Selling Guns and Accessories

[LOKNLOD]

I recently opened the can of worms and have shipped multiple guns to PFers this summer.

I found a local shop that charges me the transfer fee plus actual shipping to box it up and send it out for me.
The most I’ve paid was $45 and as little as $27.

In most cases, I showed up to their shop with the copy of the receiving FFL printed out, with the recipient’s name and number written on the back. Then I put a piece of masking tape on the gun box with their name and # as well.

In the odd case, the receiving FFL didn’t accept from individuals so they didn’t sent me their FFL direct, I had to broker my guys calling them and getting it. That one was a trade anyway so it worked out that mine needed to send info back.

Had I tried to send it myself, I got quotes of over $100 from UPS for their required method and it was also hard to find the real hub that would accept a gun (apparently just any old drop off won’t work?).

ETA:
I’ve had great luck buying and selling at PF but a kind member did PM me to say I should raise my price and post on Arfcom because of his good luck selling a similar item recently. So ARF is my next stop...

[ranger]

I buy and sell on Outdoors Trader (ODT) in Georgia.

[jh9]

I have a local FFL which can handle the paperwork and shipment. They charge $20, plus the cost of the shipment. Is that up to me? I've seen options including UPS and Fedex next day. Is there a benefit to using one or the other? I assume prices are fixed by Fedex, so I would know in advance.

I see some gun sales here say "price is shipped to your FFL". This may be a dumb question but that means I take care of the FFL outbound at my end, and shipment, and the buyer picks up the firearm after they pay their FFL their FFL fee?

If there's anything else about selling a gun I am missing, please fill me in.

TIA

You will finalize payment before the buyer sends you money. If you're cagey about what the fees are, gunbroker will side with the buyer. State it up front, in concrete terms.

It's your responsibility to determine the amount you want to charge for shipping and FFL fees on your end. You need to clearly communicate in the ad how much you will be adding on in terms of fees (shipping, etc). For convenience's sake, if you list an item you list it with 1) the cost of the gun which can vary depending on the final bid and 2) clearly and unambiguously state the cost of the "other shipping stuff". You will probably not know in advance exactly how much FedEx will charge you for next day air, for example. And maybe your FFL decides to charge $25 from today forward instead of $20. That's not on the buyer, that's on you.

So if you list an item for $0.01 and no reserve, with a shipping charge of $20? When the item sells for $100, you clearly and unambiguously communicate to the seller that you expect payment in the specified format (i.e. USPS money order) for $120. If fedex charges you $21.82, that extra $1.82 is your problem, not the buyer's. Your FFL charges an extra $5? Again. Your problem, not the buyer's. Once they send you the agreed upon payment, you need to deliver. Don't quibble over matters like "well, my FFL wants another $5 so you need to send me $5". That will not work out in your favor.

I use terms like "clearly and unambiguously" because man, that is going to make your gunbroker life ten thousand percent easier. Flakes and buyers remorse are their problem if you have correctly described the item and what you are charging for it. Under promise, over deliver.

[fatdog]

I think the price I end up with selling it for may be between the trade in, and the GB price............I have a local FFL which can handle the paperwork and shipment. They charge $20, plus the cost of the shipment. Is that up to me? I've seen options including UPS and Fedex next day. Is there a benefit to using one or the other? I assume prices are fixed by Fedex, so I would know in advance.

One thing if you sell on gunbroker, if you have no reputation, or feedback, which as a new seller you won't, you will not get the same price somebody with a good solid rep will. I am unwilling to ever bid on one where the seller has zero sales.

While I have been on GB for over 20 years and over 300 feedbacks (100%) positive, I think I still get more money selling through a consignment seller there who has a massive following. I believe my current consignment seller gets me 10-15% more than I would on my own simply because of her following and the people who pop in every week to see what she has for sale. Her sale ratings are over 11K transactions.

If you use a local FFL for the outbound shipment they can use USPS Priority Mail insured and ship FFL to FFL, you cannot. That is typically a savings of about 60-70% over what UPS or Fedex is going to charge you. Entirely worth the $20 in every case I can think of. Plus some receiving FFL's decide not to accept shipments from individuals, even though it is perfectly legal. For your local FFL to log it in and use USPS Priority Mail to ship, you are going to eliminate all the snags and save more than their $20 in transfer fee in terms of shipping.

