Oldengineer
Member
Just remember the Sarah15 story. Be careful.
Tom H.
Tom H.
Question to you that have bought from the forum
- Thread starter kadams
- Start date
I'm just not that paranoid on this forum and I generally don't trust anybody. With any kind of part, holster accessory for a few hundred dollars, I doubt I'd bat an eye...If it were a firearm, I'd want the member to be more established and be a member of SWCA and/or SWHF, or meet locally.
Then again, I have been on Ebay for 27 years with several thousand feedbacks at 100%.
Then again, I have been on Ebay for 27 years with several thousand feedbacks at 100%.
What is this story?
How about a video call over WhatsApp or messenger or any of those?
You can see the item and the guy selling.
You can see the item and the guy selling.
ALLEGEDLY..,
Sarah15 was a gun shop run by up in Frederick, WI.
Sold a lot of guns on Gunbroker. I bought one from them.
ALLEGEDLY…. He’d sell the guns, send them to the customers but many consigners are yet to receive any money.
James Brewster who ran the shop, as far as I am to understand it, was also the secretary of the S&W collectors association..
ALLEGEDLY…!
Several very upset people here on the forum owed many thousands.
Howard Trotter was a prominent Louisiana businessman who passed away a couple of years ago. He had a collection of 2000 plus guns, mostly S&W. I saw many of them up for sale by Sarah15 on GB over several months, only to see the family lawyer appear of this very site saying that James Brewster owed the family over $400k.
I’ve no idea where the case is right now..
To answer the original question, I’ve bought items from several folks on here and never been burned.
Check how many posts they’ve made.
Look at the posts. Get phone numbers.
Seem like a good upstanding bunch of fellas here who have been very helpful to me.
The only reason I went into any detail on the Sarah15 issue is that I haven’t done this very long. Hadn’t fired a single round until Dec 2023. I’ve bought plenty of things online before.. but no used guns. To a newbie, you can understand why the thought of buying used guns from strangers online might be a little perturbing.. maybe I’ve watched too many movies, but images of dodgy, dirty criminal types were obviously going to go through my head.
Still.. I took the plunge and all was good.
Then, the 4th gun I buy… is from Sarah15.. so NOT a good look to a newbie..
Too many words. Too much caffeine this evening…
ALLEGEDLY…,
This is not singling out Sarah15, but anyone who allegedly is consigned firearms for sale—and how could there not be a contract?—and keeps any money in excess of commission and fees—how is this not considered THEFT? And penalties associated with theft applied and enforced?
How did I miss this mess? I joined SWCA about the same time as Jim and did a bunch of business early on with him. I both bought and sold a dozen or more guns from him. I saw he became a big wheel in the SWCA and was hob knobbing with the who’s who of S&W collecting. Sounds like he got in too deep and greed took over. Sad indeed for the sellers who got screwed and will be lucky to recoup anything. You got to wonder where $500k went?
Gunhohulk
Member
Great use of the term “dork”. They are out there. My local Bass Pro has one behind the gun counter and I’ve been stuck dealing with him recently. It’s painful.
I am the member Truckman is complaining about. I have made many purchases and sold several over the years. My bank didn’t want his MO order, wasn’t a certified check. They didn’t want it, therefore I didn’t want it. I contacted him and ask if he could send a check or MO from a more mainstream financial institution. He choose to tell me what I could do with the gun. I wrote void across check and mailed it back, end of story. Some people believe they are above reproach or something. If you deal often every once in a while you will run into an issue.
The internet allows a lot of people to run their jibs and go back into the basement. I never gave it another thought, evidently Truckman got a burr in hid butt.
The internet allows a lot of people to run their jibs and go back into the basement. I never gave it another thought, evidently Truckman got a burr in hid butt.
Lots of good advice shared here. I've bought and sold on the Forum as well, and all were satisfactory transactions.
Personally I don't buy from folks with low post counts, even though they may be perfectly legitimate. I also look for feedback.
Personally I don't buy from folks with low post counts, even though they may be perfectly legitimate. I also look for feedback.
As a long time internet gun guy, I've heard a few things.
