Payments on out of state firearms purchases

[simonov jr]

How do you safely pay an out of state seller you don’t know for a firearm? I don’t like the idea of blindly sending certified funds to someone and hoping the hardware shows up as promised at my local gun store. Is there an escrow service that handles transactions like this? Are there other mechanisms?

[Aguila Blanca]

I use U.S. Postal Service money orders, transmitted through the mail. The recourse is that, if the seller defaults and doesn't send the firearm, you can turn the postal inspectors loose and the person can be charged with mail fraud, which is a federal criminal offense.

[RaySendero]

1) Talk to seller on phone. Listen for signs that he's legit.
2) USPS money order.

[FITASC]

Deal with legit folks. If buying from an online auction site or similar, look at their feedback;m then follow up with a call

[dogtown tom]

.

simonov jr How do you safely pay an out of state seller you don’t know for a firearm?

Use an escrow service. Any other form of payment means trusting that the seller will actually ship what you purchased.

I don’t like the idea of blindly sending certified funds to someone and hoping the hardware shows up as promised at my local gun store.

Then online sales may not be for you. Whether GunBroker, Ebay or the WTS section of this forum, buying requires some amount of risk.

You minimize that risk by checking the sellers feedback from previous and recent sales.

Is there an escrow service that handles transactions like this?

Yes. GunBroker has links to escrow services

Are there other mechanisms?

No payment method guarantees you will get what you think you are buying. Some payment methods, like credit cards, offer buyer protection or the ability to do a charge back.

[dogtown tom]

Aguila Blanca I use U.S. Postal Service money orders, transmitted through the mail. The recourse is that, if the seller defaults and doesn't send the firearm, you can turn the postal inspectors loose and the person can be charged with mail fraud, which is a federal criminal offense.

Any form of payment, including gum wrappers, if mailed USPS, can be prosecuted as mail fraud...not just USPS money orders.

[Panamaszr12]

I recently went threw this. I used USPS money orders yes the person was a fraud. I did everything but use an escrow service. Yes they caught the person and he currently is in prison after a year, but as for money, Usps doesn’t cover this kind of fraud. I will never recommend Usps ever period. So what if the person goes to jail. In the end I lost my money went through a ton of hassles. The only way I may ever see a penny is if my renters insurance pays me, or maybe someday once he is out of prison he has to pay restitution, Lmao. A life long criminal pay restitution.

[KyJim]

I recently went threw this. I used USPS money orders yes the person was a fraud. I did everything but use an escrow service. Yes they caught the person and he currently is in prison after a year, but as for money, Usps doesn’t cover this kind of fraud. I will never recommend Usps ever period. So what if the person goes to jail. In the end I lost my money went through a ton of hassles. The only way I may ever see a penny is if my renters insurance pays me, or maybe someday once he is out of prison he has to pay restitution, Lmao. A life long criminal pay restitution.

Not sure why you should expect the post office to make good on your bad decision. That ultimately puts the risk of loss largely on the taxpayers. I don't mean to be critical, but that's not what money orders are for. They are more for the protection of the person receiving the money order and they help facilitate the transfer of money for those without checking accounts.

Traditionally, credit cards have offered protection by allowing the card holder to contest a charge in writing within 30 days of billing. I don't use PayPal and other, more recent forms of money transfers. They may have their own fraud protection systems.

I will say that the threat of prison reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of fraud.

[Ignition Override]

simonov jr.

My latest purchase (Gunbroker) had A+ feedback on over 3,000 items.
Even he preferred Postal Money Orders. This method apparently is growing, as the preferred, even the only method chosen by sellers.

[FITASC]

Most prefer that to bank cashier checks as those are easily printed on a computer. Credit card typically get an extra 3% tacked on and a USPS MO can be cashed when he takes the package to the PO to mail

[KEYBEAR]

For Years i bought and sold high end Trap Guns . All the guns i sold were used and still had a good size price tag . I never had a problem but was lucky but did my home work . I only sold to trap shoots and must belong to the ATA so i could check the buyer out .

[Hawg]

I have always used USPS money orders but the last time I used one the sellers bank put it on hold for 7 business days. I asked why he didn't cash it at the PO and he said he tried to but the PO said they didn't have enough cash in the cash drawer at the time. It finally cleared but the extra wait was a PITA.

[zplinker]

I just did a small transaction with one of our members, and had him use paypal. Quick and positive. Then we both know where things are. I guess I don't know what his options would be, if I didn't ship, or something.