If you are in this business long enough, your going to get burned from time to time. My rule is real good pictures and good communication (on the phone) before you send the check and FFL. Lacking either of those, you must I repeat must be granted a 3 day inspection period and they must say you can return it for any reason at all at your (not their) expense. The times' I've been burned were because the guns were badly represented and both dealers said they would honor the 3 day inspection period and then both backed out of that promise. Both times I was stuck. Both times I moved the guns onward with full disclosure of the warts and took my lumps.
However, trying do be too picky can often result in missing out on some good guns. Some folks don't know what they have. They don't know the basics, such as ringing the barrels, bore diameter, barrel wall thickness etc. They are either uninformed, or they just don't have the equipment to provide the information. You can often ask lots of questions and walk them through the process to your satisfaction.
Also, some won't honor the 3 day inspection period because they were burned by tire kickers. I've also heard of folks who shipped guns in one condition, the buyer didn't like them and upon inspection on the return the seller determined they had been messed with.
In summary, you just have to be careful and trust your instincts. BTW, the two guns I was burned on were both Foxes. One had been redone (and badly) and was represented as not being refinished (this was years ago) and the other was a pawn shop dealer in Florida who was simply a liar and crook.
