WARNING – BUYER BEWARE - Curt’s Gun Shop - Mifflinville, Pa

[roundball]

WARNING – BUYER BEWARE - Curt’s Gun Shop - Mifflinville, Pa

This seller tried to pass off a TC Flintlock assembly as “Very Good Condition” but the lock was the most nasty, vile looking condition of any lock I’ve ever seen…had rust all around the frizzen return spring area…corrosion all around the pan area…and the hammer was broken with a crack running from front to back just below the “s” curve, visibly only from the internals side.

The lock was photographed only from the external side-plate view and then at an upward angle so the pan was shielded from view…a real con-job.

Got all indignant when I pointed it out to him, had to get firm with him to refund my purchase price, but in spite of it being his responsibility for the deceptive listing, he refused to refund the cost for me to return it.

Apparently this place is not actually a real gun shop like you and I know gun shops, but appears to be a pawn shop, and the sellers mentality fits the stereotype perfectly…ie: they think if they say there’s nothing wrong with an item and it’s in “very good condition” long enough, customers will just believe them.

So, as we have alerted each other from time to time in the past, this is to alert you that there’s another dishonest one out there…and if they cheat on the Internet, we’ll continue to expose them on the Internet…pass this on and let’s get Curt’s Gun Shop in Mifflinville, PA all the advertisement it deserves…get it cut & pasted on every Internet hunting & shooting forum we all belong to before somebody else gets taken.

[Biff Mayhem]

Do you wear glasses? You know where I'm going with this.

How long was the gun out of the store before returning it?

Does he have a no refund policy? Is it a register sign or printed on the receipt?

Do you still have the VGC tag?

Is he issuing you a credit?

[Steelbanger]

I occasionally deal with Curt in his shop in Mifflinville. He is an honest person and I can't imagine him giving anyone a hard time. My only complaint is that his prices are a bit high, but his shop has enough interesting items there to make you want to go back. Great selection of bulk brass too.

[roundball]

I occasionally deal with Curt in his shop in Mifflinville. He is an honest person and I can't imagine him giving anyone a hard time. My only complaint is that his prices are a bit high, but his shop has enough interesting items there to make you want to go back. Great selection of bulk brass too.

Well, that may be the case...maybe he was having a bad day...but these are the facts:

This seller tried to pass off a TC Flintlock assembly as “Very Good Condition” but the lock was in the most nasty, vile looking condition of any lock I’ve ever seen…had rust all around the frizzen return spring area…corrosion all around the pan area…and the hammer was broken with a crack running from front to back just below the “s” curve, visible only from the internals side.

I've had a houseful of TC Hawkens for 15+ years, and shoot TC Flintlocks every Saturday year round...I've disassembled, cleaned, tuned, and reassembled TC locks probably 30-40 times and am as familiar with them as I am with a coffee cup.  He described the lock assembly as being in "very good condition" but what he sent was just as I described in bold above...you can take that to the bank.

And I do my homework, ask the right questions beforehand, then bid to win in good faith, then pay the sellers immediately using PayPal within minutes after an auction closes...this is not some sort of game that I play, to have my money tied up for a couple weeks buying something only to then return it...we're not talking shades of gray over his opinion vs. my opinion of whats "Very Good Condition"...this was in nasty condition and most notably, the hammer was visibly broken...immediately obviously to anyone as soon as the lock was picked up looked at it.

The biggest issue was that he refused to acknowledge the truth about this incident...and that is an issue of principle with me.
When I packed it up and sent it back I told him since I was forced to return it through no fault of mine, I would also expect him to cover my 'return shipping costs' (only $5-$6 bucks) but he refused, saying there was nothing wrong with the lock so he was not responsibile.
By the way, he then even left me negative feedback saying "I returned an item and there was nothing wrong with it".....yet his auction clearly includes the normal 3 day no-questions-asked return policy.

Simply an incredible position to take when the lock was described as it was, yet literally had an obvilously broken part on it...it seemed once he took a strong dug in stance, that no amount of rational discussion was possible after that and he stopped returning Emails.

