Selling on armslist.com (long post)

[JTScribe]

I used to sell and service computers on the side, you wouldn't believe some of the crazy trade offers I've gotten. So it's definitely not limited to guns.

My favorite was three window air conditioners for a gaming PC.

 

[drillsgt]

Armslist does have a lot of scammers still, even after the changes. The biggest red flags are a too good to be true price, and how they list their location. One I just saw had a location of crawfordsville, kokomo, IN, two entirely different locations, or if it just says Indiana, Indiana etc. Usually after 1 or 2 emails it's obvious it's a scam and I report it.

 

[jdthieke]

I have had decent luck with armslist.

 

[JEBland]

I've had both great and poor experiences on Armslist. All of my purchases went through fine. For selling... Less good. Besides the obvious attempts at money laundering, I had someone try to scam me out of the money he paid me. He bought the gun, I shipped it to his FFL. 9 days or so after the gun was given to the FFL and received by the other guy, he tells me that it has a huge crack and rust everywhere. I said that the metal wasn't in perfect condition, but it had no large crack when I shipped it and asked him to take pictures so I could see what he meant. Sent no photos.. just two emails about how I scammed him, then nothing. I guess he thought he could get a free shotgun by arguing after the fact.

For the money laundering, it's super difficult to report money laundering. Back in my undergraduate days, someone tried to use my tutoring for money laundering. I went to report it and the local police said that there wasn't much to do... If you try to report money laundering on the federal sites, there is no simple way to report it. It's as if they actively don't want to pursue organized crime.. I guess the locals back home just want to meet their quota for speeding & registration tickets and call it a day.

Edit: There are also times when buying I realized it was a scam just about immediately. But those are pretty straightforward to figure out. But all of the times I've given people money have worked out okay. For buying/selling in person, INGO is way better.

 

[223 Gunner]

I haven't visited Armlist since they started charging a fee to buy or sell.
I pretty much just use gunbroker these days, and occasionally ebay for accessories.
I still try INGO from time to time, usually have to "give it away" to get it sold.
Whatever it happens to be.

Last item I tried on here, some Troy rail covers, I sold on ebay.

 

[sig-man]

A couple of those sound exactly like the experiences I have had. I got the exact same I will take it and at the last minute ship to Texas scenario. I also drove 45" to meet a guy that didn't show and then wouldn't return calls. That's why I just don't sell anything anymore!

 

[RevolverGuy75]

Been using Armslist regularly since 2010 and continue as a paying user. There’s always time wasters, flakes and people I tend to shy away from dealing with but have developed a nack for weeding them out. There are less flakes now that it costs $7 a month. Pricing is ridiculous on anything “tactical” but I have little issue selling at fair prices and even find an occasional deal! The site itself is glitchy, the email relay is iffy and the adds are ludicrous. All in all, it’s a means to pursue my gun hobbies.

 

[Smeff]

I was selling a G43 on Hoosier topics a couple weeks ago. Very clear and precise on my location, my unwillingness to travel an hour plus, and that I was firm on my reasonable price. Still got tons of texts that consisted of “will you take 200 less” and/or “I live 4 hours away, will you meet in the middle?” It doesn’t matter what you do people will still be dumb. Ended up selling it a week later for my asking price and only drove 30 minutes to meet.

 

[223 Gunner]

I haven't been on Hoosier Topics in years, probably worse than Craigslist.

 

[citizenkane]

I’ve surely gotten some amusement out of armslist over the years.

I had a pistol on there awhile back that is not in production anymore. Some genius sends me an old link to buds showing it OOS but listed for $900. He told me he’d give me $800 since it would save him shipping and tax. I told home he could wait for Buds to restock it since it’s out of production never to return. I wanted to ask him if he thought I was stupid but decided against it.

Had another guy offer me $100 on Makarov I had out for $350. I ended up keeping both, if I decide to sell them in the future it’s straight to gunbroker.
I think these guys must have some success with this nonsense or they wouldn’t do it.

 

[grillak]

i had 1 good experience with armslist even thought we couldn't agree on terms and we didn't do business. the guy was still nice about the whole thing and i apreciated his honesty. another guy tried to convince me to pay him thru cashapp and he would ship me the gun from florida. i asked why he was advertising in indy if he & the gun were in florida and he got really beligerent. i told him to contact me when he got back to indy and he reposted the gun 2 weeks later with the same phone number. i txted him and reminded him who i was and i flagged his post. he called me a few funny names. changed his number and tried it again with the same gun. he must have gotten a few people to fall for it because he tried it again after that. some people....i'm currently looking on guns. com for sig p226, p228, or p229 for a REASONABLE price. but wow the prices are outrageous for beat up sigs missing parts and unfireable

 

[Ark]

Haven't bought or sold on armslist since the paywall came down. Prices are psychotic and the people are nuts.

 

[RevolverGuy75]

Recently it’s been bad! Just got home (literally) from waiting a half hour for a no show buyer for a Glock I’ve listed at non BS pricing. This person blew up my email and text last night but no show no contact today. Pisses me off! Is that a “ghost buyer”? See what I did there?

 

[2in1evtime]

Buddy stopped by and told me arms list now requires your phone# to sign on, said he did it and has been getting tons of spam calls ever since, i decided to check it out today, can't log in, all private sellers info and prices are blocked out? I figure they are just trying to get more income coming in or scared they will get hammered again by the atf? i haven't used them in over a year now myself

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Buddy stopped by and told me arms list now requires your phone# to sign on, said he did it and has been getting tons of spam calls ever since, i decided to check it out today, can't log in, all private sellers info and prices are blocked out? I figure they are just trying to get more income coming in or scared they will get hammered again by the atf? i haven't used them in over a year now myself

Yes, you have to pay to play now. It's been posted about awhile back. I never used them and never will. As far as I'm concerned they're the Craigslist of gun selling.

 

[bsmithg19]

Armslist... Where you post $1,000 gun and get $400 offers all day lol.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

Ill try the classifieds here next time, but I hadn't yet reached 50 posts st that time.

Either way, it made me change my mind about selling it and I've decided to keep it.

Its worth the 20 bucks to be a site supporter just to use the classifieds. And a good thing to do in general anyway. I have made 4 deals on here in the last year and everyone went exactly as planed.

 

[LEaSH]

I forgot all about Hoosier Topics.

I just looked and they seemed to have cleaned up the bickering since the last time I'd checked (probably 10 years).

They still have literacy issues, I see. But common firearms aren't priced as wildly as I'd remembered.

There's an ad for .357 mag described as being 10 boxes @ 1,000 total, but I'm pretty sure he's got 500 and never really looked.

If it is 1,000 the price would be great. $365 I think.