armslist bs

[ralph7]

guess the only way i would do a deal on armslist would be a ftf.
i just contacted a seller (larry g. sniperman ....) and he answered from a different state than he originally claimed to be from. i saw he got flagged before i answered his email to me.
i see a lot of you buy from the online auctions such as gunbroker.
do they "protect" you like ebay seems to?
i am very wary of all this kind of stuff.

[Oyeboten]

Far as I can say, or, my own appreciation anyway, is that it's a calculated risk ( buying Guns on Internet Auction Sites).

When looking at the listing, just take it all in fully - the presentation, the quality and kind of info in the text and images...look at the seller's Feed Back details, especially those which are from their selling verses their prior buying.

Some sellers are not well versed or familiar with how to describe or present the Arm, but are good people and well meaning and honest-enough.

Some sellers are not well versed or familiar with how to describe or present the Arm, and are not good people and are not well meaning andare not honest-enough and may even be quite stupid and quite hostile to questions or one's asking for better images and so on.

Some sellers are deliberatly vague or deceptive, and, the respective three can have listings which can look quite a bit alike sometimes!


So with this in mind, it is usually, maybe even always ( unless one feels the seller is without doubt, 'Golden' ) a good thing to do, to write them a couple questions asking for further details and so on, and see how their replys are...see the quality of reply.

[dennisn]

I agree that Armslist is not a warm and fuzzy site to deal with. FFL to FFL gives some protection. I bought a Python this way. Came in with the hammer broken off. Insurance with UPS, claim declined. How did it break? No one knows. Who pays to fix? Guess. My good deal is now not so good.

[ralph7]

the ad was for a gorgeous 43/4 nickel plate saa in .45 for $700. too good of a deal to not do ftf, imho.

when i replied that he had gotten flagged and "wondered why?" he responded thusly...

i removed the AD myself because there was too many low balers out there, i am new to the site so i guess i must have flagged myself, hope thats not a problem

not real confidence inspiring to me.

[Colt75]

Some suggestions for internet gun deals. Buy from sellers that offer a 3 Day Inspection and Return Policy. Pay with a credit card whenever posibble -- the extra cost is cheap insurance that someone will go to bat for you if the gun is not what you expected. Have the gun shipped from an FFL holder to your FFL dealer. With an FFL to FFL transfer you have a way to return the gun -- if the seller ships the gun as a private individual to your FFL you can't just ship it back. As noted above, ask seller a few good questions. How they are answered may tell you a lot. If you have a "funny feeling" about the seller don't do the deal. As always, JMHO.

[Blademan]

I purchased a gun on AL, and I was fortunate enough to deal with an honest seller. The guy was true to his word, and communication was excellent. He shipped the gun to my FFL insured, and provided me with all the right tracking numbers etc.... The gun was a Sig P-220 Carry Elite, and was LNIB. The seller sent me everything he originally purchased with the gun. Box, extra mags, cleaning kit,gun rug etc.... All in all a great experience. I did however have one guy that had "scam" stamped all over his ad. I tried to communicate with this guy , and he would only use email, I tried to get a number for him but he kept making excuses. Negotiations finally ceased when he told me he was traveling to Texas for medical treatment. I informed him I had a friend in Texas that would meet him inspect the gun and if legit would give him the cash for it, and then make arrangements to ship the gun to me. Never heard from the clown again. I think he tried to sell the gun a few times, using "stock" photos of the gun to send to possible buyers. Like mentioned before it is a shame, but you do take a chance when buying on any online auction or forum. Peace.

Blade

[egg collector]

If a seller does not reply to a email, I move on. Not many pictures, I move on. Not many feed backs, I move on. Bought one, I should have moved on. I am not expert, learning as I go along.

[LostintheOzone]

Always remember that user accounts on any site can be stolen. Someone that looks legit may actually have stolen someone's account and are using it. When making a purchase ask for a phone number and talk to the seller. Even though a site says they are hacker proof don't believe it for a second. A well known gun auction site compromised my Visa account information which shut my account down for about a week. Way too many scams going on for me to want to pony up a grand or 2 with no FTF contact. Jim

[MtnSpur]

In a previous thread there was discussion about Armslist and one guy in particular that was selling a $700 or $750 Python that was described as excellent. He was "a military person" currently not close to the gun in question and had a medical problem on top of that and had no phone. Red Flags all over that. Just last month there were something like 15 Pythons selling for $750 in different states with the same description. That was flagged and pulled the same day. FFL to FFL and credit card payment offers some protection. Sellers with positive feedback on GB helps but let's remember that the Colt Box Reproduction dude has A+ feedback (this still amazes me). Get phone numbers, physical addresses and talk with the seller to get a feel of who you are doing business with IF you can't do a FTF. Above all anything that seems too darn good to be true, usually is.

[CWO4USCGRET]

My tip for on-line gun transactions - including FTF and FFL to FFL, include engaging in a conversation with the seller and checking out the seller before I commit to buy. I've bought and traded about 12 guns on-line over the last 7 years; the first on-line buy was with Kid Sopris - a great deal with a great person.