trade or sell

[Battis]

I've never sold and shipped a handgun - I always take the lazy way out and trade to a dealer. I know, dealers usually pay alot less than what the gun might be worth.
So, all things considered, is it worth the extra money selling and shipping a handgun rather than trading with a dealer? I'm not talking expensive handguns - probably in the $500 -$600 range. The guns would be traded towards a purchase in a store, so the stores usually offer more moola compared to selling to them outright.

[Finster101]

I have not used GB but am considering listing an item there. The fee schedule listed seems reasonable. I am in the same boat as the OP and would welcome any online selling experiences or advice.

[Battis]

I've used GB for selling and buying antique handguns and ran into some problems on some transactions, though most went well. As I said, trading to a dealer/gun store is the lazy way out, but the greedy side of me kicks in sometimes.

[Jeff Michel]

Depends on the firearm in question. If it's a Glock 19, there is already about a million already listed. If it's a Marlin lever gun, hang on to your hat. Gun Broker it is pretty easy to get signed up and the fees are relatively inexpensive, add to that you have a ton more people looking at your offering versus one dude running a local gun shop. Don't kid yourself, most of the gun shops I deal with list hard to find or collectible stuff on GB rather than sell them in their store.

[Battis]

I have a GB account, and, like I said, I have sold there, but the problems I ran into were a little crazy. Then again, I sold the guns for more than a store would have given in trade.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

So, all things considered, is it worth the extra money selling and shipping a handgun rather than trading with a dealer?
Most of the time, I would think so ...BUT, I have never done it, I have always swapped with friends.

[Mr Peabody]

I've used GB off and on for 20 years. I've learned to sell the things that don't bring much interest in my area. Line up someone who can ship your firearm for you before you list it! I can't complain at all about GB's rules or prices.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

The shipping is the biggest headache when selling on GB. I have a private FFL who does it for me. Used Arms List recently and did face to face for cash.

[rockrat]

I USED to use GB, both buying and selling, but after the experience I had trying to sell my 338 ME and to me, the little to no help from GB, I don't use them anymore. I just take my guns to a LGS and pay their commission when my gun sells.

[Outer Rondacker]

I hate GB. I say keep it and go help a friend for two days make the extra 500 bucks. Surely you know someone who owns his own business you can give a hand for a weekend and make the coin needed. If you dont then I would say trade away. Its not worth the small to extra 50-100 dollars in profit vs headache.

[waksupi]

Try this, it works for me with local buyers, avoiding shipping difficulties.

https://www.armslist.com/

[ascast]

I would wonder if you're selling a common run of the mill item, your local shop would be as good. If your item is some rare, seldom seen item, online will get you world wide exposure and probably a much higher price. Shipping is not free and FFL transfer is $25-$50 so that's about $100 off the top. Then there is the Post Office. If antigue, you can ship it as is, unless your P.O. won't let you. That happens. good luck

[TurnipEaterDown]

I have used GB as well, and in my case probably 15 years.

Sold a few guns, bought a few guns, bought some number of parts, sold a lot of other things to fund the hobby. Sold mostly cast MZ bullets for a while (you don't have to have a manufacturer FFL to sell cast MZ loader or bullets strictly for Obsolete firearms, per my reading of BATFE rules, though you can't legally sell cast for current commercial CF cartridges w/o proper license).

Fees aside (and they changed a LOT recently), the experience Really depends on the people involved in the transaction. Some are poor to deal with and change terms after payment sent, and others are straight up people. Grab bag I suppose...

I will say that for firearm shipping (long gun) USPS can legally be used (last I checked), but the attendants and postmasters often know very little about their jobs and refuse to accept. I end up going to a FedEx distribution center, because (like USPS) the UPS folk around here also make up their own interpretation of the rules, even when I brought a printed copy.

[Battis]

I forget about consignment at a gun store. I've bought two consignment guns, and both times I offered a low price and the seller took it. But the store charges something like 18% to 20%. I did OK but the seller of the gun didn't. The last rifle I bought was selling for $850, I offered $700 and they took it. So, the gun sold for $700, which means the owner got $560 which is probably what the store offered to buy it for. Too bad I couldn't have bought directly from the owner, but then there's paperwork, background checks (I live in MA).
I think I'll bring the handguns to the store in Maine and see what they'll give me for them. I'm pretty sure they'll act as my FFL if I decide to sell on GB, but that depends on what they charge for transfer and shipping.
The upside of trading is that the store selling price of the rifle I want to buy is very low, and they'll give me more in a trade towards a purchase than an outright sale to them.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

There are so many laws regulating the sale and shipping of firearms now days that one has to be very careful. I used Gunbroker to sell for maybe 20 years (not in the last 7 or 8 years) and found them easy to deal with. However, I had an FFL and 98% of my shipments were to other FFLs or sometimes C&Rs, the rare exception being antiques. I only had one deadbeat bidder, so i guess I was lucky as that seems more commonplace now.

