Gunbroker Unscrupulous Sellers

[Jedidiah]

During the liquidation of my late BILs estate we learned some hard lessons about bad Buyers. Some bid for fun and never pay. They use excuse after excuse and even send repetitive emails asking if the check they never sent has arrived. Then there's the parts swappers who send item back after exchanging their broken parts back for your good ones. The worst are the false damage claimers. Some ask for 50% refunds without providing pics or anything -- When that fails they threaten to leave bad feedback. Lastly those who do not honor the terms of sale insisting on PPFF, Venmo or personal checks when offer states these are not accepted. Most all wind up on the blocked bidder list and having accts disabled.

Yes, but sometimes you have to go through a lot og %^%$#@* to get you item or money back and that should not happen,but it does. I used GB to buy and sell and after one or two episodes with a bad buyer and a bad seller, i said No More!

 

[vintovka]

Yes, but sometimes you have to go through a lot og %^%$#@* to get you item or money back and that should not happen,but it does. I used GB to buy and sell and after one or two episodes with a bad buyer and a bad seller, i said No More!

I agree but I have always tried to treat buyers as we would want to be treated. Usually feedback tells the tale. Those willing to abuse and defraud both buyers and sellers deserve what they get.

 

[Chmachin]

I sell many more guns on GB than I do here (simply a much larger audience). Same user name. Customers can always contact me here. I back up everything I sell. Yes, I've been burned by a couple of sellers there. One was a police chief with an FFL! Operation Two Alpha LLC. Daniel White.
Dave

Good to meet you. I believe that I have bought from you before and am actually watching some of your stuff right now.

 

[R Ellis]

Good to meet you. I believe that I have bought from you before and am actually watching some of your stuff right now.

AZ Muzzleloaders is top shelf you can trust him and a super nice man to deal with

 

[Sparks of Dutch Glory]

I have only bought a few things on GB. I do more window shopping than anything. I recently (2/16) snapped up a Made in USA CVA Mountain for what I think is a steal. I bought and paid for it right away. I have sent the seller an email and not a peep and it hasn't marked as being shipped. He did remark in the listing that he was a Police Officer full time and an FFL part time. So I can understand that. How long should I wait before I call him? My thoughts are if you list something and a buyer pays you promptly, then you should correspond and ship promptly. Heck I would have the thing boxed up already and all I would have to do when it sold was print a lablel and drop it off or have it picked up.

I was watching that rifle and chickened out at the last minute

 

[vintovka]

I was watching that rifle and chickened out at the last minute

May have been a smart move on your part!! Buyers who detect the slightest sign of a scam should move on ASAP. Conversely many sellers now immediately use bid blocking controls to protect themselves against scam buyers. I under stand larger net sites have implemented a sort of social screening that restricts both parties based on feedback.

 

[Jim in San Diego]

I bought a 50 caliber hawken on GB years ago when I decided to get back into it.

The pictures made it look used, but in good condition.

When I checked the touch hole, the entire channel was plugged beyond repair. I bought replacement parts, but finally threw it in the trash out of frustration.

It wasn’t worth fixing.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I was watching that rifle and chickened out at the last minute

Well, I'm thinking I should have too. Let me explain. The seller did call me back and he shipped out the rifle today. The two barrel wedges are missing and he told me on the phone he has not looked down the bore, YEAH RIGHT! He also said he tried to get the breech plug out but gave up because he didn't want to ruin the finish on the barrel. Uhh OK. We will see what it looks like when I get it here. If the bore is bad I'll have it re bored, hopefully I can save it. And I can easily fit some wedges.

 

[vintovka]

The mention of removing the plug alone would give me pause. Arn't CVA plugs essentially cross pinned by the drum?

 

[rrebuck]

I've used Gunbroker with reasonable success but I must admit I've been burned a time or two also. I look over ads closely and ask questions. Sometimes I get a response other times none, in which case I don't bid.

Currently there is a decent looking T/C Hawken, caplock model, being advertised as having an aftermarket .54 Green Mountain barrel. It seems Green Mountain aftermarket barrels bring a premium which to many might make this gun more attractive and likely sell for more than a gun with a factory barrel. The problem with this particular gun is the barrel left Green Mountain as a .50 but has been rebored to .54. It's fairly obvious since the zero in the .50 marked on the barrel has been over stamped with a 4 and the crowning on the barrel is not correct. So, I asked the question and was told the seller doesn't know history on the gun. I had bought a very nice early T/C Hawken from this guy a few years back but he didn't photograph the butt plate or disclose it was badly corroded. I suggested to him he update the description to let potential bidders know it was a rebore. His response, I'm permanently blocked from his auctions. Like I really care. Believe me, this guy knows what he's selling.

