Seems there used to be a "good guy " list or such? Is that still a viable option or too large now to wade through.
There is and it's huge.
Two sellers I bought cast boolits from said they were gonna add me to the list but doing a search is beyond my skills. Like I said it's huge.
The easiest way I have found is to use the Search function and select the Free Classifieds as the only forum to search. Put the User ID you want in the “Keyword Search Terms” field, then place the select dot for "Search Entire Posts" and do a search. It's pretty easy to pick out "Re: GOOD GUY LIST" from the list of thread subjects returned. Click those links and see what is said about them.
Some false results occur due to overlap in User IDs. Also, you can only search one year at a time searching "Newer Than X Years" and "Older than (X - 1) Years", so for example, Newer Than 1 Year and Older than 0 Years. Then search again Newer Than 2 years and Older than 1 year, ...
I'll trust someone unless they show some reason not to. Reported and outed scammers get put on ignore, that's an easy reminder not to buy from them. Just bought some bullets from someone with 100% of posts on the classifieds but a little bit of investigation showed that other folks who bought things reported back that the seller was good to go. And he was.
Switching gears a bit, one thing I will NOT do is post items "free to a good kid/needy person". I watch those and 9 times out of 10 those items are snapped up within a very short time by someone with 95 to 100% of their posts on the classifieds - true classified commandos. The people who grab them get filed in memory as someone not to do business with since I'm pretty sure those "free to a good home" items are flipped for 100% profit as soon as possible. A while back one fellow accepted a free scope for a deserving kid who "could really use it", a quick investigation into that member's posts showed that this same person had sold a scope here not 3 weeks beforehand. Maybe that one he sold just wasn't good enough for the little tyke?
Life is risky, accumulate good karma whenever you can since you get what you give in life, and trust your gut.
Jim, With your permission, I may want to use that last sentence as a sig line.
If we live long enough, we all have regrets. But the ones that nag at us the most are the ones in which we know we had a choice.
I can say that I was brought up to believe that you are only as good as your word. Nothing I sell on here is worth my reputation and have always tried to do what is right by the buyer. Some buyers do make it hard though. When you say it is used and give pictures and they get it and say "hey it has a scratch on it ". Yes it does and it is in the description as well as the pictures. Oh well that is dealing with some (both buyer's and seller's) just is not worth the headaches sometimes.
I may not be smart but I can lift heavy objects
I have a shotgun so I have no need for a 30-06.....
I have bought many small items here and sold some also.I have also bought and sold guns.I guess I am lucky and never got stung.I think you can tell by the ad ,who to stay away from.I always give my phone number to anyone I am buying or selling to.A personal phone call usually tells you everything you want to know.I like to make sure I include every little nick and ding on what I am selling so there are no surprises for anyone.What i am saying is if you are honest about what you are selling,you are good to go.One pet peeve of mine is a seller asking for a USPS MO for some nickel and dime item.Give me a break.I am glad to take a personal check or cash.Huntz
Its all right to be white!! Stupidity left unattended will run rampant Don't argue with stupid people, They will drag you down to their level and then win by experience
I have bought and sold and have yet to have a bad experience other than spotting some scammers and passing on their scheme. I did buy a stock that wasn't straight but the shipping is more than I want to put into a return.
I try to give more than I receive as a general principle and have not had a bad experience other than wishing a few would be more communicative. I balance that with realizing I’m obsessive-compulsive about a lot of things.
A comment on the Good Guys’ List: it’s unmanageable and should be a Bad Guys’ List. Good, honest behavior should be the norm and the other, the exception, should be the ones publicized. It would stand out as a warning to those who would be on it.
But, GW, do you remember what the Catch-22 was? 😀
Ya!.
I am of that generation, but it's been a while
Central to the story was the “catch” of the title – the impossibility of getting out of military service. As the catch goes, only an irrational person would want to fight and put himself in danger. If you were irrational, you weren’t fit to fight (even though that’s what you wanted to do). But if you did not want to fight and asked to be released from service, well, that proved that you were rational and thereby fit for service – and so, you had to keep fighting.
Confusing? Sure. So is war, and that was Heller’s point.
