You go to your local gun store and finally plunk down $2500 on a custom rifle that you have been saving for. The owner, who appears to be a nice guy, agrees to send his ffl to the manufacturer and will do the transfer for a nominal fee. You anxiously await the 16 weeks it will take to assemble your baby.

Ok, take it 4 months later. You call up the store and ask if your gun has come in. One of the employees answers and after telling you that the owner isn't in, checks around and says yes. You go down to the store and to your horror see that YOUR rifle is being passed around and fondled by the gun store groupies (the people that just go there to flap their gums and never buy anything). You ask WTF is going on and the employee says "Oh that is your gun? It has been on display all week long. Lots of people were interested in it." After taking a close look you notice a scratch on the receiver and a light surface rust where the gun was handled.  

What do you do?

I would probably have the store owner make good on cleaning up the rifle, even if it means refinishing, and that would be the last time I did business with him. If he won't take care of it, small claims court is your next step. The $1,500 small claims max should easily cover the repairs.

Judge Mills Lane!!!!!!

I just don't like that over-zealous Judge Judy.

I treat my firearms like tools.  Very special tools.  That being said... the firearm having a scratch wouldn't bother me.

What would bother me is that I didn't put it (the scratch) there.  Every scratch, rust pit, ding ect. should have a story behind it.  My story.

The dealer should have inspected the box it came in to make sure it was as ordered, signed for it... then called you.

Anything else is just asking for trouble.

I say give it to him.

If I got the story right, all the gun store owner did was the transfer, correct? He did not sell the rifle. So, who do you get your money back from? Not from him. And the manufacturer will say when he shipped the rifle, it was pristine.

What kind of gun is it?

And I DO think the dealer is liable for damages incurred to this unknown rifle.  He was entrusted with your property and FVKED up.

I would hope the store owner is liable for damages, but getting him to pay is another story. You know how these things are.

get your money back

Hey! This is the 21st Century, even our Imbrog improves. More power to him! [beer]

For $2500 I'd expect the rifle maker to not only call me when my rifle shipped but also to provide a tracking number so I could pick it up ASAP.

Cuss a lot. Find a new dealer. Maybe go back in some day and accidently drop his most expensive rifle on the floor.

I didn't buy the rifle. It is just a hypothetical situation that is based on incidents that I heard have actually happened. It is similar to that B&B story where some guy had them special order a custom .45 only to find out at pickup that all of the aftermarket parts were switched out with crap funshow parts.

The shop I transfer through absolutely refuses to open a box without me being present.  I'm not sure if this is paranoia, or fine customer service, but I'm definitely not complaining.