Gun Broker not for me....Just sharing

[steelslaver]

I have bought several guns from Gun Broker and so far it has been a good experience. There are some good deals out there and even some pleasant surprizes. I bought what was described as 25-2 and received a 5 screw 1955 target in great condition. I recently bought a poorly photographed 14-3 with black Houge grips for $395. I was looking for a gun to do a 22 center fire conversion. When I received it I found that it was in excellent condition and had hardly been fired or carried. Had to start looking for another gun for the conversion. I just got a 6" model 14 barrel that was nicer than I had hoped for $21 with shipping that I will reline to .224. I have been lucky for sure.

 

[CajunBass]

I've never made a bid on Gunbroker. I've never seen anything there I've wanted that bad. Most of the time, I don't know I want it until I see it at the LGS anyway.

I have purchased a few small items off E-bay. Never had a problem with them. The more I use it, the more I like it.

I have sold several guns, and purchased a couple of others on a local "gun for sale" board. Not an auction, but a straight sale board. Never had a single problem there that I remember. I only had one person change his mind after saying "I'll take it", and he had a good reason for doing so. He couldn't apologize enough. No problem. I had another buyer "I'll take it if he doesn't" lined up.

The ONLY place I've ever been stiffed on an online sale, was on this board. Not the boards fault of course, but it shows it can happen anywhere.

 

[Watchdog]

I already think the internet is full of strange people...

No...seriously?

No way.

 

[32flyingk9]

I've sold a few things on GB, but only bought 1 gun there. That one was to prove a point to my LGS, who gave me the "it's selling for $$ on GB" on a revolver that was sitting in their case. I made it a point to find one on GB, in better condition than his, for considerably less money, and send him a link to my completed auction and pictures of it when it arrived. I did my research on the seller, and felt comfortable knowing that the seller had an FFL, and a store front that could be verified and visited if needed.

 

[Mickey D]

So, let's see that Registered Magnum you got for $25!

 

[yeti]

GB has been fine for me. Look that listing over carefully.
Ask a question if clarification is needed. If I send a seller a question and do not receive an answer, then I do not bid. If the spidey sense is tingling? Walk away.
I look for reasons not to bid and when I can't find any...I commit.

Buyers need to actually read the contents of the description, details & terms. The seller took the time and effort to post it. Read it! Don't bid on items you are not 100% commited to pay for.

As Pawngal described, if both parties actually do their part it works nicely.

 

[S42N8]

I'm in the pro-GB group.
As with any transaction, caveat emptor. I won't buy from sellers without strong feedback, clear photos and description. I've had good experiences and picked up excellent-to-NIB buys.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

I've bought plenty from GB. Only time I had trouble was when the seller's LGS switched the guns. Private seller was selling a 25-2 and a 28-2 at the same time. I bought the 28-2 and was shipped the 25-2. Took 6 months and threatening legal action against the LGS to finally get the right gun to the right place.

I've bought all my shotguns off GB - I look for no reserve auctions, put in a stupid low bid and holy cow I won the darn thing. Got a Mossberg 500, a Winchester 1200 and a Stevens 320 in the last two months for $431.00 combined. All in good shape, not beat to death either. All were local LGS or pawn shop - no shipping, no transfer fees. Just 9.5% sales tax... :-(

You MUST read carefully. Ask questions. If I email a seller and don't hear back within 2 business days that's a red flag for me. If I get an answer that tap-dances around my question without really giving a direct answer that's another red flag.

It's always caveat emptor, but if you don't rush headlong into it you can find a deal. Unless you're looking for a Python.

 

[handejector]

Definitely study the seller. You have that luxury- USE it!
Study the text and pics.
Ask questions IF the text and pics DON'T answer them. About 80-90% of the questions asked about my auctions ARE answered in the text, often even in the title.!

Study the TERMS. That is how the guy does business. If he says he wants a M.O. mailed on Tuesdays only, don't expect him to take a check on Friday.
If it is sold "as-is" with no return or their are funky return conditions, I run away unless the FB is fabulous, the pics are numerous and good, and the money is small enough to eat.

The sword cuts both ways.
A seller running one cent, no reserve auctions can't choose his buyers.
99% of mine are fine people and a pleasure to deal with.
Then, there is that 1 in a 100........
Occasionally, there is the deadbeat.

 

[e3mrk]

What I hate is the bid sniping,It happened to me twice on a auction and after the second time I let Him have the item.
A lot of times a Sellers Friend will bid up a Item so He can get top Dollar for it also so set a price You will not go over and stick to it.

 

[LVSteve]

What I hate is the bid sniping,It happened to me twice on a auction and after the second time I let Him have the item.
A lot of times a Sellers Friend will bid up a Item so He can get top Dollar for it also so set a price You will not go over and stick to it.

I think shill bidding as described happens way less than some think. I do agree that setting your max bid and walking away from the computer is the way to go. Don't get auction fever.

However, on another collector forum there was one guy who was proud of the fact that he often ran up auctions he thought were going to sell too cheap. These were a very particular type of milsurp and there was no way he was going to have the ones in his possession "devalued" by somebody getting a bargain. Now and again he got stuck with the item, but that wasn't a problem for him. Must be nice to have that kind of money, time, and small mindedness.

