Beware of ArmsList Scams

[mkwerx]

Put a piece of paper with your name on it in the picture. Then your pics can't be reused.

I watermark my images typically - they would have to crop out the water mark to reuse my images. Not fool proof, but if they're stupid enough to use the images without altering, it's an easy case of copyright violation.

 

[Grunwald]

Just got burned by an FFL of all things.
I responded to a for sale ad on Armslist. The listing was for subsonic 300 Blackout ammo and I got a call back from an FFL dealer located in Manning, Illinois.
The guy was selling 200 rounds of new Remington brand ammo for less then half of the going price, plus free shipping.
What a great deal.
I'm sure glad I used my Visa card to pay, because something didn't feel right after I paid and then asked him what carrier he used to ship, as I wanted to make sure I was home when it needed to be signed for.
His response was that he used USPS and it would delivered to my mailbox.
I replied that the USPS won't allow live ammo shipments, and he said that he was friends with their local postmaster and it wouldn't be an issue.
That right there caused me to become alarmed. I asked him to e-mail me the tracking #'s.
Sure enough, I never received the package, so I called him and only got a voice mail.
Finally called the credit card company and reversed the charges.
I ran an ad on Armslist calling him a crook and to beware of his phony ads.
This is the first time I have had any hinky dealings through Armslist.

Contact the USPS. I believe that falls under mail fraud. If it does then that guy's in a world of hurt. Might lose his FFL too if the Postal Inspector goes after him.

It could also be one of those BATF run shops.

 

[BAMCIS]

I used an escrow service with great success when I bought and sold high-end coins on eBay years ago. Does anyone know of such a service for guns?

 

[jbett98]

I used an escrow service with great success when I bought and sold high-end coins on eBay years ago. Does anyone know of such a service for guns?

Try the "Gun Room" in Portland.
They will definitely service you.

 

[KEMOSABEJR1]

Saw an add for a glock 22. Picture was of a taurus .40. Asked if the glock was the one for $300.00. His add was from my home town of Eugene so I thought it was safe... pmed him and he said he was from washington but he could ship it my front door for $25.00 more. Asked him if he enjoyed bubba at the local fed pen as that was a crime. He said he could drop the price to $250.00 and he would pay shipping. Knew a scammer when I saw one and asked him to throw in two high caps and an aac suppressor and he agreed! DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE KILLER DEAL!

TOO BAD AS A G-22 for 300 would be great!

 

[Mongo1]

I sold one pistol on arms list to a doctor with a chl and traded another for two mausers. Both were FTF. I think the danger is when shipping is involved.

 

[chase]

I search armslist sometimes. Ive never trusted any deals. I like to see feeback, posts, and paying members. Always makes a transaction smoother when all the above is fulfilled.

I've sold camera equipment before on Craigslist. Replys and offeres are always interesting. Higher the items price, the crazier the offers can become.

 

[WAYNO]

Even our local Outdoorstrader.com

Seeing lots of ads from places like Katmandu New Hampshire and Eugene, Alabama. Unless I know the seller or have done enough homework to know better, I wouldn't consider anything but FTF.

 

[40calruler]

I have bought, sold on Armslist and it seems a lot of the time the same people respond to my adds. Out of about 6 or 7 trades or cash deals only one has turned to bite me when I found out down the road the gun was stolen. I ended up getting it back but it took a long time and I thought I was SOL after trading a very nice firearm for it. The only reason I think I got it back and did not have so many issues doing so is because I required a BOS and ID so the police left me and went straight to that guys house. Not sure what went down with him if he had bill of sale or what but I was happy I covered my bases. Only reason I got it back is because the guy who had it stolen from his home was compensated by his insurance for it so could not reclaim it. The insurance of course did not want it since they then technically owned it and it ended up back in my hands after a while without that stolen serial number and legitimately mine.

 

[The Heretic]

I now use a throwaway email account when messaging anybody on there now.

I have an email for this persona.

I have a personal email that I only give to my friends, family, on my resume and business accounts (bank, bills, etc.) - it started getting a huge amount of spam about the time I opened a Facebook account. I should have known better. Fortunately Gmail is pretty good about spam.

I create a throwaway when I sell stuff, even if it is through Craigslist. There is a reason CL anonymizes their contact emails.

For the OP.

