Gun Broker Question..

[Smoke4320]

I know This answer is late and you have probably made your decision .. But here goes. As a FFL dealer anyone who wants paypal for a gun purchase payment is a huge RED FLAG as Paypal specifically forbids gun purchases.
Seller keeps your money ships nothing and you end up with nothing.
And the order Certified check, well again you are out cold .. Everything about this screams RUN AWAY

[goste]

Well,
Even tho I really want this pistol, I decided to hold off. Another Gunbroker question if I may. When they say no reserve, but have a minimum bid, Well..... isn't that a reserve ? Could I bid under that, and would they have to accept it if the have no reserve ? Sorry for jacking my own thread..

[DerekP Houston]

Well,
Even tho I really want this pistol, I decided to hold off. Another Gunbroker question if I may. When they say no reserve, but have a minimum bid, Well..... isn't that a reserve ? Could I bid under that, and would they have to accept it if the have no reserve ? Sorry for jacking my own thread..

The minimum bid is usually the amount needed to cover over the last bid, EX if I have bid 440, the minimum bid would be 441 to beat mine. The seller is free to set whatever start price they want but if there is "no reserve" on the item whoever has the high bid will win. Typically you will see either a really low start price with a reserve or a higher start price with no reserve, everyone wants to make money on a sale after all .

The exception is if they have a "buy it now" price offered, you can bypass the bidding and just buy the item directly if that price suits you.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

No USPS No Deal. The 'Starting Bid' does establish the seller's minimum price, like a reserve would, but a reserve is not displayed. A high reserve with a very low starting bid wastes your time. The 'Starting Bid' is honest and saves you time. Yeah minimum must cover the starting bid or the last bid.

[goste]

DerekP Houston , MostlyLeverGuns,

Thanks for taking the time to explain that to a newbe…
I always wondered why some really good looking stuff would have no bids, and some stuff that looked the same had a lot of bids.

I assume that a lot of people don't want to waste time bidding on a reserve item ? Makes sense...
Thanks again people. I really appreciate the new knowledge, that has maybe kept me from doing something stupid..

[Mr_Sheesh]

IIRC if you mail a cashier's check or whatever and the seller tries to defraud you, can't you get the USPS Postal Inspectors involved potentially? Anything sent through the mail is their domain, I believe... No expert on that though.

[rr2241tx]

Unless you are willing to throw the money into the fire, don't spend it on on-line auctions. Sure, most of the sellers are just trying to move inventory but you really have no idea who you are dealing with and if the item is misrepresented or just never shows up, you are sunk. Postal Inspectors won't help you if you're dealing with a fraud because their idea of helping is to mail a postcard to see if the address is valid. Been down that road, and the walk back. Shipping insurance won't help you, the shipper is the insured party. If you don't get your merchandise, the shipper (eventually) gets paid for his loss a second time. Paypal not only won't help you, they will freeze any account balance you may have with them and close your account. That said, I have purchased firearms off several of the on-line auctions and mostly gotten what I thought I purchased. A couple of notable exceptions where I really got skinned and eventually had to take my lumps and get over it.

In answer to your second question: Minimum Bid reflects the next bid increment the site allows over the high bid prior to yours. Sellers generally have a minimum amount they are willing to accept. There are two ways for them to insure that the item sells at or above that price. Setting a Reserve allows them to start the item at a low enough price that it will be at the top of the list that a potential bidder sees without obligating them to sell at a price less than they wish to sell the item. A lot of bidders get hooked on the chase and will bid well above their estimation of the item's worth trying to beat a high reserve or another bidder. Setting a Starting Price at the minimum they are willing to sell for is another way to get their item out there and marginally cheaper for the seller. These are typically items for sale by private individuals who may or may not have a realistic idea of the value of the item offered. The real gonzos are the $.01 starts with No Reserve. Those guys are selling stuff they have zero equity tied up in. There's a good chance the item is forfeited pawn collateral and the seller knows absolutely that whatever it sells for will cover his investment. Be sure you understand the shipping costs before you decide how much you are willing to bid. Most of the listing services, eg. Gunbroker, recover their fees from the seller. Traditional auction houses that operate on-line charge the seller AND the buyer a pretty substantial fee based on the hammer price. Typically, the buyer's premium plus shipping will add about 20-25% to the hammer price. The up side to that is that an auction house will probably have a much more realistic opinion about the condition of the firearm and your new toy will arrive on time in good order. The hole in your wallet will eventually heal.

[DCP]

If you and the seller are not located in the same state, transfer of handgun MUST go FFL to FFL. As ThinMan suggested, obtain contact info on his FFL and go from there. If the seller doesn't want to ship through an FFL, my advice would be to report the seller to GB and drop the whole deal like a (very!) hot rock.

Bill

Wrong
If you do not have a Federal Firearms License:

Any shipper who does not have an FFL is considered to be an unlicensed person. Unlicensed persons must ship modern firearms to a licensed FFL dealer only. If the buyer is not licensed, they will need to make arrangements to have the item shipped to a licensed FFL dealer in their state.

Before you ship a gun, the buyer must fax or mail you a copy of the dealer's signed FFL license. You can only ship the gun to the address on the license. You should take the copy of the signed FFL with you when you take the item to be shipped in case the shipper wants to see it.

[snowwolfe]

It doesn’t matter what form of payment you use, you could be cheated.
And it doesn’t matter what form of payment you send, it could just as well be an honest transaction.

[zymguy]

there seems to be an opinion that a usps mo protects the buyer in some way? How so?

[Mr_Sheesh]

For certain it protects the seller - I've seen people send a Money Order from some random company they make up (Not quite as bad as "Crazy Frank's Money Orders, Wine, and Used Appliances, Inc." but some made up bank etc.) and if the seller sends the item before that MO clears, they lose their item. (Said MO won't clear, of course. So if you get a MO treat it like a personal check, unless you KNOW the seller's a good guy) - USPS PMOs are more official and I'd think counterfeiting one of those would get you in trouble with the government. (Not sure but I think the US Secret Service chases counterfeiters?)

[Walkingwolf]

IIRC no protection on paypal gift. Otherwise I use paypal often, just bought a AGV helmet for the wife factory direct using paypal. Usually paypal sides with the buyer in disputes.

[Geezer in NH]

2 feedbacks, not an ffl PASS.

[goste]

Well, guess I don't have to worry, Someone else got it for the "buy it now". Hope it works out for them.

I would once again like to thank every one, for the time and knowledge. This has been an interesting thread for me. With so many Brick and Mortars, closing down, Seems like before long, If I want to buy a firearm, it will have to be online. With so much good advice from those who have done it before, I may, hopefully, not get skinned.