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may be a dumb question..

I often see listings wanting to TRADE .. and the listings often languish while a seller waits for some who wants their particular gun, who has something they want. Why not just sell it ( opens you up to a larger potential group of buyers ) .. then shop for the item you want with the cash in hand ?

I assume each side of the transaction has to conduct / pay for the FFL transfer of the firearm coming into their hands.. so no savings there..

Is there an advantage besides wanting to avoid two separate trips to meet people at an FFL ?

just curious .. tnx !
 
may be a dumb question..

I often see listings wanting to TRADE .. and the listings often languish while a seller waits for some who wants their particular gun, who has something they want. Why not just sell it ( opens you up to a larger potential group of buyers ) .. then shop for the item you want with the cash in hand ?

I assume each side of the transaction has to conduct / pay for the FFL transfer of the firearm coming into their hands.. so no savings there..

Is there an advantage besides wanting to avoid two separate trips to meet people at an FFL ?

just curious .. tnx !
Some guns are hard to find so maybe they are willing to wait for that specific one?
 
They do this in hopes someone will present what they want specifically and or hope someone else will want what they have really bad and offer up something greater in exchange.

You'd be surprised what people will trade for things they want.

Lately when I trade I do it at MK tactical because of how close it is to me and I'll even eat the trade fee. Yes I know cut above is cheaper but I hate it's location so much.
 
Sometimes a trade will get you what you want that can't be bought like small pistol primers for something you can get rid of and at somewhat other than full exploitation values.
 
The few times I've entertained a potential 'trade this for that' a number of complicating issues arose making such a venture very clumsy & complex. Now not just ONE but BOTH firearms have to clear the paperwork & a small glitch in either side can add hours or days to completion.

Add in the factor IF you both are not exactly local to the FFL site that adds another layer of timing & being able to modify everybody's schedule accordingly.
 
I always doubted the success of a trade-only ad. If the item desired requires a known price on the market, why not price the item for sale accordingly so that if it sells it will pay for the purchase of the desired item? In the end everyone can make their own decisions.
 
I think a lot of people are trying to avoid price gouging either on a buy or sell. Say you want small rifle primers and happen to have an excess of small pistol primers. Rather than sell your small pistol primers $125/1000 so you can pay another person $125/1000 for small rifle primers, you offer up an even swap.

I've seen a lot of these ads for reloading components as well as ammunition.
 
Why not just sell it ( opens you up to a larger potential group of buyers )
Well, yes - if you are just 'selling' it that would open it up to to just potential 'buyers' but there would not necessarily be more buyers than those if it were listed as 'trade only' or a combination of both.

Example - I currently have a gun up for trade or sell and trade offers have vastly outnumbered cash offers.
 
Since you can't list something for sale here without posting a set price, you can conversely set up an ad looking for trades and/or best cash offer.
That way you're not in violation of the forums rules.
 
Trading is a more affordable way of getting a specific item you want without having to go to the bank. People tend to have a good variety of trade stock. Sometime better then the local store or big box. If you are patient enough you may find some good trade offers. If you want it now and you are not willing to wait then I suggest you sell and see if you can find what you are looking for on Gunbroker or sites similar too it.
 
I have family members who "smell" when I have money, and try their best to spend it for me. Trades help to fend this off, without a hammer and shovel.

I also find it funny when Iist an item for sale, someone always asks me if I am willing to take trades. I always answer "yes". And almost always get radio silence after that. Same when I give someone a cash price, when my ad is a for trade ad.
 
The few times I've entertained a potential 'trade this for that' a number of complicating issues arose making such a venture very clumsy & complex. Now not just ONE but BOTH firearms have to clear the paperwork & a small glitch in either side can add hours or days to completion.

Add in the factor IF you both are not exactly local to the FFL site that adds another layer of timing & being able to modify everybody's schedule accordingly.

