Gun broker

[Griff Murphey]

Could someone explain how this works; would appreciate any info of good experiences and the not so good, in addition to instruction.

[lyman]

works in what way, buying or selling?

been selling since about 2004 or so,

[Gun Smoke]

Griff. First know or secure a local FFL dealer (gun shop or pawn shop) that will accept and transfer guns for you. Most will, and usally charge about $20--$35.

Pick out what you want on GB. Win the auction or the "buy it now", pay for it and tell them what dealer to send it to. Let the dealer know it is coming along with the description and auction number. They will either fax in a copy of their FFL to the seller or make you a paper copy to mail in with your payment. There is a site at the top of their website that says "find an FFL dealer" but it isn't necessary to fill this out, however, you may want to browse if you don't have a favorite gun shop nearby already.

Like ebay, you are dealing with individuals, not the website, so make sure the sellers have good feedback.

Overall it is just like buying from ebay, but being a gun, it has to be sent to a dealer for transfer instead of directly to you and you either have to send them a paper copy of the gun shops FFL or have the gun shop fax it to the seller. (may want to ask them first)

The receiving dealer will receive the gun > notify you when it arrives > you go and fill out the legal paper work (same as buying any gun) > pay them the $20-$35 fee > take the gun home > enjoy.

I have not only bought a lot of guns thru GB, I have bought MOST of my guns thru GB. Very few problems ever and these problems were mostly due to the carrier damaging the gun, not the fault of the seller. Have bought a few guns thru Auction Arms as well along with Guns America. Here again, you are dealing with an indivdual, not a company.

Hope this helps.

[Griff Murphey]

More interested in learning how sales work.... but thanks Gunsmoke!

[lyman]

easy peasy,

assuming you have an account, just click the sell button and create your listing,

be specific in your title,

be more specific in your description,

I set down and have the firearm in my had when I do the listing, or if I am listing accessories or ammo, I take a pile of pics and write a brief description on a pad and input all that while sitting at the laptop,


so,
firearms

list the obvious,
make
model
caliber
barrel length
imported (milsurps etc)

bore condition
sights,

any features,

and condition,
buy condition, be very specific, such stuff as:

on the left side of the stock there is a scuff where your ring finger is,
bluing wear on muzzle form holster use
stock shows minor finish loss on the butt
buttplate is plastic/resin and factory


etc etc,

now, you can list your description as one big paragraph or block of words, or you can put this <br> between each sentence and it looks much better when listed

when you upload your pics, include one of any blemish or character mark you mention,
be very specific, you will get 1,258,457 questions sometimes, so you can head that off by showing good pics and descriptions


re the pics,

the more the better, esp for anything not really modern,
I usually have 10 or so for a common handgun
up to 70+ for a milsurp like a carbine or garand etc,

I keep the ammo accessories to 10 or less,


(the bulk uploader will do 10 at a time)

input your price, either do a penny start and let it run, or start it at what you feel is fair,
don't do a reserve, that costs money now

get a scale, if you don't have one, and they are cheap, so you can put in an accurate weight,
remember, packaging has weight, so a 10lb rifle will be 12lb or so shipping weight usually,


Gunbroker has a shipping program available, but it is expensive,

I have business accounts at FedEx, UPS and USPS,
FedEx sucks largely in this area, so I never use them,


both UPS and USPS.com are easy to set up accounts, even if you are not a business, and you can print your postage from home, and box/drop off with a driver or at the hub,


shipping is a different animal, we can discuss that later
however in the listing I use Buyer Pays Actual Shipping Cost for most items,
and calculate that based on buyers zip code when the auction is done
you will get some emails asking,
or you can charge a flat rate (I do this for ammo and pistols (since I am a dealer) but not for longguns) and eat the overage or make a dollar or 2, depending on your location
I am on the East Coast, shipping a 10 lb rifle to the west coast can be stupid expensive

