[mpolans]

This depends on the seller of course.

If I were to purchase a firearm on this website. Unless the seller was a super regular, and long time poster here that I could trust. Which might depend on price point of shotgun. I would want the seller to use a FFL at his end. I of course would need to use a FFL at my end. Once we agree on price, and 3 day grace period, send pictures and talk at some length about the shotgun. Talking on the phone is a must IMO. I send the check/ MO/ Bank Draft to his FFL, after I talk to the FFL at his end. This FFL would need to see the shotgun and have it in his possession at this point. We would discuss guns condition (if I have doubts?), & or returning the shotgun if needed, and payment options. You might even be able to use a Credit Card? Once the FFL gets the payment, he sends the firearm to my FFL. Once I examine the firearm after the 3 days are up. The FFL can give the payment to the owner. No FFL in the US would risk losing his FFL license on a simple gun transaction. Or Doing something Underhanded, shall we say. The most it should cost the buyer is $35 for the FFL at his end? If the seller does not agree to this? Run Away from this Gun Deal!!! The Days of trusting folks completely are behind us. Although this website has many good regulars, and the staff here on TS.com is great about weeding out the undesirable's. This way is extreme, but both parties are covered if your buying a firearm over 10 grand. Good Luck to Ya. break em all jeff

The buyer has to use an FFL...it's federal law. For a long gun, federal law doesn't require the sender to have one.

 

[mpolans]

It's all about trust. If you don't have some degree of trust, don't do the deal. I look at buyer/seller feedback and post count, but that's not perfect. Accounts can get hacked, especially ones that have been dormant for awhile, so I look for recent posts. I prefer USPS money orders for big ticket items as any fraud would be mail fraud making it a federal issue. For items over $1200 or so, I only ship via USPS Registered Mail, as it is the most secure method of shipping around and can be insured up to $50k. It's also cheaper and more secure than Priority Mail+Insurance.
I only ship to an FFL's official address.

 

[double 00]

If i was spending more than 5000 dollars i would do face to face, and look first hand at firearm.

 

[Snooky]

I've bought and sold many times on here. Some just parts and some Krieghoffs and barrels. I always talk to the person or someone I trust on this site first. Just a few that I would buy or sell from without question, Reyper, Buster45, Motordoctor.

These people are first class and they know most everyone on here. If I have a question I contact one. I would never purchase without first talking to the person.

Combs, Tron without a doubt. He's actually kinda nice to talk to lol. I wouldn't deal with anyone who I thought is a Troll lol.

I've always dealt with personal checks and have never waited on it to clear before shipping. Just do your homework.

 

[vatrap]

If the seller will take a personal check, that's what I send. If they want a cahier's check I'll send that. I have also learned the hard way that what ever you send, send it via priority mail. Last year, I sent a check to a gentleman in Sedona, Arizona via regular snail mail. It went from here to Fort Worth, then to White Plains, New York, sat there for a week, then to Phoenix, where it sat for several days, and then he finally got it. The USPS sucks. Use Priority mail or FED-EX is better.

I sent a check to the ATA from the east coast in July via Priority Mail, took 11 days.

 

[KS-5 Spec.]

No matter what method of payment, I always have to talk to the seller before I buy, unless I have dealt with them before.

I have done some deals if I knew they were legit from other communications, or long time members.

A phone conversation either way, really tells the person you are dealing with. Scammers do not like to talk on the phone, and you can pick them out rather easy.

Cashiers check for me, unless I know the person well, then a personal check is, OK.

 

[amboy49]

The world we live in now causes concern for buyer and seller I guess. The electronic world of computers make it far easier to reach a much bigger "audience. And that eventually leads to a few bad apples. The last gun I purchased was from Gunsinternational. The purchase price was high four figures. I no longer trust the USPS to deliver anything at all let alone on time ! 🙄 I ended up sending via wire transfer. Delivery of funds by wire transfer is certain and quick.