One thing that would help immensely is if you can get the buyer to accept a firearm that has been broken down to reduce the length for shipping. I'm talking about the simple ones that only involve one or two screws, not a detail stripping of many parts. This will cut the length of your package in half, make it less recognizable as a firearm, and probably lead to better/gentler handling. The shorter length will make a great difference in the cost of shipping, especially with the USPS.

I really, honestly believe that there are some anti-gunners working for UPS and Fed-Ex who go out of their way to beat up packages containing guns. I bought one myself from a Forum Member, a Rossi .45 Colt lever action with a 24" octagon barrel, and when it arrived there was 9" of the barrel sticking out of the end of the box. The barrel had punched a hole right through the end of the box's cardboard, and must have been subjected to some violent handling. I've also received several badly mangled boxes containing pistols where major damage was only prevented by the fact that they were shipped in a cheap-o hard case inside the box. Always buy the insurance.

Who you can ship to is a problem, and who can ship is a problem. There's never a problem dealer to dealer, but ordinary citizen to ordinary citizen may or may not be legal depending on who, what, and where. Citizen to dealer is usually legal, but many FFLs will not accept a shipment from a private citizen, and in some jurisdictions it may be illegal for the citizen to ship, so I recommend always checking the laws of the jurisdictions involved. An FFL can ship a handgun through the USPS but an unlicensed citizen can not, with the exception of antiques and some replicas. Must be replicas of black powder pistols, but not replicas of antiques that fire modern center fire ammo. One has to be very careful when deciding what, how, and to whom to ship.

In my personal situation, I am no longer licensed with an FFL, although I currently hold a C&R license. The nearest UPS and Fed-Ex shipping hubs are about 85 miles away. My Fed-Ex driver tells me that I can download a shipping label from their website and he will pick up the package, but I have yet to try it. I have shipped a couple of long guns through the local USPS and their shipping rates were breath-taking, which is why I'm suggesting trying to shorten the package's length.

Something that those reading this should not overlook is the possibility of offering a gun for sale here on the Forum. I have purchased several here, all good transactions. That's just offered as a sales possibility, and does little to change the shipping issues, but the buyers might not find a small amount of reassembly to be a deal-killing challenge. Sellers here seem to have a fairly good success rate, but the membership isn't stupid, and exorbitantly priced pieces probably wont' find a buyer. Auctions seem to work well, also.

DG

[Finster101]

I recently sold a consignment pistol at 20% commission fee. I regret doing it and will not sell another that way. I am not in a position where I have to sell, just letting go some things I really don't shoot.

[Buzz Krumhunger]

If you have zero or little feedback on Gunbroker you’re probably going to find that there’s lots of buyers who are reluctant to bid on your auction. At least that’s my experience.

[bdicki]

I found it was expensive to ship a handgun through UPS, maybe better through a dealer.

[Finster101]

If you have zero or little feedback on Gunbroker you’re probably going to find that there’s lots of buyers who are reluctant to bid on your auction. At least that’s my experience.


Then how would you achieve positive feedback? Just like S&S here it takes a few transactions to get established.

[Battis]

I have good feedback on GB so that shouldn't be a problem. I also have a C&R license, so, in theory, I could ship to an FFL...right?
Trading towards a purchase, though not as profitable, seems like a good move. I've had the guns long enough so that I'll get at least what I paid for them.
Geez, I feel like a housewife in the 50s when it comes to this.

[kerplode]

I've shipped a few handguns for a variety of reasons. Anybody can ship a handgun to an FFL by common carrier. For modern handguns, having a C&R doesn't do anything for you, really.

You'll need to pack the handgun well, and take it either to UPS or FedEx. It needs to be one of their actual hub/office locations...UPS store or a drop box don't count. You must also declare it as a handgun...Being cute and putting "machine parts" or something is inviting trouble. If they find a handgun in their system that you didn't declare, you will hear from the police. Also good luck on collecting insurance for undeclared or improperly declared items.

