[Santo101979]

Sorry guys, this could be a dumb question....but

I am considering buying a shotgun from some of the guys here on TS. How do you work out making the payments? Playing devils advocate here, but how do you know that you wont get ripped off?

How do you guys buy and sell safely on here?

 

[trapshooteraa27aa]

Make contact with person through a couple emails or better yet by phone. Talk through deal till u feel comfortable. Pay with some type of certified funds to be able to track and if necessary to go back on if deal is not completed. I have bought and sold alot on here with no problems. Also may ask others on the sellers reputation if he agrees to let you ask about him on here and hopefully he has had other positive transactions on here as well. I find with good conversation back and forth with have a great outcome.
Chris Teeters

 

[BAD 303]

I would say that anyone on here has had a dealing with someone at one time or another. I doubt anyone would object if you simply post their name and ask about a reference. Guns are not the place to be pulling scams off.

 

[ms_yuan]

There are no guarantees, but I've seen a lot of positive feedback for many sales and only a few folks air out their dissatisfaction.

1. I'd carry out a detailed, written dialog with the other party with terms, detailed description, inspection period, who pays return freight, etc. all nailed down before any transaction.

2. Check out the feedback on this site for folks who've done this before.

3. Treat the buyer/seller the way you'd want to be treated to encourage reciprocal behavior.

4. If it all goes well, tell everyone else so they can benefit -- similarly, if it goes off the rails.

5. Don't do a deal out of your comfort zone. I bought a BT-99 (from Mark Cameron - a great transaction, btw), but I'd think long and hard before buying a K-80 over the net, sight unseen from someone I never met.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Santo101979]

I wish I was able to even think about buying a K-80. I am looking to pickup an 1100 Classic Trap, have few guns I am interested in, never bought anything from this site before, and wanted to know how the buying process works on here.

 

[truthseeker]

I have purchased 2 shotguns here:

1. Ask for name, phone number and address

2. Look up their house on google maps

3. Search google for their name

4. Type their phone number into google and search on it

5. Ask where they work or what shotgun club they are a member at

6. Call the shotgun club and ask them about the seller (how long has he been a member, is he honest, etc...)

7. Ask them if they have a ebay account. If so, send them a message there, like "What is 5+3?" and ask them to reply to the message with their full name and the answer to the question. (This way you KNOW if that is their actual ebay account and if they have 100% feedback then they are probably legit)

Basically you have to do some background checking on the seller. The same applies to the buyer.

Both of my transactions went perfectly!

 

[lbshootin]

I have bought and sold several guns on this site. I used to be a "GUNBROKER.COM" exclusive user. The guys on this site are straightup, but due your "due diligence", we sellers expect that!...We live (and die) by our reputation, even tho we have no grading system like gunbroker or gunsamerica, but by far, you will get a better deal, and a more comfortable feeling by buying via this site. As the guys above stated, just ask, you will be told if a seller is (or is not) a stand-up person!......Also, alot of the guys who sell on here are dealers and do this for a living!.....LarryB

 

[TrapCrazy]

Well, I have sold 3 shotguns on here and have purchased several on here as well. Including sending $6K to a guy in Hawaii for a K80. Talk about sweating it out! All in all I have had nothing but pleasant experiences on here. You can generally post a search about a guy if you are concerned. That's what I did and people responded with there experiences. Etc

 

[short shucker]

The people here do a great job of policing the ranks. If a deal has went sour and wasn't able to be resolved between the two parties, it's posted. This system seems to work very well. Make sure to to get an inspection agreement of some sort worked out prior to money changing hands.

If I'm selling something on this site, I'll only accept PM's. I never list a email address. This way I know whom I'm dealing with and can look them up using the search engine on this site. It explains a lot about a persons character by their posts. This has served me well over the years as I've yet to have a bad transaction on this site!

ss

 

[goose2]

All though a bad deal can happen on here, I have sold and purchased over $100,000 worth on this site in five years without a glitch. The guys on this site are very honest and a pleasure to do business with.

 

[Ernesto1]

I purchased an 1100 classic trap from a fellow who lived in Virginia from this site. I am located in Florida. I pm'd him and got the particulars. I was headed that way so decided to pick it up in person. I mailed him a personal check that he held until I got there. He made sure I was satisfied with the purchase before cashing my check. I would not hesitate to do business with someone on trapshooters.com.

Just check the usual things as truthseeker stated above and you should be safe.

Good shooting!

 

[sernv99]

search on the username on here. You can look at their posts, however there is one caveat: Ever wonder why some people constantly post on the Political Thread and Off-Topic Thread but you never see their user name on the Shooting or For Sale threads? Yeah, it's because a lot of them troll on here to stir the pot but offer very little in discussion on shooting related topics. For me, I wouldn't buy anything from someone who trolls on the politics or off-topic threads and offers no real contribution to the discussions on the shooting threads.

Getting their real name and phone is good to look them up on the web however it's not a sure thing, as truthseeker listed out. For example:


- my number is a cell number and it is private so looking it up as if it is a landline is no good...you won't get any info from a cell number and I don't own a landline.

- I don't give out my work info, period.

- Although my last name is not common, doing a search on me will yield a bunch of other people with similar last names all spelled differently and I have lived in several different places in a short amount of time. I never owned a house nor been in any sutuation where my name was listed on any sort of public records (e.g. court documents, county land records, etc.). Addtionally, people need to have me spell out my last name all the time after I pronounce it so if someone calls my cell and hears my voicemail greeting, there is a 100% chance they won't spell it right. Even my relatives (who do not have the same last name as I do) screw up the spelling, in addition to some of my employment records (e.g. W2) and credit cards. The computers can't get the correct spelling of my name right.

- I shoot at a public range so I am not affiliated with any gun club for you to check me out.



I think getting on the phone and talking to the person is your best bet, especially if you are serious about buying. Email is fine, if you can gauge a person's demeanor through written text. And as one poster said, treat them the way you would want to be treated. If you try to lowball them with an offer and they refuse, don't cop an attitude with them like you expect them to counter-offer. Just accept it and move on, maybe leaving your contact info with them in case they change their mind later.

As a buyer, I don't expect a seller to allow me to shoot the gun to confirm the guns operation, point of impact, etc. It's caveat emptor. If i want a sure thing, i'll buy new or used from a place that offers a money back gaurantee policy. Same thing can be said when selling, I don't allow any "shoot" inspection because for all I know, Buyer X may use reloads that could cause a ka-boom or put a good 1000 rounds downrange, clean up the gun and send it back to me for some b.s. excuse. I'm not a rental gun store. Again, caveat emptor.

hope this helps....