GUN BROKER Guns

[Confederate]

Where do most of these Internet-sales guns come from? Not the obviously cared for guns, but those that aren't so nice. I ask because I frequently check out the used Security-Sixes and Speed-Sixes, and many of them go for laughable prices and look like they've seen some time in a blender! Others look like they could easily be fixed up with a "fine" scouring pad and a little polish (these would be stainless guns) while a few have some obvious stains on them. In other words, they look like they've been shoved in front of a digital camera, photographed and then posted -- many at very ambitious prices! Clearly the sellers are just turning this stuff over, but are they guns formerly used in crimes, stored in buckets and eventually sold to the public?

How safe is it to buy these brokered guns. I keep reading warnings about fraudulent postings. Many indicate no return, sold as is. That seems to be a bit slimy to me. You can buy one that's been in a fire and that blows up the first time you shoot a hot load in it.

Any of you guys have any experiences, good or bad?

 

[Monac]

I've bought a number of guns via GunBroker and similar websites and never had any trouble, but I buy older, oddball guns for collecting, not guns for concealed carry or home defense. Many sellers are gun stores or gun dealers. I don't think I've ever bought from anyone who had less than one or two dozen sales and purchases on their account.

The site I am least familiar with is Armslist. I tried to contact a seller there about a week after he put a gun up, and never got a reply. Maybe a lot of the sellers there are looking to do in-state, no paperwork sales?

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I purchased a *very* nice Colt 1903 from Guns America and have dealt with several seller over there. Nothing but good things to say. Gun Broker and I simply seem to not get along - I have bid on several and lost every time. One gun went like 5 rounds over 10 weeks with the reserve not being met and then I saw that it sold the very last auction for *half* what I bid after I stopped paying attention to it.

Snooze = Lose

I bid on another here 2 weeks ago and apparently the reserve is more than my top dollar. I sent an email 3 days ago on another Colt 1903 I'm interested in asking for pix and clarification and have not heard a word from the seller.

I'm pretty much done with GB...I just don't wanna play the auction deal. Shoot me a price and we'll haggle but I'm a lot more likely to buy if I don't have to play the bidding game. I guess a lot of folks do like the auction aspect 'cause I have seen several guns go for a multiple of what I have paid for guns in better condition and value. I see more folks paying more than I would but maybe I'm just not a motivated buyer.

I don't like GB.

VooDoo

 

[GyMac]

I've bought 5 or 6 guns off GB and never had a problem. And almost all of them were revolvers, where it's a little harder to tell if something is wrong. I pay attention to the seller's rating and number of sales, and ask questions if I have them. Because a lot of the guns I'm interested in aren't made anymore, GB has been a lifesaver.

 

[Twiki357]

It seems to me that most of the sellers on GunBroker (At least the ones I have looked at) are gun stores and pawn shops. If you notice, a lot of listings state that the item is available in their store and subject to prior sale. I look frequently, but I’ve never bought due to the outlandish selling prices on anything I’m interested in, and that’s before shipping and FFL transfer fees.

 

[Waveski]

I have made several buys on GunBroker. It is a legit site. Buyer beware , as always. Check credentials on sellers - it is all there for the reading. I like the site , but - obviously - it is not a walk-in gun store , it is internet.
Take it or leave it.

 

[BobWright]

Well, I just bought a Colt New Frontier from the GunBroker site. Price was a bargain, gun was near perfect shape. Couldn't be more pleased.

Bob Wright

 

[dogtown tom]

Confederate Where do most of these Internet-sales guns come from?

Probably the guy who owns it.

.....but are they guns formerly used in crimes, stored in buckets and eventually sold to the public?

Used in crimes? Yeah, Gunbroker is a perfect way to get rid of the evidence.

How safe is it to buy these brokered guns. I keep reading warnings about fraudulent postings.

Just like Ebay, you check the sellers feedback. Gunbroker has far, far fewer fraudulent listings than Armslist.

Many indicate no return, sold as is. That seems to be a bit slimy to me.

Nothing slimy about it. Sellers don't want a wishy washy buyer changing his mind. If there is a flaw that is purposely hidden by pictures or the gun is not as described you DO have the right to return it.

Any of you guys have any experiences, good or bad?

