I have no affiliation with GunTab, but have used the service twice to conduct long-distance gun purchases and wanted to share my experience here in case other folks were interested in using such a service. On the whole, my experience has been positive and the service worked great. If this thread should be moved to the Marketplace or elsewhere, moderators should feel free to do so.
Personally, I feel that it is irresponsible to send a large check off through the mail and hope that a gun arrives at my FFL in exchange. The virtual community created here helps a lot, including Marketplace feedback and general reputation established on the site, but still, you never know.
GunTab is an escrow service that helps protect the buyer and the seller in remotely conducted gun sale transactions. I believe there are restrictions or prohibitions on using Venmo or PayPal for gun purchases, so I was happy to find that there is an alternative. Both parties register with the service and create a user profile. Either party can create a transaction on the website, describing the firearm, including pictures and website links if needed, and payment terms, including who pays for shipping and showing the fees charged by the website (2.9% - about $70 for my recent $2300 purchase). One party can bear the fees, or they can be shared by both sides. A Payment Offer or Payment Request is sent to the other party for their acceptance, at which time the website charges payment to the buyer. The seller is notified once GunTab has the payment secure that they are cleared to ship the firearm through the designated FFLs. Once the seller confirms delivery has been confirmed, the buyer has three days to accept or reject the firearm. In the case of acceptance, the payment is released to the seller. If the buyer disputes the transaction, they must submit evidence that the gun is "significantly not as described" to GunTab. Gun Tab then decides whether to start a return and refund, or, if they do not agree with the dispute, releases payment to the seller.
Pros and Cons, in my opinion:
Pro- Security. This is a real website and puts you and your economic/life partners at ease that you are not being scammed and sending money off into the wilderness. To me, that is well worth the modest cost. That's my experience as a buyer.
Pro- Transparency. The process seems well-designed to establish what is being sold to whom, who is paying for what, and all relevant details of the firearm. This is on the parties to be pro-active and ask for and provide information, however. If you accept "Mossberg Shotgun" with no further details, you are going to get whatever shows up. I would suggest at this point in the transaction, the buyer request and the seller provide a very detailed description and pictures of the firearm, any accessories, etc., so condition is totally clear and documented within the GubTab transaction. Maybe something that wasn't discussed in detail in the Marketplace listing will be caught that would otherwise be a surprise to the buyer, or that the seller previously overlooked but wouldn't want to fail to disclose.
Con - Time delays. One key item to note is that a buyer can pay with a credit card payment (for an additional fee of about 3% if I recall correctly), or a direct bank transfer. I recently opted for a transfer. Credit card payments are processed immediately and the seller is instructed to ship the gun. Not so for bank transfers. GunTab imposes a 4 business-day delay. Even though the transfer occurred in less than 24 hours, additional waiting days were required regardless. Between weekends and holidays, this ended up being something like 8 calendar days in my case. I have no idea if it is possible to somehow claw back a bank transfer within the first 4 days, but this seemed like a needless delay for both sides if not a genuine a fraud-protection measure.
Con- Acceptance window. Perhaps not so much a con as just a factor to consider. A brief acceptance window is a reasonable requirement that I would expect as a seller. The issue arises in states with a waiting period to pick up your firearm, or for folks living far from their FFL. When it is delivered, the acceptance window starts, period. This is your chance to get yourself down to the FFL and give the gun a very thorough going-over, regardless whether you have work, your FFL's store is open, you are out of town, or whether you can actually take the firearm and give it a functional test. Checking a new gun over at the counter in a crowded store can be stressful and details can be missed. Be sure to check the operation of everything critical; not just overall condition but the function of adjustable stock or rib features, for instance. Is the case as described and were all those chokes or tools mentioned actually included? This where asking lots of questions beforehand and getting pictures of absolutely everything is important, so you won't miss anything or get any surprises. Then, in the case of waiting-period states, you have to go home and hope you didn't miss anything substantial.