I ran across another seller I'd never done business with over a month ago advertising a Lyman Trade Rifle assembled from a kit by a gunsmith with a starting bid of $2,500. I asked if the starting bid was a mistake and might really be $250. His response, "your blocked", that was it, the only words in his response. He's since reduced his starting bid to $1,900 and the gun is still for sale. Good luck selling that piece.

Full disclosure, I was a little rough on the guy trying to pass off the rebored Green Mountain barrel having been burned by him before.

I watch Gunbroker pretty much daily but I rarely buy anymore. It's pretty interesting to see some of the guns that are misrepresented as to condition. The one that really gets me is "unfired" or "unfired condition" when it obvious from the photographs its untrue. I guess it's just a buyer beware situation.

Use extreme caution when shopping on Gunbroker. You're likely way safer buying here.

I've never had a bad experience with purchases from gunbroker, but I just found another site hibid.com that is an auction aggregator and shows items from many auction sites, but not just guns.

 

[Duk]

back about 6 months ago I bought a t/c hawken 32'' barrel when it arrived the ramrod was broken i contacted the seller and he made it right

 

[Ditt44]

I've never had a bad experience with purchases from gunbroker, but I just found another site hibid.com that is an auction aggregator and shows items from many auction sites, but not just guns.

I have purchased from Hibid without initial issue a few times. The site is legit enough but you need to know that the item you are bidding on may be listed on numerous other sites, as you said, it's an aggregator.

The single biggest issue of buying through a broker or even directly from an auction house is shipping.... CALL THEM as soon as you can after winning your bid. Tell them in the nicest but most firm tone to take the d@mn barrel out of the stock, wrap separately and then pack it.

I have had two very nice, very cheaply won guns, one Renegade and one awesome PA Hunter arrive with cracked stocks because they were shipped 'in-tact' and had been abused by a UPS gorilla. I had the hassle of the back and forth with the auction house and in both cases eventually got full refunds and returned the broken guns. Both eventually showed up again on Hibid in their new, cracked condition.

In retrospect I should have kept the PA Hunter metal and shopped a used stock for it or bought a custom shop one.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I bought something modern last month off of GB. Quite happy. My last ML purchase off of GB was a rather rusty Bess that a pawn & guns shop was selling. I got lucky as they didn't know what they had and it looked like crap in the photos, but I had a source for a new barrel if it was needed. Turned out to be a defarbed Pedersoli with a rounded, first-model style side plate, and an altered lock date, with only light surface rust. Cost considerably less than what it was worth.

LD

 

[Rebel bull]

always remember that your credit card issuer is your best friend when you have a problem with a seller about damages just call the card and stop payment the seller becomes a hole lot easier to deal with

 

[wiscoaster]

Here's a GB valid and trustworthy seller screening tip: pay close attention to the photos. I was cruising for a BP pistol and came across an offerering described as "Unfired". In the first place, this seller didn't post enough photos to meet one of my criteria - only 10. But one of which is:

"Unfired?" Ya, right. Lots of dry firing without a flint? I dunno. Whatever. That frizzen scoring disqualifies this offering as "unfired" and moves it to the rank of "ehhh, no thanks". Obviously either not well cared for or not honestly represented. Either way, this one did not make it onto my "watch list".

 

[springfield art]

Lol. I have been watching that same $2500 Lyman hawken too. I was wondering what I was missing or what he was smoking. It’s a nice gun no doubt but $2500. It’s been up for weeks if not longer

He's fishing for a 'sucker' fish.

 

[springfield art]

Here's a GB valid and trustworthy seller screening tip: pay close attention to the photos. I was cruising for a BP pistol and came across an offerering described as "Unfired". In the first place, this seller didn't post enough photos to meet one of my criteria - only 10. But one of which is:
View attachment 297611
"Unfired?" Ya, right. Lots of dry firing without a flint? I dunno. Whatever. That frizzen scoring disqualifies this offering as "unfired" and moves it to the rank of "ehhh, no thanks". Obviously either not well cared for or not honestly represented. Either way, this one did not make it onto my "watch list".

Locks will usually always have some "testing" done on them to check the workings. Even new cars have a few miles on them!

 

[wiscoaster]

Locks will usually always have some "testing" done on them to check the workings. ....

Not like what's shown in that photo!! That's some pretty deep vertical scoring. Not normal flint marks.

Regardless ... the point of my post is that when the pics don't match up with the description, it's time to take a pass.

 

[Buff1958]

I figured you were going to post about the guys trying to sell #11 caps at 10 times what they cost in the stores

 

[vintovka]

Scammers and swindlers seem everywhere lately. All operate with little or no integrity, just like our politicians. At least on the net you can stop and take the time to research and allow yourself to make informed decisions. This unlike some of the sellers at gun shows who set up near the door to have first crack at someone carrying in a rare item. Last one i encountered was using a 20 year old price guide to tell me my item wasn't worth much BUT he would buy it now as a favor.