Non-Rated Sellers on Gunbroker???

All GB sellers have to start somehow before getting their first rating. One possibility is you could email to ask if he is rated on some other site.

Well be careful, look at any photos very carefully, and call the seller and talk to him/her. You can probably tell pretty quickly if you are getting a bad feeling. And remember, all of us had a zero rating at some point.

Yeah , communicate. If your radar is any good you should be able to perform a reasonable risk assessment.
Speaking of risk , how big is your exposure?

I don't bid/buy such merchandise. Apparently, a lot of people don't/won't buy from such people, either.

I've seen pristine guns for sale at very low starting bids from "NR" sellers that got no bids whatsoever.

It's just not worth the risk to me. Not when there are so many rated/reputable sellers. Maybe a little more expensive, but that's ok.

Just did a buy it now for a revolver from a non rated seller. Probably won't buy from a non rated seller again since this guy didn't know enough to specify he was looking for a face to face sale and has no idea how to go about shipping a handgun state to state. Seems honest enough, just clueless. I honestly don't know why he didn't just post to armalist instead of paying an auction site with nationwide exposure.
I tried to help him out and offer suggestions but in the end I think it's going to be a waste of my time and his money as i haven't heard back from him as to whether the sale is going to go forward. Last I heard he was trying to find an ffl who won't bend him over for shipping costs.

So yea, you run the risk of dealing with people who dont know what they are doing, don't have a good ffl ready, and don't know the laws concerning shipping and interstate sales.
Not necessarily scammers, just novices

Everyone starts somewhere. Because of that sometimes that's where the deals are.

I would call them to make sure they know what they are doing. The above example of a guy not knowing how to ship is a good one. I am constantly amazed at what some people think they legally can/can not do. That may be the biggest risk of a new seller, them not knowing the laws and how to make it happen. Also, they think something is worth $500, you pay the $500 and then they see the fees and hassles stack up on their end and sour on the deal.

So, give them a call and see if they know what they are doing and seem reasonable.

Ask for additional pictures of certain parts of the firearm to be emailed to you. If they can provide what you ask at least they have said item in their posession. I once bought a rifle from a NR seller on there and we emailed a bit andI found out the back story and was Ok with it and got a fair deal as well. YMMV

There’s risk but we all start somewhere. I’ve bought from people with low sales numbers and it’s been fine.

Look closely at the pics.

Credit card company protects you to a pretty good extent. Laws on online/interstate fraud go another direction. Realistically as a consumer you are protected well enough to plunk down your money and move on assuming that pictures are clear and that you are using a reputable credit card.

I have bought 2 guns from individuals where my purchase was their first and only sale of a firearm. Both went almost exactly the same. I bid on the gun and win said gun at the end of the auction. Email seller thanking them for the opportunity to buy their gun and ask them where my FFL needs to send his information to. **** this is where it gets interesting **** “FFL? What’s that? Why do I need that? What’s your address? I’m just gonna mail it to you!” After a few emails on legality They finally get around to taking their gun to a pawn shop or gun shop and pay them to have the gun shipped to my FFL. Once I covered the extra cost (shipping listed as free in the auction) after the girl called me since we were having email issues. She explained the situation, was liquidating an estate and kept finding ways to lose money by selling things. The other time the guy emailed me thanking me for not letting him do something dumb and get us both in trouble and he paid for the shipping. Both times the sellers were legit and I got what I wanted for a reasonable price. Both times though they were ignorant of the legalities involved. My take on it is that a first time seller may create more hassle than a frequent seller, and you have to make sure to keep both ends legal because they may not know a thing about guns. My little Butler derringer was one that terrified the girl and she just wanted the gun out of the house.