Out of State Armslist Purchase

[fire259]

Has anyone ever purchased a handgun from a private individual out of state? I have found a handgun that I have been looking for on Armslist in Texas. The price is right and everything looks good in pictures. I have been exchanging emails and text messages with him since yesterday and he is willing to ship through his local FFL to my local FFL. I am just a little nervous sending $800 to a guy in Texas and waiting to get a gun. I will be sending a postal money order to his home address and I have his name and phone number. Is there anything else I can do to protect myself?

 

[jwh20]

First of all, no need for an FFL on his end. Just find an FFL here that will accept an incoming shipment from a non-FFL holder. There is no legal requirement here, but some FFLs are pricks and won't accept an incoming shipment from a non-FFL.

Reputation is everything here. So places like GunBroker offer you much better feedback about sellers. ArmsList is like CraigsList, a free-for-all. So you don't really know.

First of all, talk to the seller yourself over the phone. Get all your questions answered and make sure you both agree on what the procedure is. If there are ANY red or yellow flags, DON'T send the MONEY!

Here is where an FFL on the seller's end can be of service. YOU pick one and you agree with the FFL to pay them to accept and inspect the firearm from the seller. If it's as advertised, you have given the FFL your $$$ and permission to hand it over if the gun is what you are expecting. You might even be on the phone at the time to ask any other questions. So the deal happens between the FFL in TX and the seller. Then that FFL sends the gun to your other FFL here and you just have to do the BG check and pay the FFL here his fee.

Yes, it's going to cost you some money but it will be a LOT less than losing your $800 and NOT even getting the gun!!

 

[citizenkane]

I'd try and see if he has any feedback anywhere or belongs to any forums. There are a bunch of scammers on armslist but most are pretty transparent.

 

[venenoindy]

Buying a firearm from Armslist out of state there is no way to protect yourself, you are basically at the mercy of the seller and unless buying from a site where you can check the feedback on the person or business I wouldn't gamble. He could be a legit honest person but unfortunately Armslist if full of scams.

 

[223 Gunner]

With a hand gun, it is usually cheaper to have an FFL ship it. That is most likely the reason he wants to ship from his FFL. Otherwise an individual has to ship next day air ( about $60 dollars).
If you have talked with him on the phone and you feel good about it, and he has want you want at a price you want to pay, I would most likely do it. Does he have feedback anywhere on the Web?
Gunbroker or ebay? Usually if someone wants to ck. on me, I send them a link to my gunbroker feedback, and my feedback on here, and ebay.

 

[CitiusFortius]

What's the price difference between what it's listed for vs in store price? Between shipping, ffl, and worry it may be worth it to pay a bit more from a LGS. Just a thought, good luck.

 

[hochwald]

Has anyone ever purchased a handgun from a private individual out of state? I have found a handgun that I have been looking for on Armslist in Texas. The price is right and everything looks good in pictures. I have been exchanging emails and text messages with him since yesterday and he is willing to ship through his local FFL to my local FFL. I am just a little nervous sending $800 to a guy in Texas and waiting to get a gun. I will be sending a postal money order to his home address and I have his name and phone number. Is there anything else I can do to protect myself?

If the seller is familiar with all the procedures of selling firearms across state lines and wants to do everything by the book then chances are good that the seller is legitimate. By using an FFL on his end, the seller probably believes that he is protecting himself from a bad buyer. Have you noticed any red flags? Anything non-professional in the transaction so far?

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Escrow?