Finally heard back from the seller who told me that the gun was accurately described and that if I left negative feedback he would do the same for me.
So I will get this gun back to shootable condition and enjoy it. I didn't mind the "unique" checkering and a piece of scotch tape tighten it up(though I will have that fixed properly). I hope the barrels can be fixed and I will add an period correct recoil pad to get the LOP to 14 1/4 inches and enjoy it(which I know I will).
So lessons learned:
1. I think step one in an auction setting is to see what else the seller has listed. I didn't have a good reference price on this Parker, but I noticed that several of his other items had a high opening bid for guns that I did have a good reference price on. Had I took the time to do that I would have know that I probably should not bid on this Parker.
2. Send a quick confirmation note saying something like: " I would like to bid on your listing, but before I do I want to make sure that #'s match, bores are good, action is tight...Can you tell me anything about the gun that didn't show up in the pictures or description?"
3. I would say don't bid or buy on anything that doesn't have an inspection period. However the GH I bought about a month ago was damaged during shipping which negated the 3 day inspection period(at least with the seller I bought it from, this was a dealer not an auction). I guess every purchase is situational, but while an inspection period might not always cover you I don't see myself buying anything again that says "No Refunds or Exchanges"
Having said all this I have been shouldering my 1887 12 gauge hammer gun for the past week and look forward to getting it fixed and out in the field.
Thanks for all the suggestions and support on this!
Jay
|