Am I too picky?

[jnyork]

I posted here yesterday the story of how I acquired a rifle from another person. I have had some nice comments on the story, and not one person on this board has asked me how much I paid for it. The same cannot be said for a couple of other boards where I posted the same story. "How much did ya give for that?" has always seemed to me to be very bad manners indeed. If someone wants you to know, they will TELL you, otherwise it is none of your business. Same goes with asking a person how much land they own, or how much they have in the bank, etc, it is just something you simply do not do if you have had a proper upbringing. Or maybe that is just the way it is here in Wyoming as part of the Code of the West, like asking a cowboy how many cattle he has. What say you, Levergun members?

[Old Ironsights]

Well,IMO, it was a private transaction - i.e. not on Gunbroker or some such - so it doesn't really matter how much or little you got it for because no one else could have gotten it.

Now, if you got a great deal and really want to gloat, well, I promise to only throw semi rotten tomatoes at you.

[kimwcook]

Generally the people on this forum are of a "more seasoned nature". That being said, manners were important when we were growing up. Like respecting your elders, women and looking out for children. Now a days the worlds changed and you're lucky to get a thank you from someone you just held the door for. Ticks me off. In that situation I usually yell "You're welcome". Maybe the light bulb will turn on, or at least flicker for a second. Don't get me started, there's a lot of things that are relevant to that line of mannerisms.

[KCSO]

My standard reply to those questions is, "How much did you clear on your paycheck last week". I am constantly amazed by the gall some people exhibit, I had a fellow come in the other day and sort all the dealer catalogs out of the mail I had sitting on my desk. I asked if he mined if I read my mail first and it didn't even faze him.

[Griff]

Just as I'd not brag on what a good deal I got, I'd sure hate to read about how I got took on a transaction. I've bought a few items from fellow forum members, most were PM transactions, I'm happy with what I paid and I hope they're happy on their end also. If I was in the market for a like item and was curious about a ballpark figure, I might inquire, "if you don't mind tellin'"... Beyond that, it's poor manners, & even that might be suspect. But, if I'm to be accused of being on ol' gezzer, at least I'm going to be a polite ol' geezer... at least till I'm not afforded the same courtesy.

[Blaine]

I wouldn't ask, but if I did, I'd PM and not public.

[Andrew]

I don't like talking about stuff like that either. Mostly cause it's un-mannerly, if that's a word, but also because it's always cheaper than anything I can find.

I shared my ROA auction because I wanted to share in the excitement of a score. Um....not to gloat.

[rjohns94]

I would agree with your comments. Just not my business how much someone pays.

[morgan in nm]

The way I look at it is of values. Not what things are worth but those unseen, commonly unnamed ones that we all were supposed to learn in church and schools. If you wanted to tell anyone what you paid for an item, you would have posted it. Me, the way I look at it, you got a great deal if your happy with it despite what you may have paid for it.

[Hobie]

I was once told that the proper responce to such questions (including, "how much do you make?" or "how much do you weigh?") is to ask, "why do you want to know?" Most know that they have no good reason and that ends the conversation, makes your point and doesn't insult the inquisitive dolt.

[Meeteetse]

I couldn't agree more. It is one of the most aggravating things I see on forums. If someone is proud of what they paid or didn't pay, let them tell you, don't ask.

By the way, I too believe it is the code of the west. Being polite begins at home, but I'm not sure it is taught any longer. That is certainly the way I was raised, but I'm getting old, so I guess things have changed. On the other hand, perhaps we have just lowered the standards.

[awp101]

If I was in the market for a like item and was curious about a ballpark figure, I might inquire, "if you don't mind tellin'"...

That's the way I approach it and I don't ask unless I have a reason such as I'm looking to buy or sell one.

"If you don't mind my asking what was the ballpark on that item and if you DO mind tellin', no problem!"

[Rusty]

You can't buy good manners.

[6pt-sika]

Typically if someone posts on a forum and is asking for help about what to pay for an item they are considering and I happen to own one I will give them an idea of what I paid for mine or what I have seen them go for !

Last year when the 308 Marlin Express was first hitting the market there was quite a it of price gouging going on and I did not mind at all telling someone exactly what I paid for my 308MX or 308MXLR . By no means were my two the cheapest of the prices I saw , but both were in $25 of the cheapest ! But then the dealer I order most of my brand new guns from usually tries to help me out some on the price !

[meanc]

I don't question what someone pays for something, nor do I let them know they've been reeled in and cooked like a fish.

I'm not rich, and I'm doubting many here are, so it's always nice to hear when a fellow member gets a good deal. So yes, I will brag a little about finding/attaining something for cheap, especially if it's a really spectacular deal. But heck, that's part of the fun.

I doubt it would offend many, but for those that don't like it, I guess that'd have to be something for them to deal with.

Oh yeah... in the morning, after I do a little tinkering, I've got one of those deals to talk about (with pictures)

[Ysabel Kid]

Asking what you paid - unmannerly.

Asking that you post pictures of your new acquistion - spot on!!!

[claybob86]

[dr walker]

I guess I should thank you all for the lesson.
While I dont ask personal questions about ones income or weight.
I never considered asking how many horses, cattle, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, kids, or other animals and such as rude.
Sometimes I am just curious.

[jnyork]

Claybob86, what a great cartoon, from the 1950's no less. Where did you come up with that, if you dont mind me asking?

[Modoc ED]

Personally, I don't see the harm in asking someone how much land they have. It may help understand someone or their circustances if it were know how much property they had. For instance, I can shoot 24/7/365 right off my back porch or anywhere else around my place. Why - because I have 20-acres backed up by BLM Land. Knowing that, people may understand how I managed to shoot a coyote on my property without disturbing the neighbors or how I'm able to have a 500-yard flag/target set up from my back porch out toward the back fence.

Asking the price paid for a gun mignt not be appropriate and really isn't important unless of course you've run across a gun that an old widow has and you buy it at a less than valued value. Nobody would want others to know they'd ripped off the widow lady.

[popeye44]

My wife's bil knows everything. He's the one that keeps telling me his Charles Daley 45 is "Just like a Colt". Told him I
was thinking of retiring in Sept at #62. First thing he wanted to know is how much s I would get. I politely said I
would be getting half of his. He thought for a moment and asked if that would be enough. I said were it not I would
take the other half.

[claybob86]

Claybob86, what a great cartoon, from the 1950's no less. Where did you come up with that, if you dont mind me asking?

It's from a book my dad got from his dad called "Cowboys Out Our Way" by J. R. Williams. If you ever stumble across a copy, the price, whatever it might be, is not too much.

[Bruce Scott]

Hereabouts it is not considered impolite to ask about the size of a farm/herd/flock, but you would not ask how much a feller made from his wool clip, wheat crop, etc. You might ask him what sort of season he was having but the reply would not be in dollar terms, nor would that be expected.

[Meeteetse]

Where I grew up you could usually tell a lot about a fella by the size of his hat, so you didn't have to ask. . . . . .the saying goes. . ."all hat, no cows". The closer you live to the city, the fewer the cows and the bigger the hat. It's funny how consistent it is. . . .

I've also found that the older a person is, the less likely they are to ask personal questions. I guess that's because they don't want to answer the same questions. . . .