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Another armslist scammmer rant

RDG

RDG

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God I hate these guys. I wish the ATF or someone would go after these a**h***s..

Been looking for a Citori 16GA. One popped up on armslist yesterday in Ohio. It wasnt a killer deal either... just an okay one. The desciption of the gun was a cut and paste from somewhere else but I figured maybe the guy just wasn't creative. Ad only had one picture. So I emailed him through armslist.

The guys response didn't give me a warm and fuzzy so I asked fo more pictures. He sent me like 6 or 7 and agreed to ship through FFL.

He then asked for a postal money order or direct money transfer. ABORT!!!

I googled the firearm and found the exact pictures the guy sent me.. on another ad for the same gun through an actually FFL dealer in NH. Spoke to the NH FFL and he looked at it, he confirmed it was their pictures and their gun was posted on Guns America.

Seller then gave me the name of his FFL. Place has been shutdown by the FEDs for 6 years. Apparently the owner was scamming the government for a disability check, LOL.

The NH FFL and I both flagged the ad as spam but it's still posted.

Anything else that cans be done to shut these a**h***s down.
 
Scammers will be scammers. The best safety for any firearm, is the one in between our ears. The same thing goes true for buying and selling online. There isnt much anyone can do about it. Just watch for the signs of a scam, and your good to go.
 
I find that the majority of both buyers and sellers on Armslist are scammers--at the least the ones that I have had contact with.

I have purchased twice on Armslist. I will only purchase under my conditions. I require them to bring the gun to a gunshop and give me the name of the shop. I will find the phone number myself so I am not given a bogus shop/number. I call the owner of the shop and ask him to verify that the gun is in his hands and confirm that it matches the condition. At that point I will paypal the seller, and the seller will transfer the gun. If they don't play my way, I walk.

In terms of selling, I require a US Postal Money order (because it can't be cancelled) or a 10 business day wait for clearing payments. Money may show up in my bank account in a day or two, but the transaction is not complete at that point. The bank is actually advancing me the payment. It takes 10 biz days for transactions to fully clear.
 
I find putting "No cashiers checks accepted" filters out a lot of the scams. Any scammer who replies(pretty easy to figure out) is told that any attempt to illegally acquire a firearm will be reported to the BATFE. Also word to the wise - put "No trades" in your ad if you don't want trades, otherwise you will get a whole crapload of trade offers (No, I don't want to trade a gun for 2 50lb bags of dog food and a lightly used pedestal sink.).
 
Davidk said:
I find that the majority of both buyers and sellers on Armslist are scammers--at the least the ones that I have had contact with.
Click to expand...

So true. Just be awfully careful using PayPal as they will ban you and lock your account in a heartbeat if they suspect it's for a firearm or anything firearms-related that they almost randomly choose to ban.
 
EJFudd said:
So true. Just be awfully careful using PayPal as they will ban you and lock your account in a heartbeat if they suspect it's for a firearm or anything firearms-related that they almost randomly choose to ban.
Click to expand...

True, I always make it discreet and don't keep any money in there.
 
Radtekk said:
Any time I'm worried about a seller, gums or ANYTHING, I use Amex. They don't care, they'll reverse a transaction almost before you dial the phone. And anybody that won't take it doesn't need my money.
Click to expand...

Individual sellers usually don't take credit card.
 
I've had some interesting correspondence with Armslist folk.

Th last gun I sold on there I got a trade offer for a "sawn-off shotgun". No thanks, Mr. ATF agent!
 
There is nothing on armslist that you can’t find on gunbroker.

If a guy on gb has 200 A+ transactions you should feel good.

If you are a prohibited person and need a gun then get one one armslist.

When an ad from Nigeria shows up asking $1500 for a used G19, that is your guy.

3x retail is code for “I’ll sell to anyone.”

Armslist is a sh*thole.

9 of 10 Times you’ll be robbed at gunpoint from ads like that.

The seller knows you won’t report the crime.

The other 1 time will be the ATF.
 
Reptile said:
There is nothing on armslist that you can’t find on gunbroker.

If a guy on gb has 200 A+ transactions you should feel good.

If you are a prohibited person and need a gun then get one one armslist.

When an ad from Nigeria shows up asking $1500 for a used G19, that is your guy.

3x retail is code for “I’ll sell to anyone.”

Armslist is a sh*thole.

9 of 10 Times you’ll be robbed at gunpoint from ads like that.

The seller knows you won’t report the crime.

The other 1 time will be the ATF.
Click to expand...

Is any of this from actual experience, or just hyperbole?

I've bought and sold numerous guns on Armslist. It's main advantage over GunBroker (which I've also used quite a bit) is lack of fees and lack of shipping hassle.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've had exactly one problem on Armslist: a buyer from NJ who wanted to buy a pistol face-to-face. :/

You do get a lot of "is this still available?" emails and low offers, but that's no different than the classifieds here or other forums, and that doesn't bother me.

I still shop there, and if I want to get rid of a gun locally without the hassle of shipping, it's my go-to place.
 
ScottS said:
Is any of this from actual experience, or just hyperbole?

I've bought and sold numerous guns on Armslist. It's main advantage over GunBroker (which I've also used quite a bit) is lack of fees and lack of shipping hassle.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've had exactly one problem on Armslist: a buyer from NJ who wanted to buy a pistol face-to-face. :/

You do get a lot of "is this still available?" emails and low offers, but that's no different than the classifieds here or other forums, and that doesn't bother me.

I still shop there, and if I want to get rid of a gun locally without the hassle of shipping, it's my go-to place.
Click to expand...

