Based on all the stories of regret one hears stemming from personal sales of firearms, I've so far managed to hang onto every gun I've purchased so far despite some urges to sell. However, after much deliberation, I think I've finally decided to sell one off (to be replaced by another, of course!) and was curious as to the general rules/etiquitte of an inspection period when buying sight unseen.
Obviously, you want something fair to both parties, as buying something without even seeing it is somewhat of a risk to the buyer. However, I guess my main question is does such an inspection period where the seller allows to buyer to return the firearm usually allow shooting of the gun or just visual inspection and maybe a trip to a qualified smith for a checkup?
Obviously, you can't really tell how a firearm (especially used) will perform until you've actually shot it. However, it seems that allowing this puts the seller more at risk. What happens if the buyer decides to shoot some of his new reloads in it damages the gun? Unless the buyer is particularly honest, he's probably not going to admit to shooting reloads and will blame it on the gun. What if the buyer's "test" consists of running a case of ammo through it, causing more wear and tear, that while it may not be visble after a good cleaning is none the less there?
I am fully confident in my gun to perform as advertised, and if the buyer just plain decides he doesn't like it after a couple of days, I'd have no problem taking it back as long as it it received back in the same condition, but as I said, it seems to put the seller at a pretty decent risk. What if there is a disagreement on "like" condition, for example? If the buyer bangs it up and sends it back, seems like the seller is the one who loses out. If they dont' send back the cash, they'll likely find themselves in a legal battle in which it would be difficult to prove the condition of the firearm before and after.
After all, most gun shops have an "all sales final" policy - of course you can visually inspect the gun, but generally not fire it unless they have a range on premesis.
So... just curious as to other's thoughts on this.
Rocko