GunBroker website?

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460Shooter said:
I’ve bought several guns on gunbroker. It’s fairly easy to use but the seller and communications is what makes it work.
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If the seller is unwilling to talk to you over the phone about the item, move on.

Sellers that will take a few minutes, and otherwise seem honest are more likely the good guys- and may be worth your time, and money.

Extremely clear, closeup photos are not challenging to take. Sellers either include them, or not. Lazy sellers are what they are.
 
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All my experiences have been excellent. I have bought thousands of rounds of ammo, 2 dropin AR triggers, A new DD V7 Pro ($1250, yes, $1250). Everything was 10-40% off the lowest online prices I could find for the same items. The trick is to learn to work the bidding system, hint is timezones. Also to follow the items, and watch each listing for all the item types you are interested in. As far as ammo goes right now, forget it. The ammo sellers I follow are getting bids for ammo that are so inflated, there are no deals there now. If I was forced to pay that much, I'd start reloading 9mm. It's now the kind of the place where new gun owners go because they have no idea how to search online for better ammo prices, so they bid far more than I find it for elsewhere in about 10 seconds. A few months ago I was getting Geco 9mm for $160/170 per 1k shipping included; it's my favorite brand. Now it's up to $300 in some cases. Another important thing is to look at a sellers reputation. When I saw the V7 Pro for $1250 no shipping, I couldn't believe it, and the seller had just a few feedbacks. I looked them up online and on facebook profile once I got the owner's name. It was someone who was running the store from her house I think. So I called her to ask if it was real. Turns out she was new to the business, and without understanding her rural customer base, she purchased several top tier ARs for her store, talking DD and KAC (Not cheap). After a period of time in business, she noticed that because she was in the country, most of her customers wanted hunting rifles. So she wanted to free up the money to buy hunting guns. I scored. Rare, but it can happen. You need to do homework to leverage that site effectively. I had hundreds of watched items per week before the virus, now I won't even go there until all this panick crap is over. Also, it is a great place to go on Black friday, because many people see great published deals elsewhere, and buy those to save the auction headache and uncertainty. I got a nice CNC dropin AR trigger for $90, the cheapest anywhere online at the time was $140. The seller was a gun shop that had a few sitting around, and wanted to free up the cash for thier next line of products. He even offered to sell me another one for the same price. I declined, as I had also found a Timney $300 dropin for my other AR, for $150 on Gunbroker. :)
 
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I have 5 handguns bought thru Gun Broker, 4 used, 1 new. Also have made 2 purchases on Gun Broker for bulk brass,

I have only had one glitch and that was my banks fault. One sale when I went to check out the bank flagged the transaction as fraud and locked my account. Took me another 3 days to straighten it out with the bank and then rearrange payment with the seller because the GB checkout would not accept my card number a second time. That experience was for the new gun.
 
I've bought most of my guns either through Gunbroker, or straight from Bud's Guns or some other known shop online. I've never bought a used gun online, and only two used guns my entire life.

just bought a gun on Gunbroker a couple of days ago. MSRP was $1200. Cheapest I found it online was $900 at Bud's Guns. Shop in PA had 7 of them for $549. It was a Remington R1 Limited in .40 S&W. Herd mentality these days is that .40 S&W is horrible and uncool. Those of us who like it and reload for it are reaping some fantastic deals.

The gun before that was a Sig P365. The nearest LGS over in Idaho actually carried the Tac Pac for $549, which was about the best price I've seen. Went to buy one and they were all out and said probably wouldn't get any more for months. So, I went online and found a shop in Texas, Alpine Range, that had one for $529. Free shipping. Had it in my hand a week later and it has been flawless.

I was looking pretty hard at some used CHP S&W 4006 pistols on Gunbroker, but I'm so anal regarding firearm condition that I just couldn't pull the trigger on any of them. What the seller described as "Very good condition", I viewed as beat up POS. So, due to my German appreciation for quality, I don't think I could ever buy a used gun without holding it in my hand first and closely inspecting it.
 
