Experiance trying to sell a few, Not so good.

[IronMonster]

So let me start off by saying I understand this is not everyone. There are bound to be solid, intelligent and thoughtful folks out there. But I didn't come across them.

It has been a long time since I really tried to sell any firearms. By a long time I mean 15 years.

I had several that I had been meaning to do "something" with that I really did not feel the need to keep so with the passage of I-594 I figured it was time to get rid of three or four as well as some parts and accessory's

Now I have sold a lot of stuff, For many years I made my living as the surplus division manager of a Industrial machinery shop. I have bought and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear. I also bought tools and equipment that I refurbished and resold personally on a much smaller scale.

I got to say without a doubt as a group the gun owner crowd has been the worst to deal with bar none. I have never had so many whiny, flaky, inconsiderate and demanding and flat out crazy responses.

Many of the offers are just silly. Asking $500 for something and someone says " I'll give you $200" Thats it, the entire response.

I have had several guys who made some sort of deal and then said something like "By the way, I am 150 miles away and have no car, You'll have to hand deliver it to my front step"

Another thing is what is with RC cars? I have had multiple guys want to trade high end remote control cars for firearms. Really?

I had one deal that was a done deal. A straight across trade. We had agreed on everything and I had to arrange to get my stuff to Olympia to make the swap. I found a guy who was going to be in that area and could truck the stuff back and fourth and got the parts to Tacoma for him to take. Then when my guy got in touch to make the swap the other guy simply said. "sorry, changed my mind" Really? Don't you think that is the kind of information you should share with the guy who is making plans to get stuff to you 70 miles away?

I gotta say I am a little taken back by the whole experience. I certainly dont remember it being this way.

My time is valuable and I have very little to spend on my own endeavors. As a small business owner there is simply too much to do to deal with such nonsense over a few hundred dollars. Every hour I am away from my shop costs me about $125 (the money I lose by not making anything plus the shop expenses) More than that actually because when I am not there my worker does about half what he does when I am there.

Its kind of disheartening. I know the items I had for sale had some part in it. I suspect you would get a better class of folks responding if you had a $1500 varmint rifle or a sweet Model 70. I was trying to off a Kel Tec, AR and a Stoeger shot gun. Still it was an eye opening experience.

Read More

 

[BAMCIS]

I hear you. But it's not just guns Iron. I tried to sell a motorcycle (for $2,000.00) on craigslist last spring. In the write-up I CLEARLY said the damned thing was not running, needed a battery etc. Everyone who looked at it, including one guy who drove from Seattle all the way down here to the People's Republic said "Wow, that's a good price, and I'd pay you that if it had a battery and was running". My usual reply was, "Did you read the listing? Did you expect it to be magically fixed and running? If it was running and had a battery, the price wouldn't be $2,000", and tell them to get the hell out of here. They're wasting my time. Then I close up the garage door and go back inside my house.

 

[The Heretic]

No - take it from me - you will still get someone wanting to trade you something for your high end firearm that is not worth much to you.

Everybody and their dogs has something they don't want, and they think they can get rid of it in a trade.

I think for the most part it is just better to ask for cash.

High cost firearms are even harder to sell because most people don't have that kind of money to spend on a single firearm. If it is under $1000 then they are more likely to go for it than get one that costs $3000.

It took me months to sell my AWC G2A and I might still have it if a collector from out of state hadn't noticed it for sale.

My AR50 has been on this site for months too. I get some trade offers, but no cash offers.

My experience selling anything really leads me to strongly discount the common belief that guns are an investment. Some, the most common and desirable ones, you might be able to sell, but usually at some discount below what you paid (which makes them a lousy investment). I know that if a used firearm is for sale and I can buy it for less new, I am not going to pay that price used - and I have seen more than one gun here for sale that has a price higher than retail.

Granted, some have lots of added mods and widgets, but what people fail to realize, whether it is a gun, or a car or a motorcycle or a computer or whatever it is that they have highly modified, is that there are few people out there who have the same exact taste as they do with regards to such modifications - and most are looking for a discounted price, not retail.

Personally I look for the "plain Jane" items because I usually do not want someone elses modifications, and even if I do, I generally don't trust them to have done the modification correctly. I have bought more than one item to find out that their "custom modification" was a hack job.

