Tips for listing on Gunbroker? I have questions.

USPS Money Order or a cashiers check.

FFL costs are paid by the person who receives the firearm, at the FFL where you ship the firearm to, and they go to pick it up.

I either take a stab at what I think shipping will cost and just list that, or include ground shipping to the lower 48 in the price.

You shouldn't have any FFL fees on your end, you don't need to deal with an FFL besides the one that you ship the firearm to, and they get paid by the recipient.

Take good pictures and post plenty of them. Accurately (or conservatively) describe the condition of the offering. Be clear in how you want payment and be ready for questions.

FireInCairo said:

But I have to ship the firearm from an FFL, right? Also, what is a fair price for shipping a rifle across country these days?

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You do not have to ship it from an FFL.

You can go to the company's website (UPS for sure, probably FedEx) and get an estimate by putting in zip codes and package dimensions/weight.

Warp said:

You do not have to ship it from an FFL.

You can go to the company's website (UPS for sure, probably FedEx) and get an estimate by putting in zip codes and package dimensions/weight.

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According to ATF an individual cannot ship a firearm to another state. It must be shipped from a Licensed Dealer to a Licensed Dealer. You can legally ship within your resident state.

I have sold and purchased over 500 firearms through GB and only take Money Orders or Certified Checks. Have never had problem. As for shipping cost, a lot depends on if and how much insurance you put on the gun. Dealers get a break and I usually pay $20 -$30 for shipping. Dealer cost for transfer runs $20-$35 around here.

You can Google ATF and ask about shipping state to state if you doubt me. It is article 18 U.S.C 1715, 922(a).

Long guns can go USPS by you to the buyer's FFL--only handguns need to go UPS or FedEx if you ship it youself. You could box up the rifle and ask USPS to weigh it and tell you how much it costs to ship and insure, but when you actually ship it, you'll have to tell them it's a rifle.

UPS makes you ship overnight, which will be very expensive. FedEx doesn't specify the shipping method on their site.
https://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/guidelines/firearms.html
http://www.fedex.com/us/freight/rulestariff/prohibited_articles.html

You can legally ship directly to the buyer's dealer by the methods above, but some dealers won't take a firearm from a non-dealer. Find out before you ship. (There's a FAQ around here somewhere. For a handgun, it is often cheaper to take it to a dealer and transfer it to him and let him mail it to the buyer's dealer since the USPS can take handguns dealer to dealer, just not person to dealer.)

Magazines are just pieces of metal, so they can go however you want them to, but I'd make sure they are legal in the buyer's state.

Captcurt said:

According to ATF an individual cannot ship a firearm to another state. It must be shipped from a Licensed Dealer to a Licensed Dealer. You can legally ship within your resident state.

I have sold and purchased over 500 firearms through GB and only take Money Orders or Certified Checks. Have never had problem. As for shipping cost, a lot depends on if and how much insurance you put on the gun. Dealers get a break and I usually pay $20 -$30 for shipping. Dealer cost for transfer runs $20-$35 around here.

You can Google ATF and ask about shipping state to state if you doubt me. It is article 18 U.S.C 1715, 922(a).

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Sure you can

Captcurt said:

According to ATF an individual cannot ship a firearm to another state. It must be shipped from a Licensed Dealer to a Licensed Dealer. You can legally ship within your resident state.

I have sold and purchased over 500 firearms through GB and only take Money Orders or Certified Checks. Have never had problem. As for shipping cost, a lot depends on if and how much insurance you put on the gun. Dealers get a break and I usually pay $20 -$30 for shipping. Dealer cost for transfer runs $20-$35 around here.

You can Google ATF and ask about shipping state to state if you doubt me. It is article 18 U.S.C 1715, 922(a).

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ATF says:

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/whom-may-unlicensed-person-transfer-firearms-under-gca

"Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) within the transferee’s State of residence. "

Shipped TO an FFL. Not from, not by, merely TO an FFL.


Also, your own citation says:

" this paragraph shall not be held to
preclude an individual from mailing a firearm owned in
compliance with Federal, State, and local law to a licensed
importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed
collector;"




You absolutely can ship a firearm to an FFL without originating at an FFL, legally

I would insist on USPS money order. Bank cashier's checks are notorious for being counterfeited, probably the worst way to take payment in my opinion. With a USPS money order you can call USPS at 877-876-2455 and determine if it's good, as soon as you receive it.

And if you're shipping a handgun I can almost guarantee it will be much less expensive to take it to a local FFL and have them mail it by Priority Mail which is much less expensive than overnight by any carrier. Did I mention it will be much less expensive???

Box the long gun up and take it to the shipper (USPS - UPS- FedEx) to get an estimate. I live in southern Illinois, so I use 90210 as a destination Zip Code (never once saw that TV show, but the Zip Code stuck in my mind and gives me a good idea on the cost to ship from the Mississippi River to the west coast area) to get an idea of the shipping cost, then list that in the GB ad listing. Insurance can add a significant chunk to the S/H charge, so take a look at that, too.
For handguns, I say find a local FFL to get a price on the transfer and shipping using USPS. Sending a handgun UPS or FedEx gets very pricey very quickly. Bud's Gun Shop has (or had) an online "Ship My Gun" service, but I know absolutely nothing about how the pricing would compare.