I have bought a few over the years and sold a few as well. My experiences are mixed. If buying make sure you read everything - twice . Look over the pictures carefully as well. Look at sellers feedback and if they have a return policy. I have been doing gun work for a few decades which has come in handy because there are sellers who are not as honest as they should be. Overall I rate my dealings there with a C+ .
 
I bought 2 guns over the years and had no problems. Both guns were bought from gun shops. Both were older Smith & Wesson revolvers. Often hard to find in my area.I checked the reviews and they were good so I went ahead. Both times my questions for the seller were answered in a reasonable period of time. And both offered to send extra pictures.
 
I work for an FFL p/t. We do lot of transfers, with the people that use gunbroker, both in and out.
Out going we want to see the ad and pics, if they don't match up we refuse to ship.
On incoming we let the customer see the product before doing the 4473,
If he is not happy we send it back.
Like was said above it is an auction site. Research your buyer or seller! And only do FFL TO FFL, NEVER send to or accept from a private person.
 
bikerdoc said:
And only do FFL TO FFL, NEVER send to or accept from a private person.
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While that practice is perfectly sound , in my case the majority of GB acquisitions (approx 30) have come from non-FFL sellers. I have not been burned. I think I have pretty good radar ; maybe there has been an element of luck ... but I don't think so. Also , when selling (in my case through Armslist) I have only shipped from a local FFL on one occasion; in that particular case the buyer insisted , and was willing to foot the bill. Otherwise I shipped from me to the FFL designated by the buyer. Perhaps there is a layer of control in shipping FFL to FFL , but I prefer to avoid the added expense.

I need to point out that I have adhered to all legal and proper guidelines when it comes to transfer prior to taking possession of a firearm purchased through GB.
 
theboyscout said:
Anyone ever by from GunBroker? Like some feedback on it

Trustworthy
Reliability of pictures and firearm
Getting what you see

If it says factory new condition is it actually?

Things like that and any experiencea you have had
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All the questions you ask is totally dependant on the seller. With that being said I've ordered 11 or 12 firearms off of Gunbroker from about as many different sellers and have not had a problem. I've always received what was shown. I've read stories of a few people that have had less than pleasant experiences though.

The first thing I do when considering buying something listed on Gunbroker is look at the seller's rating and also do a Google search on them. (if the seller is an individual Google search may turn up nothing)

If they have an A or A+ rating that's enough for me.

Hope that helps
 
I have had good luck and good deals from GB. I like a good return policy or I tend to shy away from the purchase. I always inspect my purchase before filling out the 4473. If a seller doesn't answer questions then it's a no go. I don't get into the bidding hype either. Set my price and stop there. So far so good...
 
I’m going through my first rough deal with GB right now. I did Buy Now on a cheap part. Seller had listed a phone number to call to make payment via card over the phone. I have called a couple dozen times in the specified time window, and they have not answered. They also have not answered messages. I communicated all of this to Gunbroker and their response clearly was a halfassed skim of the report and basically said I need to call to make payment... I have.... like 30 times so far. They have contacted seller now to try to complete transaction, and still no luck. They refuse to simply cancel the transaction and I refuse to pay for an item I fully expect to never see at this point, so it’s kind of a stand-off right now. I’m waiting another week and will contact them again. If they are still adamant that I have to keep trying as nauseum I will get better business bureau involved because they clearly only care about the seller who will be letting them make about a dollar on the sale. I haven’t quit using Gunbroker though, as the vast majority of my experiences have been wonderful.
 
