Armslist shipping

[EnoughGUN]

What am I missing? No one on arms list wants to ship. Are they doing something shady or do they just not understand they are severely limiting their options? Or do ( at least the ones selling something expensive or unique) they expect to find someone within driving range of nowhere vill random state that wants their gun?
I see things im interested in but feel like if they cant ship something they may be doing sonething illegal.

 

[Doyle]

I don't blame them. With a site like Gunbroker, you seem to have a little better class of buyer. With Armslist, you don't know who you are dealing with. Better to limit sales to face-to-face transactions.

 

[SamNavy]

It depends on the person. If they can point to an online forum or 5 and I can somewhat verify legit'ness, ie a dude with at least a few thousand posts and props or likes or whatever, then Im good with Paypal and shipping. However, if a dude can show me nothing, then I'm leary, but with a phone number and physical address,Ill take a money order, cash it, and ship whatever somebody wants to buy. My reputation is good, and I can easily get a dude verification on my "good-dude" status... done lots of business this way.

 

[turkeestalker]

I am currently waiting on a rim fire bolt action rifle to ship that I purchased last week from an auction on Armslist.
The listing stated specifically NO ship, like so many on that site.

I emailed the individual that listed the rifle who is in a neighboring state, and explained that I had an FFL holder to do the transfer, who would accept firearms from non-FFL holding individuals at no additional fee to him, and that I was willing to pay all shipping costs. He contacted me via phone almost immediately and agreed without issues to make the sale on the condition that his funds be received via USPS money order.

There can be costs involved for an individual to ship a firearm above and beyond just shipping itself, like transfer fees, especially when it comes to hand guns. I can understand a reluctance on the part of a seller to not keep it as simple as possible. I can also understand concern of not knowing just who you could be dealing with as well as a fear of possibly getting scammed.

Our phone conversation revealed that this individual, like myself, was an active buyer and seller on GunBroker, and active on a few firearms forums that I was familiar with. This gave each of us a pretty good feel for who it is that we're dealing with, of course it is still a leap of faith on both of our parts when you really get down to it.

He received payment in the mail yesterday and contacted me to let me know that he would be shipping the rifle to my FFL holder tomorrow and will be providing tracking information. An issue with his job causing the one day delay, no worries.

In the end it won't turn out much different than if it were a transaction initiated through a site like GunBroker.

There is potential for having real problems and I can understand an individual not wishing to take those kind of risks.

 

[JERRYS.]

the new sight is ridiculously difficult to navigate compared to the previous version. I can't even get all the graphics to show.

 

[db4570]

BUYER BEWARE!

Armslist is notorious for people posting fake ads and scamming people out of money. I know a guy who is a volunteer moderator there, and he can't keep up with the sheer volume of fake ads. Often the fake ads seem to outnumber the legit ones.

It makes no sense to be suspicious of a seller who doesn't want to ship. They probably have very good reasons. I typically don't want to ship, just because it's a pain. On the contrary, many sellers are eager to ship because that is how they scam people.

On the Armslist forum there is an entire section dedicated to posts from the hundreds of people who have been scammed there. Read through it. And if you're considering buying a gun and having it shipped, run it past them first.

The once or twice I have bought a gun on Armslist and had it shipped I had the seller ship the gun to my FFL first, before paying. The agreement was that the seller could confirm the legitimacy of the FFL, and that the FFL would not release the gun until the seller received payment. Many sellers won't do it this way, but I won't do it the other way, sending money first.

David

 

[db4570]

Just to prove a point, I just went to Armslist and spotted six blatant scam ads without trying hard at all. You can see how many minutes elapsed between my last post and this one.

David

 

[H.W. French]

ArmsList is Sketch

I use ArmsList and GB quite a bit. 9 out of 10 "buyers" wanting me to ship are suspect. I have made some legitimate deals across state lines through Armslist but they have been very few.
I often run a GB auction congruently with an ArmsList ad with a "Buy It Now" adjusted to compensate for the GB fees. I make sure to mention that in the AL ad and to any prospective email inquiries. That filters out a lot of the scammers and tire kickers.
If someone just doesn't want to sign up with GB then my criteria is: a phone call and email detailing agreed price+shipping, USPS MO+signed FFL Copy sent Priority Mail with the tracking number emailed to me within 3 business days. I've found the tracking number to be the biggest deterrent. If they don't want to pony up the extra two bucks for that then no dice.

 

[Smoke & Recoil]

I've dealt with a guy on ArmsList, he said local pick-up only, but I asked
if he would ship to a FFL holder if I paid his full asking price ($200.00)
plus $30.00 shipping for his Remington 510 .22 bolt action, the deal worked
out with do problems at all. So, not all deals on ArmsList are bad.

 

[campingnights]

I have sold a Ruger on Armslist, but I wouldnt ship either. I think alot of private owners like myself are afraid of violating some of the Byzantine laws in other states, usually a feloney, and so limit sales to face-to-face. Buyer in Michigan also needs paperwork filled out for a purchase permit or a CPL. Less hassle just limiting to face-to-face sale.

 

[KEYBEAR]

Armslist is the very bottom of the barrel . It is sad as it could be great but it is not . I sold ONE firearm using Armslist never again .

