Gunbroker 1% "Compliance Fee"

[KMM696]

Was messing around on Gunbroker, and discovered this 1% fee tucked in with the sales tax in their checkout system.

Compliance Fee

What is the Compliance Fee?​

The Compliance Fee is a fee assessed by GunBroker.com and added to the price of the Item at the time of purchase. The U.S. states have been very active in passing new laws applicable to GunBroker.com, including in the areas of taxation, privacy and firearms. These laws have increased the compliance costs of GunBroker.com substantially.

The compliance fee is currently 1% of the purchase price of the item.

Last updated 13 days ago - and a sneaky spot to put it. If your state is one of the ones they charge sales tax for, it might just go unnoticed. They could have just called it the buyers premium it is.

I'm not sure what their additional costs might be, and don't really care one way or the other. I did find it just a little bit shady to hide it in with sales tax on their checkout system, perhaps they assumed that their average customer wasn't used to how auctions not on Ebay work. I have no intention of stopping using them, it's a great source for weird stuff, but an FYI for everyone who hasn't noticed that added fee.

 

[Dench]

I save a lot more than 1% when I use gunbroker. Saved $300 on my last purchase. They are a business and need to be paid and they also provide me a great service.

No gripe here.

 

[milktree]

I save a lot more than 1% when I use gunbroker. Saved $300 on my last purchase. They are a business and need to be paid and they also provide me a great service.

No gripe here.

My objection is that it hides a fee.

That charge should be part of the seller’s fees, not added on at the end.

 

[snax]

My objection is that it hides a fee.

That charge should be part of the seller’s fees, not added on at the end.

Could be code laziness. That was the easiest way to add it in code/calculation wise.

 

[CrackPot]

It has been around over a year and I would say it is not hidden. They announced it very clearly when it happened and why. They need a funding pool to cover all the litigation they keep getting into. The Bloomturd and Gifford organizations keep suing them for facilitating sales of guns to bad people. This fee is charged against you buying, but not for dealer to dealer sales.

I do a lot of business on gunbroker mostly selling, but some buying (there are deals to be had below dealer cost). If you are doing regular business, this did not come as a surprise. Maybe the occasional purchaser did not notice or see it when signing up to terms of service.

 

[PappyM3]

My objection is that it hides a fee.

That charge should be part of the seller’s fees, not added on at the end.

I was very surprised by the added sales tax of something I sold recently. This makes sense now. Also, yeah this should not be on the buyer.

eBay raised fees to the point that I don’t use them anymore. That may end up being the case for GB too.

 

[milktree]

Could be code laziness. That was the easiest way to add it in code/calculation wise.

Are you serious? The seller’s fees are already in place. It’s way easier to change the seller’s fee.

 

[PappyM3]

It has been around over a year and I would say it is not hidden. They announced it very clearly when it happened and why. They need a funding pool to cover all the litigation they keep getting into. The Bloomturd and Gifford organizations keep suing them for facilitating sales of guns to bad people. This fee is charged against you buying, but not for dealer to dealer sales.

I do a lot of business on gunbroker mostly selling, but some buying (there are deals to be had below dealer cost). If you are doing regular business, this did not come as a surprise. Maybe the occasional purchaser did not notice or see it when signing up to terms of service.

As someone not engaged in the business of gun sales, this change in the terms of service is a surprise to me.

 

[KMM696]

I'd call myself an occasional long-time GB user, so I must have missed it when they announced. The concept of a buyers premium is well established in the auction world, I'm kind of pleased that they may see themselves as an auction house still. I noticed it while purchasing one of the deals that show up there, which gives you an idea how concerning I think this is.

 

[Mountain]

Don't other auction sites charge a buyer's premium? LOL it's not 1%. I get the gripe about hiding it, however.

 

[CrackPot]

As someone not engaged in the business of gun sales, this change in the terms of service is a surprise to me.

Fortunately all my gunbroker goes into a folder and I never delete emails. So I checked for the terms of service change announcement. The email is from July 2021. Everyone with a registered account was notified. When you signed up afterwards, this was part of the terms of service. My email is a little different since I am a seller, but they notified everyone.

