Scamlist

Someone tried to scam me on Armslist but I busted him. He had a S&W 17-3 with an 8 3/8” barrel for $735. He advertised in my county in CA but actually was in Redding California, 600 miles away. I discovered the same gun photos on Guns Int’l on a “sold” gun from Denver. I questioned the seller on this via email and he clammed up. He also had an S&W 500 with a Leupold scope for $850. Photos were copied from Guns Int’l as well.
I reported this to Armslist and his ads were removed.

Then there was the Colt Detective trade for a Glock 26 that I posted about in the “Revolvers” section of THR. I think that guy was just a flake, not a scammer.

My only 2 tries on Armslist didn’t go well. I decided to quit fooling with them and move on.

NorthBorder said:

You an flag it as a scam on Armslist and that should alert other interested parties of a possible scam.

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That was done.

I have encountered a number of scams on Armslist. If your BS detector is running on idle you'll be able to tell from the first reply or a quick search. I've also found some nice deals and unusual trades, so I still check it often.

It may be one of my guns. I have had some of mine that were on GB land up on Armslist for half price. It was always some high dollar rifle. They copied my listing and used my pictures.

Crosshair said:

I have yet to be scammed on Armslist. Why? I use the same common sense I'd use while buying a used car in the newspaper or on Craigslist. Report the obvious scams and move on.

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Same here. Honestly I find it a bit amusing that some folks get all bent out of shape about it and blame Armslist. You really have to be quite dense to not spot a scammer at some point during the communication process.

taliv said:

it is armslists fault though. and if they want to stay in business, they should clean house

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How is it Armslist's fault? They provide a free platform for people to sell guns. It would be unreasonable to expect them to vet every add, or even some of the adds. No different than the bulletin board at the hardware store.

taliv said:

i wanted to buy a gun on armslist but the 2 or 3 sellers who had it all looked super sketchy. i don't go there much anymore


it is armslists fault though. and if they want to stay in business, they should clean house

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They would need an army of people to police all the ads. Same thing with Craigslist.

No algorithm or review process will ever be a substitute for using common sense.

taliv said:

and making them use real names

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Doing that would also drive away a lot of users. I certainly wouldn't be using it if they did that, or I'd be figuring out a way around it.

I've found a few scams on Armslist, like the guy from Cali, advertising a 100 year anniversary Colt 1911. Ad said he was in Brainerd, MN. When I inquired about a meet, he wanted to send the gun to me. Told him I had cash and was going to be near Brainerd the next day. (I really was.) Finally got out of him that he was in Cali, but had recently BEEN in MN. I told him that doesn't count, he still can't send a gun to MN without an FFL involved somewhere. He told me I didn't know the rules. I assured him I did, and interstate transfer by US mail was illegal, and he was either a scammer or an ATF plant, but either way, he needed to fish in a different pond.

That said, I have also gotten some screaming deals on Armslist, like an engraved 12 ga Red Label for under 6 bills, a brand new Ruger PC Carbine for $400, and last weekend 11 boxes of Federal Automatch for $.055 a round (maybe not screaming normally, but for right now, it is).

All in all, often enough to keep looking, but scammy enough to diligently vet first.

I don't want to ask why would you bother with a seller of this type.