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Caveat Emptor, Re Russ Gould of Canby , Oregon, operating as Network Retailing LLC, doublegunhq, bigfivehq, etc.

I have intended to post this for a long time but these events occurred during our deer season, then we had a death in our immediate family, then Christmas, and other problems. Today I see where Mr. Gould has posted a warning on the Doublegunbbs concerning someone that he feels treated him unfairly. This reminds me that I am overdue in warning others as to how I was treated in a transaction with Russ Gould.
In late October of last year, Mr. Gould had advertised on his website, a used Americase, 2 takedown gun case, with Orvis label, which he described as “excellent condition apart from one rub mark in one barrel compartment”. On October 27, I contacted him by telephone, and agreed to purchase the case at the advertised price of $295 plus $29 shipping costs. On Monday, November 6, Mr. Gould sent me an e-mail which read “I have your payment Ron. Will attend to this first Mon”. However, Russ Gould did NOT ship the case to me on Monday as he promised. Instead, without consulting me, he used the case which was now legally, morally, and ethically, mine, as a shipping container in which to ship two Westley Richards guns to a customer in California. He probably figured that I would not find this out, except that on Friday, Nov 10, I asked him to confirm that the case had been shipped and to supply a UPS tracking number in case I needed to trace the shipment. His response was “The situation is a little complicated. I shipped a pair of WR 16 ga guns to a customer in CA in that case with a forwarding label addressed to you. He got the guns yesterday so your case should be on its way to you today”. In fact, that case did not leave CA until Monday, exactly a week after Mr. Gould was to have shipped it to me.
When the case finally arrived here, it had been wrapped only in a single layer of brown Kraft paper which was torn to shreds. It had been dropped at least twice, on two of its corners which were battered and full of concrete particles. The rub mark was a half inch square in which the felt lining was completely gone, exposing bare aluminum. There were six other tears in the felt lining, ranging from minor up to two which were ¾” three-cornered tears. There were no keys for the two keyed locks. At some time, the combination lock had been jimmied and it was now not possible to reset the combination. I sent Mr. Gould an e-mail detailing these problems, advising him that I would need to have the case relined, and asking if he would help defray my costs. His only offer was: “Please take a $25 credit toward any future purchase for the inconvenience”. I would have immediately returned the case for a full refund, but I had paid a $97 customs and brokerage fee which was non-refundable. To say that I was extremely pi$$ed off is an understatement and I let Russ Gould know that in no uncertain terms.
Here is some of Russ’s correspondence with me:
1) “I feel that the condition of the case is commensurate with the price. I can’t spend much time on a $300 item. I manage around 2000 items and I spend a lot more time detailing the high dollar stuff than I do on used accessories.
2) “I stand by my description of the case as being in excellent condition. And no, I don’t believe your exaggerated criticism of the case, I think you are just mad as a snake because of the delivery delay and are trying to get something for nothing. I offered you more than TWICE the amount you paid for shipping to settle that”. So, first of all I am a liar. Then I’m looking for something for nothing. Then, the $25 which he offered is more than TWICE the $29 which I paid for shipping. Strange math that Russ uses.
3) “You got a good deal at half the price of a new case”. This is an Americase model 3011. The price of a new one, on their website today, is $421.12. Again, interesting math that Russ uses, where $295 is half of $421!!
4) “I suggest you take the $25 and get on with life”
5) When I told Mr. Gould that I intended to post this caveat, he told me “And be careful what you say, you may be hearing from my brother who is a lawyer in Toronto if you cross the line.” I guess that Mr. Gould does not understand that even in today’s litigious society, one cannot be sued for speaking the truth.

I telephoned Americase in Texas. They are SUPER people to deal with. They were helpful, polite, and certainly are service-oriented. I highly recommend them. They sold me two new keys, a new combination lock, and enough green felt to reline the case two or three times. I have since gutted and relined the case myself, so I learned two things from this:
A) How to line a case. B) Have no further dealings with Russell Gould.

P.S.: Anything shown above in quotation marks is a direct, verbatim quote, not a paraphrase. I have saved all correspondence in this case as proof of what transpired.