Gun Auction Sites - Your Opinion

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graysmoke

New member
When I am on any of the three gun auctions sites.....
gunbroker.com - auctionarms.com - gunsamerica.com

On the Handgun auction sales, I always notice some sellers have $30.00/$35.00 Shipping Fee's.
And other sellers have $15.00/$25.00 Fee's.

If you shop on these sites, and have won auctions. Do you consider the Shipping Cost, or just consider winning the Item your bidding on.?

I myself always consider the Shipping Cost. Especially if the handgun is only traveling a short distance.
 
Yes, I do factor in both the shipping cost and the FFL transfer fee when deciding whether or not to make a bid - that's just good common sense. As to the varying cost for shipping handguns, yes there may be some who factor in their "time" and try to recoup some of it. Another reason for the variability is the method of shipment. Only a FFL licensee can ship a handgun via USPS which is the cheapest method. If you are buying from a non-licensee then he is going to have to factor in the higher cost of overnight shipping.
 
I always roll everything into the price, shipping costs, transfer fee, ect, and then I figure on that as the price I'm actually going to be paying for the gun or any other auction for that matter (buy quite a bit off of ebay). sadly for most gun auctions this means the gun is no longer such a good deal although in some cases I can still save the sales tax.

What I've done is i usually only search for guns within about 100 miles of me. If I can buy it and pick it up, then I'll still consider it.
 
Yes. But like Doyle acknowledges, high shipping may be justified for a non-ffl. Then there are the guys who do have FFL's and are just jacking up their shipping. As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid them because that practice is indicative of other problems.
 
On the Handgun auction sales, I always notice some sellers have $30.00/$35.00 Shipping Fee's.
And other sellers have $15.00/$25.00 Fee's.
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Some guys may have 300 yards to go to the PO and some may have 30 miles - you don't know what their costs are

Should you include it in your factoring?" Of course you should - and remember to do the same when looking at your local gun store and his prices - sometimes the local guy, after everything is included, is cheaper
 
Not everbody who buys a gun online is buying a brand new gun, allot of times they are buying hard to find or out of production used guns from private party sellers.

Whenever I sell a gun on gunbroker I charge $35 for shipping because I am not an FFL. I have to take the gun to my FFL who charges $25 for the transfer plus $15 for shipping plus the $5 to $10 for insurance and delivery confirmation. So, I end up eating $10 to $15 of the actual shipping cost.

Try shipping a handgun nextday thru UPS or Fedex and see what that actually cost. After paying over $70 dollars once I only use FFL's now.

Jim
 
I stick to Gunbroker - they dominate and I can't ever find what I'm looking for on the other two sites, which are also harder to use.
 
When I'm buying, I always look at the shipping costs and factor it in with regards to what my bid limit is. You also have to consider what your FFL is going to charge you for doing the transfer. In essence you could have another $40-$75 depending on those factors.

In the past, as a non-FFL, I have used FedEx overnight when shipping any handgun and USPS when shipping a long gun. The long guns are easy enough and cheap enough to keep going that route. The handguns on the other hand are getting up there in costs. I know my FFL does a good job packaging up anything when I've used him but I guess I always took a special sense of pride doing it myself and knowing that the gun in question will be delivered very fast.

I think I charge $40-$50 for shipping and state that in my auction so there aren't any suprises. I still end up eating anywhere from $10-$35 depending on where it's going and insurance value.
 
Yes shipping and transfer fees are rolled into how much I will bid. But thats me. I'm willing to go only so high, if I get the piece great if not I will start hunting for something different.
 
Some FFL's will not allow you to pick up the gun from them even if their just up the street. Dumb if you ask me!
 
Whenever I sell a gun on gunbroker I charge $35 for shipping because I am not an FFL. I have to take the gun to my FFL who charges $25 for the transfer plus $15 for shipping plus the $5 to $10 for insurance and delivery confirmation. So, I end up eating $10 to $15 of the actual shipping cost.
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Any citizen that can legally own a gun can ship it. It does NOT need to be shipped from an FFL holder.
 