 

[Arik]

I can't speak for gunbroker but it's not easy to shill bid on ebay. If you ask your friend to do it ebay logs the ip address. If it sees a patern it will ban both the seller and buyer buy IP so there is no chance of changing a name and re joining. I know a few people who can't use ebay anymore for that very reason. The only way they,can rejoin is to buy a new computer and log on from a new place

 

[BB57]

I've sold a few things on GB, but only bought 1 gun there. That one was to prove a point to my LGS, who gave me the "it's selling for $$ on GB" on a revolver that was sitting in their case. I made it a point to find one on GB, in better condition than his, for considerably less money, and send him a link to my completed auction and pictures of it when it arrived. I did my research on the seller, and felt comfortable knowing that the seller had an FFL, and a store front that could be verified and visited if needed.

You have to look at the completed auctions on Gun broker, and then screen those results for firearms that actually sold.

You'll find lots of firearms that are listed at a high reserve or high buy it now price, but you'll often also find them repeatedly listed for months at the same price as they are clearly not selling. In those auctions the seller is just using GB as an extension of his shop's sales counter, trying to finally find that one person who wants it bad enough to pay way too much for it. If GB were to charge listing fees on the front end rather than based on the sale, you'd see a lot less of this happening.

We have a local shop that does this a lot, and if I see something on their listings I like, I'll go to the shop, inspect it, and then dicker with them. I'm a good customer and they'll often sell it way under the GB buy it now price.

What I hate is the bid sniping,It happened to me twice on a auction and after the second time I let Him have the item.

If I see something I want on e-bay, GB etc, I'll place a bid and see what happens. In some cases, I'll see another bidder up their bid within minutes. I'll increase mine and if he ups his again, I'll consider it a sign he really wants it and I'll back off - until just before the end of the sale at which point I'll make my maximum bid and walk away. It's pointless to keep trading bids back and forth with someone like that who feels the need to win a bidding war. At the end of the day I'm not going to go over my predetermined maximum - but he might, potentially costing me more than I really need to pay if I keep edging him past his otherwise upper limit.

Sniping also isn't really an issue given that GB has a 15 minute rule as all interested bidders still have the opportunity to up their bids if they are watching the auction as it closes.

 

[Skeet 028]

A lot of times a Sellers Friend will bid up a Item so He can get top Dollar for it also so set a price You will not go over and stick to it.

That is called shill bidding and seems to happen quite a bit with DEALERS on GB. Not so much with non dealers though. Some seem to have a network of shills. LOL!! Never bought on GB but have bid..just never won a firearm. Ebay has been kind to me...oh and Auction Arms in the past. I also don't like the 15 minute extension rule on GB

 

[Absalom]

That is called shill bidding and seems to happen quite a bit with DEALERS on GB. Not so much with non dealers though. Some seem to have a network of shills. ........... I also don't like the 15 minute extension rule on GB

It's a bid odd that you object to "shill bidding" (which based on my experience on GB seems to be blown way out of proportion) but seem to like sniping, which is much more prevalent and more annoying, and which the 15-minute rule somewhat alleviates. Slamming in a bid a minute before the auction closes, hoping that the other buyer who thinks he's won the auction is blowing his nose or something and may not be alert, is much more annoying. People still try it, but since I always have 15 minutes to fix it, it just costs me $10 or so more in the end, because snipers disappear when they realize you are actively watching the end of the auction.

 

[Skeet 028]

It's a bid odd that you object to "shill bidding" (which based on my experience on GB seems to be blown way out of proportion) but seem to like sniping, which is much more prevalent and more annoying, and which the 15-minute rule somewhat alleviates..

What in heck makes you think I like sniping?? Not keen about it either. Just because I don't like the 15 minute ext?? I really don't care for someone putting words in my posts I never addressed. If I bid on GB I bid my max and it really doesn't matter to me when I get outbid. If you feel shill bidding issues areblown way out of proportion..fine. It's your opinion and you are welcome to it. But the way GB is set up..it's very easy to do

 

[gregintenn]

I've bought quite a bit of stuff on Gunbroker, and never had a surprise. I ALWAYS get what I expect, at the price I agreed to, and shipped fast.

 

[Absalom]

What in heck makes you think I like sniping?? Not keen about it either. Just because I don't like the 15 minute ext?? I really don't care for someone putting words in my posts I never addressed.

I'll take your word for it. Since sniping is the ONLY thing the 15-minute rule is about, and it doesn't kick in or really have any impact otherwise, I don't know what else you would be addressing when expressing your dislike for the rule.

Come to think of it, you could have experience with an auction that kept going on forever in 15-minute segments because people kept bidding. I guess that could happen, but I've never heard of an example. But maybe someone has.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I have never purchased a firearm that I didn't personally inspect first. I am a big fan of my local gun store.

I kind of like my LGS, too. I actually buy fixed-sight guns from him on a fire-before-buying basis. Used only, of course, although he once let me test-fire a used gun that he believed, probably correctly, had never been fired outside the factory. I've probably test-fired nearly a dozen used guns from him, and only failed to buy two. One of those I bought maybe a year later.

I have gotten two guns from members here, and was quite pleased with what showed up.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I have difficulty buying guns over $300 on the internet at all. I would not rule it out because someday it may be the only way to acquire something specific. Something about being able to check the action, the bore, under the grips appeals to me. CDNN and Buds Gun Shop may get my online business for $300+ firearms someday. LGS for now.