I finally got a chance to look at this LP-08 that is for sale. A recent corruption of my computers system has lost all my bookmarks so I am unable to connect with GunBroker using my Bookmarks to that sites old version.
I don't know if my coming discussion should be put here or on the Discussion section of Lugerforum. But it seems to apply to this sale so I am going to post it in the Artillery section.
I am always leary of buying guns on site that give no inspection periods. Lugers are expensive articles and pictures do not give a true perspective on the quality of the weapon. It is also a real hassle to return anything bought on the internet. I particularly don't like the generally accepted policy of paying for shipping both ways.
I see where Suzy (this LP-08's seller) does not offer an inspection period except where there is gross misrepresentation. I also sent an email to our old buddy from Corpus Cove, Texas regarding a navy 1908 that he is selling and found out that he also does not give an inspection period. His explaination was the same as it was from Suzy.
At first, I was upset and figured that these were just dealers in junk and they wanted to just take the money and run. But then I called an old girlfriend on mine. Surprisingly, I found out that she was also involved in commercial selling on Ebay. We talked about this selling of articles on the internet and the "No Inspection Period" problem. My thinking on this problem now is a bit different. Scams by buyers as well as sellers on the internet is pretty wide spread. Even money orders are not that secure. But she did give me some tips and virtually guarteed herself a dinner date in the near future for me to learn more.
If you are dealing with a foreign buyer, many times
your bank will not cash a MO from a foreign country or may charge a steep fee for doing so. Check with the post office. She said that the post office has a list of countries that they will cash a POST OFFICE money order from that country. I do not know the details of this or whether or not the post office will cash U.S. Post Office MO's. It seems logical that the would. I need to do some more research on this matter. But it could give sellers another level of security without the long wait and maybe big fees at banks.
Another thing that she mentioned is that if you use "Paypal" (which is owned by Ebay), you will get no help from them in getting your money back. The thing that most buyers forget is that if you paid by credit card, you can go to the credit card people and cancel your payment. The credit card people are very helpful. She says that a surprisingly large number of people give up after getting no help from "Paypal". Of course this does open another can of worms for the honest seller.
Local police are of little help because it is out of their jurisdiction. On rare situations, according to an auction newsletter that I get, an individual police officer might take some individual effort and expose a much larger criminal activity. But this is rare.
The FBI is supposed to handle internet fraud but they don't seem to want to bother if the amount is small. Most likely it is not financially worth while to go to another state to hire an attorney for a $10 item. But she told me that she has had some success calling another states autorney general. It may take some time for the wheels of justice to turn, but for her, it did work in Ohio. She lives and works in Michigan. Too bad that this will not work in countries outside of the USA.
Things are looking a bit better though. Lawmakers are working on laws to force banks to process money orders and out-of-state checks faster. But that process is still in the works.
I still think that I will rarely deal with big ticket items on the internet with no inspection periods. But my girl friend will be seen more often in the near future, if for no other reason than for me to learn more from her. The internet offers just too much potential.
Big Norm
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