I offered a trade deal on a gun to someone. He turned down the deal and I said it was just bad timing for me because I hadn't had time to recover my play money fund from some recent purchases.

The guy then offered to sell me the gun on payments with about half down. I would send the payment and he would send the gun and I would pay the rest within 4 months. I spoke on the phone and all seemed fine. We were about to do the deal when he asked me to send the money order payment in his wife's name.

Maybe I'm too paranoid but I told him I would have to pass on the deal. I feel bad because I feel like I broke my word on a deal. AT the same time I feel a bit relieved. The guy may be the most honest and trusting person in the world but both the offer of selling on payments and sending payment in his wife's name sent up paranoia flags for me.

Did I do wrong by breaking my word? Should I have dismissed my paranoia and distrust?

You did right.

Yep. You did right. If something seems wrong, it probably is.

KC

did not sound right, when he wanted the money order in his wife's name.

Maybe there is an issue in the house hold.

He said he spends so much on guns and such that he wanted her to get the money when he sells one. I figured me might have thought it could hurt his social security.

I felt bad about not doing the deal but both selling it to a stranger on payments and wanting the MO in the wife's name made me feel too paranoid to do it.

It was not paranoia .... You did right.

If you don't have the cash to pay for a gun, you shouldn't be buying one to begin with.

One makes payments on necessities, not toys

I would only do that on a face to face basis with someone I was personally familiar with. If the guy is willing to give a gun up for half price and trust you, I would be suspicious.

You did the right thing.

I completely agree. That's why I set aside a portion of income for toys and hunts.I call it my play fund. I have plenty of money in other accounts including a years emergency fund and retirement.

I just only spend play money out of my play fund. I usually put about $200 a month in that account. I told the guy that it was bad timing because I hadn't built up my play money account enough from a recent purchase enough to just pay cash. That's why I offered a trade plus cash and that's when he offered a payment plan.

Common sense is not paranoia.

Something doesn't smell right. Something like that would make me wonder if ownership of the gun were ... shaky. Stolen, maybe. Or being held in lieu of a debt and might get reported stolen later.

Seems to me that you might be the (too) honest and (too) trusting one, not him. It could have been fine but the door was open for you to be in a lot of trouble and/or out the money.

You did the wise thing.

BS. He could just sell it and buy the wife what she wants or give her the money to play with.

Something ain't right, based on the info you provided.

Sounds like he probably isn't legally able to own the gun (i.e. felon) and didn't want a money order with "gun" in the memo line with his name on it...

Everything I said is exactly what happened. I apologized in the nicest way I knew about not doing the deal. Now he is mad and calling me names.

I appreciate all the confirmations from you guys that I wasn't just being unreasonable by withdrawing from the deal. I really hate to break my word but I feel like he changed the terms of our agreement. I never thought about asking who I would send payment to before agreeing to the deal.

Not an accusation of any kind, RH. Apologies if that's how it came across.

These opinions are based on the info you provided and have nothing else to go on, didn't listen to your conversation (but the NSA recorded it), and didn't talk to the seller.

Could be a felon using the wife as a straw man. You did good.

You did right, what his reasons for this were who knows. I suspect he was going to tell his wife that was all he got for it and keep the payments that you would have given him.

No offense taken at all. I still think he is likely an honest man. I just wanted to know if others would have been as cautious and suspicious as I was in this deal.

If he is calling you names then he is probably pizzed because he is desperate. Let him sell the thing to someone else. Go about your affairs and i ignore him. The deal changed when he wanted you to send the money to his wife. If there wasnt something fishy then he could have just gave the money to his wife when he received it. Could be anything but regardless not your issue but his.

As soon as he started calling you names, he confirmed you did the right thing.

One minds his own business, not other people's.

R H, just the simple fact that you are wondering whether you did the right hing speaks volumes IMHO.

I feel you did the wise thing to "back away" from the "deal".

You and the seller "made-a-deal" that you would buy the gun from HIM and pay HIM off in 4 monthly payments after paying HALF down on the deal. At that point, NOTHING was said about paying the money to his WIFE.

The SELLER "changed" the deal by NOT wanting you to pay HIM the money but, instead, wanted you to pay the money to his WIFE.

THAT WASN'T THE ORIGINAL DEAL.. since the original deal was that it was ASSUMED the money would be paid to him, and not corrected by the seller at ANY time up to when he SUDDENLY told you, after the agreement was made, that you were to pay the money TO HIS WIFE !!!

Since the buyer CHANGED the parameters of the verbal contract you and he made together, you are NOT wrong to re-think and change YOUR mind as well... and this is what you finally did.

Therefore, you should NOT feel as if you lied or cheated anyone... you merely decided that something SEEMED wrong and decided NOT to allow this man to cause you TO BE A PARTY TO A deal that might be somehow ILLEGAL OR FRAUDULENT IN ANY WAY !!!

Therefore, you had EVERY RIGHT to refuse to continue this "deal"... and should NOT feel, in ANY way, you were wrong to refuse to carry the deal through to it's conclusion.

Jus' my 2�...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Verify that,...make him an offer to buy his wife. Offer say an old '94 missing it's mag tube, a pret' near full brick of 22 LR, and a case of Spam or Spork.

That should get both of ya' lined out and into ethical dialogue.

You can thank me later.

GTC

Is he a campfire member?

There it is, the guy is unstable.

I wouldn't sweat it in the least.

Was he looking to trade for a 17" laptop as part of the deal?

I don't think you broke your word. After you agreed to buy the gun he then changed/modified the agreement by insisting the payment be made to his wife. At that point it was up to you to accept the condition or not. You chose not to accept it so no agreement was made after that.

Quit worrying about it.

Just wondering if you ever saw the rifle or just had his description and word that he owned it? Does the rifle even exist?

If you have to think twice about doing something, you probably shouldn't do it.

Just cause you paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you!

I would have never made that deal with a stranger from the onset . I don't trust easy, especially when there is money involved.

Thanks everyone for confirming that I am more gullible than paranoid.LOL

He introduced a variable that raised a red flag. You did good by following your gut feeling.
At this point, I'd simply tell him GFY...

You did right. I had a recent armslist transaction where the seller kept refusing to give me the serial number prior to me sending payment. He kept asking why I wanted it. Twice I told him I needed it so I could verify that the firearm shipped and received was the same one he was offering for sale.

He seemed to think that made ME a questionable buyer. I backed out. A few days later, he asked if I would send the payment directly to his FFL. I said I would if he dropped the firearm off at the FFL. I called the FFL, asked him to email the serial number and then sent to payment to the FFL with instruction on my FFL.

He still thinks I never got the serial number prior to sending the funds.