The long distance purchase

[Petrol & Powder]

Back in the days before internet; long distance gun sales generally involved a printed catalog (like Shotgun News) and a small scale FFL dealer to handle the transfer. A 3 year FFL was $90 if my memory is correct and the dealer could operate out of his residence without really upsetting anyone. The transaction was set up by a phone (a landline ) OR you mailed your order along with your payment.

Times have changed and the orders are predominately handled on-line, the payment may be a digital transfer of funds and the FFL is more likely to be a full time firearms dealer with a dedicated store front.

I got to thinking about the firearms I've purchased in person verses the ones I've purchased sight unseen. I'm not sure what the breakdown is between those methods but as I pondered it, I realized that overall, the long distance purchases have been very favorable for me.

I have a personal rule that I will not risk more money than I'm willing to lose but I've had remarkably good outcomes with long distance purchases. I'm careful and I research the sellers before I commit. Most of my long distance purchases have been for very specific used guns that either were not available locally or were too expensive locally.

While it's always nice to be able to examine the gun before you put your money down, the internet has made the transmission of high quality photographs very easy. I think that is one of the factors that boosts buyer confidence.

Whenever you purchase a gun long distance, you MUST take the cost of shipping and the transfer fee (if it applies) into consideration. However, even with those additional costs, you can often get a good deal.

I would like to thank the honest dealers out there and ask if anyone has had bad experiences with long distance purchases.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

No, not really. A couple of bobbles, small stuff, and had I known in advance it wouldn't have been a deal killer. I guess it does happen here and there (a bad deal) but I haven't had any bad ones, and I've bought many firearms by photos and written description only. Having been a dealer in the past, one thing that I do that another might not do is ask specific questions. For example, I recently purchased three .38 Spec. revolvers via the internet. All of the sellers described their merchandise as having this or that minor surface blemish and as having a good bore, but none of them described the timing and lock-up or condition of the cylinder chambers. I had to specifically ask for this information. Happily, I wasn't disappointed with any of them!

[Petrol & Powder]

About a year ago I got a really good deal on a S&W Model 10-5. I paid for it and was pleased when it arrived. It looked to be un-fired, the finish was nearly perfect and the action was like new. It looked like it had come out of the factory. Then I found out why it was a good deal - it had a barrel to cylinder gap that could be measured with a coin instead of a feeler gage. Oh well, I can't say the seller misrepresented it and it was an excellent gun in all other aspects. I decided it was worth the expense of having the condition corrected. That's about as close as I've come to a bad deal and it really wasn't a bad deal.

[Bazoo]

I bought a smith model 60 on gunbroker and it turned out to have a replacement crane, stretched receiver. I sold it to the gunsmith after I told him about it. Lost a couple hundred bucks. The seller didn't respond to my queries and I left negative feedback.

I bought a marlin 1894c from gunbroker and the barrel was crooked in the receiver. The seller took the gun back. He said they had always had a scope on it so it wasn't noticed. He sent it to rem for repair. I was offered a refund or a new replacement rem mad 1894c. I took the refund less all the shipping and dealer fees.

I've had several good experiences from summitgunbroker.com however. Mark if I recall correctly. Fair prices, easy transactions. I bought a glock 22 off him, and extra mags. It arrive less extra mags. I called him and it was what's your name and what are you missing. The mags arrived a few days later.

[nicholst55]

I bought a smith model 60 on gunbroker and it turned out to have a replacement crane, stretched receiver. I sold it to the gunsmith after I told him about it. Lost a couple hundred bucks. The seller didn't respond to my queries and I left negative feedback.

I bought a marlin 1894c from gunbroker and the barrel was crooked in the receiver. The seller took the gun back. He said they had always had a scope on it so it wasn't noticed. He sent it to rem for repair. I was offered a refund or a new replacement rem mad 1894c. I took the refund less all the shipping and dealer fees.

I've had several good experiences from summitgunbroker.com however. Mark if I recall correctly. Fair prices, easy transactions. I bought a glock 22 off him, and extra mags. It arrive less extra mags. I called him and it was what's your name and what are you missing. The mags arrived a few days later.

SUMMIT gUN bROKER llc IS FOR SALE (copied from the website). I have no experience with them, but I hope the new owner(s) is/are as reliable as the current ownership.

