Consignment gun

Definition

Somebody else's firearm sitting on the shelf and recorded in the shop's regulated book.

Why It Matters

Consignment is normal in this trade and it complicates both halves of a purchase. The gun is not the seller's property, so it cannot be bought with the inventory, and it is in the regulated record, so it cannot simply be ignored either. Every consigned firearm has an owner who has to be told the shop changed hands and who may want it back. Ask for the consignment list against the shelf and against the book, and treat any disagreement between the three as the finding it is.