Does this gun sale sound sketchy?

codenamedave said:

Welcome to the forum.

Did a search for "FTL", got Faster Than Light. Now that's definitely against the laws!

It is legal for a private party to ship a gun to an FFL, with a few caveats.

Soon... watcha sellin?

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Sorry about that, but funny reply... damn spelling auto-correct !!!
It's a P226 Legion that I was advertising to sell. But if I get more of the same nonsense replies, I will just pull it off Armslist... not worth the aggravation. I've only done LGS trades in the past. This is my first personal sale and not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling with it so far!

Rastoff said:

I would reply, "Send the check. Once it clears, I'll ship it to your FFL of choice."

If he's not a resident of your state, you can't legally do a face to face sale anyway. If he is a resident of your state, you can only sell it to the intended purchaser. Otherwise it becomes a straw purchase.

In any event, it's not a scam that will cost you anything. I once got an email from a deposed Nigerian prince. He told me he was going to pay me $10K to hold some money for him. All he needed was my address, which he had already and he'd ship me the check. I told him to ship it. Of course nothing ever arrived.

There are clever scams and not so clever scams. If this is a scam, it's not a good one. There is no loss to you.

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Well put... Thank you sir.

EdwardTollman said:

But my FFL would first need a copy of the FFL license that the buyer is using before they would ship it.

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FFLs are easy to verify. There is an FFL search on the ATF site. All an FFL will need is the other FFL's number. I think you can even look it up by name and address.

Of course you don't need an FFL to ship it. You can ship it yourself by UPS or FedEx. It just has to go TO an FFL.

The first clue should have been shipping to the People's Republic of Maryland! MD has Draconian handgun laws. Could have been an offer made my the MD State police to trap non-residents into breaking their laws.

Ed Tollman join AZ shooting.com, and after about 10 post on their site you will get access to the classified firearm section. You then can sell FTF in AZ, just remember you are in a free state and don't need a bill of sale. Enjoy shoot your firearms and sell or trade *** you wish.

Plus to "top it all off" in addition to all the above, Maryland has very strict magazine restrictions, Over 10 rounds I believe is a no no.

So lets see the "Moving Company" will swing by and pick up the gun??? Ya sure!

Move along

A scam for sure run

Scam for sure.
Have bought-sold a number of guns on Armslist.
You want to stay local, face to face.
Cash.

Makes one wonder how many actually fall for these scams - probably more than a few!

if it smells bad and looks odd......you do the math.....

EdwardTollman said:

Sorry about that, but funny reply... damn spelling auto-correct !!!
It's a P226 Legion that I was advertising to sell. But if I get more of the same nonsense replies, I will just pull it off Armslist... not worth the aggravation. I've only done LGS trades in the past. This is my first personal sale and not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling with it so far!

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NEVER use Armslist- it is a known scammer site. You're better off posting listings on forums like these, on the bulletin board at your local gun clubs, on sale sites like Gunsinternational, and lastly on auction sites like GunBroker. NEVER do a trade-in with a LGS or pawn shop - you will be lucky to get 60% of the value.

Run Forest run! That is a scammer big time.
Selling or buying on Armslist I "ONLY" do belly to belly cash in hand.

Been there ---
Tell him that once he gets moved and has is AZ DL to let you know. IF you still have the gun you'll meet and trade it for CASH MONEY.
I never heard from the "buyer" again. Think you will?

Rastoff said:

I would reply, "Send the check. Once it clears, I'll ship it to your FFL of choice."

If he's not a resident of your state, you can't legally do a face to face sale anyway. If he is a resident of your state, you can only sell it to the intended purchaser. Otherwise it becomes a straw purchase.

In any event, it's not a scam that will cost you anything. I once got an email from a deposed Nigerian prince. He told me he was going to pay me $10K to hold some money for him. All he needed was my address, which he had already and he'd ship me the check. I told him to ship it. Of course nothing ever arrived.

There are clever scams and not so clever scams. If this is a scam, it's not a good one. There is no loss to you.

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Just for fun, I responded to the "buyer" and thought you all might get a chuckle from the entire email trail... I thought his last response was particularly good!
Enjoy...

From the beginning:

buyer
Warm greetings, hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out from armlist about the weapon, you have for sale in this message subject. Let me know if it still in your possession and the bottom price you will take for it. I'm not trading so Im ready to buying now. please get in touch so we discuss further. Regards

me
Hello,
Yes, the P226 Legion you inquired about is still available. I believe I posted it a very good price at $999, considering its new, and above spec condition, but would be happy to work with you on a reasonable offer if you are seriously interested.
Please feel free to get back to me with the number you have in mind and we can take it from there.
Best Regards

buyer
The price is okay for the condition of the Item . I am located in Maryland and I relocated here 2 weeks ago. I relocated for work. I have other stuffs in my old apartment which I already made arrangement with a moving company to deliver to my new house here. My stuffs includes (refrigerator, gun wardrobe, kitchen items, grand piano, garage items, Big tires, baby stuffs, a Ruger SR40c 9mm, and a WW2 M1 carbine). An agent from moving company will meet with you for pick up So you won't have to ship it. For the payment, I will be mailing you a cashiers check and I will as well add extra $100 to the asking price if you can hold it for me till check arrives and cashed. we can work that in due time after payment is through. If this is OK, please get in touch with your name and mailing address to send the cashiers check to. Include your phone # as well so I will be able to reach you without depending on Internet. Thanks

me
Hello Sir,
I would be happy to sell the Legion to you, but the delivery would need to be done from my FFL to your FFL.
If you are OK with that, you can send the cashiers check and I will put it on hold for you. Once your check clears my bank, I will have my LGS (FFL) ship it to your FFL of choice. Clean, simple, and everyone happy!
I'll wait to hear back from you.
Best regards.

buyer
Thanks for getting in touch, it would be my FFL that will be coming over for pick up so everything is safe long as you are interested in my offer

Was getting ready to PM the OP about a Nickel 29-2 8 inch here in town.
It was on Jason's.
When I went to look it up, it's gone
Like a Turkey through the Corn!
$1,200.

Grammar and syntax in that e-mail chain make it fairly obvious the "buyer" is an "English as a second language" person.

While there are undoubtedly genuine buyers whose second language is English the internet knows no boundaries, and it would not be surprising to discover the writer is sending from his phone in some far flung place other than where he says he is.

If he's not willing for a face to face trade, then my inclination is to run.

Hmmmm.....let me think about it...................ah NO!!!

In the end, if you don't feel comfortable, there are other buyers.

The biggest mistake made in a sales/trade transaction is to think this is the only one. There are others out there. It doesn't matter if we're talking about cars, guns, buyers or sellers. There is always another.

This potential "buyer" has many warning signs. You could string him along, but that's only for entertainment. He is obviously not going to follow through with anything.

Again, at any time you don't feel comfortable, walk.

Thanks for sharing though.

Probably in India doing customer service for Microsoft...........

Nope.
That smells like sardines left in a hot car.

Good luck.