Has anyone heard from Larry's Guns since Larry Passed - RIP

It's been more than a month since Larry passed.  Larry's was a Sole Proprietorship with one employee (DeAnna).  Most likely Larry was the only name listed on the FFL.  As far as the business is concerned even if there was a will if you have a gun there for work I start thinking about sending an official notification documenting your property.

- Dave

I'm not suggesting things won't get straightened out with some more time but I just watched a friend have to spend 6 months and $15K getting a $300K piece of leased equipment back from a business where the owner died.  He is now trying to recoup his legal fees and lost revenue from the estate.

I called yesterday and the answer was "This number is not accepting calls."  I then emailed Deanna at her larrysguns address and have not heard anything as of their close of business today.

I have a consignment Essex/Kart there.   Hopefully it will not turn into six months to get it back.  I suppose that ATF must have some kind of procedure to deal with death of a sole proprietor FFL holder.

Is ATF even open????

For what it's worth, I contacted Benelli USA about pistol parts. They have none, and do not intend to "at this time". They directed me to Benelli Italy. I have yet to hear from them.

BATFE is working daily....without pay, of course, but the field guys are out there.

Thanks to all who are providing comments re: Larry's (Yes, RIP). I've had a Hammerli 208s there for trigger work since early August. Like others, I've not had any response to my calls or emails. I understand this has been a difficult time for those closest to Larry, but I'm growing increasingly concerned about how I will get the pistol back. I'd make the drive to pick it up myself, but there's no guarantee that anyone would be there to meet me. I appreciate any continued updates in this forum that folks can provide.

Sincerely,

Laura

OK, a bit of an update:  I called City Hall and was referred by the Code Enforcement Officer to another gun shop in town where he knew that the owner had talked to "the family."  I called there and talked to a clerk, as the owner is OOT until Thursday.  The clerk was familiar with the general situation but not details.  He said that he thought that his shop would be trying to buy the LarrysGuns inventory.  He suggested that I call back on Thursday, which I will do.

I am not posting the name of the shop or the owner's name (though someone could probably figure it out fairly easily) because I don't think it would be helpful if they got bombarded with calls about the same subject.

I will talk to the owner on Thursday and report back here.  Then we can all figure out what to do from that point.

Much appreciated information, "OldShooter," by this "New (but not young) Shooter." Will watch for updates.

OK, here's the Thursday update:  Since the FFL was in Larry's name, his family (who are not gun people) is working with ATF to understand how best to proceed.  This may  be complicated by the government shutdown.

The local dealer is interested in the inventory and, if he gets it, he expects to sort out the consignment guns and the guns in for repair to contact their owners for instructions on how to proceed.  He (the owner) sounded like a solid citizen to me and I could be comfortable working with him.  Until Larry's family settles with the ATF, though, he is dead in the water.  He is keeping my phone number and will call me if/when/how things proceed.

So, no news really, except that the wheels are turning slowly.  We'll just have to wait.  I'll report any new news here.

Thank you. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Laura

oldshooter

Thanks for following up on this.  Anyone who has dealt with Larry will miss his work and expertise.  Any Benelli owner know that the only place for parts/etc was from Larry. 

David

Unaware of Larry's passing, I ordered a new trigger group for my Benelli.  This was Jan. 4.  My bank account was immediately deducted $425 for the part.  Of course, I haven't received it.  Emails go unanswered and phone calls aren't accepted.  I hope I didn't get swindled.  And if the inventory is bought by another FFL, then what happens?

oldsalt444 wrote:Unaware of Larry's passing, I ordered a new trigger group for my Benelli.  This was Jan. 4.  My bank account was immediately deducted $425 for the part.  Of course, I haven't received it.  Emails go unanswered and phone calls aren't accepted.  I hope I didn't get swindled.  And if the inventory is bought by another FFL, then what happens?

You weren't swindled, unfortunately the website hasn't been touched (there isn't even a notice of Larry's passing).  I'm sure it is on autopilot and accepting orders if the part is in stock.  How did you pay, if you used a CC the funds should only be reserved until shipped then the transaction will complete.  Did you sign up for an account, if you did you should be able to log in and cancel the order.
- Dave

oldsalt444 wrote: ... And if the inventory is bought by another FFL, then what happens?