ALWAYS ship insured and include that in your shipping total, be upfront about it,



my process is simple, to me,

I have a pile parts/ammo/accessories, I take pics, jot down a description, and place them in the bins or rack to hold,
as I have time over the next week, while at lunch at work, or sitting a home with some down time, I put the stuff online,

generally speaking I can input (pics already taken, descriptions on paper) items at about 20 an hour, or more, often more,
those same 20 will take me 45 minutes to take pics of and jot the description,


re firearms,

I can do 10-15 an hour, just writing descriptions and scheduling the auction,
my brother will take those pics and download them before the auctions go live,


scheduling an auction costs 10 cents, we have all our firearms end on Sun or Mon night at 10pm (statistically the best time to end)


if you sell anything, obviously get payment and FFL info before you ship,
remember Gunbroker will charge sales tax for some localitities, and they will add that to the fees you pay,
so make sure the buyer pays you the sales tax

you will have potential buyers want you to end the action and sell it to them now,,
your choice to do so, but you cannot end the auction if it has a bid,

you can add a buy it now to the auction when you create it, if you like,



I am sure I am leaving out something,, feel free to ask,or pm, if you need any help

[Gun Smoke]

I will add that if you are selling a gun as an individual that has no FFL you will still need to receive a copy of the buyers FFL or the buyers receiving FFL holder as Lyman pointed out. I send this paperwork back to them packed with the gun when shipped in case it is opened by inspectors. The gun has to be sent to the dealer regardless of who won the auction and payed.

If you sell a gun and do not have a license (FFL) you must submit a photo copy ID which is almost always a copy of your DL to the dealer when you send the gun. Basically you are transferring the gun to the dealer then he does the transfer to the buyer. They have to have ID on you just as if you were standing in front of them selling the gun to them.

There are a few auction sites that will sell your guns for you. They charge around 15% but bring in more on bids so it more than makes up for the 15%. You send the guns to them > they list and photo the guns on GB > receive the $ and do all the legal stuff > send you the $ it sold for less the 15% or so. The downside is by the time they do this work and get it listed/sold it may take a few weeks or even months.

[bdm]

I have a local gun shop with FFL selling mine on Gun Broker i am getting to old and no one in my family wants any thing i have

[lyman]

I will add that if you are selling a gun as an individual that has no FFL you will still need to receive a copy of the buyers FFL or the buyers receiving FFL holder as Lyman pointed out. I send this paperwork back to them packed with the gun when shipped in case it is opened by inspectors. The gun has to be sent to the dealer regardless of who won the auction and payed.

If you sell a gun and do not have a license (FFL) you must submit a photo copy ID which is almost always a copy of your DL to the dealer when you send the gun. Basically you are transferring the gun to the dealer then he does the transfer to the buyer. They have to have ID on you just as if you were standing in front of them selling the gun to them.

There are a few auction sites that will sell your guns for you. They charge around 15% but bring in more on bids so it more than makes up for the 15%. You send the guns to them > they list and photo the guns on GB > receive the $ and do all the legal stuff > send you the $ it sold for less the 15% or so. The downside is by the time they do this work and get it listed/sold it may take a few weeks or even months.

as I mentioned, the shipping part is a different animal and would be discussed later,

yes, you have to ship to a dealer if in a different state, or required by your state


the receiving dealer will need to receive from an individual, some will not,

if you have a dealer that will treat you right, have them ship a handgun,
it is cheaper for dealer, depending on the dealer fees, to ship Priority (dealer to dealer is allowed by USPS) than UPS/FedEx overnight or 2nd day

[jjrothWA]

Very good for my purchases [parts and bayonets}.

Only exception was the SHILL doing the listing, for the owner, that did not ID damages to bayonets scabbard and then dropped after the recieved ID'd the 25% restocking fee of the owner.
my one "F" in the reviews.

[barretcreek]

UPS will not pay insurance claims unless both sender and recipient have FFLs.

[dryheat]

Between the fees and now taxes, it's not quite as much fun.

[PeteDavis]

Dryheat is referring to the internet sales taxes that Gunbroker must now pay to the states where the buyers reside. These taxes are different by state, but GB adds these taxes automatically to the sale and the buyer sends that amount to the seller along with the final item price and shipping. GunBroker then charges that tax back out of the seller later on via their preferred payment method, when tax payments to the states are made. These taxes are distinct from the value fees.

Pete Davis

[lyman]

gunbroker is still cheap , re the fees, compared to some other sites like ebay,