Gunbroker question

[Battis]

Sometimes people on auctions do things that look good, but are bad. Sometimes people do things that look bad, but are fine (especially on ebay).
With that in mind, why would a "buyer" on a 7 day Gunbroker auction with a "buy now" price (same as the starting price) correspond with the seller (me), asking for more info, pics, etc, and not buy the item, but ten minutes after the auction ends with no buyer, send me an email saying he'd buy the gun, where do I send the check?
I didn't sell him the gun. I'm wondering if something is amiss, or is that OK? Doesn't seem OK.

I'm thinking that if something wasn't right, it would have popped up in the next phase of the transaction.

[rancher1913]

if it smells like a scam, it probably is a scam.

[SweetMk]

And,, then again,, a month ago, I bought 500 brand new, primed, 300 Blackout brass for $129, delivered off of GB.
Heck, 500 SR primers alone should cost $30-50, and even then, Blackout brass was non-existent,,

I ordered it, 4 days later, the brass was in my mailbox,, it was not a scam,,
I have been shooting it,, :smile:

It is out of stock, now,, I JUST looked, yesterday,,, :-(

[gbrown]

If someone says they want to buy your item and tells you they will send you a certified cashier's check or certified bank check, get away from it. You can be 99.9% sure its a scam. Nigerians first set it up. The check would have to go 3 to 4 banks, taking about a month and then it would come back to you as bogus. By then, the people would have your goods and be gone. You are left holding the bag and having to pay back the money the bank put in your account as well as fees. I've seen it used with cars, guns, boats, and other things. And, it just happened to me, yesterday, with some antiques I was selling on a local site. Told the person, "If you have time to get a certified check, you have time to get a USPO MO." Haven't heard from him since.

[HATCH]

It could be something as simple as the auction slipped up or they were undecided.
I would tell them to send a USPS money order with a copy of the FFL.
Go to the post office and cash the MO.
If they cash it then send the weapon.
If they don’t then don’t.
Pretty simple


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[Battis]

It's an antique - no FFL required. The auction was fine. It ended, ten minutes later I got the email. It's probably fine, though I'm not going to sell it to him.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It smells like a scam to me, because it appears he is wanting you to go around Gunbroker, so you wouldn't have them as an intermediary if there is problems.
Is there anyway you can get his name/address and do a little Google research to see if the buyer is legit?

[Battis]

The more I think about it, the more I think it's a scam. I just went back over the emails, and he asked me if he could send a personal check, even though I did not list that payment option on the auction.

[cwtebay]

An aside on this, selling it post sale will eliminate GB from being able to help you if this does go south. I have definitely missed auction endings before myself though!

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[la5676]

One good thing, if he will agree to send a USPS money order, he can't leave bad feedback, claiming it was not as described in the ad, as it wasn't sold through gunjoker, and he can't reclaim the money via paypal/credit card or other electronic means. You have his money, tough toenails.

[MT Gianni]

Relist it and send him the link.

[bedbugbilly]

zi have sold on flabby for years and nothing surprises me anymore. I have had very similar thing happen a number of times. As pointed out - could be a number of things. He was interested and wanted more photos - not an unusual request - he may have been pondering back and forth of how badly he wanted the gun or if he wanted the gun - work or family things came up and he lost track of the time the auction ended. Some people buy on impulse and hit the BIN button immediately - others - they take their time thinking about the purchase. I've done the same thing myself on several occasions in regards to things I was looking at for my collection.

Scam? I suppose it could be but just because the individual didn't buy it during the auction time, doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't want the gun. If he contacted you and asked where to send the money/payment - you, as the seller, certainly have the right to not ship the item until you know payment is good - i.e. not a fake money order, a bad check, etc. And, since the auction closed and there was no buyer - you also have the right to refuse selling it to the individual. If he wants it and you aren't comfortable with doing it outside of the auction site - then you can put it up again on a BIN and he can purchase it through the site - but he if he does - he's still going to have to make a good payment and you will be going through the same steps of waiting to insure the p0ayment is good. You are in driver's seat so it's up to you. I'm not familiar with GB's rules as far as doing outside transactions but it seems that it the auction is closed and it didn't sell - you should be free to dispose of it as you wish or keep it.

[Battis]

The starting price was the Buy It Now price. After 7 days, with extra pics sent, and you miss the auction end by 10 minutes...
Maybe I'm just seeing boogie men everywhere nowadays.
It's funny - my wife loves that particular gun. She even offered to buy it, which made no sense. Things work out...

[Der Gebirgsjager]

No personal check. Go with a U.S.P.S. money order only.

[dverna]

It could be something as simple as the auction slipped up or they were undecided.
I would tell them to send a USPS money order with a copy of the FFL.
Go to the post office and cash the MO.
If they cash it then send the weapon.
If they don’t then don’t.
Pretty simple


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Great advice

[white eagle]

first gut reaction is the best usually
could have been something nefarious and maybe not
if you set it up to accept a certain type of payment and they agree to it no problem
its when they try and do thing other than the way you want it is when I would back away
I have good dealings on all my Gunbroker transactions you just need to trust your gut

[Rightbrained]

Yep ,
Smells fishy to me too.
There are so many people trying to scam someone these days that you have no idea who to trust.

[Idaho45guy]

Yep ,
Smells fishy to me too.
There are so many people trying to scam someone these days that you have no idea who to trust.

This.

I hate selling items on Craigslist since either I get contacted by mostly scammers or idiots.

I sell a lot of tires since I like to try different tread designs. I will list the old set with multiple pics showing the size and condition. I will put the size in the header for the ad, and I will state in the ad that I have no idea if they will fit your particular vehicle or rim.

