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If it seems too good to be true....
- Thread Starter Jcon268
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It's been a day since I sent the seller a message and no response. That doesn't really help but I thought I'd keep y'all updated.
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Depends on the optic. ACOGs are over 1k new but can be had cheaper cause the used market is a bit saturated.
Optics do not violate paypal policy.I've purchased many a firearm related item through PayPal without really reviewing the policy. The only items I've purchased through them that would have violated their policy were through business websites that offered the PayPal feature. I did purchase an optic recently from a gentleman in Kentucky using PayPal. I did not feel iffy about that purchase in any way. The guy was very clear and up front. But now I got to thinking...PayPal seems somewhat "anti gun." It would be too easy for me to get scammed and when I turn to PayPal to cover my butt they're gonna ask "what did you purchase." I guess my answer would be...an optic for my airsoft gun?
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Still not a peep. Maybe the seller worked out a deal with someone (maybe you) but they don't appear interested in talking to me. Good luck to you and Happy New Year!
- Thread Starter
- #45
He just reached out to me again last night to see if I still wanted it...I stopped responding initially. I'll probably say no thanks and just call it good at that. Did you say you could meet in person?
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I told him I lived in Grants Pass and asked him where he was so that hopefully we could do a FTF. I did not presume that he was in GP so as not to cause suspicion. I've had my issues with people on Armslist before so taking the cautious route is probably the best option. Wish I could have confirmed it was a good deal for you.
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I'd pass at this point to be honest.
- Thread Starter
- #48
Oh it's a pass I was just curious how he'd try to pick himself up out of the bubblegum he buried himself in.
- Thread Starter
- #49
So I wanted to follow up on this post. Since I originally posted this, I've landed a couple of good deals on Armslist. I always prefer to buy/sell/trade within my local community if at all possible. There are certain times, however, when you will be looking for something specific and it just can't be found nearby. I find this particularly to be the case with "in demand" items that people don't let go of very often, or if they do, they want too much for what they're selling. Also the case with obscure, difficult to find items.
**This is simply an outline of my experiences so take it only for what it is.**
It is no surprise, I've come across quite a few scams on a site like Armslist mainly because they do not vet their members. In fact, you don't even need to be a member to post. Like anything, if you're smart and thinking a few steps ahead, you can land some deals. In wading through that cesspool of a site, here are the things that I've learned in trying to differentiate between scam ads and legitimate ads:
- First, I always look to see if the user has any other listings. Watch out for single listings only. Honest users often have multiple listings
- Take a look at the surroundings. Does anything seem odd about the background? Are they consistent across their listings?
- Often times, scammers have only one picture. Do a quick internet search and see if you find the picture may have been stolen from a search engine.
- If they posted multiple pictures, look closely at the product itself across all of the pictures. If there are blemishes, make sure they are consistent from picture to picture so you know it is the same exact item in each. If not, it could be a scam.
- Ask for multiple pictures, including function check of items such as scopes, red dots, etc. Again look at the background and compare it to the original pictures.
- NEVER deal with anyone who doesn't take PayPal. I've had some scam responses. One guy claimed he didn't even know what PayPal was (really?...) Others will say they don't have PayPal yet but of course they'll take a money order or personal check. Yeeahh ...NO!
- Read the language of the response carefully. Scammers often don't know the product they're selling very well and might not know anything about firearms which can easily be picked up on in how they respond. Also, scammers sometimes reply in broken English like they may actually be from a different country. Red flag.
- Are they being pushy for a sale? Red flag.
- Here is my big one. Tell the seller you require a picture of the item next to a piece of paper with your first name written next to it. If it's worth the money to them, they should have no problem fulfilling this requirement. This tells you they're actually holding the product.
Here is a fully functional, used Aimpoint Comp M2 with original mount, lens caps and killflash I purchased this last week. The listing was for $300. I got a response the next morning from an e-mail with a female's name. For some reason the name struck me as that of a younger female and for whatever reason it seemed odd. Not that females don't shoot ARs with worn Aimpoint optics...maybe it's just that my radar was up and I was over-reading into it. It just struck me as being off. The original ad said "had to sell for medical and funeral expenses." Of course that's a great reason for having to sell an optic exceptionally cheap
. After a small exchange of e-mails, I stopped responding over the course of a day. $300 wasn't worth the risk, at least I wasn't in the mood to take the risk that day. The next day I got another e-mail from the same seller asking if I'd be interested in buying it for $250. I briefly glanced at my phone while I was at work and saw the notification, then put it away..... By the end of the evening when I had gotten home from work, she had e-mailed yet again and asked if I would take $200 shipped! At this point I was very curious although it seemed like a huge red flag. She wasn't being pushy but was obviously eager to sell it to drop the price by 1/3. Seemed a bit scammy to me. That's when I went through the process of making her send all the various pictures to prove it was legitimate. She said she would take Paypal so I figured worst case, they would cover the amount (I paid the extra fee for good/services)if I never ended up getting it. This was on Saturday night. I asked when she'd ship it and she said Monday morning SO I WAITED to send the money until Monday morning. Basically I was expressing that I wanted that tracking number immediately after sending the funds. I know that I was taking somewhat of a risk but it panned out.