You know you’re old when people ask about the origin of phrases that were introduced in your lifetime.
The phrase "Catch-22" comes from the book of that name by Joseph Heller (1923-1999), published in 1961. Catch-22 is a wonderful book, full of dark humor and absurdity, satirizing war, military bureaucracy, and by extension modern life and the ways in which they destroy the human spirit.
The word "catch" of course is used in the sense of snare, snag or entanglement.
The story is set in Italy in World War II. The main character, Captain Yossarian, is a bombardier (as Heller had been) who wants to get out of flying potentially deadly combat missions. So does his tent-mate, Orr. The easiest way to get out of flying more missions is to plead insanity. Heller writes:
There was only one catch, and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and he would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to, but if he didn’t want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That’s some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It’s the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.
In short, Catch-22 is "heads I win, tails you lose." If you can, you can’t, and if you can’t, you can. Fair is foul and foul is fair. Whenever you try to behave sensibly in a crazy world, there’s a catch.
Heller writes:
Yossarian strode away, cursing Catch-22 vehemently even though he knew there was no such thing. Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What did matter was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse, for there was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon, or burn up.
In fact, Heller originally wanted to name his dilemma Catch-18, but a book by Leon Uris called Mila 18, historical fiction about the Warsaw ghetto uprising during WWII, had just been published, and the publishers were afraid there would be confusion. (Mila 18 was a street address.)
So, there really isn’t a Catch-22, despite its pervasiveness–and that’s an example of the catch, of course. Circular dilemmas of this sort appear over and over in the book. Sometimes the Catch is mentioned explicitly, more often not.
I've sold a number of things on the classifieds without any issues. But I will also say I am a bit leery of buying much I did buy some brass 7 BR brass deal with great the guy even mailed it said it was on its way before money got to him. Not everybody is that's straight-up. So much technology that I don't really understand makes me very leery of sending money to somewhere that I do not know.
There's no cut and dried rules. It's all a gamble. I take gambles in business, usually they work, once in a while they don't. If I jumped off of barns for a living, sooner or later I'd break a leg.
I always say any two can get along until something goes sideways, then you find out who you're dealing with.
_______________________________________________________ An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
I try to give more than I receive as a general principle and have not had a bad experience other than wishing a few would be more communicative. I balance that with realizing I’m obsessive-compulsive about a lot of things.
A comment on the Good Guys’ List: it’s unmanageable and should be a Bad Guys’ List. Good, honest behavior should be the norm and the other, the exception, should be the ones publicized. It would stand out as a warning to those who would be on it.
But, GW, do you remember what the Catch-22 was? 😀
Ya!.
I am of that generation, but it's been a while
Central to the story was the “catch” of the title – the impossibility of getting out of military service. As the catch goes, only an irrational person would want to fight and put himself in danger. If you were irrational, you weren’t fit to fight (even though that’s what you wanted to do). But if you did not want to fight and asked to be released from service, well, that proved that you were rational and thereby fit for service – and so, you had to keep fighting.
Confusing? Sure. So is war, and that was Heller’s point.
You know you’re old when people ask about the origin of phrases that were introduced in your lifetime.
The phrase "Catch-22" comes from the book of that name by Joseph Heller (1923-1999), published in 1961. Catch-22 is a wonderful book, full of dark humor and absurdity, satirizing war, military bureaucracy, and by extension modern life and the ways in which they destroy the human spirit.
The word "catch" of course is used in the sense of snare, snag or entanglement.
The story is set in Italy in World War II. The main character, Captain Yossarian, is a bombardier (as Heller had been) who wants to get out of flying potentially deadly combat missions. So does his tent-mate, Orr. The easiest way to get out of flying more missions is to plead insanity. Heller writes:
There was only one catch, and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and he would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to, but if he didn’t want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That’s some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It’s the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.
In short, Catch-22 is "heads I win, tails you lose." If you can, you can’t, and if you can’t, you can. Fair is foul and foul is fair. Whenever you try to behave sensibly in a crazy world, there’s a catch.