Still, I get multiple calls and messages from people asking if they will fit their particular vehicle. I had one guy buy a set of tires, then come back two days later and say they won't fit his pickup and wanted his money back. Tough cookies. You got a good deal so sell them yourself for $50 more.

[JRLesan]

Another perspective: GB auctions extend the 'end time' if a bid is place within the last 15 minutes. I always wait until the end of the auction period to place a bid. Now, (think about this) a whole lot of people have to work to feed themselves and, if your auction ending time was on a typical work day (M-F) and during normal business hours (don't forget the USofA has 4 time zones (excepting HI)) it is quite possible the individual could not get to a computer (or other device) to place a last minute bid. Make sense?

[white eagle]

Another perspective: GB auctions extend the 'end time' if a bid is place within the last 15 minutes. I always wait until the end of the auction period to place a bid. Now, (think about this) a whole lot of people have to work to feed themselves and, if your auction ending time was on a typical work day (M-F) and during normal business hours (don't forget the USofA has 4 time zones (excepting HI)) it is quite possible the individual could not get to a computer (or other device) to place a last minute bid. Make sense?

that is not a problem because you can bid high and they only take the next increment bid amount
eventually you may reach you high bid amount but if you set your max for that item you probably
weren't going to pay more than your max bid anyway

[ascast]

does he have any feedback history? I would re-list and send link. He save taxes etc. I can't add much, but I value my reputation too much play games.

[Tatume]

that is not a problem because you can bid high and they only take the next increment bid amount eventually you may reach you high bid amount but if you set your max for that item you probably weren't going to pay more than your max bid anyway

Every time I do that and end up being the high bidder, I buy the gun for the highest possible price. It's like the seller knows how much my high bid was, and got someone to bid so as to bring me up to my max. I've thought of complaining to GunBroker about it, but it's something I can't prove.

Now I only bid in small increments. It means I have to be there when the auction ends. But at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn't taken advantage of.

[Geezer in NH]

Relist it and send him the link.

Bingo! Unless you want to screw gunbroker.

[CLAYPOOL]

I try to use Walmart Money Orders simply because their cheaper. I don't think you can scam with those..

[beshears]

$1.75 for a $800 USPO money order, how much cheaper can it get.

[ACC]

He is trying to get you to go lower. Ditch him. The same thing happened to me. I was trying to sell and engraved matched set never fire Winchester model 88. My brother won and auction that the NRA was having for life members only back around 1981. The winning bid was pretty close to $10,000 dollars seeing that they had gold plated receivers and gold engraving and consecutive serial numbers and a sealed case that kept oxygen out. I put it up on auction for 8000. No bids, then when the auction was over some guy contacted me and made a really low ball offer. $1000.

ACC

[NyFirefighter357]

It smells like a scam to me, because it appears he is wanting you to go around Gunbroker, so you wouldn't have them as an intermediary if there is problems.

This, same as the E auction site or anywhere else. Anybody that wants to buy/sell outside the terms of those sites are scamming.

[monkey wrangler]

The starting price was the Buy It Now price. After 7 days, with extra pics sent, and you miss the auction end by 10 minutes...
Maybe I'm just seeing boogie men everywhere nowadays.
It's funny - my wife loves that particular gun. She even offered to buy it, which made no sense. Things work out...



Sounds like the problem has been solved your wife likes that firearm. Tell the Nigerian prince to keep his check. Happy wife happy life. :-)

[gnappi]

I only buy from an FFL holder. Nothing else is that good of a deal. An FFL is not invisible and using the FFL's zip code I can get their full info, especially if the results have the "FFL on file" icon, I feel they're pretty safe on the link:

https://www.gunbroker.com/ffl/index

[samari46]

Too many shill bidders on these sites. Frank

[gnappi]

Too many shill bidders on these sites. Frank

I think you're right, but IMO shills are easy to combat... bid what you feel is fair, and let the shill outbid you.

[762 shooter]

I have won several items for less than my maximum bid.

762

[Texas Gun]

Post it on here for sell I like old guns

[HATCH]

I try to use Walmart Money Orders simply because their cheaper. I don't think you can scam with those..

You can.

Any payment you accept, don’t ship until it’s cash.

Personal check, wait for it to clear the bank if there isn’t a local bank for them.
Walmart Money Order, go to Walmart and cash it.
USPS MO go to post office and cash it


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[samari46]

Yeah sounds good in theory. But if you really want the item you'll keep having to outbid the shill. And that can get expensive fast. If the BIN price isn't outrageous might be the way to go. Frank

[john.k]

Personal checks can take forever to clear.....and even then is the lingering doubt the bank will pullback.......Usual MO of the scammers is to hassle you into delivery before the check is bounced....And they do try hard to rush you.Then after it bounces,they disappear,or the more brazen cons will accuse you of stealing.the money! ......There is nothing new about this,its been the strategy of con men ever since checks were invented."My check is good as gold,sir you have offered a deadly insult by refusing it"......Dunno how many times Ive heard that over 65 years in business.

[snowwolfe]

No personal check. Go with a U.S.P.S. money order only.

I disagree. USPS money orders are commonly forged. I have yet to have an issue with anyone’s personal check. I always tell the buyer the item will ship 7 business days once I deposit the check.

[Murphy]

I've been a member of Gunbroker for 15+ years now. I've both bought and sold there. While it may seem strange to many (leery of a fraud), it could be one of several reasons he waited until the auction closed. He indeed could have just missed the ending time, I'm guilty of that myself. The choice is yours. Stay in contact with him, tell him exactly when you're going to relist it with the same buy now. He'll either go for it, or he won't.

Murphy

[Shawlerbrook]

Could be a innocent slip up and can be a scam. In these days of trouble I generally listen to my inner gut feeling. Any suspicion or red flags and don’t proceed. I agree with relisting and send him a link. Does the prospective buyers have any feedback history ?