Ran Across an Armslist Scam Today

[etrain16]

Perusing some listings and came across an M1A in near new condition that was, quite obviously, priced too good to be true (red flag #1) - for, get this, $750. That price either screams scam or remarkably stupid individual. I reached out to the person who listed it to ask some questions and see what kind of response came back. On the surface, it sounded somewhat on the up and up, but I still didn't buy it. First hitch was that he said he was in one state, then came back and corrected himself and said he was in another state (red flag #2).

Now, I've heard before about folks copying old ads and old photos and recycling them to make new scam listings. So, I right clicked the photos and did a Google image search. And there it was. The exact same listing, word for word right on AR15.com, on an ad from 2010. Same exact photos, exact same description. Obvious scammer.

So, I flagged the listing, then followed up with an email to AL including links to the ad on AL as well as the 'original' ad from AR15.com Looks like AL has already pulled the ad, hopefully they've axed the scammer too.

Moral of the story again folks - if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Use your brain, use the tools at your disposal (such as Google searches) and be sure to call these folks out and turn them in if you can. I've not been the victim of this kind of fraud/scam yet, and I hope to never be.

By the way, I did write back to Sir Scamalot and told him the jig was up...

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[jbett98]

I'd be shocked if any Armslist ad wasn't a scam.

 

[etrain16]

I'd be shocked if any Armslist ad wasn't a scam.

Well, I've sold on there myself. Speaking only for myself, I'm legit

I think AL could help itself out if they added an option for feedback like they have here on NWFA, it sure helps out when knowing who you should and shouldn't deal with.

 

[STUKA]

I recently replied to an ad in Eugene for a low priced Garand- I got a strange response in broken English about how I could NOT drive down to him to inspect it in person, as he was very busy; but if I would send him a Walmart to Walmart money order, he assured me "I would receive the pistol in a very good shape or condition"
Needless to say..
I can assure you all that there ARE a lot of legitimate ads on AL, you just have to be vigilant, and dare I say, intelligent enough to weed through the BS. I've dealt with many good folks on there.

I'm reminded of my mother, who gives me her old outdated computers when she upgrades.
Turns out she clicks on every banner,pop up ad,or any other potential cess pool of an infection imaginable, then complains that her computer is slow and she needs a new one.
This is one situation where "COMMON SENSE" truly does mean just that..

 

[Stomper]

Yeah use your brain and use the toolS, not your tool.

 

[mjbskwim]

I recently replied to an ad in Eugene for a low priced Garand- I got a strange response in broken English about how I could NOT drive down to him to inspect it in person, as he was very busy; but if I would send him a Walmart to Walmart money order, he assured me "I would receive the pistol in a very good shape or condition"
Needless to say..
I can assure you all that there ARE a lot of legitimate ads on AL, you just have to be vigilant, and dare I say, intelligent enough to weed through the BS. I've dealt with many good folks on there.

I'm reminded of my mother, who gives me her old outdated computers when she upgrades.
Turns out she clicks on every banner,pop up ad,or any other potential cess pool of an infection imaginable, then complains that her computer is slow and she needs a new one.
This is one situation where "COMMON SENSE" truly does mean just that..

I'm so glad my mom never got into computers. Plus my sister was there for that.
She wudda been all ' gee that looks like a deal!'

 

[rdb241]

I might be a minority here, but I have never bought or sold anything on AL. No need. I can find everything I need right here and other local web sites. I try and keep any and all biz with fairly "local guys".

 

[RLS]

I might be a minority here, but I have never bought or sold anything on AL. No need. I can find everything I need right here and other local web sites. I try and keep any and all biz with fairly "local guys".

Me too, I will only consider buying locally on a forum that i have an idea of who i am dealing with. This is based on feedback and past postings but it does give me something to go by and form what i hope to be good judgement on a buy or sell deal.

 

[Joe13]

I'll buy stuff from CL or AL any day. I'm just not stupid about it and look for red flags like the OP.

In fact some of the best deals I've found were there. This community is a little more savvy about current value and your less likely to find the bargain of the year here.

I will not buy something (anything) I can't inspect at the time of purchase so I will only do local deals.

 

[etrain16]

I might be a minority here, but I have never bought or sold anything on AL. No need. I can find everything I need right here and other local web sites. I try and keep any and all biz with fairly "local guys".

AL is local, if you stick with local sellers. There are also legitimate vendors on there too. I use AL and NWFA to reach as big an audience as possible when selling - and about half are sold on each site. I occasionally buy on AL too, because NWFA doesn't always have what I'm looking for. My general rule is I start with NWFA, if I can find what I'm looking for or can't get an item sold, I move to AL. And so far, I've only dealt with local folks.

My last 2 sales went out through AL after sitting here on NWFA untouched. Both were out of state transactions that I shipped to their respective FFL's. Not a big deal, but it helped me get the deals done. It still surprises me that someone from out of state will trust a seller that's in a different state, and buy site unseen, but folks will do it. I keep in good contact with them, give them tracking numbers, etc.