I will not let people I do not know come to my home EVER . Years ago I sold a Rifle to a guy that was 100 miles south of me . Like a fool I agreed to meet him halfway . When we met he thought we could negotiate the price again . I turned around and drove home lesson learned .

 

[tlm225]

I've sold on armslist and don't have a problem shipping. After all, I get my money first and I ship only to an FFL.

When it comes to buying on armslist, I'll only do FTF because of my concerns about a being taken by a scam. Few crooks are likely to try a FTF ripoff in police department parking lot.

 

[Blindstitch]

I bought a shotgun on Armslist about 100 miles away. First the guy wanted to meet me by the highway at a Mcdonalds/gas station in the parking lot. Yeah that was a no go.

Then they came up with another location that I had no clue how to get there so a third location at a residence was said. I arrived 5 minutes early and the person wasn't there. I called them and eventually they showed up shortly.

Turned out to be an 18 year old kid who had just came back from hunting. Who knows who's house it actually was because it wasn't theirs. Fliers stuffed in the door like nobody had been there in a while. The deal was good and I was out. The other person went in the opposite direction.

I had previously found them on Facebook so I knew where they were and where they lived and that the person was a hunter.

Beyond that it was sketchy as hell.

Another gun transaction wanted to take place in a walmart parking lot.

When doing armslist I like to deal with people out in areas where I know there's hunting and not inner city. But yeah it's odd Just like Craigslist. I won't buy anything from there after dark even if it's 5pm.

 

[RiponP90]

I've never shipped off of Armslist. To be honest some of those people are sketchy and some I just refuse to sell to. Others you can tell are not legally able to purchase a firearm by the way they are acting and the questions they ask so I won't sell to them either obviously.

I always meet the people in person and have a set distance that I am willing to drive. The biggest reason is so that I can have them sign a receipt showing that they purchased that particular firearm of that serial number in case it is later used in a crime

 

[WVsig]

What am I missing? No one on arms list wants to ship. Are they doing something shady or do they just not understand they are severely limiting their options? Or do ( at least the ones selling something expensive or unique) they expect to find someone within driving range of nowhere vill random state that wants their gun?
I see things im interested in but feel like if they cant ship something they may be doing sonething illegal.

There is a lot of fraud on Armslist by both seller and by buyers. It is really best to use it as a local classified. The only seller I would buy from out of state from Armslist would be a verified FFL.

That said I did ship a revolver once that I listed there. I asked for certified funds. Deposited it and waited for it to fully clear before shipping the gun. The other way to protect yourself as a seller is get a USPS MO and take it to the local PO and cash it before you ship.

 

[turkeestalker]

Follow up on my earlier post.
I received a text from the seller this morning that let me know he had shipped the rifle this morning as promised to my FFL transfer guy, and provided a tracking number. I checked the number at the USPS site and it does in fact say that the package was accepted and is in route, scheduled for delivery on Friday.
I realize that the potential for fraud and being scammed exists anytime that you enter into something such as this, and Armslist doesn't really provide any protection like some other sites do. But honestly I think that if you use your head you'll typically come out fine in the end.
This was my first purchase from an auction on Armslist, but nowhere near my first purchase of a firearm or anything else from a private individual over the internet.
Even if the auction lists a NO ship policy, maybe contact the seller and present an option making it clear that it is coming from a straight forward individual intent upon following applicable laws.
It worked for me.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

Armslist is notorious for people posting fake ads and scamming people out of money. I know a guy who is a volunteer moderator there, and he can't keep up with the sheer volume of fake ads. Often the fake ads seem to outnumber the legit ones.

As is EVERY classifieds site. If you respond to e-mails stating you have won the lottery of Nigeria and $1,000,000 dollars will be sent to you if only you first pay the small $1000 transfer fee, you probably shouldn't use the internet. Or answer your home phone. Or talk to anyone who rings your doorbell. I've purchased and sold the majority of my firearms using armslist or competitors. I've not had trouble finding legit buyers. I avoid shipping whenever possible. There is too much hassle and extra cost involved.

Armslist is the very bottom of the barrel . It is sad as it could be great but it is not . I sold ONE firearm using Armslist never again .

I will not let people I do not know come to my home EVER . Years ago I sold a Rifle to a guy that was 100 miles south of me . Like a fool I agreed to meet him halfway . When we met he thought we could negotiate the price again . I turned around and drove home lesson learned .

How is this armslist's fault? I meet ten minutes from my house and don't budge on price without a good reason, like 'your pictures didn't show this scratch, so I want you to knock off $10.' I had a guy 3.5 hours away who wanted to buy a gun recently and was ticked I wouldn't drive an hour. What do I care? I sold it for the same price a few weeks later. It isn't like I was going to get kicked out of my house for missing a payment(which is what many seem to assume when negotiating).
I've met farther away, but only when I have somewhere else in the area worth a trip. Do you realize what it costs to drive an hour? For me, that kills the deal right there.

 

[EnoughGUN]

arms list

Many of the ads are for handguns. Maybe its because im from maryland and maybe other states are different but how are they selling handguns person to person?

 

[Dreaming100Straight]

Just how a buyer can be scammed is obvious, but how can the seller be cheated as long as they receive payment in full before shipping?

 

[KEYBEAR]

How is this armslist's fault

Why would I care I know the problem is the sellers/buyers .
I do not remember saying it was Arms List .
But on the other hand it is the site no one but a fool will trust ?