Chuck
Iâ??ve read the threads on both forums - I am not laughing and instead, I am steamed. Iâ??ve been collecting Lugers for a bit over a year and, though I have collected other arms for decades, Iâ??ve never had so many close calls as in Luger World. The good news, however, is these forums. It is the place for advice, vetting a recent purchase and buying / selling in confidence at a leisurely pace. To these folks, experiences such as yours hurt everyone. The thing is, I have increasingly found that you have to check out pieces with the type of scrutiny that Pete and Dwight (to name just a couple here on the forums) do and there is not one person or handy reference with that type of knowledge of all the Lugers out there.The only way to do this is to have a good digital camera with close up capability, basic photo software like Photoshop Elements and get your purchase on the forums within 24 hours of purchase.
In my area I have met a couple long time collector-dealers of the same generation as the fellow in AZ and heard stories about him that will make your toes curl. This type of practice does an extreme disservice to the hobby and I think anyone that has been bitten should be pro-active in putting a stop to it. I once bought an item that was faked from one of our largest Luger dealers in the region. I returned it a day later but when I asked why I was not told it was a fake (an obvious one â?? but at a genuine price) I was told, â??I didnâ??t ask.â? This is but one example of type of thinking that an unscrupulous dealer will use to rationalize this type of business practice.
In your shoes I would consider pursuing the first step of a legal action, which is to have a knowledgeable attorney prepare and send a â??first contactâ? letter. This shows you are serious about going the distance. This letter should refer to the serious legal consequences of knowingly dealing in firearms that have had alterations to the serial numbers and/or are miss-represented through the manipulation of serial numbers. The possibility of losing and/or having ones federal license(s) under scrutiny can be a real motivator. You could also hang onto the guns- they sound pretty neat even being what they are and probably sell them for what they are at some future date for near what you paid.
In any case,no matter what you do I think you can benefit from this experience and not come out too badly. In the future, I would stick to the forums or reputable dealers. For example - Simpsons, though they surcharge (lately, it seems) up to 30% are at least selling honest guns. One piece I bought from them I was able to trade/sell back six months later at the same price. There are other similar dealers.
Like the other forumites, I wish you some satisfaction when all this is done and hope you stay in the hobby and have better experiences.
Bob
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