Horseshoe Pike Gun Shop in Hershey Be careful

[KCJones]

...I saw an eBay seller the other day who had a policy of "no returns except for defective merchandise, and we don't refund shipping because that money was paid to the shipper". If you sell defective merchandise, the buyer gets nothing of value, due to your error. The customer should be made 100% whole. You should also pay for return shipping.

As an eBay seller myself, I completely agree. If the return is not-the-customer's fault, you refund the original shipping too. Did you pay that shipping out and are not gonna get it back? Yes. So what? You do right by the customer if it's your fault. Cost of doing business, and incentive to NOT screw up (failing to adequately describe flaws, sending bad items, packing poorly so damage results, etc.).

FWIW, no matter what the seller's "policy" says, he doesn't really have a choice. If the buyer says "defective" or "item not as described" eBay is going to -make- that seller return the original shipping and pay for return shipping. To me, that makes the 'policy' of the seller you mention even more ridiculous: Either a) he doesn't understand the eBay policy or b) he's purposely trying to 'intimidate' folks away from using it. In either case, not a seller I'd say stands as a paragon.

For myself, we always offer as-good-or-better policies than eBay insists on. Why fight the system? Better to go them one-better.

Unfortunately, that system - intended to protect the buyer - has a back-door problem: it is regrettably true that many (most) customers have 'learned the system' and will always claim "item not as described" or "defective" or similar to get a) original shipping refunded and b) return shipping paid... even on things that are actually buyer's-remorse and similar not-the-seller's-fault returns, where the customer (in all fairness) should pay the return shipping and not get the original shipping refunded. Yeah, I can argue "cost of doing business" on that too and say you should build it into your profit. But it doesn't make it less annoying when it happens. The only 'cold comfort' there is when you get back a 'defective' item that turns out to be just perfect, and you can at least re-sell it to try and recoup the loss.

[Bellerophon]

Hi fellas. I had a not-so-good experience with Horseshoe Pike a couple months ago I wanted to share with you. I live in Pittsburgh, so this may have very well been a case of not giving service to an outsider. So many small shops can tend to do that, that is, catering to those they see often and not being as helpful or forthright with others.
A fellow on one of the gun forums informed me this shop had a gun I was searching for. I connected with the owner and he sent various pics. I agreed to buy the gun and drive all the way over to Hershey myself to pick it up. I arrived on time that pre-arranged day and bought the used gun. I went to eat lunch and before driving home looked the gun over real well. In the sunlight I noticed a crack in the frame that went all the way through. I called the owner and he met me at the shop. He confirmed there was a crack and promptly gave me my money back minus the $5 Criminal Check (cheap!!!). I told him I was still very interested in the gun if he could get it repaired. I made certain he had my phone number and email before I left. I heard nothing, so in two weeks I called and was told he hadn't decided what to do with it yet! I have heard nothing. Whether or not he knew the gun had a crack or not is not for me to say. But, I will say he is a long time Gunsmith. And, he still had me interested in a gun that needed a repair! Don't you think he would have done anything to get that gun back in my hands even though I knew it had been repaired? He never even bothered to call me and let me know he'd prefer to not do that. Nothing. So, be careful and examine any used guns you are interested in VERY well before buying, especially if you aren't from that area.
Dave

Ok. Here are a few observations.

1. He refunded your money when you were dissatisfied and came back with it sans the $5 transfer fee. Believe me Ive dealt with a few FFL dealers that would have told you to pound sand and get out.

2. You are upset he didn't contact you after the refund. Ok. Why should he? He's under no obligation to and you already took the gun back and expressed that you were dissatisfied with it. He probably thought it would have been another hassle as he had already talked to you multiple times and sent photographs. You bought the gun and showed up a short time later wanting a refund. Try to see the other side here.

You seem to have perceived an issue with his business that isn't necessarily reality. I'd urge you to think about this post as it really looks like you are trying to shame a small FFL dealer based on what appears to be, from myself and a lot of the other commenters, a non-issue.

[ArmyVet]

I have to agree with others in that I don't see what the problem is unless there's an underlying reason for your post. The dealer sounds like a stand up guy...