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  • Gcs7th

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 26, 2012
    1,280
    AGC
    I think I have a scammer on the line for a purchase I made on GunBroker. Price seemed almost too good to be true with a buy it now a few dollars over starting bid. Buyer lists paypal, USPS, Money Order as accepted payment. They contacted me today asking if my dealer name was correct , couldn't type my name right (very common name), and asked about payment. I stated I wanted to use paypal and i get that they don't want to use it and how about cash app, venom or Zelle.

    The seller is new to GunBroker and not rated.

    This left me with an uneasy feeling, so I did some digging and their other posting follow the same method. List as 700 buy now for 750 but the kicker is none of the pictures are in the same location, different backdrops, lighting, and tables etc.

    Next I google image searched and saw what appears to be the exact same image as the gun "I purchased"

    At this point my mind is saying scam, thinking of offering to use some type of escrow service. Has Anyone used one of these services for firearms? This is one I found.

    https://www.guntab.com/pricing

    Thanks, stay safe and alert out there MDS community.
     

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    slsc98

    Ultimate Member
    May 24, 2012
    6,746
    Escaped MD-stan to WNC Smokies
    I have zero experience using any brokers and, you’re a better man (person, sorry?) than I; there’s a long list of things that cause the little voice in my head to say, “Be Patient, Just Keep Looking” and your OP covers just about all of em.

    Caveat Emptor. Really.
     

    Gcs7th

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 26, 2012
    1,280
    AGC
    Ya, the other items they listed seem to be at normal prices, I've opened a request with GunBroker for investigation. I hate seeing people being taken advantage of and don't want to see anyone fall for a trap like this. Most people may just say sure thats fine, but my spider senses were tingling.
     

    rseymorejr

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2011
    26,010
    Harford County
    I wonder if you could make up some kind of concern and ask for another picture from an angle that they don't already show? If they have the gun on hand should be no problem
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    maybe they posted on multiple sites. yeah i'd ask for a custom pic, maybe with a mag sitting on the slide or something they couldn't easily photoshop.
     

    Atrox88

    Gold Member
    Jan 7, 2016
    1,245
    Carroll County
    There is nothing I need so bad that when my gut tells me something isn't right, I won't trust my gut. I do not buy from -0- rated folks.
    I just don't trust them. And I have found some sellers that have a few ratings actually don't have the product in hand. When you buy
    they order from a warehouse. I had that happen once and the guy couldn't supply the product and tried to give me a substitute. They
    hate bad ratings and I slammed him. Gunbroker tried to intervene, I showed them the evidence and I got my money back. The dude has
    since had quite a few bad ratings for the same scam. Trust your gut.
     

    cantstop

    Pentultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2012
    8,159
    MD
    Send him a message saying you want to talk to him on the phone and ask for his number. I usually shun sellers with no feedback, but if he's willing to talk on the phone at least you'll get a better feel. Ask him if he has pictures of the actual gun instead of a stock photo.

    Good luck.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,176
    Sun City West, AZ
    All sellers start at zero ratings...even the best of them. Due diligence...ask questions...more photos. Just look out for yourself first. With a first time seller you might find a real bargain due to the reluctance of other bidders.
     

    dfitzs1

    Member
    Mar 24, 2020
    61
    There's also a bunch of new websites that are popping up with too good to be true prices on guns. The red flag is that only take bitcoin/cashapp/venmo, not credit cards. I
     

    csxt602

    Active Member
    Oct 29, 2020
    132
    Essex, MD
    All sellers start at zero ratings...even the best of them. Due diligence...ask questions...more photos. Just look out for yourself first. With a first time seller you might find a real bargain due to the reluctance of other bidders.

    This!

    Back in January, I found a seller with a +1 rating, with American Eagle ammo WAY under market value. Asked a few questions, got a dialogue going, he even offered to throw in 4 fully loaded 30rd PMags for another hundred (told him I couldn't because of our stupid laws here) but we worked out a deal on the extra 120 rounds. Nobody else would touch the listing because of his rating. I ended up getting 260 rounds of 300 BLK FOR $180, plus S&H.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    Everyone starts at zero .

    Using your wholesaler to fulfill your retail sales is a very common strategy for " real " business .

    All that said , when I purchase interesting things using the internet , it is usually from specialty Forums's classifieds . Even if they rarely sell anything , you can generally get a handle on them from their posts .
     

    Badger1

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 21, 2017
    53
    Good detective work!

    On the cross-posting possibility, I notice that other site is a Texas specific classified. Does the GB seller list his location as Texas? Do the listing dates match up? A no to either of these seems like more evidence of a scam to me.
     

    Growler215

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 30, 2020
    2,170
    SOMD
    Normally I have felt safe using PayPal. Like VISA, ebay or Amazon they have pretty good fraud protection policies. HOWEVER, they are not 2A friendly and firearms and ammunition violate their "acceptable use" policy, so even with PayPal you could be SOL.

    I would definitely stay away.

    Last year I ran across a website for an online gun store which, amazingly, seemed to have many items which were out of stock everywhere else, and at good prices. Too good to be true. Sure enough, they only took strange forms of payment where there in no buyer protection. Things like CashApp, bitcoin, Google Pay, Zelle. The strangest thing about this website was that they advertised a huge number of different items - a lot of work to set up a catalog that deep. I guess they were looking to defraud many people to make that investment worthwhile.

    Buyer protection is a must when dealing with people you don't know. Or anyone online.
     

    sgt23preston

    USMC LLA. NRA Life Member
    May 19, 2011
    3,994
    Perry Hall
    I have bought guns from GunBroker many times...

    HOWEVER, I only buy from dealers who accept VISA even though they add 4% to cover their VISA fees...

    It suppliers real dealers from Wannabees...

    I've never had an issue...
     

    Blaster229

    God loves you, I don't.
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 14, 2010
    46,409
    Glen Burnie
    Caveat Emptor.

    I was perusing one gun auction/sales site and saw a P229 advertised as a Federal Air Marshal issue pistol. Well that was BS because we couldn't buy any of our pistols. I contacted the website and they took it down.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    This sounds like a scam that was reported on another forum recently. Seller using pics and descriptions from previously sold items in new ads at bargain prices.

    Beware and avoid anything that looks too good to be true, especially in today's market.
     

    Gcs7th

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 26, 2012
    1,280
    AGC
    Yea I tried calling the number today, it went to voicemail something about a text mail subscriber. Seems more and more like a scam now I’m just worried about the other people who may get scammed. The sellers other items seem like normal prices. Montana number but seller lists as being in Missouri. Pictures appear to be from a Texas forum.
     

    Gcs7th

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 26, 2012
    1,280
    AGC
    It's official this person is a scammer. Here's the last two reviews to come in the last day. I emailed gun broker again and I'm very disappointed they haven't taken any action. Nothing like the MDS community.

    Rating: F User: October01 A+(1056) {FFL Status}
    04/07/2021
    SCAM no communication only answers to text message's. Bill Perry is a 74 year old man who lives at the address on the account and answers his home phone and knew nothing about a 460 for sale.

    Rating: A+ User: ShotgunKenW64 A+(3)
    04/06/2021897017213
    want to pay for gun by money order . you do not want wife know you selling gun gun was gift buy wife ok . bring you pistil to ffl store to .have store call me so i can send money and ffl
     

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