Ethics about selling lemons, or, Is it OK to Pass the Buck?

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

I've gotten a few lemons. I've read about a lot more here.

The general consensus seems to be "Thank heaven I got rid of that POS!"

Now, kind of lately, that has begged a question out of me. To wit: In the context of a gun filling the role of a seatbelt, which saves your life in a tight spot, how do you reconcile selling a relatively unsuspecting fellow gun owner a known piece of dysfunctional equipment?

In a worst case scenario, that piece of junk might cost someone their life. Is that a consideration with any merit whatever, or is it sufficient to pass the buck in hopes of someone else "having better luck" with that particular gun?

This is a subtle convincing factor that has assisted me in holding on to every gun that I've ever bought. At some level, I cannot do someone that kind of dis-service.

Which has stuck me with a couple of dogs.

In the context of selling cars, my friends say I'm way to honest about describing the car's condition. I treat guns the same way. If there's something wrong with it, I won't sell it, because I don't want to sell someone a bad gun.

I don't know if this attitude is regarded as strange, but it lets me look in the mirror in the morning with confidence. Integrity is very important to me, I guess.

What do you folks think? Am I just too scrupulous?

Could someone convince me that selling lemons is an acceptable course of action? Because right now I can't justify it.

 

[BogBabe]

Hand_Rifle_Guy, I think you would be perfectly ethical, even under your high standards, if you sold a less-than-perfect gun to someone with the explicitly stated caveat that it has thus-and-such a problem and they should not rely on it for self defense.

Someone who might be just looking for something to go plinking with might not care if it has some problems but is still shootable, especially if that means they could get it for less money than a more reliable gun would cost.

It sounds like your conscience is such that you might even want to go a step further and ascertain that the buyer isn't new to shooting and therefore less likely to understand the what you're talking about, and the possible consequences of an unreliable POS. You might even decide to sell only after the person has an opportunity to shoot your POS and see it in action.

But I would think that selling to an experienced shooter who knows his way around guns, and is clearly told by you what problem(s) the gun has, and chooses to buy it anyway, should meet even the highest ethical standards.

I do applaud your standards. I wish more people cared about integrity in this way.

 

[Azrael256]

If it helps you look yourself in the eye in the mirror, then stick with your principles. That's it. Period.

For me, I will sell it in any condition, but I will make the buyer acutely aware of the defect(s). The same goes for anything. Just the way I do things. No better or worse than the way you do.

 

[Jeff Thomas]

I admire you ... don't change. Disclose the defect(s), and you have behaved with honor. [Gee ... the term almost sounds like an anachronism these days, doesn't it ...]

Consider how some people have such cheap ethics ... they'll sell out for $100 more on a gun sale. Pitiful.

Besides, I firmly believe that unethical people really do pay a price in the long run ... it is not good business, and what goes around, comes around.

This is what I really like about TFL ... lots of sharp, ethical folks.

Regards from AZ

 

[Don Gwinn]

It's not worth it to lie. But it's perfectly ethical to sell a lemon to someone once they know what they're getting.

 

[Kaylee]

"do unto others as you would them do unto you"

.. kinda gets ya out of most dillemmas like that.

-K

 

[PATH]

I'd be honest about it's flaws and sell it "As-Is". I would not want to be stuck with a lemon so why would I do it to someone else!

 

[trapshooter]

Traded my Ltwt Commander a long time ago to a guy who later told me it went full-auto the first time he fired it. I don't even know if thats possible. The only thing wrong with it I could see was that it had some peening on the slide stop, which I showed him before deal. Maybe the sear can wear to do this, but I don't know. He didn't want to unwind the deal, so I shrugged and said recommended a gunsmith.

Second time I traded was to a dealer. Again, I disclosed my idea of faults with gun. I still got a fair price. I think that if you really think something is a POS, you sell it at a price that makes you feel ok, with disclosure. One person's POS is another's dream gun, sometimes. If it's broke, or unsafe, you got to say something, I think, or give up some sleep.

 

[Navy joe]

This is a useless discussion HRG, nobody wants to buy your 7.62x39 derringer.

I've only sold one lemon, a Charles Daly no less. I sold it to my favorite pawnshop and it resold within a week. When I buy used guns in such a situation, I expect the worst until proven otherwise, so I inspect them very carefully, then test throughly after buying. I expect others to do the same, so not a problem. On private sales I'm too honest, making it really hard to sell carss and such.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Am I just too scrupulous?

Nope.

IMO, honor and integrity are two of the most important qualities a person can have. They arise from the better part of our nature.

By contrast, the dog-eat-dog mentality arises from the worst.

 

[Cougar]

I can't do it

I have mentioned on TFL before that I once had a Universal M-1 Carbine that was a K-B waiting to happen. Since I could not, in good conscience, sell it to someone and have it K-B on them, I took a chop saw to it. Yes, I took a financial loss on this one, but I feel better about myself.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Many years back I bought a 1st generation Colt SAA that turned out to be a parts gun, and worth much less than half of the $850 I paid for it. I went back to the dealer, who pretty much just said "caveat emptor." I took the gun to a show, and sold it, telling the buyer that it had been re-nickled and its only value was as a shooter. He didn't seem to care.