LugerUSA.com

tom · 07-09-2001, 05:13 AM

Anybody done any business with these folks? Are their guns legit or have they been "cranked"?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Tom

Big Norm · 07-09-2001, 12:02 PM

I don't know about LugerUSA but last night I looked at AuctionArms. A guy had a luger there that he said was 98% and had an independant appraiser say that it was the finest example of a luger of that period that he had ever seen. Then he went into a long disertation of all the nicks that were on it. I looked at the picture and wondered if it was the same gun. I also wonder where he got his appraiser.

I also tried GunsAmerica. A few weeks ago, I sent an Email to them about their 1908 navy. I am still waiting. Maybe that gun was just a come on.

I love going through www.simpsonltd.com. His prices on lugers with a grip safety are really high. But the rest of his prices seem to be OK. His site reminds me of how hard it is to price the large number of lugers that he has to price. I ordered a few things over the phone from him and said that I would pick them up at the OGCA show. When I saw the articles at the show I discovered that they were not what I thought they were. Simpson did not give me a hassle or anything and was real polite. That is a reputable dealer.

Doug Smith of F.G.S. has a web site and advertises in 'Gun List'. But I had trouble with him on a gun that I bought at the last OGCA show at the IX center. I fell in love with a 1906 Swiss 'Cross-In-Shield' that I thought was minty. My emotions took hold and I bought the gun. It looked beautiful with 100% original strawing and, I thought, near perfect bluing. Then I walked out of the show and looked at the gun in the day light. The gun was beautiful except for the front and rear straps which showed a lot of wear. I immediately turned around and asked Doug to take it back. He got all excited and tried HARD to get me into an arguement. He finally said that he would take it back but that I would have to pay him $200 to do it. I kept the gun but I will not do business with Doug Smith again. I feel that a reputable dealer would not do that to a customer who has bought a number of guns from him in the past.

Another thing that bothered me about Doug Smith is that he considers himself a 'purist' collector. No restored or altered guns. He said that I should just put some cold bluing on the Swiss luger straps that I had just tried to return.

I took some Kreighoffs that I had to him for his opinion. He gave no opinion and no constructive critism but he did go out of his way to embarrass me by showing the guns to some passerbys, that I did not know, to show them "the 'crap' that some collectors will buy". He then gave me the guns back with no comment and turned to some friends of his and started talking to them.

I have shown these Kreighoffs to some other qualified luger people and they thought the guns were nice looking original guns. I called the dealer that sold me the Kreighoffs and told him what Doug said and did. The dealer then called Doug and read him up one side and then down the other. I now feel that Doug Smith will put down any gun that was not bought from him or if you are not a well known gun collector. Buyer beware.

John Sabato · 07-09-2001, 02:06 PM

Dok · 07-10-2001, 10:15 AM

to answer your question, I did some research on this gentleman some time back, and asked a number of folks the same question with a view to adding him to our Links & Resources section. Tom Heller was the only one who had actually dealt with him.

I did not get enough positive feedback to make me comfortable listing him on our site. If you discover any positive info on him, I would appreciate hearing it.

Dok

jerry peters · 07-12-2001, 02:24 PM

In response to my very good friend Big Norms' post of July 9th, concerning his experiences with Doug Smith of F.G.S.

I would would only say that I have delt with Doug Smith on 4 separate occasions, bought 4 Lugers from him and have had nothing but the very best of good experiences.

I suppose that in any case of buying or selling, whether it be a used car or a Luger, there is always either personalties, misrepresention, misunderstandings, "bad hair day" or whatever, that enters into the transaction. In this case, both Norm and I have come away with very different feelings, and we both may be right. Buyer beware in some cases...Know excately what you're buying in others.

In the case of Luger U S A, I have visited their site for over a month and have not seen any "action".I'm waiting, like others , to see what they are all about.