I've had only one gun from GB that wasn't as described. It was a Star .380 described as "NRA Excellent".......while the finish was perfect, some idiot had stripped out the grip screws so badly that the grips wouldn't stay on. Seller initially refused to accept the return and was somewhat nasty. he called me two days later to apologize.....seems his dog had died and he had been rather nasty to everyone and finally his wife chewed him out. We spent half an hour talking about dogs, their unconditional love and death. Not only did he refund my purchase price but refunded shipping both ways.

 

[aladdin]

I have bought off Gunbroker many times over the years Have not been burnt yet.
The guns come from the various places that all guns come from. For me GB is just another place to buy. Just like a shop or gun show.

 

[dickydalton]

I've always had good business on GunBroker and GunAuction. I got burned by one crook years ago on Antique Guns and it wasn't their fault. The guy had good feedback until he stuck me.

 

[Go For Broke]

I'm fine with Gun Broker. Done several purchases without issue.

The trick is to go in with open eyes. My last purchase was a private seller. He listed the shipping as being $50.00 for a handgun. That is about double what the average should be. But I read the fine print and knew the cost.

Same guy wanted only a Money Order only. My banker asked why not a bank to bank transfer. The guy replied with instructions on how to get a money order when I suggested the transfer. Because of my situation (rural America) it took a while to get to the bank and get a money order.

The same guy searched high and low for a dealer to ship (that was the extra $25 in the shipping). I suggested he drop it in at FEDEX and ship to my FFL, perfectly legal. I even linked him to the Gun Broker page about shipping. Didn't sink in.

I gave in and he took it to a dealer on Monday expecting it to be shipped that afternoon. The dealer said Friday. Called today, Tuesday (a week later) and the dealer said that he hoped to have it out today.

So how does the gun look? The pictures are great. I hope the actual gun will be also.

Buyer beware or shop local.

 

[41mag]

My last Gun Broker purchase:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=150251

 

[Onward Allusion]

Gunbroker is probably one of the most legit gun auction sites out there. Anyone registered had to jump through a couple of hoops to get their account verified. Transactions are backed up to $500. I've had a couple of hundred transactions on GB and I have not been burned once. The only thing I've ran across were a couple of non-merchants stretching the truth on the condition of their gun. The "real" sellers who make a living selling guns and related accessories are pretty much all on the up and up. If you have concerns, take a look at a seller's feedback. They should either confirm or alleviate the concerns.

 

[hemiram]

I've bought and sold over 50 guns on GB, and so far, haven't had one that wasn't at least as good as it was described and several were better than I expected them to be. I have seen a couple of guns where the pics were shot to minimize the flaws in the item pictured. A friend bought one of them, and the seller refunded his money without any real hassles.

I would guess that 75% of the guns I have bought came from gun stores, about 20% from private sellers and the other 5% were from pawn shops. My best deal ever came from a pawn shop. A nearly mint gun, at a price hundreds of dollars less than I would have expected to pay. It was also the very first gun I ever bought on an auction site.

 

[45_auto]

Nothing but good experiences on Gunbroker here. I've bought about a dozen guns over the last 15 years from there. All were relatively rare or specialty guns, all were in better condition than described, and all were cheaper even after shipping and transfer than I could get locally.

 

[RealGun]

I buy from sellers, mostly dealers and FFL holders, who have a significant feedback rating to protect. That's not to say that I don't have significant gunsmith expenses getting guns checked out, repaired, or enhanced to my liking. Trigger jobs and cylinder reams are common for me. Three or four guns went back to the factory for minor work.

My lemon was my Ruger Police Service Six, which has accuracy problems and is being reworked by my gunsmith. I am not actually planning to keep it but don't sell defective guns.

By far, my best experience has been with Smith and Wesson. I like my Rugers too. I had high hopes for my Taurus .44 specials, but they don't shoot straight, while Taurus in checking them said they are "in spec". You should see the test target that got a passing grade from them. I may be missing something, but I expect bullseyes like I get from my Smiths and Rugers.

 

[PRM]

Yep ~ quite a few. Most were great transactions. Got burned on one and it was a learning process.

Several years back, I bought a vintage S&W from a guy named Ricky Biagi, that had been engraved, silver plated by a well known vendor, and had a set of beautiful engraved elephant ivory grips. The gun was listed as new condition. When I got it, the gun was broken. The jerk I bought it from accused me of breaking it. To fix the problem was very extensive, required a new cylinder, hard to find, contacting the engraver to have the work re-done, and then back to the original vendor to be replated. The engraver told me that the gun was broken when he did the original engraving and he was told by the guy I bought it from, that it would never be fired, it was to be part of a collection.

