Armslist mandatory upgrade.

Laura

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So I use Armslist as I'm still trying to unload my 1911 and today I find out that the site is requiring an account upgrade. Anyone know what sparked this sudden change?
 
I'm thinking Armslist is requiring people upgrade their account because of all the scammers on Armslist. These scammers list their location as MASS/MASS opposed to, as an example - Boston, MASS. They steal pictures from Gun Broker and eBay amongst other places. I had a guy try to sell me a stock using my own picture he stole. Their prices are way cheap and when it's time to make the sale they request funds be sent electronically (Zelle, paypal plus others) or they want a USPS money order and sent to them out of state. It's all phoney. If users have to sign up, give names and addresses and pay a fee it'll, hopefully stop the scammers.

Oh yea, yesterday I "unloaded" my Ruger sr1911 after an hour at the range - I decided I'd better save at least some ammo for today.

Just my 2 cents.
 
So I use Armslist as I'm still trying to unload my 1911 and today I find out that the site is requiring an account upgrade. Anyone know what sparked this sudden change?
Volume?
 
Information harvesting. More $$$
I bet most people who sign up enter all the info they are asked for.
If it was me, use a secondary email I check , enter my correct state, and enter all the other information falsely.
 
They are trying to screen filter some of the turds floating through armslist. Bottom feeders won't pay.
 
Yeah back in like 1911 maybe you'd be a "Peddler" " a canvasser, chapman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a traveling vendor of goods. "
 
I've seen some suspect postings on there lately. Like 1K rounds of 9mm for $300, 500 rounds of 5.56 for $175, 300 rounds of 300BLK for $150, etc. The only method of payment is Venmo (no buyer protection), and as LotsaTiques mentioned, their location is just "Mass, Massachusetts". Most have an eye for scammers like that, especially when prices are too good to be true, but Armslist must be trying to cut down on all the scammers.

Have you upgraded? If so, what's the process? I remember signing up for Gunbroker which required an initial $1 charge to my credit card to make sure they had mine (or at least someones) full name, address, etc.

Edit, here are the listings, anyone want to take a $300 gamble?
I think the 400 rounds of 40S&W at the bottom are listed by the same user.Armslist.jpg
 
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So I use Armslist as I'm still trying to unload my 1911 and today I find out that the site is requiring an account upgrade. Anyone know what sparked this sudden change?

Just registering, correct. No fee? At least now you get 3 pictures.

Edit: I see they want a fee now. More likely just wanting to cash in.
 
I just checked my SPAM box and this showed up:

Dear Armslist User,

I hope all is well.

You may be finding yourself having some difficulty navigating the site. We thank you for your patience as we upgrade our infrastructure in an effort to reduce scams, and improve the overall user experience. As you may know, we are facing yet another lawsuit from the anti-gunners at Brady United. In an effort to offset the mounting legal costs, we have created a new paid account type: The Premium Personal Program. While it's still in it's early stages, our roadmap for the program includes some exciting new characteristics for our users including exclusive discounts, exclusive deals, and a plethora of new site and account features in the months to come. If you'd like to give it a try, click here.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support as we experience these growing pains. We hope to offer a vastly improved experience soon.

Best,

J. Gibbon
 
$7 a month to access Armslist, even to contact sellers?! That is REALLY going to limit the users and ability to sell.

They could get around a lot of the scammers if they just allowed some kind of feedback
 
$7 a month to access Armslist, even to contact sellers?! That is REALLY going to limit the users and ability to sell.

They could get around a lot of the scammers if they just allowed some kind of feedback
Wow. Even at the $4/mo rate, this going to severely limit Armlist's usefulness. This used to be a good place to peruse for the occasional bargains, but $4/mo to browse? I just scored almost 2000 rounds of primo .22LR for $0.07/rd. Glad I got that before this upgrade "offer."

I used to be a real Armslist fanboi. Looks like all good things have to come to an end.
 
I agree that the usefulness of Armslist is greatly impaired if no one can respond to a seller unless they agree to pay for that privilege!
 
Cute...but since I need the cash - unload this thing is the best description in the moment...
What kind of 1911 ?

I am curious also. I usually try to look for 1911's in the Classifieds. Did I miss this or are you bypassing NES? (not trying to be negative, just asking).
 
I am curious also. I usually try to look for 1911's in the Classifieds. Did I miss this or are you bypassing NES? (not trying to be negative, just asking).
 
You even need a pay account to contact a seller. That will kill off Armslist. A seller might be motivated to pay, but not a buyer.
$7 a month to access Armslist, even to contact sellers?! That is REALLY going to limit the users and ability to sell. They could get around a lot of the scammers if they just allowed some kind of feedback.
I agree that the usefulness of Armslist is greatly impaired if no one can respond to a seller unless they agree to pay for that privilege!
Yep. I think we are witnessing the death (suicide?) of Armslist. Pay to reply to an ad when so few will then reply back to you? Except the scammers, of course. 🤔

No thanks. Armslist R.I.P. 10/23/2020
 
Countdown until I cancel my $30/mo premium account because no one can/will contact me anymore... 3....2...
As least as a dealer, you can put in enough information so that interested buyers can contact you outside of Armslist. 😎

It's private sellers who will be paying for nothing unless they too put in some way to reach them outside of the system. :confused:
 
It's private sellers who will be paying for nothing unless they too put in some way to reach them outside of the system. :confused:

I was thinking the same thing.
Listing your cell would be a terrible idea.
Maybe create a dedicated gmail account that you could close out when done maybe?
 
Proof of this. I wonder how many people have ads up and don't realize no one can contact them?
 

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You even need a pay account to contact a seller. That will kill off Armslist. A seller might be motivated to pay, but not a buyer.

I think the opposite. This may be the only thing which Saves armslist.

They must be suffering from massive overload due to the panic right now.

Horrible time to make a change, but it may be the only thing which makes the bleeding stop. And if the end product is better, then so be it.

At least in my personal situation, I don't have days to drive around to 30 gun shops to save $10. And I have in a decade. A two hour errand to buy some ammo, or sell an AR at a loss takes weeks to recover from in terms of lost time.

If the new Armslist costs me $5 to initiate a comm about a purchase with someone I know already had to pay the $5, I also know my chances of that being a scam are 1/100th of what they were pre $5.
 
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