Be prepared to take documentation proving that the ship-to address is indeed an FFL. Easiest way to do this is to ask the receiving FFL for the first 3 and last 5 digits of their FFL then go over to ATF FFLeZCheck (https://fflezcheck.atf.gov/FFLEzCheck/) to look them up and print out the report. It's not foolproof, though...If the address on their license doesn't match the ship-to address they gave you, UPS/FedEx will likely decline to accept the package. Also, some FFLs will refuse to give you this info for whatever reason, which will make things difficult.

Usually, if you declare it and have reasonable proof that it is going to a legit FFL, the process is pretty smooth. Occasionally, though, you'll bump into someone at the counter that doesn't know the rules/regs or just doesn't want to deal with you and they'll tell you you can't ship handguns. Sometimes if you're polite and can get a supervisor you can get it sorted, but sometimes I've just had to try again later.

UPS and FexEx both require handguns to ship via next or second day air. This is going to cost you somewhere between $50 and $100. Again, don't try to be cute and short-cut this by improperly declaring the contents. That'll bite you in the ass eventually.

So, while it can be done, it can be a pain in the ass and it's expensive. It's far easier to make friends with a local FFL and pay them to ship the handgun for you. The rules are slightly different for 01 FFLs...They can use the USPS and ship stuff common carrier ground, so it's less expensive overall to go this route than to hassle with doing it yourself IMO. If you're going to be doing this a bunch, you should consider just getting an 01 FFL yourself. That can also short-circuit any questions of you being "in the business" of selling firearms without a license...

At the end of the day, I generally just sell or trade stuff locally since the hassle of shipping isn't worth the extra money unless the item is rare.

Somebody mentioned Armslist...I'd recommend being cautious with that. It's like Craigslist for guns...Maybe the deal goes smoothly, maybe you get robbed. If you do sell stuff there, NEVER let them come to your house. Meet in the parking lot of the police station or something.

[rockrat]

My local shop charges 10%

[sukivel]

I don't think I would sell anything on Gunbroker, just too much hassle. Buy stuff on GB, yes.

I did sell a gun on Armslist and the guy who bought it was in another state. Took the gun to the LGS, and they packed it up and sent it to the guy's FFl for $55 I believe. I wouldn't do this for Glock, but something special, yeah.

[Battis]

One shop that I deal with in MA charges 18% for consignment (might be 20% now). But there's a pretty quick turn around due to its location. It seems that the people who put guns on consignment there are usually non-gun people who inherited the gun (from what I've seen, at least). There's another nearby shop in NH that consigns guns but if you decide to pull the gun before it sells, they charge a fee for trying to sell it (not sure of their fee if it does sell). The store where I might trade the guns is the store where I bought the guns, so they know exactly what I paid for it (they don't do consignment sales).
Now I'm questioning why I want to sell the guns, other than to put the moola towards a rifle I have on hold (1895 Winchester .30-40, my Holy Grail gun). Cripes, the world might end before the 60 day hold is up.

[Kraschenbirn]

Haven't sold a handgun on GB for several years but don't recall any problems/issues with any of the sales. The last piece I sold...a .44 Mag Vaquero...went on consignment to an LGS and I had cash in hand, less dealer's consignment fee, in about a week (including time required for Illinois' silly background check).

Have sold a few long guns on GB, too, and the only issue I ever had was a buyer who gave me a 'negative feedback' because the all-matching 1952 Tula SKS I sold him was 'filthy'...I'd never completely stripped it and there was, apparently, still some cosmoline under the wood.

In today's market, though, I'd probably go back to the LGS or list in 'Swappin & Sellin' here before resorting to GB.

Bill

[Battis]

After all that, I went to the safe to pick some vintage guns to sell or trade, and I couldn't do it. They're vintage, inexpensive guns that I didn't pay alot for, and probably aren't worth alot, so I'll keep them.
Colt .25, S&W "Lemon Squeezer .32", Colt Police Positive .32...

[Shawlerbrook]

Depends on the handgun. I have a few collectible handguns that I will be bring to a local auction house that specializes in firearms. I would only trade at a lgs if I was buying another gun.

[kerplode]

After all that, I went to the safe to pick some vintage guns to sell or trade, and I couldn't do it. They're vintage, inexpensive guns that I didn't pay alot for, and probably aren't worth alot, so I'll keep them.
Colt .25, S&W "Lemon Squeezer .32", Colt Police Positive .32...

You know, at the end of the day, this is probably the right answer.

[IHuntDragons]

Give this a try...they are an arm of Bud's Gun Shop.

https://www.shipmygun.com/

[Buzz Krumhunger]

Then how would you achieve positive feedback? Just like S&S here it takes a few transactions to get established.

I’m not saying it makes sense. Just relating my experience and observations.

