Shady people in the classifieds? Or am just being paranoid?

[Bam]

Put up an AR for sale and within a few hours I got someone who JUST registered on here with zero posts saying he would be willing to meet up and buy it. He gave me an out of state phone number with a email address that had a domain name with a service provider in the same state as his number.

I told him for security reasons I don't do business with people who have no posts or are newly registered. I also told him I wouldn't sell to any one without a valid Oregon ID and he questions why I would even need to see his ID.

Would you have actually met this person?

Pretty much made my mind up I will only sell my firearms to people I actually know.

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[wooner]

For him to ask why you would need to see an ID would make me nervous too and I would probably have made the same decision to not do business with him. However, as far as members with very few posts, I am one of those members and would hope that would not have a negagive impact on other member's willingness to do business with me just because I am new to the site.

 

[Nightshade]

better to be safe than sorry.

 

[DieselScout]

The post count wouldn't have bothered me, but the rest of the details would have thrown up a red flag. To buy a firearm from, you're going to need to show me an Oregon DL and sign a bill of sale. If you can't meet those conditions, I don't need your money. Some people hang up on the bill of sale, but in my mind it protects both parties. I wouldn't make any large purchase without one.

 

[EMP9596]

I cannot find it now but the this site used to have a printable firearms bill of sale?

 

[deen_ad]

I cannot find it now but the this site used to have a printable firearms bill of sale?

I made my own, but I just got a new laptop on Thursday and it must be on the old one. I'll post it when I get home and find it.

 

[jjackffrost]

Remember law enforcement monitors post like these and to set you up selling an Evil Assault rifle would look good and help the anty gun nuts show one more reason to shut down person to person sells.

 

[Cougfan2]

I think you did the right think. That would have thrown up red flags for me as well.

 

[EMP9596]

Simple Firearms Bill of Sale.

 

[lamrith]

I AM new here and fully respect your decision. While I would hope with full ID and Documentation you would sell to a new member I fully appreciate your hesitance.

I find it surprising someone would question why there is need for id in a transaction like this, creepy is putting it mildly.

 

[Chromaflage]

Yup....no ID, no signed record of transfer....no sale. Period for me. Meet in a public place, preferably having more than just myself present. Record of transfer maintained in a special place...forever. Not paranoid, just covering both halves of my butt.

 

[jefe]

i've run into situations like that, and ones that were even more insane. for example, a while ago i was selling an sks. i received an email from an interested party, the email address username came up on google as an idaho mascot, the individual wanted to meet deep into eastern oregon, and proceeded to freak out at me when mentioned that a valid oregon id was required. the dude flipped out at me, started calling me names, etc.

another time (for the same rifle) someone from seattle contacted me. i told him "no," but he was persistent. eventually, he told me that ftf "long arm" transfers were legal across state lines. after rejecting again the individual was finally like "let's meet like in the old west and exchange guns." i thought to myself, "old west?" in both cases, one must think "all that trouble for a rifle i was selling for $325?" something fishy was definitely going on.

one last time, i received a phone call from someone in new jersey. at the time i was selling a cz52. he claimed that "money wasn't an issue," and that i could just send it to him through the mail in pieces. after i rejected his position (when i was able to get a word in, he wouldn't let me speak) he tells me his "cousin" worked at the fbi and that i could send his cousin the gun, and his cousin could sell it to him when his "additional permit" for another handgun was processed. because he made such a fuss, and because i was selling at my convenience, i offered to take the pistol off the market until we would be able to go about an ffl transfer. he rejected this. completely odd. lesson: never post your phone number on an ad.

these are delicate times. be observant and be firm about residency.

 

[CaughtSteelin]

Guess it depends. I have bought/sold firearms from people on here. If the firearm is in my name I will require a bill of sale. If I sold it to someone and it wasn't in my name or had a bill of sale from previously, I would just ask to see some form of ID and call it good. Or if they look shady, then no deal at all.

 

[Stomper]

COOL! I have a high post count, and around 20 positive feedbacks from deals done through here... I just don't want no steeenkin' SKS, and six AR's are enough for me.... HA HA!

 

[Spitpatch]

Go with your "Spidey Sense" everytime.

On the whole, I have had a great number of favorable experiences here, buying and selling. Only one bad one: I offered a very high quality gun, represented it as it was: new in the box, with some extras to sweeten the deal. Eventually, I got a nibble, we haggled a bit, and he made a "final offer". Said he'd send a check, hold the gun, he'd pick it up within two weeks. (Semi-local guy, 60 miles from me.)

I advised him that his offer was acceptable to me, but that I would not hold him to anything until we met face-to-face, and he saw the gun. (The dollar amout was substantial: 1500). Told him on his word he wanted it, I'd drop it off the market, hold it for him for two weeks (time to arrange a meet). At this dollar amount, I wanted everything above-board, did not want to take his money without him actually seeing the gun.

He called me out of the blue six days later, said he could be at my house the next day about noon. I said okay. He left a message from the road at 8:30 on my machine, showed at 9AM. (I had not checked messages.)

Seemed a nice enough guy, showed him the gun, and he said he needed about 4-5 more days to come up with the money (spidey sense kicks in heavy at this point). I knew he had some other guns for sale on the site, brought one with him he thought I might be interested in, said he had to sell one to buy mine. Thinking the best of people until proven otherwise, I said okay. I'd still hold th gun for him, off the market.

PM's me the next day, saying the mounts and rings I had with the gun were used, (I offered them in the ad as used: the new-in-box gun came with none), Said he saw a price on the box marked $1000. (As if I'd jacked him $500). What he'd seen was a sticky-label designating the gun as "one of 1000" with that particular barrel from the factory. None of his complaints could somehow be delivered face-to-face. I messaged him back correcting him on all, advising that I respected him for delivering me an education.

Go with your Spidey Sense everytime. I shoulda got off the boat with him when he showed with no confirmed notice at my home. (Or been the crahparse bastahd and taken his check and cashed it at the get-go.)

P.S.: The Browning's going back up on the Classifieds: the only B78 .45-70 new in the box in the nation. (It's taken me some time to get over this "education".)

 

[sharber13]

Hi, new here. I never gave this much thought, but you guys are right on. I think I will learn a lot of good habits from these forums, so thanks.

 

[orygun]

P.S.: The Browning's going back up on the Classifieds: the only B78 .45-70 new in the box in the nation. (It's taken me some time to get over this "education".)

Great. I'd hoped he would buy it so I wouldn't have to have pictures of that baby floating through my head at bedtime. I loved the one I had....

 

[RVTECH]

A recent sale of mine had the standard 'I'll takes its' and no call backs but a response from WA was a little odd. He said he would take it and would drive to Oregon to pick it up and sort of left handedly kept mentioning about how FTF was the way to go, etc and never mentioned the interstate issue. As soon as I sent him a message about having to transfer it legally he suddenly 'found one' in WA and would not be pursuing mine any longer. Either an LEO setup or he was hoping I would hand it over illegally.

 

[EMP9596]

If you don't feel comfortable with the buyer, it is best not to go forward on the deal.

Just say'n

 

[Cougfan2]

If you don't feel comfortable with the buyer, it is best not to go forward on the deal.

Just say'n

^ This!