gunbroker.com

I've bought four or five through Gunbroker since 2002 or so.

Several handguns, and several long guns.

Not a hint of a problem with any of the transactions.
 
Myth #38

rodfac ....I always pay with a USPS Postal Money Order which makes any hanky-panky a Federal offense.
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Myth.
The "Federal offense" occurs NOT because a USPS postal money order was used, but because the "hanky panky" involved the U.S. Mail. No matter what is mailed as payment, it would be considered mail fraud if the buyer never sent the item.
A personal check, WalMart money order, bubble gum wrappers, or pennies wrapped in an old sock are treated no less than a USPS money order.
 
I have used GB.com to purchase 4 guns (2 shot guns and 2 handguns) three of these were new and one was used. I have never had any problems and the process has worked flawlessly for me. I tend to focus on doing business with FFL dealers and those GB members with a large number of satisfactory transactions (e.g. A+). Good luck.
 
They do have buyer protection to an extent. Go to their webpage click on buyers at the top and then click on buyer protection.
 
I've purchased one rifle from GB and one rifle from gunauction.com - didn't have a problem with either transaction. Just to echo what some of the others have already stated, pay attention to sellers with good feedback and use common sense. I don't necessarily rule out sellers with low feedback numbers....they have to start somewhere, but a seller with consistent high feedback will offer me more security with my purchase.

As for not being able to handle a gun, that's the price you pay to use an online auction site. It's important that you know what you're buying before you even place your bid. Do your homework and research the firearm you're interested in, that way, you'll have some idea as to whether or not a seller is full of it or if his item for sale is an honest listing. Communication is also important. Ask the seller questions, lots of questions and be sure to read the terms of the auction very carefully. I've had plenty of non-responses from sellers and I tend to avoid them like the plaque. If they can't take 2 minutes of their time to respond to my question then they're either hiding something or they just don't give a damn.
 
Look at a recent auction or two if possible. If the seller seemed to get a really high price and there is one "bidder" who kept pushing the price up but has single digit transactions, that might be a sign of shill bidding.
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I had this experience a couple months ago. maybe the bidder was a shill but then again, maybe not. I had 3 different auctions in my watchlist for a Winchester 9422 and I saw the same bidder bidding on all three auctions. He was definitely driving the price up from what I could tell. just seemed curious to me that this one guy was bidding on multiple 9422's being listed. Either he's trying to buy up the remaining 9422 stock on the market or he's shilling for someone. Needless to say, it really left me PO'd. I wound up going through gunaction.com and found a 9422 at a fair BIN price and nabbed it.
 
Countryfied,
I use Gunbroker also as a reference for prices of gun. I have noticed in the past few months, that on common guns, cheaper price can be had locally even after factoring the 8.25% sales tax here in Houston.

I had a conversation on this matter with a guy who is both a member of my range and a gun dealer, and he admited that he has re-adjusted his prices to reflect the new reality of Gunbroker.

Also prices have been rising pretty fast on GB in the past month. I don't know if it's the Obama thing or bump before Christmas. Just something else to think about.
 
gaseousclay, that could be a shill, but it could also be an auto-bid.

I have put in a few bids, where I set a limit much higher than my initial bid. The system will raise, in increments of $5 as necessary, to beat other bids until it reaches the upper limit.
 
I've bought dozens of guns off Gunbroker. If you want to play it safe, go with sellers that have a lot of good recent feedback. Be wary of sellers who have steadily getting worse feedback.

Go back and look at the feedback. I have one negative feedback myself- I received a 12 gauge with a ring in the barrel, that wasn't mentioned in the ad. The seller didn't deny it or offer any concession, so I left him a neutral feedback. He got angry and gave me a negative feedback. So I usually read some of the feedback, along with the seller's responses. If it gets ugly, I avoid the seller.

I will say I've never been stiffed. I've had a few lemons, but I've had those in face to face transactions with dealers and private parties. If anything I've had fewer problems with Gunbroker.
 
Gunbroker= buyer beware.

After getting burned, I no longer use gunbroker. I get better deals at the local shops and gun shows.

Phantom bidders are a real problem.
 
Phantom bidders are a real problem.
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Try this:
Decide what the maximum is you are willing to pay. If it gets bid past that point, don't bid. Problem with shill/phantom bidders solved.

Jim
 
In the last year, Ive bought one Browning BAR used, and 3 new Browning pistols, all went very smoothly.

Massive Caveat, its not the website, its the seller, no different than ebay. If you dont know what you doing, buying, or what its worth, you will probably have a bad experience.

If youre on your game, it should be fine. My BAR had a 3 day "no reason" return. I received the gun from my FFL, drove it too a Browning dealer/gunsmith and had it inspected and appraised, the guys reply " Id buy it ", turned out to be next to new. I got it at about half price with a Leupold scope on it, in like new condition.

The 3 pistols I bought, I only used gunbroker because all of my local gun dealers could not get their hands on one, as well as the gun shows I went to I could not find them.

The site is fine, you just have to know what your buying, look at the sellers feedback, and if you worried about it, make sure they have a return policy.

I now buy about half or more of everything I need, less my groceries, on line. Its just too easy. I also live on a Farm and not in town, so that makes a big difference too.
 
I concur feed back is important as the number of sales of the seller

If you have an issue with a buyer, you can contact GB support via email and open up a support issue. They will contact you back in 24 hours.

IMHO, phantom bidders are nothing more than GBs proxy bid system at work.

I have made some unbelievable purchases on GB simply because no one else bid on the item.

Also, like I mentioned in a previous post; there have been many instances where buyers would remove or replace parts from a firearm and send it back.
Non paying bidders are also a problem.
 
Case by case.

A lot of gunbroker sellers are FFL dealers. If you buy a NIB gun from one of them, warranties should apply.

But a lot of gunbroker sellers are regular gun owners. If you buy a used gun from one of us, you probably won't get a warranty.
 
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