Hello the camp! This is a topic near and dear to me. My first ebay deal was for a star lubrisizer; he got my 300, I got jack, then compounded my idiocy by waiting past ebay's we'll-look-into-it window.
That was about 5 yr ago. For the past 4 yr, I've had Colts and Winchesters on a guncart sign at Winter Range and Bordertown, on SASSwire and Open Range ads, to no effect. The first time I listed them on AuctionArms, I sold a Colt. I saw an ad wanting to trade an AR for a Colt, and that went fine. I reposted my .44s, somebody saw them, told a buddy and there they went.
Now, with arms, you can ship long guns--indeed, my local po in Hereford, AZ is as accommodating and polite as pie -- but an ffl needs to ship handguns for you, short of bp and antique. With ffl involved, you have a pretty sure destination. I waited until I had the check before I shipped the Colts, but the trade I shpd as soon as I hung up the phone.
I guess I'm saying the $20 I pay my blacksmith [and, yeah, I know I have a good thing, with a better one being he's about 4 mi from me out here in the sticks, and a good blacksmith to boot] is comfort on the receiving end, and his shpg handguns expedites things, worth his price. In trades, I guess you have to pay your nickel and take your chance. I think you can tell a bit from how many posts a fella has--guess I'm not selling any bridges tonite. The Cast Boolits forum has a running thread on chislers and deadbeats.
All else failing, it's part of the guncrank mystique. There's nothing like going to a gun show with a wad of c-notes and a bag full of trade bait--even more fun when you go without a clearcut plan. My .02, your mileage may vary. See ya round the campfire. mm
