Recommendations for Buying Pistol from forum member

[30harry]

Looking for recommendations on how to go about purchasing a pistol from a forum member? 

In this case it is probably the most expensive handgun purchase I've ever made and I don't feel it's the same as buying a shooting box from someone.  

How do you go about making a transaction like this where both parties are secure without doing a face-to-face with cash in hand?  

I know he will ship from his FFL to mine but how to make the transfer of funds in the process?  

Thanks for any suggestions.  

Harry

[Tim:H11]

PayPal

[lyman1903]

PayPal

and if you get caught, they lock your account and funds,

should the transaction go south, then how much buyer protection will they allow if you claim you paid for a firearm?

[Jack H]

I bought a 20$ car part last Friday morning with paypal.  Later Fri night I get a call from card people that my card was used elsewhere for two lyft rides.  I say no, not mine.  Now the card is blocked and hassles set in.  So watch out with paypal....

[Wobbley]

If we’re talking about cross country deals, the best way if amenable is to us3 an escrow service. Like http://www.safefunds.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAhfzSBRBTEiwAN-ysWPy4kKLfI4TjJAenBxwW0LTNC51-c2ggXlyQvyGFcFtL62STPs-2whoCFvcQAvD_BwE

That said, 90+% of the deals ive made have been successfully accomplished without these services. Most people are honest and describe their items accutprately. Ask for lots of pictures. Don’t be afraid of backing out of a deal if it seems too good to be true.

[lyman1903]

several things to think about,

how many posts does the guy have, (newby like me, or been here for years with thousands of posts?)
scroll thru some of his past posts,  does that person seem rational, trustworthy etc or a squirrel?

can you get a contact phone number vs just email conversations? if so, call and chat

use any payment method you they will except,  stay away from money transfers (think western union)
postal money order, standard money orders etc,  work fine,

if the guy does not go thru with it,  call the local (to him) police and see what you need to do to get your funds back,

chances are it will go smoothly, or as smooth as possible depending on the FFL and carrier,

[Jon Eulette]

Knock on wood. I've had 99.9% great transactions with BE people.
If dealing with a person on this site you could probably ask seller for from other members.
Jon

[Multiracer]

So far ALL of the transactions I have made on this forum have been good.
If you doubt a picture get one with todays date in the photo.
Ask for some B/E references and pick the phone up.
Good luck.
Ron

[Sc0]

If your buying, he can ship straight to your FFL as you will need to fill out the 4473 and NICS before taking possession. Look into the user history and threads they participated in, ask for an address and phone number, and email. With all the check boxes i I then send a personal check. This process yielded a 100% success rate in personal transactions.

So far the only time i was ripped off was by a company that went belly up, unfortunately others were had by way more money than i was...

[sbtzc]

USPS money order. If the seller fails to deliver, it becomes mail fraud, a federal offense If the buyer reports the MO stolen or lost before the seller cashes it, that too is mail fraud. Nobody wants to go down that road.

That said, my last deal went very smoothly because the buyer an I keep in touch with each other. We emailed a lot and talked on the phone a couple of times. We talked about the gun, the deal, shooting and other things unrelated. Pretty soon, we became friends. You wouldn't screw your friend over would you?

I also held the MO until the buyer could inspect the gun and I gave him the option of sending it back if he felt I misrepresented it in any way.

BTW: it cost about $75 to ship UPS 2nd day air. Others on the forum may have better shipping ideas.

Just my experience.

[MarkOue]

I've bought and sold a lot of guns over the Internet.   While I occasionally paid too much I never got cheated. 

1.  Talk to the seller.  Did you get a warm fuzzy feeling?  Does he/she know about the gun they are selling? 
2.  Who knows them?  This is a very small web forum.  
3.  Do as others stated, USPS money order.

[30harry]

Thanks All, I have a better idea now how to handle it.  

Harry

[Aprilian]

I had an interesting experience which might give you an idea to use with gun purchases long distance.  

On another forum, someone offered to teach me a skill at his home.   His way of screening out problems was to request a copy of my Driver's License.   Since he was well known on the forum and was giving me his address, I felt that was a fair request.   

I'm not sure how I would use that idea in a gun purchase as I have only purchased from Larry's and GunBroker.

[fc60]

Greetings,

If the pistol is shipped FFL to FFL, consider shipping via USPS Registered Mail. It is okay for dealers, not individuals.

Cheers,

Dave

[john bickar]

2.  Who knows them?  This is a very small web forum.  

I go with this one. For good or for bad, I'm within one degree of separation from pretty much anyone in the bullseye world that I would feel comfortable doing business with. So I always ask, "Who do you shoot with?"

