So I'm looking at a gun on Gunbroker. One dealer has 3 particular CPOs. Minimum bid is set at $799 for all three. All three auctions expire on Saturday. No one has bid on any of the three guns.

So can I just call up the dealer and buy the gun at the minimum bid price? Or if I call them, will they have a higher price? Or do I need to sign up for Gunbroker, which I am reluctant to do, just to get one of these?

It kind of depends.

The Seller can state that the weapons are for sale in their shop as well as on GB. Usually, once they get a bid (above their minimum, if there is one), the gun is no longer for sale in their store.

You can call them and ask if they will sell outside of GB.

I have bought and sold over 200 items on GB. I have only had one issue with a non-payer.

While there may be some here who do not like GB, it has been very good to me.

If the seller is an FFL holder, you have nothing to fear. Sign-up on GunBroker and place your bid. I have purchased several guns on GunBroker and my only scare was when I purchased from a civilian (non-FFL).

If the seller of the gun you are watching does not have a physical store front, he make be breaking the rules by making an outside deal.

Be smart: How many transactions does the dealer have? What are his ratings? Check him out on the ATF's FFL eZ-Check website.

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Great advice.

Just like Ebay, you can check a Sellers feedback.

I just bought a pretty nice 1911 on GB from a Seller who had over 1125 Positive, zero negative or neutral feedback.

1125 positive, without 1 negative? That is remarkable. I mean if i sold that many guns, I would probably run across 1 unhappy person.

They work very well. Buy from someone with good reviews and a physical store and you shouldn't ever have a problem.

I would call up the FFL and offer less. $799 is way too much for a CPO SIG unless it is a very high end model. As mentioned most guns are for sale via other methods. As unlike ebay there is no listing fee, so it costs them nothing to place and remove ads.

That is also the reason why the prices are so high, there is no motivation to ensure that the item sells before the listing ends.

Keep in mind that the seller must ship only to another FFL, so you have some coordination to do on your end, i.e. find a local dealer willing to receive and transfer the gun(s) you buy.

GB does offer a list of FFL's in your area who will handle a transfer.

I found one near where I work, who handles transfers for $15.00. That is the lowest I have ever found. Around here $25.00-$50.00 is pretty typical.

quote:

Originally posted by PPGMD:
I would call up the FFL and offer less. $799 is way too much for a CPO SIG unless it is a very high end model. As mentioned most guns are for sale via other methods. As unlike ebay there is no listing fee, so it costs them nothing to place and remove ads.

That is also the reason why the prices are so high, there is no motivation to ensure that the item sells before the listing ends.

It's a 1911 Tacops in .357, FWIW. My local shop just quoted me $1079, NIB. Factoring in shipping and transfer fees, still a savings of like $300 over new + tax. I'm sort of guessing their low round count.

It seems like no one wants them from this auction, since there are no bids on any of them. I figure why not just get it directly from the seller (an FFL) instead of going through GB if they'd end up taking my minimum bid.

Anywho, I'll call them tomorrow.

I don't play around with auctions on eBay or GB anymore, just search for the "Buy It Now" price and if it seems fair to you, press the button. Easy and no games involved.

I have seen guns on GB and called/contacted sellers and purchased several without dealing with the auction. Purchased for lower than listed on a couple and very fair on those that had the ".99" starting price.

All of them had no active bids.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I don't play around with auctions on eBay or GB anymore, just search for the "Buy It Now" price and if it seems fair to you, press the button. Easy and no games involved.

Same with me. My father loved auctions, but that trait skipped a generation. I buy, or I don't buy... there is no try.

I think many of the guns on GB are not really auctions. They are just ads. Oh, you can bid, but most have a starting price and then a reserve and a buy it now price. How is that an auction. Heck you can go to a dealer and make an offer, without anybody to outbid you. I have bought some from them, but most are not true auctions.
If you buy from an individual, and win an actual auction, you can send your money to his FFL. I called the guys FFL and told him to keep the money I sent until He received my money and he only released that money when he got the gun to send. It worked fine.

Take this with a grain of salt, but with 18 years in the firearms industry, if you want to realize the best price for your item and have a true auction, you set the reserve to 0 and let her rip. Otherwise, put an ad in the classifieds.

Auctions are not your enemy unless you do something stupid.

I've won a few guns for less than would have been willing to pay outright. Way pay more than you need to.

I've bought over 6 guns from gunbroker. They were all as described and as nice or nicer than the pictures. All deals were easy peasy. Hard to find guns that I would've never found locally. Just make sure the person has a decent amount of good reviews.

I love Gun Broker My wife is not so fond...

It cost me $1 when I registered. All of my purchases have gone through flawlessly.

I only deal with licensed FFLs who will accept a credit card, or preferably use the Gun Broker checkout. Some sellers will charge a 3% fee for credit cards.

If the seller has a minimum bid but no reserve, you may get it at that price. Watch the shipping cost, some sellers charge much more than cost. Realize that you must pay your local FFL. But you save your state sales tax.

I have no issue buying through Gunbroker, but if the seller has a shop, by all means call them up. If he has three guns listed with no bids, then that should be telling him his starting bid is too high. Personally I'd offer less than what his current minimum bid is.

Gave them a call and they sold to me directly.

Very pleasant interaction with The Sportsman's Loft in Minot, ND, not to mention no CC fee and not outrageous shipping. It's nice to find a gun shop that actually has good customer service!

All too often people put a ridiculous reserve price on their bids. Most of the time the reserve is higher than other sellers buy it now price. If the gun was something really special that couldn't be found elsewhere I'd message them and make an offer.
I've found things on eBay and I didn't want to mess around and wait on bidding, so I'd just ask to buy it. Its worked every time.