tnhog Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 with this dealer? I'm looking at a couple of guns he has on his web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 They are within driving distance of me Never did business with them because their prices are too high, sometimes ridiculously high I see they have a USGI 28 bolt for $395 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubguy Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 He has some nice weapons. Very pricey!As far as dealings with him a friend has boughtSeveral MGs from him with no problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 On thompsons he is at $35k for bridgeports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 When someone doesn't say how much they want up front there's usually a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowman Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I had the same question just a few months back; responses in this thread were enlightening-- http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18507 All that said, I should add that I ordered a hard-to-find suppressor from them just this week. Theirinteractions thus far have been prompt and courteous, and I have no reason at this point tothink that the transfer to my dealer won't go smoothly. As has been pointed out, their prices are generally high... YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I've had good deals with them and as mentioned he often has things others don't and will never have. He has legit reasons for not posting prices, that's how he runs it, and it seems to work for him? He's not especially friendly to new guys and potentially hostile to tire kickers, so unless you are experienced and know what you want I'd recommend going elsewhere for training. He's from New York so he doesn't sugarcoat anything or into handholding if you know what I mean. I don't find his prices any higher than Reuben's but that's for the buyer to decide. I've had stuff delivered here, before the check got there, so I find he delivers what he promises in a more than timely manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normal1959 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I've spent a ton of money with him and experience has been what you read.I always got what I ordered and they pack it like it's a newborn baby.If he is the one who has it and that's what they want. I play the game.Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black River Militaria CII Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Pay close attention to the pictures and compare closely with the written description. Vahan has a bit of a history of glowing descriptions and not glowing MGs. He also has had some vintage MGs that were erroneously claimed to be original but were fakes, and a Maxim MG08/18 comes to mind that was a fake. For purchase of a high dollar MG, it would be more than prudent to visit and see the gun firsthand.I have worked on some of his guns for him which was hassle free. He's been convicted of fraudulent acquisition and sale of post-sample MG parts and electronic equipment. Haven't heard what the sentencing will be yet. He will lose his license, but someone else will take over that part of his business no doubt.He does not have anythiing that cannot be found elsewhere, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) I've had good deals with them and as mentioned he often has things others don't and will never have. He has legit reasons for not posting prices, that's how he runs it, and it seems to work for him? He's not especially friendly to new guys and potentially hostile to tire kickers, so unless you are experienced and know what you want I'd recommend going elsewhere for training. He's from New York so he doesn't sugarcoat anything or into handholding if you know what I mean. I don't find his prices any higher than Reuben's but that's for the buyer to decide. I've had stuff delivered here, before the check got there, so I find he delivers what he promises in a more than timely manner. i asked him for a price on a Bridgeport 1928a1..he was $35k......i have yet to see Rueben sell a Bridgeport for $35k.....he wasnt especially friendly and when i mentioned his pricing was about $10k out of line he defended it as being worth more because he is trustworthy and doesnt sell rewelded junk....he said people come to him when theyve been screwed before by others. he has some beautiful Thompsons......if other dealers are making $2k-3k profit a gun and he is making $12-13k ont the same gun he only needs to sell 1/5th a year to make the same living.....with his prices he cant deal in volume....they are off the chart high....Rubens prices are often high (not always) and those higher priced guns seem to sit, almost every gun he has looks great though......autoweapons guns seem to look similar, but with those prices they must sit for years..........he must have a million in guns just sitting my issue with his business practice is not listing prices....how do you sell something if you dont tell them how much it is...its a business model that you dont really see anywhere else....its pretty much for rich people who dont care and just want a gun....im sure he finds a few a year and makes a living off of it... Edited February 14, 2016 by huggytree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 gun buyers are amazingly tolerant of rude sellers and bad sellers rudeness is the way that weaklings imitate strength. nothing more and nothing less, there is never an excuse for it. if the guy cannot figure out how to deal with customers in a courteous manner, I'll just buy $400 Thompson bolts and my $35k bridgeports somewhere else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normal1959 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 He clearly has much more than a million dollars sitting there. Millions actually. If you look at the money sitting in the stock market, he might be the smart one Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) as far as home many millions he has i dont know because ive never made it to the bottom of his list...his listings focus on telling the story and not the typical gun/price then click to see a paragraph....he gives you a story and you must call for the price...ive spend a few minutes going down his list...it appears to be endless all i know is if you want a quality Bridgeport Thompson TODAY he is the only one right now who has 1...and i think he's got 5+ of them sitting there Edited February 14, 2016 by huggytree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTRS-14.5 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) I would suggest you just wait around for the auction or whatever the new operator does with his inventory... Something will have to be sold as he is "buns up kneeling" with regard to his weapons and future... PTRS Edited February 15, 2016 by PTRS-14.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnshooter Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 gun buyers are amazingly tolerant of rude sellers and bad sellers rudeness is the way that weaklings imitate strength. nothing more and nothing less, there is never an excuse for it. if the guy cannot figure out how to deal with customers in a courteous manner, I'll just buy $400 Thompson bolts and my $35k bridgeports somewhere elseWell said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 after talking about him i decided to make him a healthy offer on a bridgeport 1928 today.....last time he was at $35k.....curious to see if after 2 months if he goes down anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul in PA Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Rudeness is unacceptable in any business. And remember, inventory is not net wealth . . . . . How much does the bank own, line of credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Fine line between rude and being blunt I'm sure he gets 10 emails a week asking for prices and 2-3 like me who comment back over being $10k over market price. At some point you would start to get tired of the same thing over and over. In my business I see these customers from a mile away and simply tell them I'm overbooked and to find someone else. If he would just list his price he wouldn't have to deal w people like me who make overpriced comments back to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Ploughboy Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 IIRC, some time ago (12 or so years ago?) Autoweapons (and Only The Best) did have prices listed. Admittedly, the prices were "on the leading edge" as it were; then the machine gun market got hot, and transfer times got slow. Keep in mind, that the Dealer has a risk all the time that the BATF is taking doing the transfer. If the transfer goes through - great! But, if the transfer is rejected, now the Dealer gets the gun back, but they also have to give the now non-buyer back their money. Likewise, the seller Dealer may have to pay to have the gun shipped back from the non-buyer's in-state Dealer. So the seller Dealer loses the opportunity value of the cost of the gun during the entire transfer time(s). By having no listed price, the Dealer can give an up to date price to a would be buyer that takes into account the rise in replacement pricing that the Dealer has to buy at in order to maintain an ongoing business at a profit. I'm not a Dealer, nor do I ever plan to become one. MHO, YMMV, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowman Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 All that said, I should add that I ordered a hard-to-find suppressor from them just this week. Theirinteractions thus far have been prompt and courteous, and I have no reason at this point tothink that the transfer to my dealer won't go smoothly. Since we're posting experiences, I thought it only fair to add that they got my Form 3 movingtoday, as soon as they got my personal check in the mail. (I've dealt with much worse from dealers). Toying now with asking for a price on a few items... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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