I think that's most of my thoughts. In summary, totally worth it, but good to know what to expect! Hope this is helpful and maybe this will help a few folks feel confident entering transactions here and elsewhere so we can all enjoy shooting these great firearms!
Personally, I feel that it is irresponsible to send a large check off through the mail and hope that a gun arrives at my FFL in exchange. The virtual community created here helps a lot, including Marketplace feedback and general reputation established on the site, but still, you never know.
GunTab is an escrow service that helps protect the buyer and the seller in remotely conducted gun sale transactions. I believe there are restrictions or prohibitions on using Venmo or PayPal for gun purchases, so I was happy to find that there is an alternative. Both parties register with the service and create a user profile. Either party can create a transaction on the website, describing the firearm, including pictures and website links if needed, and payment terms, including who pays for shipping and showing the fees charged by the website (2.9% - about $70 for my recent $2300 purchase). One party can bear the fees, or they can be shared by both sides. A Payment Offer or Payment Request is sent to the other party for their acceptance, at which time the website charges payment to the buyer. The seller is notified once GunTab has the payment secure that they are cleared to ship the firearm through the designated FFLs. Once the seller confirms delivery has been confirmed, the buyer has three days to accept or reject the firearm. In the case of acceptance, the payment is released to the seller. If the buyer disputes the transaction, they must submit evidence that the gun is "significantly not as described" to GunTab. Gun Tab then decides whether to start a return and refund, or, if they do not agree with the dispute, releases payment to the seller.
Pros and Cons, in my opinion:
Pro- Security. This is a real website and puts you and your economic/life partners at ease that you are not being scammed and sending money off into the wilderness. To me, that is well worth the modest cost. That's my experience as a buyer.
Pro- Transparency. The process seems well-designed to establish what is being sold to whom, who is paying for what, and all relevant details of the firearm. This is on the parties to be pro-active and ask for and provide information, however. If you accept "Mossberg Shotgun" with no further details, you are going to get whatever shows up. I would suggest at this point in the transaction, the buyer request and the seller provide a very detailed description and pictures of the firearm, any accessories, etc., so condition is totally clear and documented within the GubTab transaction. Maybe something that wasn't discussed in detail in the Marketplace listing will be caught that would otherwise be a surprise to the buyer, or that the seller previously overlooked but wouldn't want to fail to disclose.
Con - Time delays. One key item to note is that a buyer can pay with a credit card payment (for an additional fee of about 3% if I recall correctly), or a direct bank transfer. I recently opted for a transfer. Credit card payments are processed immediately and the seller is instructed to ship the gun. Not so for bank transfers. GunTab imposes a 4 business-day delay. Even though the transfer occurred in less than 24 hours, additional waiting days were required regardless. Between weekends and holidays, this ended up being something like 8 calendar days in my case. I have no idea if it is possible to somehow claw back a bank transfer within the first 4 days, but this seemed like a needless delay for both sides if not a genuine a fraud-protection measure.
Con- Acceptance window. Perhaps not so much a con as just a factor to consider. A brief acceptance window is a reasonable requirement that I would expect as a seller. The issue arises in states with a waiting period to pick up your firearm, or for folks living far from their FFL. When it is delivered, the acceptance window starts, period. This is your chance to get yourself down to the FFL and give the gun a very thorough going-over, regardless whether you have work, your FFL's store is open, you are out of town, or whether you can actually take the firearm and give it a functional test. Checking a new gun over at the counter in a crowded store can be stressful and details can be missed. Be sure to check the operation of everything critical; not just overall condition but the function of adjustable stock or rib features, for instance. Is the case as described and were all those chokes or tools mentioned actually included? This where asking lots of questions beforehand and getting pictures of absolutely everything is important, so you won't miss anything or get any surprises. Then, in the case of waiting-period states, you have to go home and hope you didn't miss anything substantial.
I think that's most of my thoughts. In summary, totally worth it, but good to know what to expect! Hope this is helpful and maybe this will help a few folks feel confident entering transactions here and elsewhere so we can all enjoy shooting these great firearms!
