Need advice and help, PLEASE

[acelungger]

I wasn'tsure this is where I should post, but maybe you folks can help me out!
I did a search for a Lyman 438 scope, i found one on a High Dollar Selling site, most likely some of you have bought off this site!
 I look at this posting of this scope, it is a lyman 438 with extenal ajustments, brass barrel with a lite pintea to it, got a hold of the Dealer, who has a buiness selling posting collector and dealer in Antique Firearms. i sent him a money order, and in about a week I get my scope, i open the box and here is a drab green painted scope, even thought it looks close to the shape of a LYMAN 438, there is no marking, no nothing! So I nicely emailed the dealer and ask him if he had sent me the wrong scope, his reply was if you don't want it send it back and I will refund your money!
 So if I return it, I don't know if he will even pay me, and I will be out the $15.00 shipping!1 
 I want the scope that I bought that was in the posted picture!!

Please tell me how to handle this!
Do I have any recourse?

 I would be very great fullfor any and all advice!
Thanks ACE

[Graybeard]

Always ALWAYS do such dealings via credit card. Then if you don't get treated fairly your credit card company will refund your money eventually. It's a hassle but with a credit card you will get a refund.

But since you didn't do that the question is what to do? I honestly dunno. If he cheated you to begin with the chances are he'll have no qualms about cheating you again. Some say that since it was handle via mail and you used a postal money order it's mail fraud and it is but the post office really won't do anything unless someone is defrauding lots of folks regularly or it's truly large dollars. Your legal recourse is in my opinion very limited.

You can return it and hope he does as he says and you're then only out the shipping charges which he is not gonna refund for sure or you can keep it and live with it or try to sell it to someone who might be willing to accept it as is and cut your losses that way.

In my best opinion I'd say the guy is a crook and has shown that already by shipping an incorrect item. I'd not trust him to refund the money even tho he says he will. I got caught in a similar scam with a fellow who sold me a scope as NIB unopened and shipped me a used scope with no box at all. He said he'd refund the money to me but I didn't trust him since he'd already lied to me once. I just took the loss and banned him from the site so he can't do it to others here. I'm sure he's still out there somewhere cheating others same as he did me. With such folks I tend to cut my losses and live with it.

[Land_Owner]

Getting cheated "smarts" in a number of ways.  The shipping fees, if that is all you are eventually out, are peanuts compared to the larger cost of the item that you want. 

So now, he sends you a refund or he doesn't.  1.)  If you get the refund thank the Lord and go purchase the scope you want from a reputable local dealer for more than the former deal but with the knowledge that any problems will probably be handled one on one locally.  2.)  You never get any money back...that is a job for the Postal Inspector in your town through which you did the deal (although the Inpsector is no party to your deal).  You have to be persistent and never give up in case #2.  You have to make a value decision...how much is your time worth vs. the dollars you are "out". 

It sucks for the "bad guys" to get what appear to be the breaks.  But you have to know there are more good people than bad and you may have gotten suckered in by a "deal" that was "too good to pass up" and now know that passing was really the only good "deal" that should have been done.