[Bazoo]

I ain't checked them in a couple months. He bought a lot of police confiscation and trade ins.

[country gent]

All of my long distance purchases have been with custom semi custom builders, C SHarps, CPA, BCR and the likes. All have been very satisfactory and well represented . Other than the build leade time waits LOL.

[GhostHawk]

Almost all of mine have been flawless. I did have one problem b4ut I eventually tracked the problem down to the FFL (Pawn shop)

So I did some research and found an FFL that was low cost, does it as a side job. All of our meetings have been after 4pm ussually on weekdays. He shoots me an email that the gun is in, will XXYY time work? And it is either a yes, see you then. Or once in a while, no, pick another day.

He charges 20$ per gun, on 2 occaisions I have tipped him. (He had to talk a guy through the process, private seller to FFL. Explain how to scan and attach his drivers licence to an email. But he got it done, he earned the tip.

Gunbroker, Buds Gun Shop have both been good for me. My last was through Classic Firearms for an Italian police trade in Beretta 81 in .32acp. I'll shop there again.

On Gunbroker if I see only a single picture and a short write up I move along to someone else.

I see 3-5 good clear pictures with a good description of gun and condition and I may bite. I have yet to be stung really.

I do tend to work the lower price edge. Just plain scotch, blood and bone.

I also think the guys trying to take advantage of someone are greedy, so they look for higher ticket items.

If you could make a counterfeit bill, would you make a 20$? A 50$ Or a Hundred? If your going to scam someone, your going to want a grand for your trouble. So I buy cheap guns that look like they are in good shape. And if they don't shoot that good, well you work with it for a bit. Maybe find someone else who wants a cheaper gun who is not as fussy as I can be.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm with GhostHawk on the tendency to stay on the lower end of the price range. There's a limit to what I'm willing to lose and I'm in control of that number.
Sellers that provide lots of pictures and disclose flaws, blemishes and other minor defects get more attention from me than sellers that have 1 picture and a limited description of a used gun.

I could get burned tomorrow but I've had very good luck to this point.

[gwpercle]

Lets go way back...in 1961 my Daddy and his friend Mr. Green each decided to mail order purchase a WWII surplus Walther P-38 and 500 rounds of ammo from Klein's Sporting Goods , Dad filled out the order signed it and sent a check to cover the order . Everyday I waited at the end of the driveway for the mail man , Then one day it came , he hands a box , with two Walther P-38's and 1,000 rounds of ammo , to an eleven year old kid and says give this to your Daddy ! I didn't even sign anything for the package !
The P-38's were in excellent been through a war condition , the ammo was German military surplus.
All in all it was a good deal and I now have the P-38 and two boxes of the ammo .
Gary

[fivegunner]

I bought a few (NEW) guns Freedom arms , Ruger. and Les bare And I find it`s not to much of a pain doing so. I used my gunclub`s FFL, they had to be shipped to the club, and the person who was in charge of the FFL is a Grumpy Old Man I don`t care much for, anyway he would have to stay at the club house most of the day to receive the firearm for me. Now remember that the FFL is for use of Members only and part of your member ship. I was charged all tax. and what ever the gun cost plus $20.00 and maybe a case of beer, which was cool because I got dealer price on the Firearms . He would only do business with the above Manufactures. Now I have to find a ffl as I want gun`s off the internet (gunbroker ) , And the few guys I talked to want 25.00-50.00 to do a transfer and If I did the deal and paid the person for the gun they wanted to know how much so they could Tax me . even if the gun came from a individual and was used . I know every cent you pay someone you have to pay tax on. I had one guy said even if you paid tax to the guy or Dealer you bought from He would still charge me tax!! . Well any way, If it was easy to buy new and used firearms I would have a gunroom full, or well maybe 2 gunrooms. I just wish it was easier to buy firearms .

[Petrol & Powder]

Lets go way back...in 1961 my Daddy and his friend Mr. Green each decided to mail order purchase a WWII surplus Walther P-38 and 500 rounds of ammo from Klein's Sporting Goods , Dad filled out the order signed it and sent a check to cover the order . Everyday I waited at the end of the driveway for the mail man , Then one day it came , he hands a box , with two Walther P-38's and 1,000 rounds of ammo , to an eleven year old kid and says give this to your Daddy ! I didn't even sign anything for the package !
The P-38's were in excellent been through a war condition , the ammo was German military surplus.
All in all it was a good deal and I now have the P-38 and two boxes of the ammo .
Gary

Prior to the 1968 GCA that was the norm for mail order gun sales. Of course it was Klein's Sporting Goods that sold the rifle to Lee Harvey Oswald and while is wasn't Klein's fault what that sociopath did with that rifle, the liberals didn't care.

