.

Overall, I think it's a good place for information and education, for shooting the sh|t and socializing, and for buying and selling. Those have been my experiences.
 

druryj

In Remembrance / Dec 27 2021
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Messages
21,474
Reaction score
17,724
Location
Yukon, OK
I'm comfortable, pretty much like tR describes above. I have been here long enough to have a feel for many who I have not met that I'd be fine dealing with them. Others, people I have dealt with successfully, or become friends with, I have no problems in dealing with them again, at all. I too have been burned just one time, back when I was a newbie. One of those guys who turned out to be a classifieds-only poster, burned me on a mail transaction-deal, claiming it never arrived. I called BS, but took the small loss and learned from it. But there's plenty of guys here who have given me above and beyond what the deal called for too. One time, also when fairly new several years ago, I was scratching hard to find some .380 ammo to test a PPK/S I had repaired, an established member contacted me, then drove a good way to meet me and gave me a box. Wouldn't take a dime. He just gave it to me. He told me that this place was a "community" and people needed to help each other out. I learned from that too. I wish it was the way it was, like Fyrtwuck describes, but it's not. I have discussed it with the new owner, as a mod, and he has his reasons. And since it's his site, he gets to make the rules. I just agreed to be a mod, I don't get to make them, I just ...well...some of you know.

Anyway, here's my take. We can still be a community; let those classifieds-only guys have a nice day, ya know what I mean? It's up to you if you wanna deal with them, just like it is if you choose to go to Armslist and meet behind the dumpster or whatever to buy goods in a dimly lit alley. Caveat Emptor.

I've slowed way down in my buying, selling, and trading. One cool thing I have found is that if you choose wisely, you can sure try out a lot of guns from here; buy or trade for it fairly, and if you don't like it, well put it back up and let someone else give it a shot. It works, if you do it right. Just be smart about transactions and remember, a "community" at least partially exists so people can help each other out.

By the way, here's a plug for the Pay it Forward Section in the Water Cooler Area, under General Discussions. Try that and see if that doesn't bring good karma to you.
:sunbath:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom