Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Buying and selling on the campfire classifieds

Can anyone help me with the procedures for buying and selling guns on the campfire classifieds.
I'm interested but not sure how to go about it. any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Steve

A good honest description of the item.
Good clear pictures.
If shipping is included in the price list it.
Any other relevant information about the item.
Keep up good communications with the buyer/potential buyers.

drover

Let's start here.....IF YOU ARE BUYING:

Simply post on the thread that has the item you want to buy....."I'll take it"
Then send the person that is selling, a Private Message explaining that you want to buy the item he has listed. He will coach you through the process as there are many ways to do the two things required.
1.payment for the item you want to buy
a. personal check
b. USPS Money order
c. credit card
d. Pay Pal
e. other

2. providing the seller a copy of the licensed FFL holder you want the item shipped to.
a. hard copy mailed snail mail
b. emailed copy
c. Faxed

I usually put a hard copy of the FFL paper and the USPS Money Order in a single envelope and snail mail them together.

I've done this a great many times and have never been shafted....NEVER!

pretty good for sellers. Let me add a couple points ASSUMING YOU ARE SELLING A FIREARM:
Do not ship anything until you receive payment and an FFL document. Then ship only to the FFL holder along with info as to who the buyer is.

The rules are different for handguns than long guns.....maybe someone can explain that along with what can be shipped USPS, FED-X, and UPS

Also, I’m not sure if there is a law regarding this, but the last time I sold a gun on the “fire” I got a call from the receiving FFL tearing me a new one and threatening to send it back since I hadn’t included a copy of my drivers license.

Look out for Larry Root!

I would add to all the above advice that if you are trying to buy an item and you want to make an offer on that item, send it via pm and not on the open forum. I find offers made in the open forum to be in poor form and believe it to be more mannerly to negotiate in private, rather than in the public square.

As a side note. Many FFL won't send a copy of their license. However, you can get their EZ-check number and provide that to the seller. I've done that on the last couple of buys. Just check before hand the seller is okay with that.

If a seller's ad doesn't say anything about offers good form would be to ask via PM what his/her best price would be. I recently had a buyer offer 40% less than my asking price in an effort to discern the least that I'd take for my item.

Other suggestions if you are the seller:

1) if you do NOT know how to manage photo files, take the time to do a little research and learn how - make sure you can edit your photo files to meet the CF file size requirement AND that you know how to transfer them to your posting here. Nothing pisses a buyer off more than having to send a seller a text so he can send him a cell-phone pic. I've gotten so tired of that, I don't respond to listings that don't have pics. The convenience here is for the buyer not the seller.

2) Adequately describe what you are selling in your listing's title; for instance, don't just put "Rem 700 For Sale" - instead state, "Rem 700 30-06 BDL" for sale. Another: don't say "bullets for sale" instead at least list "308 bullets for sale"; better would be "308 150gr-bullets for sale". The buyer should not have to open your post just to see what you are selling.

3) Asking someone to send you a USPS moneyorder is much more difficult these days. For us seniors, the statistical risk of covid infection truly is a life or death consideration. I'll be damned if I'm going to stand in a line for 20-minutes in my po-dunk little post office where there's no space for 'social distancing' . There are other methods of transferring funds (in over ten years, I've never had issues with PP although in the early days, others did). If nothing else, offer the option of taking a personal check with an obligatory wait time for funds clearing before shipping.

Just my 2-cents worth and yeah, they're my pet peaves also

Not being a dealer and having shipped many guns to FFLs, I've never shipped to one that didn't require this. When I receive a gun my FFL requires a drivers license as well and he will not accept the transfer without one. It should be made clear before the gun is shipped though.

Clearly if you are buying out of state - use a FFL, and follow the rules they tell you about because the people who inspect them enforce those rules.

The rest is buyer beware, and be a good seller - pictures, descriptions, ship fast,.. most people wait until a person has hundreds if not thousands of posts, and good trades before they will take the risk of buying big items from a person.

"2) Adequately describe what you are selling in your listing's title; for instance, don't just put "Rem 700 For Sale" - instead state, "Rem 700 30-06 BDL" for sale. Another: don't say "bullets for sale" instead at least list "308 bullets for sale"; better would be "308 150gr-bullets for sale". The buyer should not have to open your post just to see what you are selling."

I would add to Offshoreman's excellent advice on this to NOT just list the manufacturer's model #, as in Hornady #3520. That can prevent confusion on the EXACT bullet, but you'll get more traffic and sell 'em quicker if you also mention that the bullet is their 250-grain .358 Interlock Spire Point. The more effort it takes to find out exactly what you're selling (or want to buy) the fewer views you'll get.

And yes, mention exactly what the bullets (or scope, rifle, etc.) in the header, not just the body of the text, and whether you want to sell them or buy them. Not just "Rem 700"....

As a side note, be aware that scammers use internet classifieds to separate you from your hard earned money. Due diligence and a hefty dose of common sense are required when buying or selling on internet sites.

Selling is an art.

My son is a full time eBay seller, does very well. Well enough to give up a computer analyst job after 10 years with a Fortune 500 company.

He's a stickler for quality photos, full description, enough info to draw a buyer into his post.

Just think, if you're cruising the Classifieds, what makes you pause and take a second look...

Gotta make the presentation interesting, informative and alluring. To compete, you must be competitive....

DF

What does he sell?

He's into holsters, sunglasses, scopes, some archery stuff, etc..

Here's a hint on how he feels about the 2A. https://www.ebay.com/str/pro2asolutions

DF


Edited to add the eBay link to the 4200 2.5-10x50 Firefly scope discussed on the .358 Win thread. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/15243702#Post15243702

Do yourself a favor. If you are selling, at least briefly identify that which you are selling. For example. If you are selling a Browning Hells Canyon Speed 308, at least have that in your title rather than "Rifle for Sale". People doing an internet search of "Hells Canyon Speed 308 for sale" will find your ad. They will not find your ad if you have entitled it "Rifle for Sale". Additionally, someone perusing the forum seeking your rifle may just scan right over the thread entitled "Rifle for Sale".

To follow up on the above eBay post, the 4200 2.5-10x50 Firefly just sold for $465 plus $9.99 postage. It was from a counter offer that was accepted.

Now, I thought the scope was over priced, but evidently not by that much. The market was tested and a buyer was quickly found.

Selling is an art; marketing is, too.

DF

Over communicate. Remember the buyer is sending his money for an item that at best, he has seen photos of. This is an environment where fraud is common if good common sense is not followed. I always provide my address and my cell number to the buyer or seller I am working with so that I can be reached if anything goes wrong, and would expect the same from them. I try to ship quickly when I receive the funds and I let the other party know at each step. I tell them when I recieve the money, when I ship the item etc. Over communicate things so the person on the other end of the agreement has some comfort in the transaction.