I responded tho a WTS/WTT ad, an Ishapore 2A1 listed at $425. I contacted the seller to see if he'd be interested in a Savage 69 RXL ex-cop shotty. I had a hunnerd bucks into it. He said "sure", but we were 100 miles apart. We made arrangements to meet at some common location. In Kali there's a 10 day wait, so you have to make 2 trips, Still worth it to me... but the Kali DOJ has a "Delay Delivery" clause if triggered. That ended up happening to me and the seller had to ship to my local FFL. Added another $135 to the deal, shipping & DROS. I still came out OK, but it would have been a killer deal for me other wise.

I responded to another WTT recently. Auto Ordnance Thompson for an FN49. It's still cookin. PAX
 
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Hey I saw one ad where the guy wanted to trade 6 boxes of CCI 115 gr Blazer Brass 9mm for an Eotech or Holosun RDS
And it appears he made the deal:confused:
Someone was desperate enough to trade a $350+ optical sight for what was $50 worth of ammo.:s0092:
 
If you're not in a rush, it's a great way to get what you may like when it's otherwise unavailable.

I traded an Armalite AR10 that I bought new for $900 to someone for a .308 Ruger scout topped with QD Leupold rings and a Leupold FX-II 2.5x LER scope. He threw in a soft case and 5 mags, too. The guy really wanted an AR-10 and while semi-auto is fun, I enjoy shooting bolts more. Already had another semi-auto .308 so it was redundant anyway.

At the time, (mid 2020) if I bought the rifle, it was available only on gunbroker for $1200. No scope or rings.

If I sold my rifle and went shopping, it's extremely unlikely that I could afford the package I received in trade, even more unlikely that I could find it.

Patience pays off.

Interestingly, on another topic, the guy had a California license only. After researching the ORS, I found that there was no requirement to have a state id. Just a government issued photo id and proof of residence. Only retailers require state id because they're not begging for business and don't want potential liability issues.
 
Because trading gets you into some really cool deals sometimes.
I've definitely gotten some good deals in trades here are some examples:

Traded UZI for AK + I got $300 cash.,it sounds like an ok deal but I got the UZI CHEAP.

Rock Island GI in .45 for Taurus PT92(basically a Beretta but with the safety in the right spot)

CZ 40B for Walther PPK/s

Glock 26 for EAA Witness 10mm(Wonder finish model, fullsize 15 rd mags)

Three of these trades were made before SB941, IE: the golden age of gun trading in Oregon. It's ok now but back then it wasn't uncommon for me to post a for trade ad and get interesting trade offers in the first hour or so. Anyone who was trading back then knows it was pretty awesome pre-SB941.
 
It could just be a method to circumvent the "must name a stated price" rule.

Example:

Say that I have a rifle that I wish to get rid of. I'm in no real hurry to sell it but If I say that the price is X, someone might just buy it. Maybe, I left some money on the table....priced it too low. OMG......that was dumb of me.

BUT.....
If I say that I'll TRADE/make me an offer of what you got. I could sit and wait for the offers to roll in. Maybe, there might just be something that I'm interested in. Or maybe....there will be someone asking "What's the cash price?"

So then......essentially......I could have an auction. Cause, when you let the forum know that you might just take money......well, offers are now pouring in.

Well......maybe just in my own wet dreams. Whatever.:s0092:

Aloha, Mark

PS....don't get me wrong.....TRADING can work. I'm NOT 100% against it.
 
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I've never been much of a trader myself, either. I'm not opposed to it; it's just that they're so often one sided.

I'm pretty picky about what I buy. I rarely ever buy anything without thinking about it for a long time first, and almost never get rid of anything. I've had offers for trade on occasion, but it seems they're always to my disadvantage. It's irritating to have someone who appears seriously interested in something you have for sale, only to have them offer you a $300 gun for your $500 gun, and act like they're doing you a favor. Some guys seem to think that a trade is a great opportunity to rip someone off.

On the other hand, I did trade for some primers a few months back. I had plenty of small rifle primers, but low on small pistol. Someone was selling some small rifle here for a decent price, so I bought them, planning to just use them for 9mm (not ideal, but it seems to work fine). A couple weeks later someone else posted small pistol primers, wanting to trade for small rifle. That worked out very nicely for both of us. :)
 

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