Yeah, I get around - like a record. So if you know someone that I know, we can deal.

I disregarded this rule twice (once here and once on TargetTalk), and I thankfully did not get burned either time, but both times were really strange rides.

But I'm usually going to ask who you shoot with and then ask Dave W. or Tony S. or Jon E. or John B. or whoever else you say that you shoot with if I should trust sending hundreds or thousands of dollars to you.

[lyman1903]

Greetings,

If the pistol is shipped FFL to FFL, consider shipping via USPS Registered Mail. It is okay for dealers, not individuals.

Cheers,

Dave

No need for Registered mail dealer to dealer, unless the insured value is more than standard insurance on Priority

USPS Priority, most will fit in a Med Flat Rate box if shipping is more than $14,
insure for the amount and move on,

usually less than 3 days promised, which usually means max of 5

dealer will need to do the 1508 form, which takes about a minute, if they feel inclined

[willnewton]

One seller put it to me this way during a transaction, in reply to me asking if he wanted any references about my past purchases to assure him I was legit, "If you can't trust a fellow Bullseye shooter, who can you trust?"

Also I usually check through a few old posts if in doubt, just to make sure I can "get to know them".  Often you will find a reference to the very item.

Another thing I have done is put an unsolicited post up in a transaction thread if I have done business with that seller, with a "Hey, this guy is all good. I have dealt with him before." You may find that favor repaid one day when you have a high $$$ item up for sale.

Also, make sure to put a post in the thread you are dealing in, publicly documenting "Payment Sent" or "Item received as described"

Of course, Google searches, Facebook searches, Ebay or other forum trading references are are good places to get a sideways glance at someone.

I posted a question in a thread to a seller on another forum and was approached by a second seller with a better deal on the same item.  Usually, this is the beginning of things sounding sketchy, but he signed the message with his first name, not his userid.  I Googled the item and his first name and found a YEARS old thread where he was asking questions about the item after recently purchasing it.  I bought the item from him after a few more messages as we got to know each other.  It arrived in fabulous shape as described.

[Wobbley]

Years ago, a gun store owner was asked if he had as many problems with dishonest traders (bad checks, misrepresentation, non- payment, etc). He said that gun people were an order of magnitude better for honesty.

[fc60]

Greetings,

Two comments.

One, USPS Registered Mail is cheaper than Insured Flat Rate Mail on high dollar items. Also, Registered Mail is signed for every time it changes hands. "Normal" USPS mail enters the world of mechanical handling and sorting by brute force. My friend worked at USPS and told me of the horror stories.

Two, I have been "stiffed" by only one person in the Bullseye arena. I custom made a part for his reloader and sent it to him with the understanding if happy send money. If not happy, return part. Three years later I have received no money nor part. The part was mailed to Michigan.

Cheers,

Dave

[Magload]

Years ago, a gun store owner was asked if he had as many problems with dishonest traders (bad checks, misrepresentation, non- payment, etc). He said that gun people were an order of magnitude better for honesty.  

Well all but those that are selling guns they have stolen.  I can believe how many people leave guns in their unlocked cars there is a unbelievable amount of them stolen around here. Don

[Ljohns]

I send or receive a certified bank check.

No issues yet.

Lloyd

[lyman1903]

Years ago, a gun store owner was asked if he had as many problems with dishonest traders (bad checks, misrepresentation, non- payment, etc). He said that gun people were an order of magnitude better for honesty.  

Well all but those that are selling guns they have stolen.  I can believe how many people leave guns in their unlocked cars there is a unbelievable amount of them stolen around here. Don

while it is true that guns do get stolen and resold, the fact is that is not very common, 

been in the business many many years, both working for a chain and for my own business,
I know of one gun that was bought that had been stolen,

and as far as bad checks,  cannot recall ever getting one,,  and we used to take them a lot, (most folks don't use them any longer)

[30harry]

We were unable to establish a mutually satisfactory level of trust sufficient to complete the transaction. I didn't trust him any more than he trusted me.  

The good thing about the failure is, right after it fell through, I found a local seller with the same firearm and I'll be picking it up tomorrow.   

The fact that the seller was using a pseudonym on this forum and also in all the sales he was doing in his home town, didn't help.   

But, all's well that ends well. 

[mikemyers]

You didn't say if it was someone in this forum or not, but if it was, maybe you should pass on a message to the forum administrator?

[30harry]

You didn't say if it was someone in this forum or not, but if it was, maybe you should pass on a message to the forum administrator?

No. That would be acting without proof.  Maybe it's just like someone might call themselves Buffalo Bill or some such nonsense.  

I've already moved on and have my new (to me) Pardini SP.     

Color me happy !

Harry

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