Since I live in a small town in a small state I do not have access to gun stores that sell a lot of unique and older weapons. So I have purchased dozens of weapons (mostly semi auto pistols) thru gunbroker. I have had a couple of hiccups but nothing terrible. The recommendations in the thread are spot on. Check out the seller before you bid. You have to be careful on pricing though. Sometimes the bidding goes crazy. Being a collector of shootable weapons (no safe queens) Gunbroker has given me access to weapons I never would have been able to purchase in my area. That is good and bad if you know what i mean. :)
 
WestKentucky said:
I’m going through my first rough deal with GB right now. I did Buy Now on a cheap part. Seller had listed a phone number to call to make payment via card over the phone. I have called a couple dozen times in the specified time window, and they have not answered. They also have not answered messages. I communicated all of this to Gunbroker and their response clearly was a halfassed skim of the report and basically said I need to call to make payment... I have.... like 30 times so far. They have contacted seller now to try to complete transaction, and still no luck. They refuse to simply cancel the transaction and I refuse to pay for an item I fully expect to never see at this point, so it’s kind of a stand-off right now. I’m waiting another week and will contact them again. If they are still adamant that I have to keep trying as nauseum I will get better business bureau involved because they clearly only care about the seller who will be letting them make about a dollar on the sale. I haven’t quit using Gunbroker though, as the vast majority of my experiences have been wonderful.
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Just ignore them if they wont take your payment info., no loss to you.
 
rbernie said:
. And, just like eBay, they really don't have much to offer in the way of dispute resolution - they exist to provide a virtual gun show, and it's really up the buyer and seller to own their respective parts of the dance. As such, you'll find the occasional shady seller, mostly decent sellers, and the occasional bargain. I've been sorta disappointed once, and not so disappointed many dozens of times.
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To be clear, E-bay is just about 100% on the side of the BUYER. As a seller, you can put any kind of disclaimer you want -- final sale, no returns, as-is, etc., etc., and all the buyer has to do is to give any reason that comes to mind and say that they want to return it, say someone hacked their account, say the items wasn't what they expected despite your crystal-clear description and 12 very detailed photos of the NIB item... and E-bay STILL stiffs the seller.

So, on E-bay, you are at the luck-of-the-draw in snagging an honest buyer, and about 90% of the time you do. Some items are more likely to draw bad buyers than others -- people who will go so far as to use the item and then return it -- say, women's shoes or handbags, but so far I haven't had any issues with gun-related items in that way. The risk of a jack*** buyer, and E-bay/PayPal's approximately 13% total take of the proceeds are their downsides for sellers, but they are still the best game in town for some items including a lot of shooting-related stuff. Some items will just bring a lot more on e-bay.

GB isn't on anyone's side as far as I can tell. They are merely a conduit with a very reasonable fee. A great service, IME/IMO, but you are dealing with the buyer or seller, and GB doesn't have control of them.
 
Just bought a Ruger carbine yesterday; should be at my LGS in a few days; no issues. BTW, GB is not the seller, merely a website hooking up buyers and sellers.....
 
As with other popular auction sites, on GB, I look carefully at the buyers volume and stats. Read reviews, etc...

I've only purchased NIB off of GB, but that's just me.
 
I've purchased 6 or 7 guns and a scope thru GB. No problems and the products have been as advertised. Had one delay because my FFL and the seller were not communicating well. I had to stay involved to facilitate the transaction, but is was fine in the end. It is best to stay involved and double-check everything. And the reviews can be very telling. To me the endorsement grading (A+) and companion reviews are evidence of private business at it's finest.
 
Do your homework, ask questions, request more pictures if something isn't clear. IMHO if you play it smart on GB you'll do better than a random pick from an online gun dealer when you're shopping surplus firearms. Better price if you are patient and you can see what you're getting.
 
Yes.
Bought both a Mini 30 ('08: private seller)) and a Sig P228 ('19), and a recent "nib" Czechpoint VZ-58 (private seller). And from Other sellers, several magazines and mag pouches. Everything was fine, no deception at all.

Just use common sense, listen to your inner voice, and communicate very clearly, using the Golden Rule.
Always be yourself on Gunbroker and Armslist etc, as with any business.
 
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