I have heard of idiotic FFL's who will not use USPS Priority Insured for shipments, were I to encounter one I would move on and find one who does. In the FFL dealer search on Gunbroker you can find thousands of FFL's who are have registered with them and get the whole process, know how this is supposed to all work. At this point the more dialed in FFL's have become Gunbroker preferred dealers meaning their FFL is on file with gunbroker.

The way that works is as soon as the buyer has identified them as their local transfer dealer, their FFL copy is automatically sent to the seller, speeding up that step.

[jh9]

At this point the more dialed in FFL's have become Gunbroker preferred dealers meaning their FFL is on file with gunbroker.

Totally. There are some sellers and receiving FFLs that have the process so dialed in it's as close as you can get to amazon prime level convenience. My local FFL is basically someone I don't even interact with until I get the voicemail stating the gun I ordered is ready for pickup. That's buying from dealers and shipping to my dealer/FFL though.

Buying from or selling to individuals can still be a headache. Especially individuals who are new to the process and struggle with basic literacy like "USPS Money Order" means don't send cash in an envelope in the regular mail without tracking. Or can't differentiate between a "USPS Money Order" and a personal check which I will hold for two weeks. Or who can't seem to grasp what a tracking number is and wonder why their FFL hasn't called them to pick up their item and assume fraud is afoot even though I've clearly and unambiguously communicated that FedEx has verified the damn thing is sitting there in a box. All of which have happened to me. Because literacy is hard.

[OlongJohnson]

I have heard of idiotic FFL's who will not use USPS Priority Insured for shipments, were I to encounter one I would move on and find one who does. In the FFL dealer search on Gunbroker you can find thousands of FFL's who are have registered with them and get the whole process, know how this is supposed to all work. At this point the more dialed in FFL's have become Gunbroker preferred dealers meaning their FFL is on file with gunbroker.

The FFL I use is dialed in on the receiving end. They probably average five or ten per day, maybe more. There's usually a pile of empty shipping boxes that they haven't carried out to a dumpster yet.

They will not use USPS to ship out, though, as they have seen so much frackery with USPS inbound shipments. I once had USPS tracking show an item as delivered to them for 48 hours before it actually was delivered. And there's an ongoing thread on this site about ridiculousness with USPS Priority shipments.

My recollection is that UPS requires any firearm to be presented at a hub if you do not have an active shipping account at your location. FedEx has the same rule for handguns, but will accept long guns at FedEx retail locations.

[Joe in PNG]

Personally, and especially now, I just consign it at a local LGS, and let them deal with it. I'm not getting the full price for the gun, but I don't have to deal with a lot of crap either. Just wait a week or so, then pick up the check.

Plus, a few LGS are struggling for inventory right now, so they're often grateful for something to put on the shelves.

[Spartan1980]

Had I tried to send it myself, I got quotes of over $100 from UPS for their required method and it was also hard to find the real hub that would accept a gun (apparently just any old drop off won’t work?).

Yes you have to ship via a UPS Customer Center. I've only shipped via Fed Ex and they are just as bad cost wise. Going to a willing FFL is definitely the way to go. It's the same with shipping ammo, however once packaging and labeling requirements are met it's just a normal ground freight charge.

[OlongJohnson]

I've found that low-cost, common guns are causing me to lose my arse when I sell, or at least struggle to break even. Same way, to an extent, with accessories.

When I bought something special, cool and interesting, I'm doing much better when I go to sell it several years later. Another reason to buy quality. Or, buy once, cry once.

Also, on GB, set your auctions to last 14 days. Relist them automatically. I had a rifle with a reasonable starting bid that went a 14-day cycle with no bids. The second time around, two guys got into a bidding war and it went up hundreds of dollars. Give yourself a chance to have more interested/qualified buyers find the listing before it sells.

And then, once you've right-sized the contents of the safe, keep it that way. Which seems to be the hard part for some.

[Poconnor]

I have found it much cheaper and easier to ship guns via my FFL using the post office. I have bought many guns from gun broker. The only problems have been individuals (non FFLs) demanding a copy of FFL from my LGS. I always direct them to the ATFs online list of current FFLs. I wish gunbroker would update their FAQs