Any citizen that can legally own a gun can ship it. It does NOT need to be shipped from an FFL holder.
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If it is a handgun, it seems that might no longer be true. Several posters have commented that new policies by UPS and Fedex state they will not accept handguns from non-FFLs, even though the law allows it.

IF that is true, shipping handguns is going to get more expensive
 
I've not looked at any of the gun auctions you list - much because I am one of those "put it in my hands" people who want to feel and caress the gun and see how it feels prior to actually making a purchase. Even guns that are the exact same may not feel the same when you hold them(personal opinion).

That being said - I'm very active in the PennyAuction world - I'm a software developer and that is what I do for a living. So since this topic of auctions has come up I figured i'd point you guys at it.

www.guns4pennies.com - now mind you that this is not your typical bidding site where you just go on and bid what you are willing to pay. That's not how Penny Auctions work. But i'm sure if you look at the site and find something you want you can probably get a great deal (that's how PennyAuctions work).

I am not affiliated with this particular site in any way, they do not run my software, and I'm not even a member of the site. I actually found it on another forum that is for that industry that I am a member of.

A little detail on how Penny Auctions work for those that don't know - You sign up and pay for your bids. Each bid costs you something like .50 cents (each site is different) and you can then place bids on items they have for sale. Each time you hit the bid button it deducts a bid from your account and adds a little bit of time to the timer. This continues until no-one bids and the auction runs out of time. The person placing the last bid being the winner. On my own site I've seen people with things with 1 bid and get an excellent deal, I've also seen items go way beyond the retail value when a user wanted to make a "don't mess with me" name for themselves. When the auction is over the final bidder then pays the final auction price and any shipping fee that is charged.

I'm not endorsing the PennyAuction industry - just showing another Site that has a little different spin on auctions that is related to this industry.
 
chack
UPS and Fedex accept handguns, you just have to go to their main branch and use the more expenxive next day options IF you tell them it's a handgun.

The last one I shipped I described as a "Chinese 9mm TOK hand tool" and shipped it UPS ground. I think it was $24 with tracking and insurance for $400.

It's not breaking the law, and they'll replace it if it's lost. If it's damaged you're out of luck though.

That being said, I figure the time and materials I spend making the package secure to ship are worth padding my shipping price a little and it's better to overcharge on your shipping estimate than to undercharge.
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Excerpt from the ATF site...

Q: May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier?
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm.
 
UPS and Fedex accept handguns, you just have to go to their main branch and use the more expenxive next day options IF you tell them it's a handgun.

The last one I shipped I described as a "Chinese 9mm TOK hand tool" and shipped it UPS ground. I think it was $24 with tracking and insurance for $400.

It's not breaking the law, and they'll replace it if it's lost. If it's damaged you're out of luck though.

That being said, I figure the time and materials I spend making the package secure to ship are worth padding my shipping price a little and it's better to overcharge on your shipping estimate than to undercharge.

Sorry, but I hope I never purchased anything from you. If you are charging correctly for shipping, there would not be a need to pad the bill.
 
Never had a problem with Gunbroker but all I've bought off it so far have been parts and ammo. o.O... Never been hugely comfortable about buying a firearm that I can't hold and inspect myself. It's like buying a car online...
 
I have won four handgun auctions off gunbroker and satisfied with each.

I will only bid on a gun, that the seller has photos that show a lot of different angles of the gun.
Some sellers only put a couple photos, front and back.....Nahhhh.
 
ducote32 said:
...The last one I shipped I described as a "Chinese 9mm TOK hand tool" and shipped it UPS ground. I think it was $24 with tracking and insurance for $400.

It's not breaking the law, and they'll replace it if it's lost...
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No they won't.

Both the FedEx and UPS tariffs require that the shipper inform the agent that the package contains a handgun and that it be shipped overnight. The tariffs are the contract between the shipper and the carrier. When you violate that contract, such as by failing to inform the agent that the package contains a handgun or by not shipping it overnight, the carrier has legal grounds to deny any insurance claim.
 
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