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I went to the Fort Worth gun show Sunday along with my wife, daughter, and son in law. The general consensus was that the wife and daughter would go do their thing, the son in law was looking for a new deer rifle and would do his thing and I was looking for a new wheel gun and would do my thing.
Now to the issue. I came to a table that a man was selling from his personal collection, most of which had been left to him by his father when he passed. He had a nice Red Hawk that I was interested in so we were in negotiations and had settled on a price that was fair for us both. I had noticed a man standing next to me the entire time looking at his table but thought nothing about it. Then my cell phone rings and it is my wife. I tell the man (seller) excuse me a second and turn to the side, not leaving the table mind you, just turned 90 degrees with my phone side away from the table. My wife tells me when I am done to come where she is to heck out a holster she found. I say okay and we hang up. 2 minutes on the phone tops. I turn back to the seller, apologize, and start to pull out my cash and notice the gun gone. I ask him where it was and he tells me my friend just bought it. I say what friend, and he says the guy that was standing next to me. Then he gets red faced and asks "wasn't he with you"?
This guy had stood there the whole time, listened to the negotiation, under the assumption of being "with" me, buys the gun out from under my nose at the price I had negotiated while I was trying to be polite and turn my phone conversation away from the table.
I told my wife, next time if I don't answer the phone I'm in negotiations I will call her back.
The sad part is, not sure if I am more upset at the seller or the guy that bought it.
Rant over.

It's very frustrating losing out on a deal like that. I would definitely be more upset at the sneak who stood next to you then the seller.
In the end, it was just not meant to be. Right deal will come around soon enough.

Is the wife at least happy with the holster, that's the main part?

Yeah that's not kosher. I understand your frustration, the guy, if he was interested in the gun, should have offered to pay a higher price while you were negotiating, and then you could have at least had the option to turn it down. My wife also seems to have the uncanny knack for picking the most inopportune time to call, and since for most non- emergency communication, she will usually text, I never know if it is a critical call, will answer to find out that it definitely could have waited.

Hopefully you will be able to get the gun you want at an even better price. And the miscreant who swooped in on your deal, will end up having to send his in for repairs several times (is that vindictive?)

That was very sorry of the guy to jump your deal like that.

Just food for thought and not being critical of the OP. I typically will finish with the business at hand, especially if it involves someone else's time, before I take or return phone calls. I have a couple of friends and customers that always seem to think the call coming in is more important than the call they are on with me. I also hate it when a clerk or salesperson takes a call while I am standing there trying to do business with them. Kind of the customer on the phone is more important and urgent than the one that actually shows up in person. If you were that close to consumating your transaction, it may have been better to finish the business at hand and then return your wife's call. Just a thought.

I think there are things for all involved to consider.

mojo84 wrote:

Just food for thought and not being critical of the OP. I typically will finish with the business at hand, especially if it involves someone else's time, before I take or return phone calls.
I think there are things for all involved to consider.

Again, nothing against the OP, but . In another life when I managed a larger retail store I told cashiers that if they answered the phone to immediately put the customer on hold and finish ringing up the customer in front of them. While in may be possibly aggravating to the customer on the phone, I would rather the customer who was ready to spend $$$$$ be happy.

Sorry about that. In my defense, I thought you gave up and were leaving when you got on the phone... The price I heard was better than I had negotiated 20 minutes earlier and I was in a hurry so offered the same.






















just kidding!

But it doesn't sound like the seller knew you had accepted the deal.

steveincowtown wrote:

mojo84 wrote:

Just food for thought and not being critical of the OP. I typically will finish with the business at hand, especially if it involves someone else's time, before I take or return phone calls.
I think there are things for all involved to consider.

Again, nothing against the OP, but . In another life when I managed a larger retail store I told cashiers that if they answered the phone to immediately put the customer on hold and finish ringing up the customer in front of them. While in may be possibly aggravating to the customer on the phone, I would rather the customer who was ready to spend $$$$$ be happy.

This is a pet peeve of mine as well, although I find it more common in social settings. My wife, in particular, seems to have a compelling need to answer the phone regardless of who is calling. Personally, if I am spending time with someone I care about I will only answer the phone for a handful of people, and then if it is not urgent will tell them it is a bad time and that I will get back to them.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

steveincowtown wrote:

mojo84 wrote:

Just food for thought and not being critical of the OP. I typically will finish with the business at hand, especially if it involves someone else's time, before I take or return phone calls.
I think there are things for all involved to consider.

Again, nothing against the OP, but . In another life when I managed a larger retail store I told cashiers that if they answered the phone to immediately put the customer on hold and finish ringing up the customer in front of them. While in may be possibly aggravating to the customer on the phone, I would rather the customer who was ready to spend $$$$$ be happy.

This is a pet peeve of mine as well, although I find it more common in social settings. My wife, in particular, seems to have a compelling need to answer the phone regardless of who is calling. Personally, if I am spending time with someone I care about I will only answer the phone for a handful of people, and then if it is not urgent will tell them it is a bad time and that I will get back to them.

Although I do agree with you on this, my wife is not one to call just to chit chat. Usually its important and she is about the only one I will take a call from in an instance like this. and like I said, I was on the phone less than 2 minutes.

RPBrown wrote:
This is a pet peeve of mine as well, although I find it more common in social settings. My wife, in particular, seems to have a compelling need to answer the phone regardless of who is calling. Personally, if I am spending time with someone I care about I will only answer the phone for a handful of people, and then if it is not urgent will tell them it is a bad time and that I will get back to them.

Although I do agree with you on this, my wife is not one to call just to chit chat. Usually its important and she is about the only one I will take a call from in an instance like this. and like I said, I was on the phone less than 2 minutes.[/quote]

A little pro tip for IPhone users. You can set you phone to do not dist rub, but still have a call come through if the caller calls 2 times in a row. My SO knows that if she calls once I do not answer I will call her right back. If she calls twice I answer every time as I know it is for more than just to chat.

This is also very convenient if you have a loved one in the hospital or a youngster that stays out later than you would rather take a sales call.

I don't answer the call if I don't recognize the caller/number, that's what Voice Mail is for. If I were to be in the middle of something important (which rarely happens ) and the phone call was from a known source, I think I'd ask to call them back.

flechero wrote:Sorry about that. In my defense, I thought you gave up and were leaving when you got on the phone... The price I heard was better than I had negotiated 20 minutes earlier and I was in a hurry so offered the same.






















just kidding!

But it doesn't sound like the seller knew you had accepted the deal.

OK, that was good.................I fell for it.

Yeah, there's a lesson in there about answering your phone......that doesn't necessarily apply when the number is your wife's. the seller was just anxious to unload his merchandise, perhaps rudely a little too anxious, but he might have also misinterpreted your turning away for a minute. The real stinker is the guy who bought it without a care for the negotiation that was in progress, and who is obviously a moral syphylitic.

Lesson learned, teach your wife to text. Flea markets are first come/first served & cash is king. How long does it take to fill out a 4473, show your LTC and pay?

warnmar10 wrote:Lesson learned, teach your wife to text. Flea markets are first come/first served & cash is king. How long does it take to fill out a 4473, show your LTC and pay?

I think OP mentioned that it was a private sale, so no 4473. The other guy would have to be VERY quick on the draw to do a full 4473 before OP finished his call.

I also have a feature on my android phone that allows me to decline/ignore the call and send an automatic text message to the caller that tells them I unavailable at the moment and will return the call as soon as possible. If there is an emergency, call me again or send a text.

That way, I can tend to both without interrupting what I have going on while acknowledging the caller.