Gunbroker.com Safe?

[Phil3]

Is www.gunbroker.com generally considered a safe way to conduct business? I will be primarily buying non-FFL parts, but may buy a pistol or two this way. Most stuff may be AR type parts, scopes, etc.

- Phil

[wooger]

Sure it is.

[mblat]

Yes...... I think it is rates better than gunsamerica for safety, however general rules for buying on internet apply.
if deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't
check for feedback
don't buy from sellers with bad feedback - there WILL be another item EXACTLY like this.
talk to seller. call him if you can. send and request emails. ask for real address. use escrow services......
check sellers name on internet and eps. related message boards. Believe it or not, but this simple rule has saved me once. I decided not to buy the rifle and three month later read about deal gone very bad - exactly the same action, same seller.....

normal internet staff...... I've bought three or four items from gunbroker - all without the problems...... but I've heard of some that did.

[Fate]

Good advice so far. If they've sold before, view the bid history of their auctions and see if there's often a NR bidder who often bids up the auction. Could be signs of a shill, especially if the item gets relisted due to "failure to pay."

The slightest bad feedback is a huge red flag in my book and I'll walk away. Often bad feedback isn't left, even if deserved, in fear of retaliatory bad feedback. So figure that it goes unreported 1/2 to 3/4 of the time. Thus 1 or 2 negatives could actually represent a lot more problems.

As a buyer and seller I've had good experiences.

[tierod]

i have bought 6 or 7 rifles off gb never had a problem but check sellers good before buying

[Spyder]

Never had an issue. Spent thousands there. Just be careful, like everyone says. No different than ebay. Easy to screw the buyer if they really want to. I've bought and sold a lot and so far haven't had any bad news to report.

[bplvr]

Ask every question you can think of. If the ad says "all matching" ,
is it stamp matched or electro-pencil ? You get the idea....
I have NEVER had a problem on Auction Arms. They seem to screen better than GB and if there is an issue I notice that they cancel the sellers account .
A.A. seems to be more 'down homesy' than GB .I have spoke to sellers for hours and had a really enjoyable time ,and picked up some good tips.
I was burned on gay-bay twice ,but NEVER on A.A. I currently have an ongoing issue with 2 sellers on GB who refuse to give me a "Bill of Sale" - J.M.H.O.

[rayra]

'safe'?
caveat emptor.
Use the same precautions as you would with eBay.

[damndave]

very safe. got my kimber from there and have sold things also

[HowardW56]

Is www.gunbroker.com generally considered a safe way to conduct business? I will be primarily buying non-FFL parts, but may buy a pistol or two this way. Most stuff may be AR type parts, scopes, etc.

- Phil

I've never had a problem...