Can I request a buyer to pay deposit during the private sale?

[efeng9622]

When I do private sale my handgun, I feel pretty difficult that the buyer contacts several seller at same time , buyer can change mind any time as long as he/she found good deal , then I will waste all my time and get nothing, I am going to ask the buyer who can pay me deposit ( 33% of sale price or less), I will keep that weapon for him and stop contacting another buyer, deposit is no refund , I will ask him to pay me by Zelle, I can receive it pretty soon . Is this a good idea or bad? Thanks.

 

[jonnyc]

I wouldn't agree to that...no deal.

 

[SunnySlopes]

Yeah, I'd tell you what to do with that gun, except you'll want to file off the sharp edges first.

 

[Big_Al]

I wouldn't buy one that way.

 

[Shanvanvocht]

It's a good idea, if you don't really want to sell it in the first place.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I Prefer FTF for these complications

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Me either. Nothing wrong with a buyer shopping around. And that applies to everything.

 

[Coyote3855]

I don't fully understand how you are interacting with buyers. I would either give you the full amount or walk away. I might put some cash down for you to hold the gun while I went to the bank. I don't do Zelle. Have you sold a firearm in the past? I think you are looking for answers to a question that doesn't exist.

 

[dogtown tom]

When I do private sale my handgun, I feel pretty difficult that the buyer contacts several seller at same time , buyer can change mind any time as long as he/she found good deal , then I will waste all my time and get nothing, I am going to ask the buyer who can pay me deposit ( 33% of sale price or less), I will keep that weapon for him and stop contacting another buyer, deposit is no refund , I will ask him to pay me by Zelle, I can receive it pretty soon . Is this a good idea or bad? Thanks.

Put yourself in the buyers shoes. Would you buy from a seller that asks for any payment by Zelle? Not me. Zelle, Venmo and Bitcoin are the forms of payment used most often by scammers.

If you don't have the patience to wait a week for a money order or cashiers check to arrive.....don't sell to someone who isn't local.

 

[243winxb]

Bad idea. Mail order or online sales. Get & charge their credit card? Better then below.

Buyers will "say" they will take the firearm & will send seller a USPS money order or personal check (must clear). My terms. Then seller takes the gun off the market, no longer for sale.

But no payment comes (sometimes). No more contact with buyer.

Now you have to run add again weeks later.

My fix was, sell firearm to first 3 buyers. First full payment to me, gets gun. Others are told a mix up occured. Sorry. There refund is on the way back to them or rip up their persional check.

This started when many people were no longer good to their word. Had to join them.

 

[Bennj]

I can understand your frustration, but what about the buyers that sent you payment in good faith that you would send the gun. I'd rather be a man of my word than be like "one of them". And to the op, that doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Trust us!!! If it doesn’t feel right. Don’t do it.

 

[captain awesome]

When I do private sale my handgun, I feel pretty difficult that the buyer contacts several seller at same time , buyer can change mind any time as long as he/she found good deal , then I will waste all my time and get nothing, I am going to ask the buyer who can pay me deposit ( 33% of sale price or less), I will keep that weapon for him and stop contacting another buyer, deposit is no refund , I will ask him to pay me by Zelle, I can receive it pretty soon . Is this a good idea or bad? Thanks.

I got the jist of what you are saying but good heavens that was hard to read. Are you in the United States?
In answer to your question, you can do what ever you want but I doubt many buyers are going to be comfortable with that. If I had a seller tell me they wanted a deposit by Zelle I would instantly think "SCAM" and block your number.... especially if you speak the way you write. Yes it is frustrating when potential buyers waist your time but it's just part of selling things on classified ads. Just live with it.

 

[dogtown tom]

Bad idea. Mail order or online sales. Get & charge their credit card? Better then below.

Buyers will "say" they will take the firearm & will send seller a USPS money order or personal check (must clear). My terms. Then seller takes the gun off the market, no longer for sale.

But no payment comes (sometimes). No more contact with buyer.

Now you have to run add again weeks later.

Part of doing business.

My fix was, sell firearm to first 3 buyers. First full payment to me, gets gun. Others are told a mix up occured. Sorry. There refund is on the way back to them or rip up their persional check.

Doing that would get you kicked off every gun forum I know. It's dishonest, unethical not to mention illegal.

This started when many people were no longer good to their word. Had to join them.

That's a shame. I guess your reputation doesn't matter one damned bit.

 

[Beck]

Good idea if the buyer has verbally committed to the sale. No different than layaway. But stay away from Zelle! I would only use Zelle to send money to a friend of relative. Otherwise no way!

 

[edwardware]

My fix was, sell firearm to first 3 buyers. First full payment to me, gets gun. Others are told a mix up occured. Sorry. There refund is on the way back to them or rip up their persional check.

This started when many people were no longer good to their word. Had to join them.

I'm with @dogtown tom , it seems that this rates an entry in the feedback thread.

 

[243winxb]

gun forum

There was no internet or forums in my day. Remember Shotgun News & GunList?

Retired in 1994 from gun sales. Done with that.

 

[243winxb]

it seems that this rates an entry in the feedback thread.

Feed back on what? Never sold on here.

 

[Thomas Mayberry]

Bad idea. Mail order or online sales. Get & charge their credit card? Better then below.

Buyers will "say" they will take the firearm & will send seller a USPS money order or personal check (must clear). My terms. Then seller takes the gun off the market, no longer for sale.

But no payment comes (sometimes). No more contact with buyer.

Now you have to run add again weeks later.

My fix was, sell firearm to first 3 buyers. First full payment to me, gets gun. Others are told a mix up occured. Sorry. There refund is on the way back to them or rip up their persional check.

This started when many people were no longer good to their word. Had to join them.

That tells me that you lack integrity :

1. By making multiple deals to sell with the intent to follow through on only one sale

and

2. You are perfectly willing to lie, yes lie to the other buyers by telling them that a mix up occurred when in fact it was your intent all along to reneg on the deal to two out of three buyers.

Yeah you certainly became "one of them". Another person not good to his word.

 

[jdc1244]

Is this a good idea or bad?

Bad.

Private sales can be tedious and frustrating – the back-and-forth PMs, then the back-and-forth texts, responding to interested potential buyers who don’t follow up or decide not to buy, and responses from those who want to trade when you’re clear in your ad you don’t want to trade.

 

[Chief TC]

I use GunsInternational to buy and sell guns. As soon as someone tells me they want to buy it, then I list as sale pending awaiting payment. Zelle is a legitimate way used by almost all banks to transfer money without fees. Whether a buyer pays by check, MO or Zelle makes no difference. I just wouldn't demand Zelle - that is suspicious. Let people pay the way they feel comfortable. I have to explain the online buying process to people I get messages from on GI, all the time. If you have never done it, it seems a little scary that your money can be taken and no product.

 

[Chief TC]

Good idea if the buyer has verbally committed to the sale. No different than layaway. But stay away from Zelle! I would only use Zelle to send money to a friend of relative. Otherwise no way!

It doesn't matter. If they send a check or MO, their money is gone. Zelle is just the fastest way. Check and MO are not safer. Buyer pays before gun is shipped - just the nature of the transaction.

 

[tarosean]

Is English your native language? I’ll be straight up. You write like a scammer and want Zelle like a scammer.. Those two equal a hard pass from me.

They have every right to keep shopping if no explicit deal was made.

 

[JohnKSa]

I think that the consensus is pretty clear. Not sure if there's anything left to add.