Deposit on specialized gun order

[aandabooks]

Lets say you place an order for a gun and put down a deposit on it.  If you change your mind but the dealer can't stop the gun from coming in, would you expect the return of your deposit?

[David.Hylton]

It depends. Is it a specialized gun that will be hard to sell? Then no refund.

Is it popular and will sell easy? Then maybe a refund.

But more important - What was the understanding when the order was placed? That is the bottom line. 

If you find another buyer the dealer may hook you up with the refund.

 

[aandabooks]

I'm on the end buyer of this deal.  Just put that out there first.

One of my regular gun shops had a guy order a EAA/Tanfoglio Witness Limited Pro.  Way out of the ordinary tactical/hunting stuff that this shop carries.  Guy calls inside a day of the gun coming in and wants to cancel after a several week wait.  Gun is in transit at the time and not returnable to the distributor.

Long story short my dealer refused to give back the deposit and when I walked in today sold me the gun.  He's had it for about 2 weeks.  I got it for what the price was going to be anyway minus the deposit.

[Butters]

If its not returnable I wouldnt issue a refund. 

[aandabooks]

That would be my thought also.  Dealer tried to return but gun had already left distributor.  Dealer never said who distributor is.

[warpspeed]

Sounds like the original guy wrote it off.

But just for sake of discussion, how much of a deposit are we talking ?  $ 50  or  $500 ?

 

[aandabooks]

$250 on a $900 OTD sale.

[gm iprod]

Most countries have consumer laws that cover this eventuality, some States have specific rules that apply to that State, some products are except or have further restrictions. However there are obligations on each party and they change as the sale and delivery process advances.

When I sell a special order firearm that has to be brought in from a Distributor then a deposit is required. As long as it is not a special order from the maker then the DIstributor has leeway at his or her end and discretion to allow a return.

However in my shop, I believe that if I take a deposit, the sale is final at the time the order is placed and confirmed at the factory this relates to Factory Special Order, non Regular Distributor Stock or Import from Overseas Factory / Distributor and specifically for that customer, then that deposit is mine, how I deal with the gun, what price I get for the gun after that is my business, and it says so in the order form the customer fills in or if they order over the email I send a copy of my Special Order Terms of Trade. Do you think I got burned once or twice? In fact one of my guys screwed up and I am stuck with a special oreder gun after the customer cancelled the order in line withthe agreed policy and he failed to cancel the gun with the Distributor, so every now ond then my arse takes a hit.

For Normal Distributor Stock Items that are not regular stock for my shop, I ensure that when I order a firearm I let the Distrbutor know that this is supplied on a Sale or Return Basis and I will pay the freight both ways, if the sale dies my ass for a small amount of money. I will usually not take a deposit in these circumstances as all I will be out is $20. Given the amount of times this happens per annum for a gun that is easily resaleable bythe distributor or myself I am rarely out of pocket. The guys who usually give issues are the ones that want something real special and slick and want it for the cheapest price I can do it for. When they let me down they pay.