First online sale and Getting paid for it.

You could try asking the FFL if he would hold the gun until cash or a postal money order has been received when the gun is picked up, but that's an extra step and they'll probably want to to be compensated for it.

They can then send you the money order or their company check in the envelope you would include with the gun.

I wouldn’t use PayPal. Guns are against their rules so if the buyer tried to screw you I doubt they’d work very hard to help you.

I’ve used and will continue to use PayPal. It’s the individuals way of accepting a credit card. Not much difference. Like credit card transaction fees are put into play somewhere along the line. A direct payment, like my last one here on the forum, to an email address required me to pay the 3/%. (A mailable black powder gun). Safe secure and contrary to believe just a transaction to PayPal like any other.

Look into cash app maybe. Been using it for a while to pay folks for work. It's simple download app put in persons phone # and if they have the app send them money.

I've purchased a number of gun "online". When buying you pretty much always have to pay upfront and then the seller sends the gun to the buyers FFL. When dealing with private parties, the buyer always has the risk of getting ripped off if the seller if the seller decides to never send the gun. There are numerous ways to accept payment - cash, check, credit card, venmo, money order, etc.. I'm pretty sure Paypal doesn't let you buy guns via their platform, however i'm sure it happens everyday... When paying by check it's customary for the buyer to wait a few days before mailing to make sure the check doesn't bounce or turn out to be a fake.

I have spoken over the phone a number of times when buying a gun and the few times I've sold a gun. It's much easier to ask questions and feel a person out over the phone versus email. Ask the guy why he wants to use Gunbroker. If he can't give you a good answer then tell him you don't want to use Gunbroker or tell him he'll have to pay any additional fees incurred.

Yep, every gun I’ve bought online required payment in advance before the gun would even be shipped.

Me personally I ask for Postal money orders and don’t ship until I have literal cash in hand.

Now I try to be fully transparent with excellent communication about shipping, when I will cash Money order etc. etc. so I do my part to set a buyer at ease the best I can or seller if I am on the other side and I have never had any issues and never had anybody balk about anything.

If one uses Paypal for a firearms transaction, they are violating the user agreement they committed to when setting up the account. If for any reason Paypal suspects or finds out a transaction was used for the purchase of a firearm they will lock and terminate both accounts along with all funds. You are playing with fire if you continue to use Paypal in this way and you can find plenty of horror stories on the net from the people who got caught and ended up forfeiting both their account and large sums of money. The people who tell these horror stories like to blame Paypal as being anti-gun instead of simply admitting that they violated their user agreement and got caught.

This doesn't mean that the folks at Paypay are inherently anti-gun, it's just that they cannot put themselves in a position of being complicit in what could easily be a violation of one of the myriad state and federal laws concerning the transfer of firearms between individuals.

I use Paypal to renew my NRA membership, so if Paypay was antigun, do you think they would have the NRA as one of their clients.

Anyway, if you like to gamble with what could be large sums of money, just continue to violate their rules and the agreement you made when you opened your account.

Cheers

I have no money account with PayPal. To date it’s been person to person transactions or internet purchases. Non FFL involved. . It’s all credit transactions paid off monthly. It’s their money until I make the monthly payment.

Not only for guns but apparently gun parts as well.
From their users agreement.
j) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (k) certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law.

I don't sell over state lines, since it's difficult to have competitive pricing, unless you have something really desirable and rare, if you tack on your shipping costs for handguns, which have to go overnight by common carrier. But I would only accept postal money orders.

The buyer probably wants to go through GunBroker because they guarantee that the buyer will not get cheated up to a certain amount.

cslinger said:

Me personally I ask for Postal money orders and don’t ship until I have literal cash in hand.

Now I try to be fully transparent with excellent communication about shipping, when I will cash Money order etc. etc. so I do my part to set a buyer at ease the best I can or seller if I am on the other side and I have never had any issues and never had anybody balk about anything.

