Getting comfortable with buying a gun I can't inspect in person

[barnfrog]

For those who buy online, what increases your comfort that you know what you're getting? I'm in the market for a .41 Rem Mag revolver and am giving up hope that I'll find one I don't have to drive 3 hours to hold in my hands, measure the cylinder gap and end play, feel the balance, feel the trigger action, etc. before laying out my hard-earned money. I see guns on Gunbroker that I'm interested in go for crazy prices I can't afford, but when one comes up at a reasonable price that I can handle and nobody bids on it I can't help but think "what am I missing?"

Is it just that you're willing to take a gamble? Do you ask the seller for more pics or measurements that are easy to take? It's not that I don't trust the sellers, but they don't always give enough information for me to feel like I'm just rolling the dice. Maybe that's the answer to my question. Maybe nobody bids on those guns because there are only a handful of pictures and the description only includes the make, model, barrel length and year of manufacture.

What say you?

 

[MarshallDodge]

Lots of pics and questions, including the history of the gun.

Several years ago, I purchased an expensive match rifle, and was lucky. It was located several states away but I had a good friend who lived close to the seller. He took a look at it for me and gave his approval. It turned out to be a great deal.

 

[tazbigdog]

Make, model and pictures go a long way. Auction houses are good places to look, especially if they give NRA ratings on their guns. I’ve been lucky for the last several years.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Depends on the gun. A Redhawk? I'd have no issue sight unseen.
Model 57 Smith? Ya, Id wanna be able to inspect first.

 

[Pat Riot]

I purchased 2 revolvers from Cabela’s gun library when I lived in Oregon. The guns were in Baton Rouge, LA. I paid $25 to have them shipped and if I decided I wanted them the $25 went towards the purchase. If not I would lose the $25 on each gun.
This gave me an out though.

I have bid on revolvers in online auctions but have not won one. I will not bid on one unless they show lots of in-focus detailed photos and their write up is very detailed Even still, it’s a gamble.

Truthfully, auctions are starting to tick me off. I’m considering not bothering with them any more.

 

[nettlle]

I have bought a few online from different individuals. Some on gun forums like this one. Some on Gunbroker. I always talk to the seller, read their seller ratings (if available). Pictures are important. If the price were right I wouldn't hesitate to buy from an individual online again if I were comfortable with the seller. There are some really good bargains. There is some risks and there are some rascals out there. If there is anything in doubt at all I won't buy.

 

[tominboise]

Last one I bought on GB, I called the seller and talked with them about it (it was a .22 benchrest rifle). I got enough information to make me comfortable and so I bought it. It turned out to be a great deal and the rifle shoots great.

So ask questions and sometimes you just have to trust in the seller.

 

[Tallball]

I buy used handguns online frequently. You roll the dice and take your chances. I've had a better than 90% success rate.

The sellers that sell a bazillion used guns know what they're doing and give honest descriptions.

 

[James K2020]

I've had good luck with on-line descriptions. If it's something really high-end then yes, ask questions, more pix, etc. A lot depends on the seller and their reputation. Some guns you do want to see in person, especially if you're concerned about gaps and end shake. Others it may not matter too much. Should be able to find an S&W 41. mag in nice condition from a reputable seller as long as you're not too fussy with how it measures with a gauge.

 

[Remington1911]

I don't buy from John Doe online any longer, I never had a bad experience but I worried my butt off.

Now I will buy from a "proven" company. Someone talked about Cabellas, that is a proven company. The big auction houses I trust to give me the straight dope on the item in question. GB is a hard pass for me, in my area of interest it is too easy to see that stuff "faked" and passed off as "real". Seller knowing or not. I am not going to take that chance.

 

[ms6852]

I never buy online and if I am interested in a certain firearm I'll go to the LGS and buy it from them or have them order it for me as I know that my LGS will resolve any issues for me should there be any. To me, the piece of mind this gives me is worth the extra $40 to $75 I may pay for the gun from another online store. Besides the small business people have to pay for their over head to.

