buying online?

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freedom arms .45

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probably a dumb question, but i'm not very tech-savvy, and i don't do much online.

been looking for a lever action, found what i want on a few sites, but some seem to be bids?

i don't want to mess with bidding, i just want to buy the gun, but i'm not entirely sure how that works. will i need to give them a specific dealer here to send it to when i buy? and how reliable is buying online?
found what i want on guns.com, just trying to make sure it's a reliable way to buy.
i have always just bought in person before, and not sure i trust the online thing.

anyway, thanks for any help.
 
If you buy from Gunbroker or a dealer like Bud's upon checkout they will ask for the FFL you want the gun shipped to for the transfer. Usually they will have your FFL on file and the FFL will be on a drop down menu for you to select. It's a really simple process and safe and easy to do.

Once the gun arraives at the dealer you will fill out the FFL form and the dealer will call it in. Pay the transfer fee and take the gun home. It's rural here and we have to local LGS. I buy all my guns online and have never had a bad experience from it.
 
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Gun broker should have section to select Bid or Buy Now and some Ads have Take a Shot where you can make an offer . Guns America has Auction and Classified Ads you can message seller with offer. Shipping and receiving depends on your state and FFL rules . Some allow Non FFL to FFL some only allow FFL to FFL. To be safe purchase from Vendor with FFL that has been on the site for awhile with good ratings, some take credit cards and refunds.
 
Well I can share this much. No, I have never bought a gun online unless we count buying a gun and having it shipped to my local Cabela's. :) Not that I oppose buying online but living here in the Cleveland, Ohio suburbs I have dozens of local gun shops to peruse hundreds of guns. Additionally several large local to me gun shows. If you do want to buy online that's fine but stick to the distributors others have mentioned. With auction houses on used guns you may strike a great deal or you may end up with a headache like a flawed gun. It can be a crap shoot leaving you to resolve the mess with a seller.. So depending on your location and proximity to guns I guess it all depends.

Just My Take....
Ron
 
One other thing, check with the gun store before doing anything! If you can find someone that just does the FFL transfer to you, even better.

Some gun stores don't like doing business this way. To the point of adding fees and other crap to jack up the price. They would rather sell you the gun, then just have to do paperwork.

Do your homework, ask around.
 
The owner of one gun store I had a gun sent to for a FFL transfer told me that it was guys like me that were putting gun stores out of business. That was 14 years ago and I haven't set foot in that store since.
 
frogfurr said:
The owner of one gun store I had a gun sent to for a FFL transfer told me that it was guys like me that were putting gun stores out of business. That was 14 years ago and I haven't set foot in that store since.
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Go figure. During the early and mid 90s my wife and I had a brick and mortar shop. I have a good friend who has a shop. We always agreed we would be happy to just do transfers all day long. On the book and off the book easily done. Today I think my friend gets $35 a transfer. Hell yeah, all say long. A few local shops get $50 from what I hear.

Ron
 
I've done business with Locked & Loaded in IL. I called a few LGSs and no one could come close to their price ($400) I asked about transfers and found one that charged $10 if you have a carry permit, 7 days later I received a call saying come pick it up, I had to wait in line he was that busy. He said Wed was his busiest day for shipments. I looked at the "auction" sites and noticed the last hour or less the prices go up fast so I gave up
 
thanks for all the replies.

i prefer to buy from the locals, but nobody has the gun, and they say they haven't seen one in about 8 months. apparently lever actions around here are in short supply unless you're looking for a 22.
don't really want to buy online, but i'm not sure when or if i'll ever run into what i want.
been waiting awhile, but i'm thinking i should just go ahead and get one when and where i can find it.
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
My LGS is good about ordering stuff in. He always tells me if he cant get it. Order it in. He only charges 10 bucks for transfers.
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I've never bought online either till last year. Found a local FFL who doesn't charge for long guns and $10 for handguns per transaction. I always tip the guy an extra $10 when doing so. I was always scared to buy online too, also the fees some of these stores charges is up the roof. It's like they're losing business that you're not buying from them and want to make up for it in fees. I get it but really? $50-60 just to receive a package and do the paperwork?

You can find deals online that are way better than any LGS. My first stripped lower I asked if he could get me some anderson lowers for at the time like $35-40 off their website. This was after Obama had been elected and the market had been flooded with guns. He told me that's dealer prices and he has them for $90. I was dumb enough to believe him and buy them from him for that price. I later found out that Fleet farm had them for $45 or so. Please support you LGS but he didn't have to lie to me. His transfer fee was also a bit much too. Again I get it he's running a business but felt he took advantage of the situation. If only I knew what I know now I guess. I have not since bought locally unless it's something I gotta have and it's fairly comparable to what I can get online. Don't know if Buds is like the amazon of the gun world but sometimes they have screaming deal. Christmas already came early twice for me this year.
 
freedom arms .45 said:
thanks for the info.

anybody bought from guns.com before?
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I bought two sigs (new) from guns.com.While not GREAT pricing, they were fair and had what I wanted.
No experience with their used guns.
Service, prompt delivery to my LGS. It went very well.
Yes, I recommend them highly.
 
Numerous online purchases here, I'm trying to remember if I got something from guns.com before. I think I may have. I've never had any problems with an online purchase, including both Classic and J&G doing exchanges on surplus pistols in unacceptable condition... Classic sent me a Star BM supposed to be in "fair cosmetic condition" but working, it had a crack in the slide. Got a beautiful, deeply blued one in VG shape in exchange. J&G sent me a CZ 82 that would fire with the safety engaged, exchanged that without a problem too.

Based on that, I would inquire about their return/exchange policy before ordering, and let them know what gun you are interested in.
 
freedom arms .45 said:
thanks for all the replies.

i prefer to buy from the locals, but nobody has the gun, and they say they haven't seen one in about 8 months. apparently lever actions around here are in short supply unless you're looking for a 22.
don't really want to buy online, but i'm not sure when or if i'll ever run into what i want.
been waiting awhile, but i'm thinking i should just go ahead and get one when and where i can find it.
Click to expand...
Well then all things considered online is your way to go, :)

Ron
 
If you have a good relationship with a/your LGS, what I've found to be a good practice is to search around on line for what you want. Then, take that to your LGS and ask them about getting one of the ones listed. Offer to let them source one for you, or, if they prefer, you do the ordering and paying, and they do the transfer. One may better suit their workload better than the other,

If you want something very rare or unique, they may prefer to put the work on you (this especially true for auctions). If you want something in current production, the LGS can often use their already existing relationships and get on "direct" (which might--only might--save you on over all costs as well as shipping).

Your mileage may vary.
 
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