Well It Finally Happened to Me

[glenncal1]

Been buying and selling guns online for 30 years or so and was never ripped until now. Tried to buy a Colt OMM on the Colt Forum. Long story short, a bunch of BS and no gun delivered. He got a couple other guys from the forum as well. I would never send funds to someone off one of the gun trader sights (although I have purchased several nice guns off the Florida Gun Trader, but always face to face) but the owner type forums I have had no problems. It was only $600 so I won't miss any meals, but I am still pissed off

 

[Fishinfool]

Jim, sorry to hear of your negative experience. Most people are honest, but then there is the law of averages - sooner or later, do enough gun transactions, and....

When dealing with private persons online, I have still found the brand enthusiasts forums to be pretty safe - Just make sure you deal with established members with a positive history of sales. Guy with a couple dozen posts, no history, and a desirable gun at a great price rings all the wrong bells.

I moderate on another outdoor forum, and hardly a day goes by without someone trying to scam a member in one way or another. or banned former members try returning under a new name too cause havoc. Most all can be avoided with a little digging and common sense.

Larry

 

[ladder13]

Looks like he/she laid low for a year. I’ve been a member for almost 20 years on that forum, and have only sold there.
I think the scammers are getting smarter from reading the posts on forums about post counts and similar means to ferret them out.

Sorry you got taken. It gets harder and harder to avoid the many pitfalls.

 

[llowry61]

Sorry to hear about that. I have seen that the scammers were on the prowl on that forum. I bought several Randall knives from Rick Bowles, but I have not bought any guns. I had one guy try to scam me on this forum, but his own ignorance outed him. I put in an I'll Take It and he flipped out saying he was going to report me since he didn't have his money yet. The admins ousted him immediately. It can happen to any of us.

 

[hkcavalier]

Several transactions here including firearms, all very smooth. I find it's easier as the seller since I have the luxury of waiting for the funds to come and then offloading the shipping on to my local FFL. As a buyer, it's a bit more nerve-wracking especially if the seller isn't real familiar with online private transactions.

Only 2 I can think of over on the Colt forum. I wish I had hung onto the smooth Colt Custom Shop E/I frame target stocks, but I didn't have a matching gun at the time. But that's my problem, not the Forum's

 

[Eddietruett]

Been buying and selling guns online for 30 years or so and was never ripped until now. Tried to buy a Colt OMM on the Colt Forum. Long story short, a bunch of BS and no gun delivered. He got a couple other guys from the forum as well. I would never send funds to someone off one of the gun trader sights (although I have purchased several nice guns off the Florida Gun Trader, but always face to face) but the owner type forums I have had no problems. It was only $600 so I won't miss any meals, but I am still pissed off

I got scammed on the Colt Forum recently as well. Mine was for a Smith 66 snub. Seller got 3-4 with the same gun. Local police where money was sent were zero help as was the US Postal Service.

 

[old tanker]

I've been here almost twenty years and over that time I bought maybe a half dozen guns. All the transactions went well and I was pleased with what I received. The same over at Colt forum. I've seen the scam reports and it is obvious they are getting slicker and harder to detect. Sadly, the amounts of money involved don't seem to motivate the local cops or the Postal Inspectors to investigate with any vigor.

 

[DWalt]

I got scammed on the Colt Forum recently as well. Mine was for a Smith 66 snub. Seller got 3-4 with the same gun. Local police where money was sent were zero help as was the US Postal Service.

There are many ways for an online seller to get scalped also if he’s not careful.

 

[Kiwi cop]

I've been here almost twenty years and over that time I bought maybe a half dozen guns. All the transactions went well and I was pleased with what I received. The same over at Colt forum. I've seen the scam reports and it is obvious they are getting slicker and harder to detect. Sadly, the amounts of money involved don't seem to motivate the local cops or the Postal Inspectors to investigate with any vigor.

I don’t know what your local police set as a sum to investigate, but a few months ago NZ police adopted thresholds for retail theft and online fraud investigations. Anything under these thresholds was filed with no investigation.

I was surprised that it took 2 1/2 months for the media to catch on. When they did it took less than 12 hours for our relatively new police commissioner to step in and say no tolerance for any crime. The policy was reversed, but how it came to exist without the board of commissioners knowing is beyond me.

 

[Jebus35745]

Almost got scammed on Target Talk buying a FWB 300s pellet rifle, high end and very accurate. Guy has 150 posts and member for 10 years, should be a solid purchase. Searching his address came up as a scammer on a couple forums. Wanted to see the house he lived in. Talked to him on the phone and had a strong foreign accent, some of the questions I asked weren’t consistent with the pictures. Multiple FLAGS!!

His name is Rickey from Dix IL. Be careful, Larry

 

[AJ]

I have sold a little on line. One of the folks responding here bought a pistol from me. That said, I will only buy from folks on the internet with a well established track record. Sorry, for your loss.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I've bought a few on this Forum, as well as a few other accessaries, but haven't been ripped off yet. I use USPS money orders; as if that's going to stop a thief! The most I ever spent on here was around $13-1400. Not enough to cut into my beer money but enough to pits me off! But all went well. Kevin was the man's name (I think) and he kept me informed every step of his way.