So I generally buy firearms with the intention to keep them forever, especially if I modify them. Unless I buy one and it isn't quite what I thought I wanted - e.g., my AR50 - I will probably never get the chance or place or time to shoot it, so I never bought a scope for it and now I am selling it at a discount, with very little interest. Fortunately I can afford to hang onto it forever if I have to, but I try to discipline myself to not buy more firearms if I don't sell the ones I am not shooting or want to keep - so I would like to sell it and use that money to buy other guns I want but am holding back from buying.

 

[IronMonster]

I had one the title said "11 inch Noveske quad rail".

The description said take off from Noveske rifle.


The first email I got from the guy ask if it was a genuine Noveske

I said yes came off a factory rifle.

The second email ask how long it was.


It's like holy freaking cow there's only two lines of text to read in the ad.

 

[The Heretic]

I am guilty of that.

Somehow I manage to gloss over stuff.

I try to re-read the ad before asking questions, but I sometimes shoot one off before I do.

Just this week I was going to take someone to task for not providing enough info about what he was selling, wrote it out, posted it, and then noticed he wasn't selling, he was asking to buy.

 

[Joe13]

I've heard of some real horror stories, but personally I have had pretty good luck with my dealings on this site.

I think with anything, we are all trying to get our highest value from a sale/buy but there are trashy people in all hobbies.

The breakdown Imo is parents lack of teaching thier kids to be decent people

 

[RVTECH]

While we all had had similar experiences selling stuff (guns or anything else) what is up with people who ARE selling something and simply will not respond? OR if they do response at all they will not answer a simple question such as "I am interested and when can I see it" (RE a Jeep I found on CL in Bend) instead they give some weird cryptic response or an answer to a question I never asked (and I still never got a an answer to about when I can look at it so I think this one is off the radar) When I am selling something I respond quickly to all inquires and answer the questions asked. I am interested in selling my item and not 'beating around the bush'

 

[IronMonster]

None of my experiences are from folks on this site. It's a combination of Armslist and a couple of Facebook pages dedicated to gun trading I have had quite a few deals with folks here and all have been great. I guess I should have said that to start with ;-)

 

[IronMonster]

I won't respond all the time. If it does not start well I won't invest any time. (The guy who offers half what your asking or has some silly trade)

 

[RVTECH]

None of my experiences are from folks on this site.

Mine either for the record - all good here.

 

[RVTECH]

If it does not start well I won't invest any time.

But you at least respond in a timely manner don't you to 'start' somewhere? I am talking about not getting a response after a week + and then only a two word response and no answer about a meet to look request. In this case it didn't 'start well' for me - and I am the buyer - with cash.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Exactly!

Or they claim they can "find a better deal"..

I usually respond with, well prove it if its local and Ill match it.Most of them are full of bubblegum and trying to get something for nothing.
Ive yet to find a guy who can match the price I place on my ads with whats included.

That or your have someone piss your time away and ask the most ridiculous questions little things like round count or what type of ammo used in it, even though in the ad you state 90% of those things anyhow..

And in the end they say: "well I can get a ______ for this $____.. Come down on your price, travel a retarded distance and accept my bubblegumty trade and Ill think about buying it"..

WELL, BUY IT FOR THAT DAMN PRICE!

Same with the guys who make a deal with you only to pretend not to realize something or "forget" a few $20's or $100's and try to low ball you on the spot.. That really pisses me off.

Or the guys who want to piss your time away just to "check out" the firearm..
"Nope. Ill take as many pics as necessary to show its condition or model..
But I aint meeting with you unless you're buying it."

The other ones that bother me are the new buyers.. Guys that dont know jack about the firearm game, values, shipping costs or even the LAW! ...Yet again only to waste my time.

These are all guys who dont realize time is money. I put the time and day Im free in my ads, other than that it aint happening. Some of us work for a living.
I do hate the guys that say they have no means of transportation.. Well bud, tough titties. Perhaps you should be investing in a vehicle rather than my gear.

 

[Member 5605]

I'm sorry you have dealt with children.

Hopefully your run around with them is over and real men will change your view.

Internet anonymity is terrible. I have flawless stats as well as many others on this board. Filter who you deal with and ignore the BS lowballers who think this is a game.