Yep, I had a good case, but to pursue it in court would have meant taking off from work, traveling about a thousand miles to another state, hiring an attorney, court cost, ... In the end I would have spent more trying to take it to court than I would have gained.

The jerk even pulled the listing off of Guns America as not being sold through them. He cheated them out of their commission. GA does not seem to care and don't get involved in disputes. Shame, I would liked to have given him the appropriate feed back.

Lesson Learned.

1. Check feedback and make sure the seller has been on the site for awhile with positive feedbacks.

2. For high end items ~ use a reliable 3rd party to inspect it. If the seller is not willing to do that, you got a red flag.

I have bought other guns off the internet since and will again. I think the feedback is the key.

 

[jrdolall]

I have bought two guns on GB and both came from dealers in other states. Both transactions were perfect. One for a gun that was $150 less than any local dealer would do and one for a Russian Mak that I could never find locally.
I prefer to buy locally, especially on used guns, because I can touch and feel them but GB is a good option.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I bought a used S&W 624 rated as "97% metal, 98% wood" (the sellers rating system). It was a big outfit specializing in high end used S&Ws from KY with over 4,000 sales on GB.

When I got it, the cylinder wouldn't turn. It must have sat for years with old oil that had turned to varnish.

It looked like new in the pic's, but someone (the GB dealer?) used abrasives to clean the muzzle end of the cylinder. You could see the sanding marks. The B/C gap was .010" - .015" and not consistent.

The gun was also subject to a recall for bad cylinder steel.

The dealer would not take it back.

I've bought at least 8 guns off GB and that was the only bad experience I've had.

 

[LT.Diver]

I of most of my gun buying and selling on Gunbroker. Never anything but positive results for me.

 

[ultramag44]

I have had excellent experiences w/ GB.

Read feedback.
Ask questions of the seller if you need to.
Ask for more pics.

It's your $$, be polite, but careful.

Pictures can be a help or hindrance. Bad camera angle, out of focus, dimly lit, camera flash can either hide a beat up gun or make a nice one look sad.

Some folks can write a flowery, carefully-worded description. They make a junker sound ok, and do it w/o actually lying.

Others can't write worth squat. They forget to mention the box and papers are included. Their description is pretty much the specs on the gun from the blue book.

Often, a gunshop selling a hard-to-move item will back off on the stated shipping price to "round-it-down" for you.

One IMPORTANT tip, if you are considering an auction, post a link in a forum where folks that really know about that type gun hang out! Those folks will help you alot! They can view the auction, point out flaws on the gun, errors in ad copy. Often they have actually seen the gun first hand @ a show! They can often give you a ballpark figure of where the top bid may go.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[dwood2440]

Gunbroker is Legit

I use GB when my LGS can't get what I am looking for. As others have pointed out, many dealers use GB to expand their reach. I have purchased the following: Ruger SP101, Browning Hi Power, CZ75BD, Beretta 84FS, numerous parts (mags, slide, barrel, etc) and ammo. Do your research on the buyer, they often have their own web sites. I only purchase from those that accept credit cards for some protection, and have a meaningful number of transactions with A+ rating. I have not had any problems, and as are most gun folks, the sellers have all been straight shooters. Just tonight I emailed 2 sellers on GB with questions and already have their reply. Again, my LGS is my preference, but when I can't find what I am looking for GB has been a good source.

 

[RealGun]

When gun models have been discontinued and distributor stocks depleted, the only practical way to find one NIB is to tap into nationwide LGS stocks via Gunbroker, Gunsamerica, et al.

 

[Billy Shears]

I've bought and sold on gunbroker.com, and I've never had any regrets. The prices can be high sometimes, but I think that's because the sellers have a national audience, as opposed to a strictly local one like they'd have in a gun shop or they're local trading post, and they figure the much larger pool of potential buyers enables them to ask (and get) higher prices. It's the same reason that real bargains are rare among the dealers at gun shows -- more people will see the sale items in a day there than will in a month or two sitting in a display case at some shop, and sooner or later, someone will come along who'll pay the higher price.

 

[jimbo555]

I have nothing but positive results from Gunbroker also. I enjoy shopping for guns that just are not available where I live. You have to be careful, it's easy to get carried away!