If I go to Academy and get the same gun, they may have it cheaper than the LGS but the moment you buy from Academy by the time you leave the store they will tell you several times not to return back with the firearm if there are problems, but to send it to the manufacturer. Nowadays you can't send a gun anywhere unless you have an FFL license and if you don't than you pay for them to send it back. Whatever saving there were, have now disappeared.

 

[red rick]

I have always been lucky buying used revolvers online . The only bad experience I had was buying a new 1911 online without holding it first . That was the only 1911 that I didn’t like the feel of that I have handled and sold it 2 years later unfired for a $50 dollar loss , Springfield TRP .

 

[GBExpat]

I have purchased many firearms online in the past 2 decades. What I look for?

Lots of well-lit & -focused close-up digifotos, including some "proving" any measurable photo-friendly details (bore or throat erosion, cylinder gap, etc). A detailed, specific description of the firearm. General descriptions like "Bore is good" are not acceptable. Forthright detailed answers to any question(s) I may have ... and I have rarely found myself with no questions after carefully perusing an interesting Listing.

 

[Riomouse911]

I have bought a lot of revolvers online, at least 30 (35?) at last count. A couple were New In Box, but most were used.

A few needed to go back to the manufacturer for issues, including a S&W 624 (cylinder locked up after several range trips), 48 6” (same). A Ruger Blackhawk .41 had light strikes, a S&W Model 14 8 3/8” was really inaccurate. I found it to have a tiny bulge in the barrel from a prior owner sticking a bullet and then shooting a second, so it was cut down to 5”. And a Dan Wesson .22 needed to be seen by a local gunsmith because the hand broke after the second or third trip and DW/CZ wouldn’t touch it. A couple of rimfires needed their chambers honed to allow for extraction after a cylinder or two were fired.

All of the issues the guns above had were found out only after range trips; the light strikes or cylinder issues cropped up during use. It certainly can be frustrating, but even my exam when I first checked the guns out at my FFL didn’t catch these things before shooting them.

Yes, it can be a roll of the dice. If you are searching for something that is rare, out of production or otherwise cant be found locally, online is often the only way to buy.

Good luck!

Stay safe.

 

[bangswitch]

I'm in the market for a .41 Rem Mag revolver and am giving up hope that I'll find one I don't have to drive 3 hours to hold in my hands, measure the cylinder gap and end play, feel the balance, feel the trigger action, etc. before laying out my hard-earned money.

Is it just that you're willing to take a gamble? Do you ask the seller for more pics or measurements that are easy to take? It's not that I don't trust the sellers, but they don't always give enough information for me to feel like I'm just rolling the dice. Maybe that's the answer to my question. Maybe nobody bids on those guns because there are only a handful of pictures and the description only includes the make, model, barrel length and year of manufacture.

What say you?

Three hours' drive to look at something you're gonna lay out over $1000 for doesn't seem like a lot to me. In the matter of firearms, I refuse to buy what I can't handle first. That's just me; I want to feel how the action is, look down the barrel, field strip it if possible, and be comfortable that it is what I want. I suppose, if the pictures are plentiful and cover the entire gun and are very high resolution, I could make a judgment by them, but all you can go on as far as function is what the seller tells you. You can assume, I suppose, if the gun is advertised as "new in the box", or "was my safe queen for xxx years", or "hardly used and well cared for", etc. and the pictures support that, then the internals are also okay and it functions properly.

I've driven four hours each way to look at a revolver that was described to me by the owner (phone call) and had never seen. His creds (former LEO, had known the previous and original owner, his partner) convinced me it was worth the drive, and it was. It happened to be, BTW, a .41 Magnum, a S&W M58. Meeting the seller in person was an added bonus, we ended up talking for 2-1/2 hours before we finished the deal. It was a day well spent.

Whatever you decide, hope the deal works for you. .41's are fun. I also have a M57.

 

[Barmcd]

The description, pictures, history of the seller and a return period are all important. Some people post a gun for sale with a short one line description which tells you nothing. Others post one or two pictures, blurry or dark pictures so you can't even tell what you're looking at. Sellers with a large number of sales give me more confidence that they are honest brokers and not scam artists. A return period is a must because in the end, you never know what you'll get.