Any FFL can RECEIVE a firearm from a non-licensed individual, but some choose not to, or have extra requirements. I will receive one from a non-licensee only if the seller will provide me a copy of their state driver's license with an address that matches the seller's GunBroker profile and a Bill of Sale showing the model and serial number of the firearm along with a signature that I can match to the one on the DL. That is what it takes for ME to feel comfortable in transferring the firearm to the local buyer. You can state in your ad that the buyer will need to be sure that the local FFL will accept a transfer from a non-licensed individual seller. As stated above, the Buyer would be responsible for any FFL transfer fees on his/her end.

I accept payment: a) by USPS Money Order with same day shipping; or b) by other money orders (Western Union - 7 Eleven - WalMart, etc) or by check with shipping done only after the payment has cleared my bank. That has worked so far for me as a seller.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm sure the USPS can verify up front.

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Not necessarily. I've had postal clerks tell me that it was illegal for me to ship a shotgun to an FFL. They had to call the supervisor in, who looked it up in the handbook. They were wrong. The did make me send it Registered Mail, but I now know that that's only USPS recommended policy, not law. The law says only this:

A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. The Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms.

--https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonlicensee-ship-firearm-through-us-postal-service

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Box it up and ship it Priority Mail. You do not have an obligation to tell them it is a firearm. Do not put any ammo in the box. Don't use an original box that says anything about a firearm. Box it really well and insure it for the full amount. To be safe, you might want to put a copy of the receiving FFL's license in the box. To save hassle, you can pre-print a shipping label from the USPS website. You'll have to weigh and measure the box. Postal clerks love it when they don't have to do much. They will, however, usually weigh it to confirm that you're doing any major cheating on your pre-print.

I am not a lawyer. Do some Googling to verify all this for yourself before you send.

Warp said:

ATF says:

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/whom-may-unlicensed-person-transfer-firearms-under-gca

"Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) within the transferee’s State of residence. "

Shipped TO an FFL. Not from, not by, merely TO an FFL.


Also, your own citation says:

" this paragraph shall not be held to
preclude an individual from mailing a firearm owned in
compliance with Federal, State, and local law to a licensed
importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed
collector;"




You absolutely can ship a firearm to an FFL without originating at an FFL, legally

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Thank you. I stand corrected.

FireInCairo said:

How do you all receive payment on there? Paypal? I heard paypal was not gun friendly.

Also, how do you usually list a rifle shipping/ffl costs? What's typical?

Also, if you've shipped rifles before, what would be a good flat rate to charge including FFL fees on my end? And do most buyers usually expect to pay the FFL fee on their end?

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I usually receive payment with USPS money orders. Don't use PayPal.

I list a rifle's weight (packaged) in the listing. I then charge whatever actual UPS ground turns out to be (it varies depending on distance) plus $10 for the box and other packing materials. This is explained in the listing as "Buyer pays actual UPS shipping + $10 for packing materials".

There's no need for an FFL on the shipping end. If the receiving FFL insists on using an FFL on the shipping end, the buyer should pay whatever it costs. UPS fees from the FFL may be lower.

You do not have an obligation to tell them it is a firearm.

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Per the ATF P 5300.4:

(B7) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier?
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm...

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and the USPS 432.1a
http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_009.htm

The Postal Service may require the mailer to open parcels containing firearms or air guns or give written certification that the weapon is unloaded and not concealable.

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Since you have to tell them it's a long gun, and they can require you to open it to verify it's not loaded, it's just as easy to show them it's not loaded and then seal the box.

Beware that when you ship a rifle through USPS it's gonna cost a lot more than a regular package. The charge goes up because it's an "irregular shape" or some such term. I shipped one rifle and if memory serves me it cost $117 (with insurance).

I expected it to cost around $60, but when I got there they told me about the higher cost due to the shape of the item.

I ended up eating the difference. To his credit the buyer offered to pay the higher shipping, but I told him to consider it his Vietnam Veterans discount.

listing on Gunbroker

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Good call. Their competitor, GunAuctions, aka AuctionArms, is now a joke. Albeit an unfunny one.

How do you all receive payment on there?

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Check, money order, credit card, etc. Depends on what you want to accept and set up.

Paypal? I heard paypal was not gun friendly.

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PayPal is not an option.

Also, how do you usually list a rifle shipping/ffl costs? What's typical?

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You can do it several ways. Taking FFL cost + an approximate cost works. Listing it as "actual shipping cost" is nice, but so many try to weasel out of said, so a fixed figure is better.

Poop on the street is the panic is about to kick off with a bunch of congress critters pushing for a
gun grab Monday.

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Flapdoodle.

According to ATF an individual cannot ship a firearm to another state. It must be shipped from a Licensed Dealer to a Licensed Dealer.

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Complete flapdoodle.

You do not have an obligation to tell them it is a firearm

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Per the ATF P 5300.4:

(B7) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier?
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm...

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The Postal Service is not a "common or contract carrier."

The Postal Service may require the mailer to open parcels containing firearms or air guns or give written certification that the weapon is unloaded and not concealable.

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Not trying to be a pain, but I've read those regs over and over, and nowhere does it say you're required to notify them that the package contains a long guns. You'd assume so since it says they "may require you" to open the package, but it never actually says so. I would call this an oversight on their part. And believe me, they don't want you to open the package!