This (ripping off photos from for sale ads and posting another ad) is pretty much par for the course for any for sale site. It happens on eBay, CL, and so on, and it can be cross site - you will see stuff ripped from CL and put on eBay, and vice versa. The big time ads are real estate and rental ads - yes, people have been ripped off this way. Real estate takes longer and works less, but there are just enough people who will willingly pay some kind of upfront fee or something before buying a house.

Rentals are actually the most lucrative and are often done by a current renter who has the keys, has moved out but didn't tell the landlord, and will take deposits, fees, even 2 months rent in advance - it can be somewhat hard to find out that a "landlord" is actually a renter without checking property records at the courthouse. Most people just don't bother because they have never heard of this scam. Then they get kicked out a couple months later after paying the rent to the wrong person and the landlord comes around to find out why the original renter hasn't paid the rent and doesn't return their phone calls.

So yes, be careful out there. Be vigilant.

 

[AMT]

Armslist isn't the only place that "borrows" pictures and descriptions. I've found the same scenario on GunBroker.

I have recently just found two items on Arms List. I have made first contact. Thanks for the heads-up. I will proceed more cautiously.

As folks have pointed out, it happens everywhere and folks just need to be aware.

Thanks!

UPDATE (if any one is interested)

Got both and they are exactly as described in the description and in corresponding emails.

 

[SomeDude]

I use Armslist quite a bit (mostly to sell) but I understand its limitations. You have to treat it exactly like Craigslist and never ever ever do business that isn't face-to-face in cash. If anything smells even remotely fishy, I will immediately delete the email and not respond. Just today I got somebody from Olympia wanting to meet in Vancouver to buy my Marlin, even though my ad explicitly outlines that I won't sell across state lines because it's illegal. Whether the person is just an idiot and ignorant of laws or they are a LE / ATF agent trying to catch somebody doing wrong, I don't humor them. That happens about every other month.

You just have to exercise caution and common sense and don't depend on anybody else to be the responsible or honest one.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

I have a C93 on there Im looking to trade for an AK.
Ive received a few emails from folks in washington wanting to do business.. But so far its been pretty normal.

Id be pissed if I saw someone posting ads with my gear or info.
Pretty scary stuff.

 

[DuneHopper]

Just reviving this thread, there have been many thefts lately on the west coast from private, strong arms, and FFL's.
As has been mentioned in this thread use caution as for some reason right now things are stepping up maybe because more are buying I am not sure . But be careful out there.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Just reviving this thread, there have been many thefts lately on the west coast from private, strong arms, and FFL's.
As has been mentioned in this thread use caution as for some reason right now things are stepping up maybe because more are buying I am not sure . But be careful out there.

Thank you for the reminder. I will be meeting a guy tomorrow from Armslist on a couple parts. He at least has a verified account... Will meet him inside a busy establishment in middle of day as a safety measure.

 

[ma96782]

I use Armslist quite a bit (mostly to sell) but I understand its limitations. You have to treat it exactly like Craigslist and never ever ever do business that isn't face-to-face in cash. If anything smells even remotely fishy, I will immediately delete the email and not respond. Just today I got somebody from Olympia wanting to meet in Vancouver to buy my Marlin, even though my ad explicitly outlines that I won't sell across state lines because it's illegal. Whether the person is just an idiot and ignorant of laws or they are a LE / ATF agent trying to catch somebody doing wrong, I don't humor them. That happens about every other month.

You just have to exercise caution and common sense and don't depend on anybody else to be the responsible or honest one.

I believe that OR and WA law now requires that all private transfers/sales must go through an FFL dealer. Course, there are very limited exceptions......read the actual law.

Now that being said (assuming both buyer or seller are legally able to posses firearms).......

As an OR resident (non-FFL dealer, seller). You can come to WA and transfer your personal firearm to a WA resident. But only through a WA FFL dealer at his place of business.

AND, as for the WA resident (non-FFL dealer, seller).......they can go to OR and meet with an OR resident at an OR FFL dealer's place of business to do the transfer.

Course....the FFL dealer will change his fee and it's best to check what it'll cost you, before you seal the deal or start traveling.

*As always.......buyers of handguns.......needs to take possession of their new purchase at their home state FFL dealer's place of business.

Aloha, Mark

PS.....assuming that your Marlin is a long gun. If you didn't want to cross a state line to WA, another simple solution to the above situation would have been to have the WA buyer come to OR. Then, you could do the transfer through an OR FFL dealer at his place place of business.