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Found item (no ffl needed) I want to buy one state away on armslist and seller willing to ship. But I've heard horror stories re armslist.

Any safe way to buy it? I really don't want to send lots of $ to a stranger and hope it gets mailed.
 
Its the same issue you'll run into on tacswap. Absolutely use paypal goods and services. Friends and family wont get you your money back if they shaft you. You do run a pretty high probability of not getting your money back if you file a grievance with them and your notes say its something firearm related, its against their TOS.
 
Get pics of the item with a toothbrush through/under it along with their ID. Use US Postal MO for payment. Insured against fraud, and federal felony charges for the cheater. You can also use an FFL to broker non firearm items for a small fee.
 
I would avoid Armslist unless you can meet the person. If the price is too good to be true, it is probably a scam. I enjoy going on Armslist just to find the fakes of certain guns I look for like FN FS2000's. There is always a bunch of scammers wanting $1500 for a $2500 gun. Drstrangeloves idea about the toothbrush is good, when I bother to test if someone for a scam before I report them, I ask them to take a picture of the gun with some random word like orangefish and the days date written down. I never hear back from the scammers after that. Also, If you punch in the name of the gun in google and look at google images you will probably find the site the scammer stole the pics for their scam ad. Once I even found the same gun with same pics listed by two users on Armslist, but one edited the edges of the photos to take out the original Armslist tag.
I buy a lot of guns on Gunbroker and get everything transferred through dealers. Tougher to get great deals with the competition of other bidders, but there are tons of guns and if you are patient you can get a good deal. Plus, Gunbroker stays on top of fraudulent posts and if it is a regular plus rated seller, not an NR (not rated) seller you can trust you will get the gun.
 
Outdoor trader was fun , also oregon live sporting goods classifieds, I met some good people on both . They both must have sold out to politcal pressure outdoor trader might have been bought and dissolved
 
The first thing to do is ask to speak with them on the phone. If they don't want to talk on the phone, walk away. I don't buy anything from anyone unless I speak to them on the phone. I got burned once on Armslist. Learned my lesson about vetting. Also, when it comes to firearms, I've arranged for the gun to be dropped at an FFL and have the FFL deliver the MO for you. Also, I think you can do an image search on google. Ask for additional pictures of certain specific parts, etc. Facetime also.
 
Google search the picrure and the content of the text. I find armslist scammers every time im on that site. That being said there are many real people with real items for sale. Getting a number and talking with them doesnt mean they arent a scammer. Paypal purchase option only with no note as paypal will ban you for anything gun related. Its worth it to pay the extra feea to make sure you ger tour money back should an issue arise. Zelle and cash app will not offer you any refund protections , so keep that in mind. Usps money order wont either other than filing with the post master for fraud, but they wont follow up unless the amount is large. I have bought many items off armslist without issue, but always do some checking before sending funds.
 
PayPal all the way for anything other then firearms. One day I sat down and checked the listings for Trijicon ACOG's nationwide. I only found three that were legit. Easiest ways to check is, as stated by a previous poster, call them on the phone. The other way is to require transaction via PayPal. All of the legit sellers agreed to PayPal. None of the illegitimate sellers agreed to use PayPal. I have made numerous purchases via Armslist. I've never been burned by anyone who let me call them and use PayPal. That's my two cents!
 
I've started flagging scams on armslist the way my wife plays candy crush.
Almost every morning, and practically hourly on Saturday Sunday, you will see rare colt ARs ,arsenal AKs, $300 glocks, and other "amazing deals ".
Please use the flag options to scrub these parasites off the page. If you see Washington, Washington; scam.
Oddball use of the Engrish Ranguage; scam.
Account created today; scam.
The words "good and excellent condition "
Check other listings by user. If it's a $1200 Nighthawk in Wa , a $400 AK in Baltimore, and a $300 gen 2 glock 17 in Texas...well.
These same people are the ones who sell imaginary purebred puppies out of state
 
I've started flagging scams on armslist the way my wife plays candy crush.
Almost every morning, and practically hourly on Saturday Sunday, you will see rare colt ARs ,arsenal AKs, $300 glocks, and other "amazing deals ".
Please use the flag options to scrub these parasites off the page. If you see Washington, Washington; scam.
Oddball use of the Engrish Ranguage; scam.
Account created today; scam.
The words "good and excellent condition "
Check other listings by user. If it's a $1200 Nighthawk in Wa , a $400 AK in Baltimore, and a $300 gen 2 glock 17 in Texas...well.
These same people are the ones who sell imaginary purebred puppies out of state
Very helpful info. Thank you. The Washington Washington is applicable for what I was looking at. Doesn't necessarily mean anything but it's something to consider. If it was a $40 or less item I wouldn't sweat it too much but just too risky for the item I want. No indication from buyer that it is any sort of scam (and I would not classify it as too good to be true at all) but I think I will let this one go bye bye.
 
I quit using Armslist after my ads kept getting flagged for being overpriced when I had realistic prices, good pics inside and out and explained things very clearly in words easy to understand. Apparently some s**t stains have nothing better to do than to troll us honest gun owners trying to sell things fair and square. Like the old saying goes, buy the seller as it can pay dividends for peace of mind and a clean deal.
 

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