I think @dronning is correct re the web site.  No small business runs its own e-commerce site.  They all use "shopping cart" software like Shopify, Yahoo, etc.  The shopping cart software accepts the order, gets the money, and then passes it all to the retailer.  No swindle involved, but if the retailer is not operating nothing moves.

Re the FFL I talked to, if he buys the inventory I am confident that he will work to get everything sorted correctly.  It is unlikely that he will buy the actual business, Larry's Guns, Inc.  This is SOP in buying and selling small businesses because there may be unknown liabilities and any buyer wants to avoid them.  So, absent any action in the mean time, he will probably end up getting the Benelli trigger and Larry's Guns, Inc. will have your money.  That's just something that will have to be worked out as Larry's Guns Inc. is wound down.  That will be a little time consuming but I have no reason to believe that there is anything but good will and honesty on both sides.

If it's any consolation, my $1750 Essex/Kart conversion is still there and I am not particularly worried.  I'm just resigned to it's taking time to get worked out.  This, too, shall pass.

I live in the area and am somewhat familiar with the situation.  Deanna was told not to come back after Larry died so she no longer is involved, at all, with the business.  The family is sorting out the estate but I had not heard the rumor that "the other" shop was buying the inventory.  If that is the case, I will be disappointed.  The shop that (I assume you are speaking of) is trying to buy the inventory is not very customer friendly and they couldn't care less about Bullseye shooters.  They are very much a shop that will sell anything for a buck and they are generally very expensive.  They are / were primarily a sporting clays / trap shop but they have even strayed from that somewhat to really have no target customers. The only good thing is they are fairly large and well funded so they will probably have what you need when you need it but don't expect any Bullseye equipment advice from them.  Imagine a smaller Cabela's with less personality.

I would imagine that the family's lawyer has advised them not to communicate anything on behalf of the business until the details are sorted out.

These things take time. Please continue to give Larry's family space to grieve and process.

Re: credit card purchases, your best bet would be to contact your credit card company and dispute the charge (can typically be done online). The charge will be debited back to your account while the CC company "investigates." Typically, this is an easy way to resolve unfulfilled purchases for you as the CC user.

One more note re: online "shopping carts" and CC transactions (I run a site that operates a shopping cart for ticket purchases)--When the transaction occurs online, the CC is charged and the monies received are auto-deposited into the vendor's (Larry's) bank account. No human interaction is required. In other words, someone should really go into the website and shut the shopping cart down. It's a simple click of a button--you just have to have access to the site and know what you're doing. I suspect this is one of the many overwhelming details the family is facing right now, so unfortunately, the orders will continue to pile up (and money deposited into the account) as long as the site is operable.

cavedweller29 wrote:I live in the area and am somewhat familiar with the situation.  Deanna was told not to come back after Larry died so she no longer is involved, at all, with the business.  The family is sorting out the estate but I had not heard the rumor that "the other" shop was buying the inventory.  If that is the case, I will be disappointed.  The shop that (I assume you are speaking of) is trying to buy the inventory is not very customer friendly and they couldn't care less about Bullseye shooters.  They are very much a shop that will sell anything for a buck and they are generally very expensive.  They are / were primarily a sporting clays / trap shop but they have even strayed from that somewhat to really have no target customers. The only good thing is they are fairly large and well funded so they will probably have what you need when you need it but don't expect any Bullseye equipment advice from them.  Imagine a smaller Cabela's with less personality.

As the person who made the initial contact, I'd like to jump in here.

First, and importantly, I know of no "rumor" that the other gun shop is buying the inventory.  What the owner told me was that he would like to buy the inventory and had contacted Larry's family but had gotten nothing back.

The shop is large and appears to be quite successful.  That tells me that many people do not share @cavedweller29s negative opinions. My conversation with the owner was very customer-friendly.  He even volunteered that he would keep my number and call me if/when he had any news.  As I already said, I am comfortable with the guy.