07-09-2001, 05:13 AM	#1
tom User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 269 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	LugerUSA.com Anybody done any business with these folks? Are their guns legit or have they been "cranked"? Inquiring minds want to know! Tom

07-09-2001, 12:02 PM	#2
Big Norm RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 1,864 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Re: LugerUSA.com I don't know about LugerUSA but last night I looked at AuctionArms. A guy had a luger there that he said was 98% and had an independant appraiser say that it was the finest example of a luger of that period that he had ever seen. Then he went into a long disertation of all the nicks that were on it. I looked at the picture and wondered if it was the same gun. I also wonder where he got his appraiser. I also tried GunsAmerica. A few weeks ago, I sent an Email to them about their 1908 navy. I am still waiting. Maybe that gun was just a come on. I love going through www.simpsonltd.com. His prices on lugers with a grip safety are really high. But the rest of his prices seem to be OK. His site reminds me of how hard it is to price the large number of lugers that he has to price. I ordered a few things over the phone from him and said that I would pick them up at the OGCA show. When I saw the articles at the show I discovered that they were not what I thought they were. Simpson did not give me a hassle or anything and was real polite. That is a reputable dealer. Doug Smith of F.G.S. has a web site and advertises in 'Gun List'. But I had trouble with him on a gun that I bought at the last OGCA show at the IX center. I fell in love with a 1906 Swiss 'Cross-In-Shield' that I thought was minty. My emotions took hold and I bought the gun. It looked beautiful with 100% original strawing and, I thought, near perfect bluing. Then I walked out of the show and looked at the gun in the day light. The gun was beautiful except for the front and rear straps which showed a lot of wear. I immediately turned around and asked Doug to take it back. He got all excited and tried HARD to get me into an arguement. He finally said that he would take it back but that I would have to pay him $200 to do it. I kept the gun but I will not do business with Doug Smith again. I feel that a reputable dealer would not do that to a customer who has bought a number of guns from him in the past. Another thing that bothered me about Doug Smith is that he considers himself a 'purist' collector. No restored or altered guns. He said that I should just put some cold bluing on the Swiss luger straps that I had just tried to return. I took some Kreighoffs that I had to him for his opinion. He gave no opinion and no constructive critism but he did go out of his way to embarrass me by showing the guns to some passerbys, that I did not know, to show them "the 'crap' that some collectors will buy". He then gave me the guns back with no comment and turned to some friends of his and started talking to them. I have shown these Kreighoffs to some other qualified luger people and they thought the guns were nice looking original guns. I called the dealer that sold me the Kreighoffs and told him what Doug said and did. The dealer then called Doug and read him up one side and then down the other. I now feel that Doug Smith will put down any gun that was not bought from him or if you are not a well known gun collector. Buyer beware.

07-09-2001, 02:06 PM	#3
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,153 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	Big Norm, thanks for such an informative post on your experiences... (EOM)

07-10-2001, 10:15 AM	#4
Dok RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Bermuda (Eat Your Heart Out) Posts: 1,626 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Tom... to answer your question, I did some research on this gentleman some time back, and asked a number of folks the same question with a view to adding him to our Links & Resources section. Tom Heller was the only one who had actually dealt with him. I did not get enough positive feedback to make me comfortable listing him on our site. If you discover any positive info on him, I would appreciate hearing it. Dok

07-12-2001, 02:24 PM	#5
jerry peters User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 54 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: LugerUSA.com In response to my very good friend Big Norms' post of July 9th, concerning his experiences with Doug Smith of F.G.S. I would would only say that I have delt with Doug Smith on 4 separate occasions, bought 4 Lugers from him and have had nothing but the very best of good experiences. I suppose that in any case of buying or selling, whether it be a used car or a Luger, there is always either personalties, misrepresention, misunderstandings, "bad hair day" or whatever, that enters into the transaction. In this case, both Norm and I have come away with very different feelings, and we both may be right. Buyer beware in some cases...Know excately what you're buying in others. In the case of Luger U S A, I have visited their site for over a month and have not seen any "action".I'm waiting, like others , to see what they are all about.