A phone doesn't mean squat. A burner phone from Wally World can't be traced. A landline is better, but not everyone has one. I don't, for example.
Do NOT send to a PO Box! Send only to a physical address. Verify said address via google maps, aerial view, etc. This is obviously for buys over a certain amount, not worth a smaller amount, IMO.
Look at posts. Are they only in the classifieds or all across the board? Nothing but classifieds are a red flag for me, YMMV.
Make sure the postal money order clears & still be cautious. A buyer can still cancel a PMO AFTER it is deposited.
Thankfully, I've never been burned in a buy.
A phone doesn't mean squat. A burner phone from Wally World can't be traced. A landline is better, but not everyone has one. I don't, for example.
Do NOT send to a PO Box! Send only to a physical address. Verify said address via google maps, aerial view, etc. This is obviously for buys over a certain amount, not worth a smaller amount, IMO.
Look at posts. Are they only in the classifieds or all across the board? Nothing but classifieds are a red flag for me, YMMV.
Make sure the postal money order clears & still be cautious. A buyer can still cancel a PMO AFTER it is deposited.
Thankfully, I've never been burned in a buy.
Have them send you a photo of the gun and their drivers license with the right address on it before you send any money if you are suspicious. I haven't been burned here.
You could ask who his FFL sender is and give them a call and see if they know the person and see what type of response they give..can't hurt!!
Lots of good advice, and I have little to add except to say if I’m buying a firearm from you I’ll ask to speak with you over the phone.
Aside from being much faster than back-and-forth e-mailing, I’ve had some very enjoyable conversations.
Aside from being much faster than back-and-forth e-mailing, I’ve had some very enjoyable conversations.
Another aspect of buying online is shipping. More importantly if things go wrong then what? Having items insured is a good idea and even with that it could be a problem. Just because it's insured and you make claim, it could be denied. Make sure you have a firm agreement with the buy/seller on how a shipment is handled if it goes sideways. And document everything.
I take photos of Mail with Money Orders sent.
Tracking numbers etc. Two or three photos.
There always has to be an element of trust.. but give as much info as you can. Phone numbers, email addresses everything.
I think the little minor issue between Truckman and Drm50 above is an unfortunate one where from what I am reading, no one really bears blame and there was no bad intent by either party. Definitely a wash because there is always going to be a very slight trust issue on both parties, but it’s a good example I’ve had that can be a misunderstanding/miscommunication.
Just see how many posts the seller has made. If there are plenty and there has been response, and the guy has been a member for several years, then I would totally take the plunge.
Tracking numbers etc. Two or three photos.
There always has to be an element of trust.. but give as much info as you can. Phone numbers, email addresses everything.
I think the little minor issue between Truckman and Drm50 above is an unfortunate one where from what I am reading, no one really bears blame and there was no bad intent by either party. Definitely a wash because there is always going to be a very slight trust issue on both parties, but it’s a good example I’ve had that can be a misunderstanding/miscommunication.
Just see how many posts the seller has made. If there are plenty and there has been response, and the guy has been a member for several years, then I would totally take the plunge.
I could be wrong but I think OP bought a model 25 from a seller that had 3 post. That same seller recently listed a model 18 that caught my eye. Now both listings are gone and the OP appears to be to
Also, I’m pretty sure I sold DRM50 a gun probably a year ago. I believe it was a model 14. I’d have to check my records. Perfectly smooth transaction. Great communication, pleasure to deal with.
SLT223
Member
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It’s the basic stuff. What’s their post count. How long have they been here. Talk to them over the phone. WTS ad is their 1st post, and they don’t want to talk, or phone number doesn’t line out with location, or accent sounds like Far East plus low post count…. If it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t. It really is that simple. Now that’s how I go about it, and I HAVE NEVER run into any of the above issue here both from the buy and sell side. This is pretty much my only firearms forum because of how it is moderated/maintained. I’ve bought several guns from member here over the last 15 years, and this is literally the first place I come to when I’m thinking about selling. It’s generally a very honest, sincere, target rich environment, from either the buy or sell side.
pay by check and insist on a tracking number
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