 

[commygun]

No matter how it appears cosmetically, if it’s past a certain age I assume there’s a possibility that it might need some work. If it doesn’t, great. If it does, I’ll figure it out eventually.

I certainly don’t expect every online seller to have thoroughly wrung out every old gun they offer for sale. If they explicitly state that they have and there’s a problem when I receive it, that’s another matter.

 

[hemiram]

I want pics of everything. Almost to the point of too many. The listings that have one pic of the gun in a case or the box are suspicious, but sometimes the seller just wants it gone and doesn't want to make a big effort. At least a dozen positive feedbacks along with no reasonably sane negatives (Read them! Sometimes the person leaving them seems to be petty or just a dope) they can just be ignored. So far, I've had no problems of any significance with any used guns I've bought online going back to 2006. About the only thing that I don't understand is when they put up pics of a seriously dirty gun. It's like selling a dirty car, why would you not at least give it a quick wash? I suppose I've been lucky, but when it's been 17 years of lucky, is it really luck?

 

[Tallball]

Reading the answers here, it seems to depend on resources.

If you're buying something that's a big investment for you, the risk involved in purchasing a firearm unseen might be too much for your resources.

I buy a cheap weird used handgun every once in a while. Occasionally they don't work out. It doesn't matter to me because the amounts of money I'm willing to risk on something like that are relatively small.

YMMV

 

[chaim]

I've bought quite a few over the years. Some have been a little worse than I expected, some a little better, but usually they come in the condition I expect. Looking for someone with plenty of seller feedback on the auction site helps, a good description, lots of good pictures, and a willingness to answer your questions all help improve your chances of doing well.

 

[stonebuster]

I've bought quite a few revolvers on GB and one particular gun forum and never have been disappointed. Lucky, but I read seller reviews, inspect photos carefully and ask seller questions. I look for signs of excessive use or abuse. Most of my online purchases have been 30-40 yr old Ruger Six Series revolvers. Sometimes a few poor photos accounts for low volume bidding & low winning bid. A 1984 S&W Model 10-7 snub I found on GB arrived in excellent condition in spite of seller's poor/few photos. It also was a special contract gun not advertised as such. Recently I saw a Ruger Service Six 38spl(possibly NYCPD) on GB with a high bid of $298 an hour before auction ended. A few out of focus photos to judge by but took a chance & won with $305 bid. With a couple grip changes, a good cleaning and swapping the DAO hammer for DA/SA it was worth the chance I took. For expensive old S&W, I don't roll the dice.

 

[P89DCSS]

Nowadays you can't send a gun anywhere unless you have an FFL license

Not true. If you're returning a firearm to the manufacturer they can send you a prepaid shipping label.
They can also ship the firearm directly to you.
I've had a few Ruger revolvers repaired this way. At no cost to me.

I've bought several new Ruger revolvers off GunBroker from larger sellers, used a credit card to give me ultimate protection.
Never had an issue.

 

[cfullgraf]

I'dprefer to fondle the gun in person before accepting delivery.

I've bought a number oif new firearms through Bud's Gun Shop ver the oat years and they have a policy that you can refuse delivery if you do not like the firearm, I've never tried this on their used firearms sales.

I'd like to get an S&W K-32 or Model 16. I'm not real comfortable buying it sight unseen as they are priced pretty high.

Something that is more common and not so expensive, I might if I really have a desire to fill a hole in my collection. If I'm not happy with the gun, I can probably flip it and look for another example.

But, I've not gotten to that point yet.

 

[Armored farmer]

If I'm buying a new gun, I get it from my lgs. Even if I have to pay a bit more.
The several gunbroker purchases that I have made have all been good. I have talked(gunbroker email) to every one of the sellers. There is a button for that. It generates an email to the seller specifically for asking questions.....if they don't answer it to satisfaction ....don't bid.

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

I buy used handguns online frequently. You roll the dice and take your chances. I've had a better than 90% success rate.

The sellers that sell a bazillion used guns know what they're doing and give honest descriptions.

I got a Gen 2 Glock 21 in very good condition a few weeks ago and the seller on Gun Broker was honest about some minor scuffs and scratches from being 30 years old so I got it and it shoots great! It's had the recall done in it with the chrome parts also.