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Hey guys, can you give me tips on what the steps are to safely sell a gun online? Never done it before. Basically all I know is that it's good to ship from my FFL to the buyer's. Anything else?
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How to Sell a Gun Online?
- Thread starter Balislinger
- Start date
well, the good news is, the whole FFL transfer thing takes care of the legality of you buying/selling.
b/c your FFL should check your background, and their FFL should check their background, and that's the end of that.
so all you have to do is just ensure you get your payment and you're golden. right?
typically internet etiquette is buyer pays first, then seller ships. that's typically how i see it happen, this forum included.
if you want some assurance, maybe try something like gunbroker.com. it's ebay but for firearms. they may provide you some level of assurance the same way ebay offers some level of protection on bad transactions.
we're close, too. i'm near austin. whatter you trying to sell? nice to know fellow knife enthusiasts in the area.
but yea. FFL to FFL keeps things legally safe for you. just make sure you get your payment and that should be it.
b/c your FFL should check your background, and their FFL should check their background, and that's the end of that.
so all you have to do is just ensure you get your payment and you're golden. right?
typically internet etiquette is buyer pays first, then seller ships. that's typically how i see it happen, this forum included.
if you want some assurance, maybe try something like gunbroker.com. it's ebay but for firearms. they may provide you some level of assurance the same way ebay offers some level of protection on bad transactions.
we're close, too. i'm near austin. whatter you trying to sell? nice to know fellow knife enthusiasts in the area.
but yea. FFL to FFL keeps things legally safe for you. just make sure you get your payment and that should be it.
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2003
- Messages
- 6,787
Hey Midget, I'm in Austin. Thinking of parting with a Springfield XD 9mm I never shoot plus accessories and ammo. Know of a good FFL in the area?
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 90,915
"How to" is good, but let's keep actual sales information in a sales thread.
you can set up a gunbroker account & say you prefer FTF in the Austin area, you might find a local buyer - I did that successfully hear in Seattle. Then you wouldn't need to go through an FFL which is needed for state-to-state transfers (but check your local laws about what if any documentation is required to be made for in-person transfers)
Be aware that shipping a pistol is quite expensive for a non-FFL individual (must use UPS or FedX) is quite expensive, on the order of $65-75 dollars. If you use an FFL on your end, they can ship it for you to another FFL but they'll charge you for their services normally and then the USPS mailing/insurance fee will be about $25 or so. None of my business but due to these costs, you'd probably be better off selling that pricing level of pistol locally.
You do NOT have to use an FFL on your end for a private sale, but some FFLs won't take transfers from individuals, more prevalent in CA but it is not uncommon. Why, well, the obvious is that they have no way of knowing if the gun is stolen or legally the sellers. Most transferring FFL that will transfer from a private party, require a copy of the seller's DL at a minimum. Unless it is instate, you must ship to an FFL holder. Gunbroker is good, you might try accuratereloading.com, they have a lot of Texas members who might be able to save on shipping costs. Even tho it doesn't really give the level of protection that many assume, asking for US postal money orders protects both the buyer and the seller to some extent.
You do NOT have to use an FFL on your end for a private sale, but some FFLs won't take transfers from individuals, more prevalent in CA but it is not uncommon. Why, well, the obvious is that they have no way of knowing if the gun is stolen or legally the sellers. Most transferring FFL that will transfer from a private party, require a copy of the seller's DL at a minimum. Unless it is instate, you must ship to an FFL holder. Gunbroker is good, you might try accuratereloading.com, they have a lot of Texas members who might be able to save on shipping costs. Even tho it doesn't really give the level of protection that many assume, asking for US postal money orders protects both the buyer and the seller to some extent.
https://www.atfonline.gov/fflezcheck/
ALWAYS verify the validity of the FFL before you send or receive any firearms. Only ship to a valid FFL.
As long as your local FFL does not charge too much, it's a good idea to use the local FFL to send the firearm, especially pistols, via the US Post Office which is significantly cheaper then other options.
ALWAYS verify the validity of the FFL before you send or receive any firearms. Only ship to a valid FFL.
As long as your local FFL does not charge too much, it's a good idea to use the local FFL to send the firearm, especially pistols, via the US Post Office which is significantly cheaper then other options.
That is not true of CA, but may be in other states. I'm pretty sure Texas doesn't require you to use an FFL dealer to ship. What is legally required, minimally, is to ship to an FFL.
You should get the name, address, phone, & fax # of the FFL the person is using. You can then call them, get their info & ship your firearm to them. They will/should fax you a copy of their FFL # & info, which you should have with you when you go to UPS or Fed Ex to ship. The FFL will require you to include a photo copy of your ID & you might even have to fax it to them.
I have not used Fed Ex, but have used UPS. Their general policy is to ship next day for private party. A FFL can ship ground (I believe) & that's why they can ship less expensively. However, certain UPS stores can & will allow you to ship however you want. I know, I've done it even though I fully disclosed what I was shipping.
As to your needing to ship through a FFL (The seller needing to use a FFL to ship through), that fully depends on the state. You do not need a FFL to ship a firearm in CA. I do not know if you do in TX, although I doubt it. Bottom line is, regardless of where you live, the firearm needs to go to a FFL dealer. Whether it needs to be shipped from a FFL is a different matter & entirely up to each state.
As to whether the dealer you're shipping to has a current FFL, I believe that's why they fax you a photo copy of their FFL. You can verify that it's current (Apparrently on the site that the previous post has a link to) & ship. Keep copies of everything you do & you should be fine.
Hope that helps.
In most states, you can ship to another person without going through an FFL as long as they reside in the same state. Whether you would or not depends on how comfortable you are doing so.
I personally use UPS or Fedex to ship to out of state FFLs when selling a gun online. Gunbroker has already been mentioned and is a good place to sell them, though they charge fees like eBay. The various gun forums are usually better places to sell guns and it's free. Some also have their own feedback system to help weed out the thieves.
I highly recommend that you only accept USPS money orders as payment. Make sure you cash it before you ship the firearm.
I personally use UPS or Fedex to ship to out of state FFLs when selling a gun online. Gunbroker has already been mentioned and is a good place to sell them, though they charge fees like eBay. The various gun forums are usually better places to sell guns and it's free. Some also have their own feedback system to help weed out the thieves.
I highly recommend that you only accept USPS money orders as payment. Make sure you cash it before you ship the firearm.
I was only referring to the comment about CA, that was all. As anti-firearm CA is, one doesn't need to ship through a FFL. I believe there are some states (Maybe only 1 or 2?) that require one to go through a FFL to ship a firearm. I do not know what states those are, but I do know CA's not one of them.
But I didn't say anything about Ca requiring the use of an FFL to ship a firearm by an individual. I said, and quite correctly, that many Ca FFLs won't accept shipments from private individuals. I understand this is fairly common in parts of Fl as well, but that is hearsay. Bottom line, if you're selling a firearm, be sure that the buyer understands that you're a private individual and the buyer has to be sure that his transfer FFL will accept shipments from a private individual. Obviously if the seller chooses to use an FFL to ship the firearm, then this issue doesn't apply.