Whenever I look for glocks (a gun with a reputation in rap videos) on armslist, I find descriptions that sound like they were written from an Internet cafe in a third world sh*thole.

They often sound like a Nigerian scam letter.

There are a number of threads on nes with details.

One of my favorites was the boob from Nantucket on a secret spy mission trying to sell a gun through western union.

I’m sure the majority of armslist transactions are good but that site has a higher incidence of scammers than gun broker.
 
I had a bad experience recently on Armslist, I'm not going to use it anymore. The person seemed legit, no Nigerian turns of phrase, but I guess I should have been tipped off by a red flag which was they were never available to talk on phone, only by email or text. I did a check that the name and address matched a real person, but after I sent a money order, they just disappeared, it's been almost a week and no emails or texts answered.
 
I have had good experience with Armslist for FTF transactions. Not sure I would even seriously consider an out of state purchase. Almost without fail, whenever put up a sale listing on there I get scammers.

One interaction last week (selling an AK Drum Mag).

HIM:
Hi, you got a good deal and I am interested. Your asking price is okay as well as condition of Item. Pls do get in touch to discuss. Thank you

ME:
Ok, what else would you like to know?

HIM:
Thanks for the message, I`m Interested and ready to purchase as the state of Gun is great likewise the price. I wont be able to come get it myself but my FFL will be doing that. I just relocated and i still have some properties which is to be moved from your area. My FFL Dealer would come with the movers to get my things and he'll come pick up the Gun as well. He would come with the Copy of his FFL and bill of sale.. I will be making payments through Check and after its been cashed at your bank a local pickup will be made as explained. I will add an extra $100 to the asking price if you can secure the purchase for me till the check arrives. Please get in touch with your name and mailing address to send the check to. Include your phone # as well for fluent communication. Thanks

[rofl]
 
Last edited:
hminsky said:
I had a bad experience recently on Armslist, I'm not going to use it anymore. The person seemed legit, no Nigerian turns of phrase, but I guess I should have been tipped off by a red flag which was they were never available to talk on phone, only by email or text. I did a check that the name and address matched a real person, but after I sent a money order, they just disappeared, it's been almost a week and no emails or texts answered.
Click to expand...
REPORT IT TO THE USPS POSTAL INSPECTORS

They will do an investigation and get your money back.

Never deal with a person with no feedback.

Never go on Armslist - they don't even HAVE feedback!!!
 
gxx9sdb said:
I have had good experience with Armslist for FTF transactions. Not sure I would even seriously consider an out of state purchase. Almost without fail, whenever put up a sale listing on there I get scammers.

One interaction last week (selling an AK Drum Mag).

HIM:
Hi, you got a good deal and I am interested. Your asking price is okay as well as condition of Item. Pls do get in touch to discuss. Thank you

ME:
Ok, what else would you like to know?

HIM:
Thanks for the message, I`m Interested and ready to purchase as the state of Gun is great likewise the price. I wont be able to come get it myself but my FFL will be doing that. I just relocated and i still have some properties which is to be moved from your area. My FFL Dealer would come with the movers to get my things and he'll come pick up the Gun as well. He would come with the Copy of his FFL and bill of sale.. I will be making payments through Check and after its been cashed at your bank a local pickup will be made as explained. I will add an extra $100 to the asking price if you can secure the purchase for me till the check arrives. Please get in touch with your name and mailing address to send the check to. Include your phone # as well for fluent communication. Thanks

[rofl]
Click to expand...

LOL. The very first email should have already been enough of a clue.... For some reason they use these bizarre language patterns. In the past when I was selling stuff (not guns), they say stuff like that, e.g. "I have reviewed your item and find it acceptable!" Who talks like that!?
 
It takes 10 biz days for transactions to fully clear.
Click to expand...
Longer if the check is a forgery of one with a legit account number and sufficient balance, as the fraud is not discovered until the account holder received and reconciles a statement.
 
Stop swimming around in the river of shit known as armslist, and the problem goes away.

-Mike
 
Reptile said:
REPORT IT TO THE USPS POSTAL INSPECTORS

They will do an investigation and get your money back.

Never deal with a person with no feedback.

Never go on Armslist - they don't even HAVE feedback!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah I am never dealing with armslist again. sheesh.. never again... I dont need this aggravation
 
jkelly1229 said:
Why most people I meet off Armslist are nice enough
Click to expand...
When I sold my LCS9 pro I had 5 memorable offers.

One wanted to pay me in a cashiers check and then send a courier to pick up the firearm because he was on a business trip. No he "wasn't f***ing kidding" I asked.
The other 4 memorable offers weren't offers, they were lectures from different people telling me how I was selling an illegal off roster gun and they were going to have me either 1) arrested 2) banned 3) license revoked 4) report me for fraud and 5) report me to the police for theft.
 
I sold off most of my collection between August 2017 and May 2018. The majority of my sales came from Armslist, but those were primarily MA residents not aware that NES existed. Only ended up shipping one firearm, my Garand, through FFL.
 
I saw an add for an M1A preban Supermatch...for 800. I should have known right there. He answers with more pictures, saying the gun is perfect and opushing for a sell. Luckily, he didnt hide the serial number, so I googles it, and turned it was currently being sold on gun broker by an FFL.

At that point I knew it was a scammer, but i replied with "Great, when can we meet at X ffl?", to see how far it would go. Never answered.
 
I've not attempted to buy a gun DIRECTLY from Armslist, but it's ID'd a few local dealers who work in the things I'm looking for. So I have that going for me.
 

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