Bills of Sale are an interesting subject. I can see both sides of the coin.
Short war story:
Bought a 9mm from an individual who advertised it on Armslist. Talked on the phone, seemed OK, met, showed him my CCW, bought the pistol, and drove away. He was a nice young guy, no issues or red flags.
One year later he calls me and leaves a message that I need to call him on a matter of grave importance. So I call back.
Seems he's been investigated by the BATFE, as another handgun he sold the same way was recovered after a crime, and he was being asked some hard questions about the number and frequency of his private sales. More on "private sales" below.
After a gun he sold was used in a serious crime, a trace was done: Manufacturer to Distributor, then to FFL, then to their bound book, and then to him. "Knock-Knock" on his door, wife says "Two BATFE agents are here honey, can you come out and talk to them?" The BATFE had a list of guns he had bought from the same FFL (they had looked thru the bound book), asked about dispositions, and most had been sold. They asked him if he had gotten any bills of sale from any of his purchasers, and he had said no. That caused some additional hard questions from the BATFE.
He had my phone number still in the memory of his old cellphone, so he called me. His request to me was for me to give him a bill of sale for the year-past transaction, to show the BATFE that I was not a prohibited person. Naturally I declined, but I did offer to call the BATFE Investigator and have a conversation. He then sent me the number of the Investigator who had interviewed him.
I called the Investigator, and we had an interesting and very cordial conversation. I told her what had occured, and that I was a CCW holder, etc., and that I had displayed my CCW at time of sale, etc. I offered to submit the serial number of the handgun and even to let her examine it if she desired. She declined, told me that there was no reason to think the handgun was stolen, that she already knew the serial number, and thanked me for my assistance. Basically the only reason I called was to stand up for the guy, as in my own dealing with him he had done nothing wrong at all, and had asked to see my CCW, etc.
It turned out as we spoke that the nice young guy was playing a "little" close to the vest with his hobby. See, it seems he worked behind the counter at a LGS (unknown to me), and was buying handguns "privately" as they became available either as guns in inventory, or by people walking in and selling. He then was reselling them as "private sales". My M9 was one of those that he had legally bought from the FFL he worked for, which is why BATFE knew the number of it. The BATFE Investigator told me that he had a perfect right to do private sales, but that the frequency and other facts made it a grey area, and with one handgun recovered after a crime they were "bemused" and "concerned" that he might not be checking ID's at time of sale or being "proactive" to the possibility that he was selling to prohibited persons. Their concern was real: The crime-gun had been sold to a convicted felon, who then shot someone with it. The seller had no way of knowing that the buyer was a bad guy, but at the same time he could not say exactly to whom he had sold it and thus he was being... "queried". That caused..... "concern and heartache". The bottom line is that he had done nothing wrong, as he could not have known that the buyer was a criminal. He was clean... but he was grey. Being grey is not good. If he had a handful of Bills of Sale the BATFE would have smiled, said "good day" and left. So who was left hurt?
So, instead of "have a nice day", he's being "possibly" investigated further for "possibly" engaging in dealing without a licence, and "might" have additional hassles ahead. I sort of doubt it, after talking to the BATFE, as they were pretty circumspect about the fact that he had a right to sell what he owned, but still.... don't be grey.
Lesson learned: Get a bill of sale when you sell. If a buyer refuses to offer ID, then refuse to sell. How else can you know he's from your own state? You need to see ID... it's a small second step to get the name on a bill of sale. The buyer can refuse, which is fine. Refuse the sale for your own good.
And you know what? Having a copy as the buyer is a nice way of being able to point over my shoulder if something I end up with was stolen at some time and then resold to me. "Not me, dude... talk to this guy... and have a nice day, Officer.... ".
Willie
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