How to buy safely on Armslist

[Davidk]

Knowing that there are lots of scammers, people are weary of sending money to strangers--and with good reason.

I devised this small process that protects buyers and does not hurt sellers. So far, I have successfully purchased two guns and it saved me from two scammers.

I tell the seller that I will only pay, using paypal (Ug!, I know) once they arrive at a gun shop to transfer it. I call the store when the seller arrives, have them confirm that its in their hand and that it roughly looks as described. Once confirmed, I PP the money and the gun is sent to me. Only an honest seller would agree to this.

It is important to get the gun store's phone number on your own and to call them yourself, not have the seller give their phone to the clerk. One guy had a friend pretend that he was a clerk at the gun shop. I called the gun shop directly and no seller was there.

Hope this helps.

 

[dlarge]

Kinda sketchy though. Not a fan of Armslist to be honest. Why bother?

 

[Sparkey]

I have bought a few things local thur armslist with a gun shop doing the transfer no problems

 

[drgrant]

Kinda sketchy though. Not a fan of Armslist to be honest. Why bother?

Sounds like a huge pain in the ass to save not much money.

 

[Drix]

PayPal doesn't secure firearms transactions at all, couldn't you just put up an item not as described and get the whole transaction wiped? I'd literally never accept PayPal for a firearms transaction and would use a willing ffl as a 3rd party in a transaction to hold items/money in escrow.

 

[dlarge]

Sounds like a huge pain in the ass to save not much money.

My thoughts exactly. Probably not save anything at all in the end

 

[Davidk]

Sounds like a huge pain in the ass to save not much money.

Often, its not about saving money, its about buying hard-to-find guns.

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I have bought a few things local thur armslist with a gun shop doing the transfer no problems

Yup, works perfectly local and long distance IF the seller is honest. I buy from strangers from all over the country.

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PayPal doesn't secure firearms transactions at all, couldn't you just put up an item not as described and get the whole transaction wiped? I'd literally never accept PayPal for a firearms transaction and would use a willing ffl as a 3rd party in a transaction to hold items/money in escrow.

A lot of FFLs won't bother. Its not worth their time as they don't make money and they are in the middle if something goes wrong.

 

[chevyguyss350]

Kinda sketchy though. Not a fan of Armslist to be honest. Why bother?

Because I've sold roughly 12 guns through armslist to local buyers, while I have sold exactly 1 through the classifieds here. Exact same ads, exact same prices, but absolutely better results on armslist.

 

[browncoat]

I've gotten several good deals off of Armslist, both locally and distant. One thing I do to avoid bad sellers is to ask for particular pictures of the gun along with something like an ID to prove that they have the gun.

 

[ChargingCharlie]

PayPal doesn't secure firearms transactions at alll

Not only do they not secure the transactions, the expressly forbid using their services for the purchase or sale of any firearms, firearm parts, or ammunition. If they catch you violating this policy then they can (an have) freeze your account and revoke your access to any money that is in it at the time.

 

[Davidk]

Not only do they not secure the transactions, the expressly forbid using their services for the purchase or sale of any firearms, firearm parts, or ammunition. If they catch you violating this policy then they can (an have) freeze your account and revoke your access to any money that is in it at the time.

Don't leave money in your PP and link the account to a separate checking account where you keep a $1 balance

 

[EJFudd]

I've wanted to buy a number of (non-firearm) accessory items through Armslist, but I could never figure out a way to make it happen without undue risk to one or both parties or the crazy expense (and still some risk) of using an escrow service. It's a damn shame but I'm not into losing my money by trusting someone I don't know 1,500 miles away with zero recourse.

 

[Lank]

Sounds like a huge pain in the ass to save not much money.

I am more worried about our ass hat leftivist AG than scammers

 

[bullseye]

I've bought and sold many firearms on Armslist, always in state, of course North Carolina has quite a selection to choose from. Always FTF and we meet at a public place. Never had an issue. Just did a 4 gun purchase of a Redhawk 44mag 7.5, Super Redhawk 454 7.5, Remington model 4 in 243 and a Ruger number 1 in 270 with a Redfield Wideview TV scope serial 130-021xx all for 2100. Both Redhawks are about 15 years old and a round count of a box of ammo each and then the owner put them away. Bought em from a MARSOC employee at Lejeune in Sneads Ferry. You can find some great deals !!!
If you buy from a distance, have the seller bring the gun to his FFL, and send the postal MO to the FFL made out to the seller and a separate MO to the FFL for the transfer and shipping. I haven't heard of an FFL that will not help out this way. If the seller will not do this, F-em!
Also, if the seller says shipping only, its a scam. If the seller gives a complete brochure description of the gun, its a scam. Also, copy and paste the brand and model into GunBroker to see if they copied the gun from there, it happens often, scammer. If the seller just puts the location as a state, beware, probably a scam.
If in doubt, send the seller a message saying you can meet with cash, if the seller says shipping only or some horeshit excuse as they are traveling and they will have their 3rd cousin removed send you the gun, scam.

