Luger disaster

[Garfield]

While I feel the urge to make comment regarding the shoddy treatment visited upon a new collector by a "world reknowned dealer", I recall an admonition that my sainted mother had occasion to pass on to me, "If you can't say anything nice, dummy up!".

Out of respect for her, I'll do that.

However, because, or at least I thought, one of the main purposes of this forum was to assist collectors as they attempt to navigate the pitfalls one might encounter while traveling the collector road, an observation of a general nature might be in order. It regard the mantra which I have heard repeated on this forum to the effect that because a dealer handles "a lot of guns" somehow he should not be held responsible for misrepresenting an item's condition or originality. This concept is as absurd as the folks that tout it. I suspect that it originated from the same source that came up with the "Black Widow and Eastern Air Force" myths.

P.S. I find that I am compelled to also comment on the "Even though I sold you a piece of crap, it is still worth what you paid for it!" ploy; a person has to be without shame to mouth those words. IMHO