Your problem is that you based the firearm crowd upon kids on Facebook and no feedback sites like that and Armslist.

That's where the immature kids hang out. I'm almost 33 and believe I have more common sense and respect than the majority of people on Fakebook and Armslist.

 

[etrain16]

I've bought, sold and traded both here an on Armslist. I prefer to do business with established NWFA members with some feedback, and so far, every transaction has gone well. I do get my share of lowball offers and questions on stuff I've got printed in the ad, but for the most part, no issue. I tend to be pretty wordy in my communication, I ask questions, I try to make my intentions clear, clarify gun condition, take good photos and make it clear where I am and where and when I can/will meet. I do all that and sometimes only get a couple of words in response. That frustrates me more than anything, because if we just take a little extra time to communicate, it helps prevent a lot of issues - but not all of them.

I've never been screwed on a deal yet. But I've walked away from a few. I've got a rifle up right now, several low ball offers, two or three that were serious and contacted me several times, then just disappeared. On guy contacted me a couple of days ago and said he was very interested and wanted to meet - then I never heard another word. I reached back out to him, and nothing.

Personally, I appreciate at least enough courtesy to complete your discussion - if you're not interested, fine, say so, don't leave people hanging and wondering what's going on - that's just rude in my book. Oh, and I will make a mental note of those folks - in the future, they're likely not going to be doing business with me.

But I'll say again, my dealings with NWFA folks have been all positive. Good group of folks here.

 

[66PonyCar]

All my experiences selling on this forum have been positive. I have had a few lowballers and they always go away after I make a reasonable counteroffer.

 

[Just Jim]

It's a free market system when it comes to buying and selling guns. Yet it all depends on the economy on how easy it is to buy or sell. Money gets tight like it is today and there are fewer buyers. Add to that the market is full of guns for sale. Good shoppers look for the best deal because you know when you go to sell it everyone wants a deal.

I buy a lot of stuff to have fun with, when the fun stops I sell. Hopefully the fun doesn't cost a bunch because I paid way too much for a toy.

 

[jbett98]

You think selling guns bring out the flakes, try running a Craigslist apartment for rent ad.
Very desirable area of Portland, low monthly rent and easy commute to anywhere you need to go.
Here's some of my favorites.

"Is the apt still available?"
Yes it is.
"Ah, do you do criminal background checks?"
Thinking fast, my answer was yes, even though I don't.
"Ah, is it a local, or a federal background check"
Both, is my reply.
"Click, then a dial tone."

The ad clearly states, "No smokers, this is a smoke free property."
A guy makes an appointment to look at the unit, then drives up into the parking lot smoking a cigarette.
Tosses the butt out of his cars window right at my feet.
Steps out of his car and asks to see the apartment.
I tell him noway that I would rent to him, and didn't he read the ad about no smoking.
His reply was, "That's my last cigarette, I just quit forever, so how about taking a look at that studio".

Section 8 welfare momma with 5 kids, and the studio apt is only 350 sq ft.

The married guy who wants to put up his stripper girlfriend in a cheap place because he only wants her to get ahead in the world, her being just out of jail and all.

A guy that claims he's in the Federal Witness Protection Program, and that's why he doesn't have any rental background history that I can check up on.

Another guy (really twitchy) who only wants to rent for one month. I'm thinking meth lab operation.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

" $(price) FIRM. NO TRADES."

Might help filter out the 'tards.

The new method of communication seems to be no communication at all, no response, as though the world has caught a case of passive-aggressive syndrome. I've never seen anything like it. Drives me nucking futs.

 

[nwo]

What about the guy that agrees to buy your item, at your listed price, at your location, only to get there and throw a little fit about how much gas cost him to drive 30 miles? Then he wants you to discount the price to pay for his gas, and his lunch!

I've had that happen a couple of times. One guy bought the item (with an attitude) at the agreed price, and the other left mad when I would not reduce the AGREED upon price.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

There's no shortage of 'tards.

I once sold/ (or thought I had sold) a large piece of musical equipment to some idiots over in Bremerton. Took the ferry over there, got up to the house and now they're offering $ 300 less than the agreed $1,900 price, "It's all I have".