Is anyone from NC familiar with a shop named Castle Sports in Granite Falls, NC?  The reason I ask is that I just had my first bad deal on eBay in 80+ transactions.  To make a long story short, a guy who lives in Granite Falls advertised a Leupold scope on eBay as a VX-II model scope.  When it arrived yesterday, it is an older Vari-XII scope but I paid an amount fair for a VX-II.  He refuses to refund my money and INSISTS they are the same scope.  I’m getting a headache from repeating how the VX-II line has been updated with multicoated optics and ¼ MOA click adjustments and the discontinued Vari-XII has neither.  He supposedly called Castle Sports and spoke to someone named Mike who said no Leupolds below a VX-III have multicoated lenses or click adjustments and that none of them had in 20 years, or some crap like that.  Based on what this gunshop moron Mike said, this seller is refusing to refund my money, claiming I’m an idiot and don’t know Leupold scopes, blah, blah, blah.  It’s like arguing with a brick wall!  If any of you AR15.com NC guys know Castle Sports, would you do me a favor and go tell Mike to get his head out of his butt and start providing customers with CORRECT information?  It’s right on the Leupold website for God’s sake!

Thanks NC guys.

Ever think of providing a link to the Leupold web page showing the differences your talking about? Maybe if you called Castle Sports yourself since you have the product in hand to answer any questions he may have, then he'd change his recomendation to the guy that sold it to you. BTW the number for Castle Sports is 828 728-9113 just so you don't have to dig it up.

F3

I did provide the exact link to Leupold's website and their customer service number too.  I think at this point, the seller knows he's wrong and doesn't want to admit it.  My discussions with him have turned to personal insults and a blatant refusal to just look at Leupold's website.  I think I may call Castle themselves.

Quoted: I did provide the exact link to Leupold's website and their customer service number too.  I think at this point, the seller knows he's wrong and doesn't want to admit it.  My discussions with him have turned to personal insults and a blatant refusal to just look at Leupold's website.  I think I may call Castle themselves.

I didn't see any link in you message and that is what I was refering to. I've used Castle before and they've been pretty good to me.  I don't see why you're on them, since it seems the root of the problem is the guy you got the scope from. Do you REALLY trust him enough to believe what he says about Castle? If the guy won't look at the web sight why do you think he'd even listen to Castle?  Sounds like you need to trash him on eBay.

F3

Thanks F3, maybe Castle is decent.  I just think that at this point, it's a hopeless cause... as you say, this guy won't even look at the Leupold link I provided.  Here is the exact Leupold website quote I provided, isn't this self-explanatory?

The Leupold Answer Guide

What are the improvements in VX-II over Vari-X II scopes?
VX-II scopes feature precise 1/4 MOA click adjustments and high performance Multicoat 4 lens coating on the eyepiece and objective lens. The old Vari-X II scopes offered neither of these features.


Well, after several patient and polite e-mails on my part, I pretty much had no choice but to leave negative feedback on eBay and maybe even file a Paypal claim.  I know the facts are on my side so I'm not doubting I'll have the claim found in my favor, but I've heard eBay & Paypal "claims" are pretty toothless.  Get this, the seller's retort to my negative feedback post was to AGAIN insist the Vari-XII and the VX-II are the same exact scope and that I'm basically an idiot for believing otherwise. Well, I guess all the people at Leupold are idiots too for claiming they're different.  I guess you just can't win with some people.

Link to auction?  

I always confirm exact Leupold model number prior to purchase.  The seller evidently thought that VX equates to Vari-X.  

it shouldn't matter even if they do have the same features.  u paid for something u didn't get, therefor you should get your money back.

Cope - Here's the exact link to the auction where I bought this "VX-II" scope.  I understand what you're saying but this guy insists they're the same and refuses to refund a dime.  I've provided lots of info as to the truth, but alas, it is falling on deaf ears.  If you can, even check out this guy's feedback... even in his retort to my negative comment he insists they're the same and that I'm some sort of dumbass for not accepting that!  Here's the link:

Link to eBay Auction in Question

What showed up is an older LNIB Vari-XIIc.  I'm not really trying to knock the scope itself, it is in great shape and I'm sure performs nicely.  It's just that it doesn't have the features the VX-II has, period.  It's equivalent to a VX-I according to Leupold, and I can buy a NIB VX-I locally for $199.  

Dsking85 - You're right, even if the features were exactly the same (which they're not), I feel I'd still be within my rights to have my money refunded.  No luck with that argument either.