To me the amount of return shipping money can't be the deciding factor...doesn't matter if it was $5 or $500...doing what's right is the issue.
He inaccurately described the lock, I had to return it, so the transaction should not have caused me any expense what-so-ever...I didn't "change my mind" and capriciously return it...it was defective and I HAD to return it...I wouldn't have bought it at all if he'd said it had a broken hammer in the first place...nobody would have.

So I'm simply passing on the episode to fellow shooters/hunters as a Buyers Beware type of notice.

[roundball]

Well, I think this supports my claim very well:...after all his foot stomping to insist there was nothing wrong with the lock...he's just relisted it and compare the two different listing descriptions:

DESCRIPTION OF FIRST AUCTION LISTING:
“Thompson Center Hawken .45 Cal Muzzleloader complete lock including internal parts. Very good used condition.”

DESCRITPTION OF CURRENT RE-LISTED AUCTION:
“Thompson Center Hawken .45 Cal Flintlock Complete Lock. Good used condition. A couple spots of very minor surface rust. Still has some nice case coloring. Great project lock.”

    

[Biff Mayhem]

Some auction houses on the net have a section where you can put comments about the seller. You should check that out.

[roundball]

I know.......he even left negative feedback about ME because "I returned an item and there was nothing wrong with it".....yet his auction clearly includes the normal 3 day no-questions-asked return policy....

[dodd3]

roundball a man like this has no integrity full stop its what we call in oz a rip of murchant.sory to here you got done again . people like him make me sick.
bernie

[sharps4590]

I'm just wondering where my post went.

[quickdtoo]

I'm just wondering where my post went.

Didn't see one here, your profile shows your last post on Aug 10th. If you just tried to post it, and it disappeared into cyber space, don't feel  alone, it happens too often, even with the new software.

Tim

[sharps4590]

quick....I've learned lots of things on the web just disappear into cyber space never to be seen again.  I suppose my first post did the same thing.  Thanks for your info.

Vic

[quickdtoo]

I checked the trash can, it wasn't there, even posts that are deleted don't go completely away, they all go in the trash can just in case there's a dispute. I made a post this am that disappeared when I hit the post button, got the page can't be displayed message, which usually results in the post being made, but not that time. I've got into the habit of copying my text before hitting the post button, then if it disappears, I can just paste it back into a new reply window, saves a lot of cyber frustration!!

Tim

[locknloadnow]

WARNING – BUYER BEWARE - Curt’s Gun Shop - Mifflinville, Pa

I know this post and thread are old, but worth revisiting.

This post is simply false misinformation, nothing can be further from the truth.  I have bought several firearms from Curt's over the years, and he's one of the best shops to deal with in that area.  Perhaps you dealt with a somewhat unfriendly employee.  All I can say is, if you are "avoiding" Curt's-  it's your own loss.  He has a very good selection of vintage firearms, at reasonable prices, and a wide selection of ammo, brass, reloading supplies, dies, etc.  He has the widest selection of milsurp ammo of any private gun shop anywhere.  From what I can glean in your post and thread, this firearm you bought was not a high dollar purchase, and you appear to be nitpicking the gun a bit.  It's a replica muzzleloader ?  Those are worth $100-$200 on a good day, no matter what the condition.  We are talking a low-dollar, low-end gun here, and certainly not worth damaging a vendor's reputation over.

[JonnyReb]

Unless you were there L&L, how could you say its false info? Then you justify it by saying its a cheap gun? Wow.  J

[P.A. Myers]

I have run into condition poblems a couple of times and at least once it was some pawn shop that was mostly ignorant. The other one was a lying SOB. It would seem this guy should know better. I think you have made your case.

             P.A.

[Winter Hawk]

Since the original post is over five years old, maybe Curt's Gunshop has mended their ways?  Could be the OP, while thinking he was being reasonable, rubbed the seller the wrong way?  After this amount of time it is probably a moot point.

-WH-

[quickdtoo]

The OP hasn't been online for over 4yrs.

Tim