I’d suggest selling some inexpensive items you could stand to lose money on to build positive feedback before putting a high value item on there.

YMMV

[historicfirearms]

FedEx won’t let us commoners, non-FFL holders ship guns anymore. Check their website if you don’t believe me. I recently tried and was turned away. So UPS is now the only game in town.

[Jedman]

I have sold many long guns on gunbroker and I always list in my listing that the FFL that the buyer chooses must except the gun from a non FFL or else there will be a extra charge that I would have to pay a FFL on my end.
Otherwise it’s pretty easy after you get over the initial fear that goes with shipping a firearm the first time or two.
Now I have only sold 2 handguns on gunbroker so far and they were a consecutive serial numbered pair of Colt single actions and I was hoping that ONE buyer would purchase the pair together to make it easier on me.
Well, I had them listed separately but it was described that the pair was consecutive and the selling price went very high and one bidder was winning both until the final minutes of the auction then 2 different buyers purchased the guns singley. In my state I had to use a FFL to ship them for me and the carriers that will take handguns make you use the overnight shipping which is very expensive and then insurance. Since my pistols sold for several thousand dollars the buyers were willing to pay the full shipping costs and insurance but being one of the buyers waited about 5 days before paying I had to make 2 trips to the FFL as I ship as soon as a item is paid for.
For a handgun worth a few hundred dollars I would not sell it on gunbroker as the costs of shipping legally are to high for someone that is not a FFL and most buyers are not going to pay what it will cost you.
Maybe some states are different ? I did ship a antique S&W break action once thru USPS in a small flat rate box and that went just fine as the state I was sending it to didn’t have any restrictions for antique guns but some do.

Jedman

[Adam20]

I use a home-based FFL dealer that will sell on auction sites, he charges 10%.

[higgins]

Unless you can get a good trade value for a gun your really want, I would sell to an individual. Different rules for handguns and long guns. Long guns can be sent by unlicensed individuals to the buyer's dealer for the cost of priority shipping plus insurance. There are ways to make sure the dealer given to you is legit. With name and address the ATF will confirm it for you; you may be able to do it on their website. Ask your local PO what they require in the way of inspecting the package and it would be a good idea to include a copy of your ID in the package. The receiving dealer should be aware of local laws. It's easier to do what your local PO tells you than to get into an argument with them over something someone told you on the internet. If they are being ridiculous try another PO.

Handguns are what gets expensive because they have to (I suppose still) be sent overnight air by UPS or FEDEX. It may cost less to pay your FFL a fee to mail it for you because an FFL (I think still) can mail a handgun, and should know how to package it so that it's not obviously a handgun.

Because you have to go through them, the final authorities are the shipper and the ATF. I've only shipped one C&R rifle to an individual who was a C&R license holder so it was an easy transaction. The official answer to most of your questions are on the ATF website. If in doubt call the ATF office nearest you. I was lucky and talked to an agent who was very helpful making sure I was understanding the rules correctly. The best advice I can offer is to do your research and don't believe what everyone on the internet tells you (including me) because you will get two or three answers to every question.

[white eagle]

I use gb a whole bunch, never a problem with payment, shipping, selling or buying
You can legally ship to a ffl as a private individual just include a copy of you DL no need to ship through a ffl
Fedex is where I ship from never any problems
set a reasonable price and people will bid, you can also include a reserve price in your auction, meaning that is the bottom dollar you will accept for your item just look over a few other auctions for the same item and go from there good luck

[bisleyfan41]

I've bought and sold many times on GB. My FFL says it only costs him $15-$20 to ship a handgun pretty much anywhere so he charges me $30. I list shipping in my ads as $30. Done. Easy peasy. Selling on GB isn't the complicated overwhelming boogaboo some make it out to be.

[bisleyfan41]

And I always start the bids at $1. Don't worry or stress, you just gotta get the bids going and the dollar start does it. Once folks get caught up in the flurry, you'll make your money. I've never lost money on any gun and made quite a bit on most. Even started 2 different Freedom Arms at a dollar....just gotta have faith.

[Battis]

I've sold quite a few antique guns on GB. Only had one problem where someone bid on the gun, then after the auction closed he claimed he never bid on the gun. He even gave me a bad review that was posted. I said to GB, are you kidding me? You can see that he placed a bid. Take down that review. They did.
Doesn't matter now. It's moot (for me, at least). I'm keeping all my guns. I was going to sell some to pay for a rifle I put on hold but I just bought it without any trades or selling.
But, there was plenty of good info in this thread. Thanks for the responses.