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Same way I do it as well, both buying and selling

brewer12345 said:

The buyer probably wants to go through GunBroker because they guarantee that the buyer will not get cheated up to a certain amount.

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Better to use a third party escrow FFL service if there is no trust.

Tell them you want a USPS money order and don't ship until you have it. THe buyer will have the receipt side of it so you can't say you didn't receive it. I've never had a seller ship to me until they received the MO I sent. As far as using GB they want to document the transaction. Good luck.

Bear in mind that if you take a USPS money order to your bank they will accept it for deposit only.

Can a person take a USPS money order to a post office and cash it? I've never tried that.

First of all you don't ship anything you sell until you receive payment. If you take a personal check you need to let the buyer know you won't ship the item until it clears the buyers bank. When you deposit a check to your account the bank usually credits your account for the amount of the check and then sends the check to the seller's bank. If it is a bogus check or returned for insufficient funds your bank takes back the money they put into your account and you are screwed. This can take 10 to 14 days. If your buyer balks or refuses to go this route you know something isn't right. If the buyer wants the item quicker, then they pay you through PayPal or similar medium where you get the money immediately. They can send the money as a gift and don't have to disclose what the money is for. Keep in mind that if you use PayPal there is a fee they charge for the service. Best method is a USPS money order. I seriously doubt the transferring FFL will hold the gun until you tell him to release it. He doesn't know you from Adam so why should he? His function is to receive the gun and do the required background checks. The buyer can send the MO by registered or certified mail with a signature receipt required so he knows the MO was delivered.

Why the buyer is insisting Gunbroker is beyond me. There is no protection provided by them to the seller or buyer. Is this to a resident of your state? Is this a long gun or a hand gun? Depending on state law you can ship a long gun to a fellow state resident by commercial shipper without going through an FFL. I would advise using an FFL as you have no idea if the buyer can legally own a firearm. USPS will not ship a hand gun for a private individual, they require an FFL to do be the shipper. FedEx and UPS will ship a hand gun but they require it to be shipped overnight which is quite expensive. My understanding of federal law allows an individual to sell a hand gun to fellow state resident without using an FFL as long as they are not barred from ownership, your state may have laws requiring it. Again I would use an FFL for this like I stated earlier for a long gun. Out of state buyer and the firearm must to go through an FFL.

Waveski said:

Bear in mind that if you take a USPS money order to your bank they will accept it for deposit only.

Can a person take a USPS money order to a post office and cash it? I've never tried that.

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Yes the PO will cash it if they have sufficient cash on hand.

brewer12345 said:

The buyer probably wants to go through GunBroker because they guarantee that the buyer will not get cheated up to a certain amount.

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I'm not aware of this and haven't seen that on their site, can you provide the source.

Source is my bank , Wells Fargo. Possible that it is a policy of that particular bank , I have not researched it.

Perhaps the USPS m.o. can be cashed at a post office? Never tried ; I just go with certified checks / cashier's checks.

Addendum - just saw #20. Can cash at post office.
I find it much more convenient and pleasant to go to my bank. Free coffee , no cc restriction.

George Dickel said:

I'm not aware of this and haven't seen that on their site, can you provide the source.

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Will dig it up when I get a moment. Believe they cover up to 500 or 1000.

Its a process, but there is a fraud guarantee program: https://www.gunbroker.com/c/user/fraudclaimprocess/

whughett said:

I’ve used and will continue to use PayPal. It’s the individuals way of accepting a credit card. Not much difference. Like credit card transaction fees are put into play somewhere along the line. A direct payment, like my last one here on the forum, to an email address required me to pay the 3/%. (A mailable black powder gun). Safe secure and contrary to believe just a transaction to PayPal like any other.

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I would just be careful. IF paypal somehow finds out that transaction was for a prohibited item..you could lose your $..No, I don't know how but, beware is all..I'm sure you know that tho.