Heller writes:
Yossarian strode away, cursing Catch-22 vehemently even though he knew there was no such thing. Catch-22 did not exist, he was positive of that, but it made no difference. What did matter was that everyone thought it existed, and that was much worse, for there was no object or text to ridicule or refute, to accuse, criticize, attack, amend, hate, revile, spit at, rip to shreds, trample upon, or burn up.
In fact, Heller originally wanted to name his dilemma Catch-18, but a book by Leon Uris called Mila 18, historical fiction about the Warsaw ghetto uprising during WWII, had just been published, and the publishers were afraid there would be confusion. (Mila 18 was a street address.)
So, there really isn’t a Catch-22, despite its pervasiveness–and that’s an example of the catch, of course. Circular dilemmas of this sort appear over and over in the book. Sometimes the Catch is mentioned explicitly, more often not.
I have bought a few things off the fire. Never had a problem but I bought from well established members. I would think pretty hard about sending anything more than a few hundred bucks to a member with few posts or only a few only in the classifieds. I would hate getting screwed but none the less I wouldn't buy anything that if it went south I would be in a financial bind. Im more gunshy about selling stuff on here and trusting it will get there. I would hate to have to send someone a refund and still not have what I sold and have to deal with collecting insurance from the shipping company. Before buying here I always ask myself is thecdeal good enough to risk what I am paying.
I distrust "amateur dealers". See them as leeches. Like the buyers that hit my Great Grandmother's farm and basically stole her blind. To then go sell the stuff as antiques and gouge the hell out of rich people.
It's not fair, I know.
On the other hand, I bought some 264 brass from a person who only sells brass on the classifieds. Figured if they have been at it awhile, and no one has had issues, they are ok.
Only have bought about 3 items.
And, have had a M7 stock given to me for a kid to use.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
Will me posting here get my count up some more? I need more "cred". I have not sold anything but have bought some here- the last purchase is still pending. It was for a scope I do not have a rifle for yet . You folks will drive a person to do such things as that . I am a man of character or perhaps I am just a character, but either way I will do my part to make the "good guy list" one day.
Joe
Doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing. It still needs doing..
to be honest I am guilty of the above.. sort of. I have most of my posts in the classifieds, as I have bought several to many guns and scopes off the classifieds. I have not ever been a seller... yet. I do try and buy from guys that have been around and look through history to try and deal with reputable members. thankfully I have had nothing but great transitions and deals with the fine members on this site. I do browse the other sections and sometimes post.. but mostly read through them... this is just my 2 cents. thanks again to all the "good guys" on here Jonathan
I prefer to do business with the “regulars” here. I won’t do business with a known liberal since the items I’m likely to sell or give away are gun and outdoor related items and I ain’t helping my enemy. Classified cowboys get extra scrutiny. I haven’t read all the replies but I don’t think there isn’t a man on this thread that I wouldn’t be happy to do business with. I’d also be likely to ship the item before I received payment from every one of you scoundrels. 😁
I’ve been nothing but completely happy with the few transactions I’ve done here! Every one was perfect. 👍
�Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.� �General George S. Patton, Jr.
I have only had one transaction that went to crap.....and even then another member stepped up & offered to make things right.
But,as a general rule, ON BOTH PARTIES PART, communication is the key.
The incident in question came from a member going dark, so to speak.
No communication what so ever....looking back, I knew something didn't feel right. I sent the check, it was cashed, & nothing was sent. Kept asking via PM, no reply. Posted on the ad, no reply.
I am a Classified Cowboy on the other side as I rarely ever sell but I check the forum daily for things to buy or trade. Sometimes I am looking for something very specific or just waiting for something that catches my eye that I “need”. I have become much more cautious lately as there seems to be lots of new sellers popping up that joined a few months ago with low post count. I got burned on another site by not checking forum posts. If I had of, I would t have sent the money. Fortunately I got it back through PayPal. All of my interactions and dealings on the fire have been great....so far.
Since joining in 2006 I have posted questions and answers along with selling and buying items. I have been lucky and only been burnt once. I try to go above and beyond on a sale to make sure the buyer is happy as I do not want to jeopardize my close to 2000 posts. There have been some tire kickers, people saying they have what I want or will take it then not hear from them again. There are some loud mouths and members who post on every post just to get their post numbers up. That is typical on most sites. All in all this is a great site.
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