**This is simply an outline of my experiences so take it only for what it is.**
It is no surprise, I've come across quite a few scams on a site like Armslist mainly because they do not vet their members. In fact, you don't even need to be a member to post. Like anything, if you're smart and thinking a few steps ahead, you can land some deals. In wading through that cesspool of a site, here are the things that I've learned in trying to differentiate between scam ads and legitimate ads:
- First, I always look to see if the user has any other listings. Watch out for single listings only. Honest users often have multiple listings
- Take a look at the surroundings. Does anything seem odd about the background? Are they consistent across their listings?
- Often times, scammers have only one picture. Do a quick internet search and see if you find the picture may have been stolen from a search engine.
- If they posted multiple pictures, look closely at the product itself across all of the pictures. If there are blemishes, make sure they are consistent from picture to picture so you know it is the same exact item in each. If not, it could be a scam.
- Ask for multiple pictures, including function check of items such as scopes, red dots, etc. Again look at the background and compare it to the original pictures.
- NEVER deal with anyone who doesn't take PayPal. I've had some scam responses. One guy claimed he didn't even know what PayPal was (really?...) Others will say they don't have PayPal yet but of course they'll take a money order or personal check. Yeeahh ...NO!
- Read the language of the response carefully. Scammers often don't know the product they're selling very well and might not know anything about firearms which can easily be picked up on in how they respond. Also, scammers sometimes reply in broken English like they may actually be from a different country. Red flag.
- Are they being pushy for a sale? Red flag.
- Here is my big one. Tell the seller you require a picture of the item next to a piece of paper with your first name written next to it. If it's worth the money to them, they should have no problem fulfilling this requirement. This tells you they're actually holding the product.
Here is a fully functional, used Aimpoint Comp M2 with original mount, lens caps and killflash I purchased this last week. The listing was for $300. I got a response the next morning from an e-mail with a female's name. For some reason the name struck me as that of a younger female and for whatever reason it seemed odd. Not that females don't shoot ARs with worn Aimpoint optics...maybe it's just that my radar was up and I was over-reading into it. It just struck me as being off. The original ad said "had to sell for medical and funeral expenses." Of course that's a great reason for having to sell an optic exceptionally cheap
. After a small exchange of e-mails, I stopped responding over the course of a day. $300 wasn't worth the risk, at least I wasn't in the mood to take the risk that day. The next day I got another e-mail from the same seller asking if I'd be interested in buying it for $250. I briefly glanced at my phone while I was at work and saw the notification, then put it away..... By the end of the evening when I had gotten home from work, she had e-mailed yet again and asked if I would take $200 shipped! At this point I was very curious although it seemed like a huge red flag. She wasn't being pushy but was obviously eager to sell it to drop the price by 1/3. Seemed a bit scammy to me. That's when I went through the process of making her send all the various pictures to prove it was legitimate. She said she would take Paypal so I figured worst case, they would cover the amount (I paid the extra fee for good/services)if I never ended up getting it. This was on Saturday night. I asked when she'd ship it and she said Monday morning SO I WAITED to send the money until Monday morning. Basically I was expressing that I wanted that tracking number immediately after sending the funds. I know that I was taking somewhat of a risk but it panned out.
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That's a man I can respect. Been through that already.
So I wanted to follow up on this post. Since I originally posted this, I've landed a couple of good deals on Armslist. I always prefer to buy/sell/trade within my local community if at all possible. There are certain times, however, when you will be looking for something specific and it just can't be found nearby. I find this particularly to be the case with "in demand" items that people don't let go of very often, or if they do, they want too much for what they're selling. Also the case with obscure, difficult to find items.