[abunaitoo]

I've not had problems with buying.
When selling you need to watch out for those who play the...........
"it's not exactly what I thought it would be"
"but I'll keep it if you send back some money"
When you tell them to just send it back.
They come out with the......
"My time is money. It;s going to cost you $*** for me to send it back"
"I'll just keep it if you send me $***"
Had a member here do that with a loading tool.
Claimed I would have to pay him for fixing it.
But he would keep it if I sent him back $***.
Most people are worried about the seller.
Which is understandable.
But need to be on the look out for buyers who are trying to run scams.

[Petander]

I was just thinking about this while driving home from a gun shop today...

I have ALWAYS got my money's worth in every gun related purchase,always. Near or far. Gun hobbyist people are generally very straight and honest around the World... at least compared to car or bike folks.

I just had two nasty vehicle purchases this year,almost lost faith in people in general. Just too many lies inside out, you pay to get something nice and end up getting something that takes your time and more money to make it work in the first place. People sell their dignity and reputation for money...? That never happened with anything gun related to me -and I've been shopping a lot for the last 30 years.

[Petrol & Powder]

Caveat Emptor = "Let the buyer Beware"

The buyer is responsible for taking the risk and the buyer alone holds that responsibility. Once the seller has the buyer's money the seller has the advantage. If the buyer wants some money back after that transaction the seller can simply say no.

A whine from a buyer after he has paid is just that, a whine.

[David2011]

The only problem I’ve had was with a small purchase on Gunbroker, a used revolver barrel. Apparently the cashier’s check never arrived to the seller. I made two purchases on the same day through Gunbroker, sent cashierks checks for both and the other one arrived promptly to a different seller. Not the fault of the buyer or seller but the way the seller dealt with it was over the top. He was a real jerk. I had to send a folio full of documents to Gunbroker to maintain buying privileges because of the stink the seller raised. Haven’t bought anything there since but only because I haven’t needed anything else.

[Land Owner]

F-T-F isn't a whole heap of fun either when the price is below market. No need for an FFL when F-T-F AND between FL Concealed Permit Holders.

I purchased an estate and with it many firearms, ammo, reloading, casting equipment, and component supplies. The guns ranged from about $3,500.00 (rifles and shotguns) to $250.00 (revolvers) at Retail when NEW. I sold most quickly at about 65% of on-line research as USED, which underpriced several excellent pieces...especially an M-1 Garand.

I was focused on recapping my very reasonable investment plus a side order of profit AND selling to USERS (not resellers). There was never any real way to ascertain whether they would keep or sell, but I felt good about the folks that bought - so there was that.

The M-1 purchaser was at first very skeptical. We met in a Sam's Club parking lot near the Interstate (our mutual choice). He was new to the Garand as was I, from out of town, and wanted assurance it wasn't "hot"/broken/barrel shot out/bent/cracked/bullet in barrel/etc.

Nope, it was just a VERY GOOD deal for a young man looking to enter the Garand world. I could have sold it for TWICE (maybe 2.5 X) his purchase price if I had wanted to wait for THAT buyer. We exchanged information, the purchaser signed an AS IS condition sales receipt after handing the firearm, and when the CASH money was passed, so too was the firearm. He (and I) went away smiling from what seemed at first to be a bust of a sale.

I was glad he purchased that rifle (and a bunch of 30-06 ammo). I left feeling good that he got a very good deal and gun from me and he would learn to shoot that gun competitively.

[MT Gianni]

I bought a revolver with poor pics for about $100 less than market. It was an older High Standard 22. They held it up at the Post Office when it was tracked as arrived as the barrel was sticking out of the packaging. It had a nail used as a roll pin. The previous owners SS number was etched into the grip frame. Shipper wanted me to leave him good feedback as he was doing a favor for a widow he knew. I told him about the issues and said I was doing him a great favor but not leaving any feedback. Only poor experience I recall and the price made it manageable.