 

[Tron]

Common sense goes a long way here. You can easily see the seller’s time on TS.com. You can read his/her comments and participation on the forum. Furthermore, there is a rating system our moderators have put in place to give/get feedback from members on their transactions with others. Talk to the seller and get clear terms of the transaction and any inspection period. There is nothing etched in stone so don’t assume you automatically have a 3 day inspection without coming to an accord. Communication is key. Good luck and good shooting, Rey

People read my comments and still do business with me.

 

[Pull & Mark]

The buyer has to use an FFL...it's federal law. For a long gun, federal law doesn't require the sender to have one.

Not entirely true. Some states do require the use of a FFL to sell a firearm.

Its a extra Trust Factor, that's all. Using a FFL at the sellers end, helps protect the buyer on expensive firearms. For a 2 or 3 thousand dollar item. Its easy to be more Trusting. You better make 100% sure of the trust factor before you send off $15,000 to someone you only know on the internet. What happens if the gun does not fit you at all??? Now you need to send it back, under the 3 day grace period!!! What happens if the gun is damaged in shipping in either direction? Things can get complicated quickly. Now the buyer has no gun, and no money. Then has to wait to see how the mail carrier is going to handle the gun damage. What would you do if it was your $15,000 grand???

What you want to do on a $8,000 gun is up you. Just my 2 cents worth. Most Folks will do as they please anyway. I am just giving our OP a suggestion on how to handle extreme cases. break em all jeff

 

[mkr1966]

This depends on the seller of course.

If I were to purchase a firearm on this website. Unless the seller was a super regular, and long time poster here that I could trust. Which might depend on price point of shotgun. I would want the seller to use a FFL at his end. I of course would need to use a FFL at my end. Once we agree on price, and 3 day grace period, send pictures and talk at some length about the shotgun. Talking on the phone is a must IMO. I send the check/ MO/ Bank Draft to his FFL, after I talk to the FFL at his end. This FFL would need to see the shotgun and have it in his possession at this point. We would discuss guns condition (if I have doubts?), & or returning the shotgun if needed, and payment options. You might even be able to use a Credit Card? Once the FFL gets the payment, he sends the firearm to my FFL. Once I examine the firearm after the 3 days are up. The FFL can give the payment to the owner. No FFL in the US would risk losing his FFL license on a simple gun transaction. Or Doing something Underhanded, shall we say. The most it should cost the buyer is $35 for the FFL at his end? If the seller does not agree to this? Run Away from this Gun Deal!!! The Days of trusting folks completely are behind us. Although this website has many good regulars, and the staff here on TS.com is great about weeding out the undesirable's. This way is extreme, but both parties are covered if your buying a firearm over 10 grand. Good Luck to Ya. break em all jeff

You don't need an FFL on your end only buyer.

 

[Kickstart173]

If the seller will take a personal check, that's what I send. If they want a cahier's check I'll send that. I have also learned the hard way that what ever you send, send it via priority mail. Last year, I sent a check to a gentleman in Sedona, Arizona via regular snail mail. It went from here to Fort Worth, then to White Plains, New York, sat there for a week, then to Phoenix, where it sat for several days, and then he finally got it. The USPS sucks. Use Priority mail or FED-EX is better.

I have had this same issue with USPS Priority Mail. Another thing is to make sure about the amount of Insurance is being put on the item.

 

[flincher0026]

Money orders and USPS money orders are the same as a personal check. They offer no special protection from fraud. The USPS has trouble catching it's own people stealing and throwing away mail. Postal inspectors have bigger fish to fry. Good luck with them. Counterfeit money orders are very common. And the bank usually catches up to you when they find a bad one that you deposited. Most of the time they release the funds and you get stuck owing the bank after you shipped thinking funds cleared.

 

[Dholt]

I bought a reloader from a gentleman on here and he sent me the tracking number before I got his cashier check in the mail. There is lots of good trust between people on this site and we need to keep the riff raff away.