In our conversation, the owner said nothing about going into the bullseye business.  NOW MY SPECULATION, ZERO FACTS:  I have owned and run a business roughly similar in size to his and I also do small business mentoring, so I see lots of owners.  My guess is that he is simply thinking like a businessman:  Larry's business is similar to his, he is nearby, he has the financial resources, so he is the logical buyer and probably can, if he chooses, be the high bidder.  If he wins, he will deal fairly with the consignments and the repair jobs, then proceed to sell off the inventory at, hopefully, a profit.  He mentioned GunBroker for my Kart conversion gun.  Maybe that's where all the specialty guns go.  I doubt that he has a very detailed idea of what is in Larry's inventory, particularly the parts, bits, and pieces.  When he gets this picture, he may even lose interest.  No way to know.

MORE SPECULATION: ATF has procedures to be followed when an FFL ceases business, but they assume that the FFL is still active during the process.  They also have people who have dealt with situations like Larry's where the FFL holder is deceased.  Are these people working during the shutdown?  I have no idea.  I also don't know what "Larry's family" comprises.  Does anyone live in town?  Any experienced business people?  Anyone even comfortable around guns?  What are their financial resources?  Can they hire an attorney to work on this and just let the meter spin?  Will they?

I agree with John Bickar's position: These things take time.  Getting all spun up on speculation is a waste of time.

Probably the most important statement yet.  

The only caveat to this is I would not be complacent when a firearm or significant money is at stake.  At some point when a point of contact for the estate is determined I would certainly make a claim on my property.  A probate notice may have already be posted.  Expecting it to be sorted out by anyone properly, even the ATF, might be wishful thinking.  I can see a gun in for repair being sent back in pieces and possibly with pieces missing.  They should have the work orders telling what work was to be done but if a gun's current state is completely broken down and if not well documented who knows where the parts are or what goes with what.  So it's important that you clearly define what you sent them, with a value.  NO REASON TO PANIC just a reason to be prepared.  

Hopefully it will be handled perfectly.
- Dave 

FYI - Larry had a daughter & 5 siblings 4 are less than an hour away.

"First, and importantly, I know of no "rumor" that the other gun shop is buying the inventory.  What the owner told me was that he would like to buy the inventory and had contacted Larry's family but had gotten nothing back." 

It sounds as though I may have offended you somehow and if so, I am sorry.  I didn't mean to imply you had started a rumor I meant, in this area....the area in which both LGI's and this other shop share, I have not heard of anything like that mentioned.  I know everyone mentioned (assuming we are speaking of the same "other shop") personally and I see them regularly and there has been no hint of that.

I also didn't mean to say the gun shop was a bad shop and / or, the owner is anything but a decent guy.  I said his shop is an "anything for a buck" shop that doesn't really specialize in anything and who will be useless for any bullseye info and advice for customers.  LGI was a VERY specialized shop and dealt primarily in precision pistol type activity.  He was a great resource for parts, guns and information.  THAT type of gunshop will not emerge from this situation.

"The shop is large and appears to be quite successful.  That tells me that many people do not share @cavedweller29s negative opinions."  I tried to give people an insight about what was going on around here and for some reason apparently sparked some hostility from you.  I never said (lets call it HC's instead of "other shop") HC's was bad, I described, quite accurately I must add, the type of shop he has.  It is a fine shop and he has anything you may want to purchase and, if you are interested in shotgun sports, you can get some great info too.  He is not and will very likely not ever be a shop that is helpful to bullseye shooters.

I can say quite assuredly, the process of sorting out Larry's estate is not going to be as smooth as many would like it to be.  I was also trying to let people know that the people involved will get things worked out and they will get their money / equipment back in time. 

Once again, sorry for making you mad but I was just trying to help people understand that while it will take a bit, they will end up ok.

cavedweller29 wrote:...  I can say quite assuredly, the process of sorting out Larry's estate is not going to be as smooth as many would like it to be. ...

Once again, sorry for making you mad but I was just trying to help people understand that while it will take a bit, they will end up ok.

Your point about sorting out is reasonable.  I see no reason to be other than optimistic, though, because there is nothing I can do but wait and see regardless.  Stewing about unpredictable things is just not my style.

From my limited contact, I agree with your prediction that this shop will not become a "bullseye shop" in any meaningful way.  Really, for the sport it would be better if another specialist shop bought the inventory.  But I haven't been shooting for 10 years (that's why I'm selling stuff)  so have lost touch with who might be a candidate.

Re "mad" I wasn't mad, but I did feel that your post was inaccurate re there being a "rumor" and was unproductively negative.  But maybe that was an overreaction.  If so, sorry.

Peace.