Brand New In Box, Unfired: apparently these mean different things to different people. In the last month, I had two transactions wherein pistols were described as "new" or "unfired" and valued as such by sellers, but showed obvious signs of use/significant wear in person.

This post is not intended to accuse or assign culpability, but to inform buyers that this problem exists. In my recent experiences, an item's condition may not have been fully understood, to put it gently, or was a possible deliberate misrepresentation.

The following link gives a good breakdown of evaluating a firearm, helpful for buyers and sellers alike:

http://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research/evaluating-firearms-condition.aspx

Maybe there should be a 'sticky' on gun usage descriptions or some such title that will tell people how to describe the condition of their item.

PEOPLE LIE AND PEOPLE ARE STUPID..... BETTER TO KNOW IN PERSON AND WALK AWAY THEN BE STUCK WITH A BUSTED GUN AND UNHAPPY

See #3 & #4:

http://www.hensleygibbs.com/TCD/FIREARMS/Pending/A/rules.htm

+1