Buying a gun online.

1
I don't know if this is the right place but I am looking for a shotgun and cam across some on armslist. I'm always leery about buying guns online that I can't hold and feel. I have come to ask for y'alls advice. How to do it? How to avoid scams? What are y'all's favorite sight? Anything else would be greatly appreciated.

What prompted this was I found a 3 Model 37s 12, 16, 20 and was thinking of getting them. Also, is 900 to much for the lot?

Thanks
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Re: Buying a gun online.

2
I haven't bought from any of the online auctions (yet), but most of my friends have and here's what they have told me:

- it's analogous to Ebay. Try to find a sale from an established vendor with a track record of good feedback. If you buy from a new account, or an individual without a history your risk increases. If you buy from the web presence of a known dealer (Bud's Gun Shop leads this category) then there's a lot less mystery involved. You can just call them or go ot their website.

- You need to have a local FFL to receive your purchase and transfer it to you. Find out from the seller what they need (usually FFL no., address and contact info) and what your local dealer needs. Your dealer usually just needs to know beforehand that a gun is showing up, what it is and that it's for you.

-All the LGSs around me charge $80 and up fora transfer, which along with shipping can compromise the value proposition of the purchase.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, hopefully other can flesh this out more.

Re: Buying a gun online.

3
Armslist is good for in-state transactions. You should be able to arrange to see the gun and decide whether to buy it. As with Gunbroker, request plenty of high res pics and ask all the relevant questions. Mail order always involves the risk of getting a disappointing firearm.

http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/a/aa000127a.htm
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Re: Buying a gun online.

5
For Armslist or GB purchases, I'd recommend using an escrow service. I've used these guys to both buy and sell: http://pistolpay.com The seller should be willing to allow for an inspection period, where it doesn't leave your FFL, and if you are not satisfied with the quality of the pieces, that they go back (on your dime) to the seller if you identify any issues that the seller wasn't clear on, or if the general condition didn't meet the advertised condition. Those are my requirements for doing business with a non-reputable seller on GB or if purchasing through Armslist remotely. The escrow service ensures that you have recourse if the seller wasn't honest, and if you don't file a protest, ensures the seller gets their money. Worth the fee for sure.
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Re: Buying a gun online.

6
shinzen wrote:For Armslist or GB purchases, I'd recommend using an escrow service. I've used these guys to both buy and sell: http://pistolpay.com The seller should be willing to allow for an inspection period, where it doesn't leave your FFL, and if you are not satisfied with the quality of the pieces, that they go back (on your dime) to the seller if you identify any issues that the seller wasn't clear on, or if the general condition didn't meet the advertised condition. Those are my requirements for doing business with a non-reputable seller on GB or if purchasing through Armslist remotely. The escrow service ensures that you have recourse if the seller wasn't honest, and if you don't file a protest, ensures the seller gets their money. Worth the fee for sure.
Great point and thanks for the info. Just registered.

I bought two lever action Winchesters off of Armslist in State, pre-safety. Met the guy at a fast food restaurant and inspected the guns. A 44 mag trapper and a 22 trapper. Both NIB. We can get a transfer here as little as $15 if you shop around.

Re: Buying a gun online.

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Thanks for the great tips! Here are the guns, I love Model 37s mainly for the reason my Grandpa had one and they are good guns. I wasn't going to buy anything but I came across these. Opinions?
http://www.armslist.com/posts/2774054/t ... 2-16-20-ga
The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.
Jacques Yves Cousteau

Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.
Will Rogers

Re: Buying a gun online.

9
scubachris wrote:Thanks for the great tips! Here are the guns, I love Model 37s mainly for the reason my Grandpa had one and they are good guns. I wasn't going to buy anything but I came across these. Opinions?
http://www.armslist.com/posts/2774054/t ... 2-16-20-ga
Something about that ad tells me the seller ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.
'Sorry stupid people but there are some definite disadvantages to being stupid."

-John Cleese

Re: Buying a gun online.

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TheViking wrote:
justaguy wrote: -All the LGSs around me charge $80 and up fora transfer
Holy crap! Down here most charge $20-30...

Gunbroker has a pretty good FLL list with an interactive map that shows transfer fees.
Yeah. Welcome to the Free State:

"A person who is not a regulated firearms dealer may not sell, rent, transfer, or purchase any regulated firearm without going through a regulated firearms dealer. Alternatively, the prospective seller/transferor and prospective buyer/transferee may complete the transaction through a designated law enforcement agency. "

It creates a captive audience, so the prices all skyrocketed last year.

Re: Buying a gun online.

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I have bought 1 C&R firearm from someone I didn't know on GB. It was only 100 bucks, so the gamble was worth it.

I have bought a couple blackpowder arms from GB, and those were from sellers with good feedback scores.

Armslist has only been face to face, and I would suggest that as the only secure approach to armslist stuff, no feedback systems make me uncomfortable with sight(sp?) unseen?

O/T
Is it sight unseen or site unseen?

Re: Buying a gun online.

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Inquisitor wrote:I have bought 1 C&R firearm from someone I didn't know on GB. It was only 100 bucks, so the gamble was worth it.

I have bought a couple blackpowder arms from GB, and those were from sellers with good feedback scores.

Armslist has only been face to face, and I would suggest that as the only secure approach to armslist stuff, no feedback systems make me uncomfortable with sight(sp?) unseen?

O/T
Is it sight unseen or site unseen?
You are correct!

sight un·seen
adverb
1.
without the opportunity to look at the object in question beforehand.
"they bought their computers sight unseen through the mail"

Re: Buying a gun online.

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I second the use of PistolPay. The guy that runs it, I think his name is Ira, personally stepped in and moderated a transaction that started to go sideways as a result of me receiving a firearm that was not as the seller stated. In the end, I returned it, and I got my money back, minus a small fee and postage. That fee was well-worth the service I got, even if the transaction fell apart.

As for the Ithacas, from the picture and the description, I would venture that his price seems more or less reasonable: basically ~$300 per shotgun. In my opinion, Ithaca 37s are one of the few guns that are underrated, and their prices reflect that. I own one, a Police Special, and it's just a great gun, with an excellent action and a short stroke. I love the single port, which makes it a gimme for southpaws. I'd like to get a few more, especially a 16 gauge.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: Buying a gun online.

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beaurrr wrote:
As for the Ithacas, from the picture and the description, I would venture that his price seems more or less reasonable: basically ~$300 per shotgun. In my opinion, Ithaca 37s are one of the few guns that are underrated, and their prices reflect that. I own one, a Police Special, and it's just a great gun, with an excellent action and a short stroke. I love the single port, which makes it a gimme for southpaws. I'd like to get a few more, especially a 16 gauge.
Seconded.

I've got a 37 Featherlight, and while I can't remember where I got it or what I paid, it was in the 90s and I was chronically broke so it couldn't have been much. That said, it's a fantastic slide action 12ga, and as pointed out above the single bottom port is awesome. No idea why more makers don't offer it.

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