 

[DPR]

I see a gun I like on Armslist, I contact the seller, they reply with a location, I bring cash, they bring the gun, we efa 10, talk about guns for a minute and then go our separate ways. Your buying something, not working on a scene for the next Bourne movie.

 

[Snora]

Don't leave money in your PP and link the account to a separate checking account where you keep a $1 balance

Then they send it to collections and ruin your credit.

 

[enbloc]

Might be cheaper to fly to their location and get ripped off there...

 

[kro77]

I actually just did a transaction on armslist without issue. We met in the gunstore parking lot, he reviewed the firearm agreed it was what was described. He handed me the cash and we walked in and did a transfer. It was really quite smooth.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[2garfields]

I have bought and sold few items on Armslist, and I only meet the other party at my local club or a FFL.

 

[jackell]

Knowing that there are lots of scammers, people are weary of sending money to strangers--and with good reason.

I devised this small process that protects buyers and does not hurt sellers. So far, I have successfully purchased two guns and it saved me from two scammers.

I tell the seller that I will only pay, using paypal (Ug!, I know) once they arrive at a gun shop to transfer it. I call the store when the seller arrives, have them confirm that its in their hand and that it roughly looks as described. Once confirmed, I PP the money and the gun is sent to me. Only an honest seller would agree to this.

It is important to get the gun store's phone number on your own and to call them yourself, not have the seller give their phone to the clerk. One guy had a friend pretend that he was a clerk at the gun shop. I called the gun shop directly and no seller was there.

Hope this helps.

Sold two long guns and two handguns (in state) on Armslist. The long guns were purchased by buyers by USPS money order. Rifles did not ship until the money order cleared. The Handguns were purchased Face To Face, Cash, and only after putting him through the state system. If they are truly interested with the firearm, they will do it your way.

 

[BigAl23]

I was contacted last week from a "buyer" in Washington State. He sent me a few E mails, one which contained a picture of Richard MorganJr's drivers license and CC permit. Looked all legit and it was. When he asked for my ID "to know who I'm dealing with" I got suspicious. then the E mail comes about how the cashiers check will be more than the price of the gun, blah,blah,blah. Oh, and his E mail addy was [email protected]. I mean it really looked good. So, I called LE out there in Camano Island Washington. A Lieutenant got back to me and I explained the whole thing. He called Richard Morgan, finds out Richard was not looking to buy a gun and that he was scammed last year out of $800. He actually gave this scammer a picture of his drivers license and CC permit. I sent all the E mails to the Lieutenant. Hope they get this piece of s**t.

Oh, I also called the FFL the gun was to be transferred to and he gave up his FFL license last year. The Lieutenant was going to contact him also.

 

[OldeBD]

I was contacted last week from a "buyer" in Washington State. He sent me a few E mails, one which contained a picture of Richard MorganJr's drivers license and CC permit. Looked all legit and it was. When he asked for my ID "to know who I'm dealing with" I got suspicious. then the E mail comes about how the cashiers check will be more than the price of the gun, blah,blah,blah. Oh, and his E mail addy was [email protected]. I mean it really looked good. So, I called LE out there in Camano Island Washington. A Lieutenant got back to me and I explained the whole thing. He called Richard Morgan, finds out Richard was not looking to buy a gun and that he was scammed last year out of $800. He actually gave this scammer a picture of his drivers license and CC permit. I sent all the E mails to the Lieutenant. Hope they get this piece of s**t.

Oh, I also called the FFL the gun was to be transferred to and he gave up his FFL license last year. The Lieutenant was going to contact him also.

Just had the same cat mail me about a gun I have for sale. I knew it was bs as soon as he was really interested in a glock for more than he could buy new one for at a LGS in WA.

 

[CTpatriot]

Just hame the same cat mail me about a gun I have for sale. I knew it was bs as soon as he was really interested in a glock for more than he could buy new for a LGS in WA.

I had a few of these guys send me their fake cashiers check by FedEx and ups next day. They look pretty lame, but its fun to have them spend their money sending them. Now i give the name of my police chief and the street address of the station with no mention of police.

 

[Maniac Mac]

I have problems with people flaking on me. I buy (in state) no problem, just have a pain in the ass time selling sometimes. I prefer NES all day, anyways.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[Scott7980]

Selling was a bit annoying, more than a couple time I drove to meet people only to have them cancel 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet.

 

[22lr]

sounds like a major pain to me with the risk of losing out big time. I have used Armslist for in-state FTF and have not had any issues. You just have to go with your gut sometimes and not reply if emails look 'off'