I find no fault with gunbroker on how they handled this.

 

[snax]

Are you serious? The seller’s fees are already in place. It’s way easier to change the seller’s fee.

I dont know just throwing something out there.
Maybe the sellers were presented with it before implementation and they all bitched?

 

[CrackPot]

I dont know just throwing something out there.
Maybe the sellers were presented with it before implementation and they all bitched?

no. We were notified it was a done deal right before it went into place.

It is a buyer based cost. They only charge compliance fee for a non FFL buyer. So it is part of the buyer "cost" and levied on the buyer.

They did just recently raise the fees for final value (paid by seller). They are really making it expensive to sell low cost items. Their structure is high % for first XXX dollars and lower % above that. The high % is high and the XXX just went up. So selling surefire muzzle devices, for example, just got a lot less profitable.

 

[bullseye]

I have 7 items on lay-a-way right now and 2 in transit to my FFL.
What 1 point fee??

 

[MisterHappy]

Meh.

GB is a business, and they're in business to make money for GB.

If the seller can make money, too, good for them.

When I was eBaying, I had a $1.75 charge per item to cover my overhead (paypal fees, bubble wrap, etc.) that I disclosed in the listing. Some people complained, most would adjust their max bid down accordingly.

 

[Broc]

Who cares who they charge it to. It is 1%.

If they charge the seller they might increase the sale price by 1% therefore the buyer stills pays it.

The way I see it, I have 4 options:

1. Deal with the 1% fee.

2. Not use GB and deal with rapey local prices (for some items). I only use GB for stuff I can't find locally.

3. Go to some auction site, hope I win, then pay a total rape fee to the auction site.

4. Hope that some gun store online has it. Seems this was easier pre-covid. Now everything is either out of stock or the website is fake.

NOTE:
As far as point #2 - some of the stuff I buy, LGS can't order, or it is a total cluster f*ck and waiting game, so save your "buy local" b*tching for some other post. I am not buying a 365 on GB.

 

[Blackmore]

If Gunbroker charged a listing fee, even if it was just a nickel, it would more than pay for this or at least discourage large sellers - like a certain gun shop in Errol, NH - from listing drop ship stuff and having items renew forever. I gave up on Gunbroker long ago partly because of this but mostly because their "Search" function became so broad that 90% of the results you had no interest in.

 

[whatluck]

Could be code laziness. That was the easiest way to add it in code/calculation wise.

found the programmer

 

[Qwikdraw45]

If Gunbroker charged a listing fee, even if it was just a nickel, it would more than pay for this or at least discourage large sellers - like a certain gun shop in Errol, NH - from listing drop ship stuff and having items renew forever. I gave up on Gunbroker long ago partly because of this but mostly because their "Search" function became so broad that 90% of the results you had no interest in.

I actually hate the place in Chocorua worse, since they don't have an actual brick-and-mortar shop. Errol is too far for me to drive (limited time) but at least you can buy on GB and pick up there if you are in-state.

 

[Broc]

I actually hate the place in Chocorua worse, since they don't have an actual brick-and-mortar shop. Errol is too far for me to drive (limited time) but at least you can buy on GB and pick up there if you are in-state.

I wouldnt buy on GB and pay a fee. I would call the FFL and let them know I am buying that.

I have done that before when I realized a local FFL (will not name them because I think it goes against GB policy) was the one selling the gun I wanted.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I wouldnt buy on GB and pay a fee. I would call the FFL and let them know I am buying that.

I have done that before when I realized a local FFL (will not name them because I think it goes against GB policy) was the one selling the gun I wanted.

I did the same on a very expensive gun.

 

[track65]

I have used GB a few times for selling. Had a handgun on the classifieds here for months and only received low ball offers. I put on GB for a week and sold it for $85.00 more than the asking price on the classified. GB does serve a purpose for some sellers and buyers.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I have used GB a few times for selling. Had a handgun on the classifieds here for months and only received low ball offers. I put on GB for a week and sold it for $85.00 more than the asking price on the classified. GB does serve a purpose for some sellers and buyers.