 

[aseats]

This depends on the seller of course.

If I were to purchase a firearm on this website. Unless the seller was a super regular, and long time poster here that I could trust. Which might depend on price point of shotgun. I would want the seller to use a FFL at his end. I of course would need to use a FFL at my end. Once we agree on price, and 3 day grace period, send pictures and talk at some length about the shotgun. Talking on the phone is a must IMO. I send the check/ MO/ Bank Draft to his FFL, after I talk to the FFL at his end. This FFL would need to see the shotgun and have it in his possession at this point. We would discuss guns condition (if I have doubts?), & or returning the shotgun if needed, and payment options. You might even be able to use a Credit Card? Once the FFL gets the payment, he sends the firearm to my FFL. Once I examine the firearm after the 3 days are up. The FFL can give the payment to the owner. No FFL in the US would risk losing his FFL license on a simple gun transaction. Or Doing something Underhanded, shall we say. The most it should cost the buyer is $35 for the FFL at his end? If the seller does not agree to this? Run Away from this Gun Deal!!! The Days of trusting folks completely are behind us. Although this website has many good regulars, and the staff here on TS.com is great about weeding out the undesirable's. This way is extreme, but both parties are covered if your buying a firearm over 10 grand. Good Luck to Ya. break em all jeff

You aren’t ever going to sell a gun.

 

[aseats]

For the Trust Factor!!!

I wouldn't buy your $15,000 shotgun from you. Unless we did it the way I suggested. I want to know my $$$ will be held by the FFL until the 3 day grace period has lapsed. I want a 3rd party involved, in case I want to return the gun for any reason. Knowing the FFL has held my funds until such time. This makes returning the shotgun easy. If the gun is damaged, the insurance will handle the claim. Since the FFL on the seller end is doing all the shipping. The same FFL can send the buyer a return shipping label. In case the gun gets damaged, its easy for him to deal with the aftermath. I can still get my funds returned in a timely fashion. Everyone makes out in the end. As long as the FFL (on sellers end) gets paid a upfront amount. You have to remember shipping across the country can take 5+ days in each direction. Add in the 3 day grace period and time it takes me to pick up the gun. The total time can easily take 2+ weeks for this to happen. Once the seller has cash in hand, things can turn ugly when $15 grand is on the table, if the buyer wants to return the gun for any reason. Now I grant you, no need to go to such extremes with a 2 or 3 thousand dollar shotgun to a long time poster here. I just wanted to cover the most extreme case. Since, I have no idea what price line of firearm the OP wants to sell or buy??? break em all Jeff

If you are using an online company like Gun Broker you are obligated to send the firearm as soon as you get the payment, as long as you get what you requested. If you take a personal check and intend to wait until the check clears you need to imply that. Otherwise a bank draft, money order, cashier check, are consider cash, and you must send the gun with tracking supplied to the byer.

 

[woodperson]

The two guns I sold here or on Shotgun World I just took personal checks from the buyer. So far I have not bought a gun online.

 

[Stlmkr]

I sold Krieghoff barrrels for over $6,000. The buyer used Pay Pal. Apparently, for a few extra dollars, they will protect your purchase if the seller turns out to be a fraud.

 

[mt]

interesting posts....i too had some concerns. I'm now disabled and can no longer drive. I'll have to sell some of our cherished trapguns. It pains me to do so and didn't really know how best to do so.

I didn't know PayPal would work for firearms. good to know.

 

[ilndrox]

FWIW, it would be worth your while to find, read, and adhere to the buy/sell rules on this forum. Ask me how I know. On second thought, don't, just read and follow the rules...

 

[Willy_Cash]

I have succesfully bought and sold on GunBroker.com and Florida Gun Trader. Gun Broker has solid protection for both buyers and sellers. Florida Gun Trader requires a face to face meeting for an in state person to person transfer. In either case, a series of telephone communications will establish the trust level required.