Do not do business with AK-47man.com or 5280 Armory

[drifter2be]

Just to clarify these two entities are the same company, and operate through gunbroker.com under the ak-47man username.

I am going through hell with my GB.com account because of these people.

I had intended to purchase a firearm though them on gunbroker, did the buy it now option, received an email the next day with an attachment that they were requiring me to fill out and fax to complete the purchase. These people are stupid enough to expect me to fax them a form with both my I.D. and Credit Card photocopied to the sheet in order to complete the purchase? They gave me some BS about needing to verify that I could own a gun...umm, thats why the gun gets shipped to a dang FFL dealer before I can take possession of it. and wtf is up with needing a photocopy of my credit card? The whole thing stunk of them being able to do a little identity theft with the kind of information they were requesting. I have NEVER been asked for that kind of information from a seller on gunbroker and have purchased well over a dozen firearms through gunbroker in the past.

Well, seems that GB is deciding to side with these clowns, tentatively. I am in the process of fighting it but my account was suspended as a non-paying bidder. They claim that it was in the terms...I have read them through 3 times along with having two friends sift through the terms of the auction as well...nowhere to be found...and that if I didn't like that option there was the option to pay via money order...which I already stated that I never do because it leaves me zero recourse with a seller if they decide to screw me over. I only bid or purchase on auctions that allow CC payment. It isn't my fault that the seller decided to wait until after the auction to add additional terms to the purchase process.

Maybe I am missing something here? Am I in the wrong for standing my ground on not wanting to unnecessarily dole out personal and sensitive data to a company I don't know?

I did check out both 5280 Armory and for the heck of it Gunbroker.com on the BBB's website and they both have D ratings. Figures, shady birds of a feather will flock together.

I think regardless of what happens here I am finished with gunbroker. I will push to get my account cleared, because I don't feel it is right to have something negative to my name when I feel I was clearly in the right on this.

Anyway, that is my story, hopefully it stops someone from making the same mistake I did in dealing with ak-47man/5280 armory.

[dyson]

I thought usps will investigate if you get ripped off by money orders. They can track who cashed it.

[drifter2be]

If that is what you are honing in on you obviously missed the fact that they expected me to fax them a photocopy of my I.D. and credit card.

[Cap'n_1308]

The unfortunate thing is people fall for these scams everyday, good looking out and standing your ground, I will make sure to make a note of the sellers name.

Thanks again
Robert

[Fatgunman]

If that is what you are honing in on you obviously missed the fact that they expected me to fax them a photocopy of my I.D. and credit card.

If you give them a photocopy of your ID and CC, how is that different than just giving the info over the phone like your name, CC#, billing address, etc. I think you may have overreacted a tiny bit, but if they have a BBB rating of a D....maybe you saved yourself a headache of some type.

[BigPimping]

Not one red cent. This screams fraud and identity theft.

[Zedrek]

I don't have much faith in the BBB. Gunbroker.com's rating is low because they didn't respond to some of the complaints filed through the BBB. Also, according to Wikipedia, companies can "buy" a higher rating:

Criticism[edit]

In 2010 ABC's 20/20 reported in a segment titled "The Best Ratings Money Can Buy" about the irregularities in BBB ratings.[24] They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received A+ ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee. They also reported that business owners were told that the only way to improve their rating was by paying the fee. In one case a C was turned to an A immediately after a payment and in another case a C‑minus became an A+. Chef Wolfgang Puck said that some of his businesses receive F's because he refuses to pay a fee. Ritz Carlton, which does not belong either, also receives Fs for not responding to its complaints.[23]
In response, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has stated the BBB ratings system will cease awarding points to businesses for being BBB members.[25] The national BBB's executive committee voted to address the public’s perception of the ratings system. It voted that the BBB ratings system would no longer give additional points to businesses because they are accredited. It voted to implement a system to handle complaints about BBB sales practices. [26] Despite the vote, the BBB website still states that points are taken away if accreditation is lost.[27][28]
In Canada, the CBC News reported in 2010 that Canadian BBBs were downgrading the ratings scores of businesses who stopped paying their dues. For example, a moving business who had an A rating and had been a BBB member for 20 years, dropped to a D‑minus rating when they allegedly no longer wanted to pay dues.[29]
BBBs have been accused of unduly protecting companies. If a branch does not act reasonably on behalf of a consumer, a complaint may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission. However, recent reports have suggested that the Austin chapter of the Better Business Bureau refused to resolve complaints against companies if customers do not pay a $70 mediation fee.[30]

If you are concerned about identity theft then you should either use a postal money order or a prepaid credit card.

[BKinzey]

While I think you are right I'm not sure how big of a deal it is.

Are they an FFL? If they are, wouldn't you be giving this info if you bought it at your LGS? In fact, if you use a credit card to pay your FFL for the transfer charges you will be giving him this exact info.

ETA:
If you are concerned, then picking up a pre-paid CC is an excellent idea.

[The Gleam]

If that is what you are honing in on you obviously missed the fact that they expected me to fax them a photocopy of my I.D. and credit card.

Over the last 15 years or so, I've been asked to do this a few times by Gunbroker or GunsAmerica sellers. More often back when the internet marketplace for firearms was still somewhat "new" rather than now (such as 1997 - 2002) and payment transfer services were in their infancy (at a time when Paypal was still allowing, even promoting, transfers for payment on firearms before Ebay bought them).

And I did; nothing came of it. I did ask them to confirm that the fax receipt end was secured and not just anyone had access to lift off the fax from their machine (i.e., temp emloyees or such) and that they destroyed the information after verifying (shredding).

They said they did. I trusted them. Again, nothing came of it other than I got the gun I bought shipped to my FFL faster. if they are a long-time seller with good feedback, you'll likely be OK.