I sold a gun to a MA FFL for more than what I asked on NES. He set the price! Lots of skinflints on here that won't buy a gun even if it is reasonably priced. I have a lot of guns I want to sell, but I'm reluctant to even post them up on here for that reason.

 

[PappyM3]

I sold a gun to a MA FFL for more than what I asked on NES. He set the price! Lots of skinflints on here that won't buy a gun even if it is reasonably priced. I have a lot of guns I want to sell, but I'm reluctant to even post them up on here for that reason.

And shockingly, NES can actually be less skinflinty than Reddit’s gunaccessoriesforsale. Different reasons though. NES is full of penny pinchers and Reddit is full of socialists and college kids with no money to pinch.

 

[Qwikdraw45]

I sold a gun to a MA FFL for more than what I asked on NES. He set the price! Lots of skinflints on here that won't buy a gun even if it is reasonably priced. I have a lot of guns I want to sell, but I'm reluctant to even post them up on here for that reason.

Yeah, but guns are worth so much more in MA. You get newbs there that are buying their first gun. People that are buying Unobtaniums (Glocks, so over-priced) and just guns in general are over-priced there, probably since they can be a little harder to get (vs. NH). Plus, you're in NH. We gave up looking for NH sellers here, since 99% are in MA, and they don't have the courtesy to at least put something like "MA" in the title.

 

[Broc]

I sold a gun to a MA FFL for more than what I asked on NES. He set the price! Lots of skinflints on here that won't buy a gun even if it is reasonably priced. I have a lot of guns I want to sell, but I'm reluctant to even post them up on here for that reason.

I don't get it.

There is one NES member that always has great prices. I purchased like 3 guns from him, would have purchased a couple more but the timing wasn't good. I have seen his collection and I know he takes care of them.

Once in a while there are good prices on NES.

A lot of times prices are in line with online prices, so I will buy from NES.

Where I see prices go full retard is usually with lowers, Glocks, AR15 ... all guns I really don't give a f*ck about because I can order from 50 different sites. I think people see those stupid ads with rainbows and $1200 Glocks and start b*tching NES has high prices.

I noticed on the rarer stuff that cant easily be found in a LGS, prices tend to be in line with GB and sometimes cheaper.

Example: a Sharps rifle.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Yeah, but guns are worth so much more in MA. You get newbs there that are buying their first gun. People that are buying Unobtaniums (Glocks, so over-priced) and just guns in general are over-priced there, probably since they can be a little harder to get (vs. NH). Plus, you're in NH. We gave up looking for NH sellers here, since 99% are in MA, and they don't have the courtesy to at least put something like "MA" in the title.

I was a MA resident, selling off some guns prior to becoming a NH resident. The dealer is in MA and so was I in this case.

 

[Dennis in MA]

I save a lot more than 1% when I use gunbroker. Saved $300 on my last purchase. They are a business and need to be paid and they also provide me a great service.

No gripe here.

Except that, up until recently, their coffers were filled by SELLERS, not buyers. Just saying.

 

[T-Unit]

With my latest gunbroker disaster I'm tempted to not even bother anymore. The problem is there's stuff I just can't get elsewhere, namely H&R revolvers or what I'm starting to get interested in is a Webley top break. I understand that gunbroker has bills to pay, but I remember a better time with gunbroker, a time when I wasn't automatically being whacked with sales taxes, so this 1% thing may as well be gunbroker flicking me in the nutsack and telling me it's a necessary evil.

I'll still use them, but man I do not go out of my way to. I can only imagine how cool gunbroker was 20 years ago, it's been shit ever since Covid.

 

[MisterHappy]

Except that, up until recently, their coffers were filled by SELLERS, not buyers. Just saying.

Again, meh.

Most IRL auctions have the consignor pay a percentage, and the buyer pay a buyer's premium.

If the fees are disclosed prior to the sale, I don't see a problem.

It's kind of like the buyer having to pay for shipping - when I was eBaying, I'd have people complain about the shipping cost - that was generally flat rate, and disclosed in the item listing.

Free market. If the fees become too onerous, someone else is free to start a new auction site, with a better pricing model.