I actually came to NWFA because of AL. I sold a gun on AL to an NWFA member. He asked me if I was a member here, and I hadn't even heard of the site. So he told me to check it out. The rest is history. And you have all been blessed with my presence since....

 

[etrain16]

I'll buy stuff from CL or AL any day. I'm just not stupid about it and look for red flags like the OP.

In fact some of the best deals I've found were there. This community is a little more savvy about current value and your less likely to find the bargain of the year here.

I will not buy something (anything) I can't inspect at the time of purchase so I will only do local deals.

I have found some good deals on AL in the past. You just need to know what you're looking at, what issues to look for and deal locally. If your BS meter starts going off, it's probably time to back out of the deal.

 

[Velzey]

There are allot of scams! And then you run into a few legit ones. I replied and did it sort of sarcastically to an ad a few months back. It ended up being an elderly lady and was using her 20 year old Commodore 64 computer and was trying to sell her late husbands firearms.
She said she was getting allot of odd questions lol.

Anyhow I helped her out.

 

[Member 5605]

Aside from people not responding....


Everyone I've dealt with through correspondence on AL has been good. Maybe my radar pre-filters for me but I've met some good people and almost all of them I've pointed to this website here.

 

[etrain16]

Aside from people not responding....


Everyone I've dealt with through correspondence on AL has been good. Maybe my radar pre-filters for me but I've met some good people and almost all of them I've pointed to this website here.

Non-responsiveness is one of the worst things about AL. Though lately, I've been running into that here on NWFA as well. Not sure what that's all about, but it just lengthens my list of who I won't do business with in the future. I don't get why so many folks can't stay on top of their ads and give the courtesy of responses.

 

[PaulB47]

It still surprises me that someone from out of state will trust a seller that's in a different state, and buy site unseen, but folks will do it.

Probably only once, though. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

[Joe13]

Non-responsiveness is one of the worst things about AL. Though lately, I've been running into that here on NWFA as well. Not sure what that's all about, but it just lengthens my list of who I won't do business with in the future. I don't get why so many folks can't stay on top of their ads and give the courtesy of responses.

I will admit that I am guilty on not responding to AL emails.

However, the ones I ignore are all the inquiries like "I have a $300 gun and want to trade it for your $600 gun" as an extreme.

The rest are sorta reasonable trade requests but if I wanted a trade I would list it as such. I figure it didn't hurt them or me to ask but I can't be bothered to respond to the mass amounts of not 'my firearm for sale' questions.

Have met plenty of decent folks. I think I'm lucky to have not been scammed or robbed but I tell myself that may be due to not being an easy target and staying on my BS meter as etrain said.

 

[etrain16]

I will admit that I am guilty on not responding to AL emails.

However, the ones I ignore are all the inquiries like "I have a $300 gun and want to trade it for your $600 gun" as an extreme.

The rest are sorta reasonable trade requests but if I wanted a trade I would list it as such. I figure it didn't hurt them or me to ask but I can't be bothered to respond to the mass amounts of not 'my firearm for sale' questions.

Have met plenty of decent folks. I think I'm lucky to have not been scammed or robbed but I tell myself that may be due to not being an easy target and staying on my BS meter as etrain said.

I'm thinking more of non-responses to queries where I say I have cash in hand, when can we meet, and nothing. I can understand not responding to extreme lowball offers, etc., but I don't make those kinds of offers, so I do expect a reply, even if it's just to tell me to pound sand

 

[etrain16]

Probably only once, though. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

The buyer is taking all the liability on themselves. I can do my best to convince them I'm a nice guy and won't scam them, but ultimately, they have to take my word for it. I've successfully sold to folks out of state numerous times and so far it's all gone very well. My favorite thing is the final email from them, thanking me for not being a scammer.

 

[CHLChris]

As long as a buyer knows the red flags to look for, I've had only good experiences on AL. only respond to people who can use punctuation and the basics of proper note-writing. If someone is able to speak and write correctly, I've never had a problem. There are people who misspell words, but you can tell that they speak English and are upstanding citizens.

 

[Brutus57]

I recently replied to an ad in Eugene for a low priced Garand- I got a strange response in broken English about how I could NOT drive down to him to inspect it in person, as he was very busy; but if I would send him a Walmart to Walmart money order, he assured me "I would receive the pistol in a very good shape or condition"
Needless to say..
I can assure you all that there ARE a lot of legitimate ads on AL, you just have to be vigilant, and dare I say, intelligent enough to weed through the BS. I've dealt with many good folks on there.

I'm reminded of my mother, who gives me her old outdated computers when she upgrades.
Turns out she clicks on every banner,pop up ad,or any other potential cess pool of an infection imaginable, then complains that her computer is slow and she needs a new one.
This is one situation where "COMMON SENSE" truly does mean just that..

When did Garand start making pistols?? In 06?

Brutus out