**This is simply an outline of my experiences so take it only for what it is.**
It is no surprise, I've come across quite a few scams on a site like Armslist mainly because they do not vet their members. In fact, you don't even need to be a member to post. Like anything, if you're smart and thinking a few steps ahead, you can land some deals. In wading through that cesspool of a site, here are the things that I've learned in trying to differentiate between scam ads and legitimate ads:
- First, I always look to see if the user has any other listings. Watch out for single listings only. Honest users often have multiple listings
- Take a look at the surroundings. Does anything seem odd about the background? Are they consistent across their listings?
- Often times, scammers have only one picture. Do a quick internet search and see if you find the picture may have been stolen from a search engine.
- If they posted multiple pictures, look closely at the product itself across all of the pictures. If there are blemishes, make sure they are consistent from picture to picture so you know it is the same exact item in each. If not, it could be a scam.
- Ask for multiple pictures, including function check of items such as scopes, red dots, etc. Again look at the background and compare it to the original pictures.
- NEVER deal with anyone who doesn't take PayPal. I've had some scam responses. One guy claimed he didn't even know what PayPal was (really?...) Others will say they don't have PayPal yet but of course they'll take a money order or personal check. Yeeahh ...NO!
- Read the language of the response carefully. Scammers often don't know the product they're selling very well and might not know anything about firearms which can easily be picked up on in how they respond. Also, scammers sometimes reply in broken English like they may actually be from a different country. Red flag.
- Are they being pushy for a sale? Red flag.
- Here is my big one. Tell the seller you require a picture of the item next to a piece of paper with your first name written next to it. If it's worth the money to them, they should have no problem fulfilling this requirement. This tells you they're actually holding the product.
Here is a fully functional, used Aimpoint Comp M2 with original mount, lens caps and killflash I purchased this last week. The listing was for $300. I got a response the next morning from an e-mail with a female's name. For some reason the name struck me as that of a younger female and for whatever reason it seemed odd. Not that females don't shoot ARs with worn Aimpoint optics...maybe it's just that my radar was up and I was over-reading into it. It just struck me as being off. The original ad said "had to sell for medical and funeral expenses." Of course that's a great reason for having to sell an optic exceptionally cheap
View attachment 592335 View attachment 592336 View attachment 592337
Would anyone post a picture with there name on a piece of paper these days. I have had people that contacted me through a armslist ad on a firearm that were obviously not gun people .The anti's go on armslist looking for somthing to whine about and take information out of context. I Usually won't even do business with someone that can't some up the details over a phone conversation. You might be surprized at how many people can not accomplish that basic human interaction.
The only time I've let that slide is on this site with folks Ive seen active on a regular basis.
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PASS!!
if its too good to be true,it probably is.
NOW, if it was a member here with excellent trading feedback we'd have a diff. story.
if its too good to be true,it probably is.
NOW, if it was a member here with excellent trading feedback we'd have a diff. story.
It happens pretty regular. The last one, I think, was something WTS posted at 10:45pm and sold at something like 10:55pm. After that you have three or four members bemoaning that they didn't see it first.
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definitely. ive seen a WTS then SOLD in 1 minute here before. crazyIt happens pretty regular. The last one, I think, was something WTS posted at 10:45pm and sold at something like 10:55pm. After that you have three or four members bemoaning that they didn't see it first.
- Thread Starter
- #55
Yes, the worst of the issues I've experienced here would be major tire kickers and flakes. I'd be stunned if anyone tried scamming here though thanks to the wonderful staff.
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..Two summers ago somebody here sold a K98k for $350. It was an RC capture, but it was in great shape. It sold in minutes. I was the second person to see it, and I still think about it!
I just recently sold a rifle to a very good man on Armslist who paid cash, not everyone is crooks, but you have to be careful.
- Thread Starter
- #57
I purchase a Comp M4 recently the same way. The seller said he wanted to talk to me over the phone to make sure I was a real buyer. So I called him right away. I can completely understand wanting to at least have a phone conversation. Basically making the transaction as "real" as possible despite the fact you are in very different locations.
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A few years ago I'd posted here on NWFA a somewhat rare Colt for sale. Got contacted by a buyer in Illinois who was legit, but he told me someone had used my photos to post their own for sale ad of the pistol on Armslist. Super sketchy. But it of course to steal my photos it was someone who was at least a visitor on this site.
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I sold ammo here awhile back and was gone poof in minutes.
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Try getting an out of state armslister to commit to using an FFL as an escrow service on your dime. That instantly weeds the scammers from the legits. If they make excuses, get angry, use broken engrish... flag the listing as a scam and move on.
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