Selling Guns Online!?!

It’s a new year, so maybe it’s time to sell some of those safe queens. Or maybe you want to buy something new. Better yet, how about some horse trading? A wise man I know once gave me some advice, and it’s pretty good: don’t buy more guns; buy better guns. What better way to do that than to get rid of some old dust collectors you no longer use and put that money toward something new and exciting?

And that brings us to the world of online gun buying and selling. No, this is not illegal. No, it’s not a conspiracy. No, you shouldn’t end up on the six o’clock news for acquiring an arsenal “online”.

As it turns out, this country has a system designed by those incompetents in Washington, D.C., that makes online buying and selling perfectly legal as long as you follow the rules and go through the proper channels.

The Simple Explanation

While there are exceptions, the simple way to understand online buying and selling of firearms is to understand that the “online” part of the equation changes nothing. When state lines are involved, all sales transactions must be run through a federally-licensed firearms dealer (FFL). No exceptions.

This means when someone “buys” from “you” online, you must ship the firearm in question directly to an FFL in the same state as your buyer. You cannot ship the gun directly to that buyer, no matter how nice and law-abiding they may seem, unless your buyer is an FFL themselves. Period. If you’re buying online, the seller must ship the gun to an FFL of your choice.

The reason for this is simple. Firearm sales crossing state lines must be facilitated through an FFL, and the standard background check process must be completed by that FFL.

Well, there’s always an exception, and here we go. In most states (check yours, I can’t be responsible for knowing the changing laws in all 50 states), it’s legal to sell a firearm to a qualified purchaser (someone who could pass the background check) as long as both of you are residents of the same state. You might have heard this called a private sale.

So, private sales within a state, assuming you’re following the laws of your state, are legal. I personally don’t choose to take advantage of this option when I’m selling to someone I don’t know, but you can make your own decision. When dealing with a stranger, I’d just as soon have the federal process do its thing and let the buyer worry about completing a background check, etc. I’d rather not have it on my back if someone out there is trying to buy a gun under false pretenses.

Buying and Selling Options

There are numerous sites that facilitate online gun buying and selling, including GunsAmerica.com, GunBroker.com and Armslist.com. The first thing to understand is that these sites are more like “brokers” or “advertisers” than sellers. They have no role in the sale of the merchandise other than listing your item and connecting the seller and buyer. They don’t collect the money from the buyer, and they don’t pay the seller. That’s up to you.

The process isn’t much different than working with a real estate agent or buying and selling on eBay. They don’t have any possession or ownership role in the sales transaction. As a seller, you will pay a fee for their listing services. Most charge a small percentage of the final sale price and offer à la carte upgrades to help promote your listing.

Payments

Here’s the tricky part. When you list a gun with an online marketing site (they’re not really directly handling the sale, they’re just matching buyer and seller), you have to establish some way for the future buyer to pay you. Since it’s a remote, online transaction that takes place at the destination FFL, there’s really no opportunity to simply exchange cash at the time of sale. So, your options are limited.

Of course, you can request the buyer mail you a check, cashier’s check or money order, but many buyers prefer to use a credit card for payment. If you limit your payment options to snail mail, you’re limiting the number of potential buyers. This is where things get tricky.

PayPal? Venmo? Nope. They prohibit firearm transactions.

If you happen to have a payment processing account set up for some other reason, maybe your business or hobby ventures, you might be able to use that setup. But be careful. Many credit card companies will not handle firearm transactions, and if you somehow manage to sneak it through, they’re certainly not going to take your side in the event of a dispute.

Most people don’t maintain a firearms-friendly credit card merchant account, but fortunately, there’s another option that allows the buyer to pay with plastic.

Enter GunTab. This is an independent company that works with GunsAmerica, GunBroker and other online auction and firearms listing sites. Set up a free account with GunTab.com, and you can offer that as a payment option in your listing. When your gun sells, the buyer pays GunTab with a credit card. You ship the gun. When the buyer receives it, they have three days to inspect that the gun is as advertised. When the buyer confirms, or three days pass, GunTab pays you, the seller, via a deposit into your bank account. So, yes, it’s basically an escrow service designed to protect both buyer and seller.

Since you likely don’t have a lengthy review history on the listing sites, buyers can still feel some trust that they won’t get ripped off by an unknown seller (you and me). You don’t have to worry about setting up a gun-friendly merchant account you won’t use very often. The only real downside is that it takes a few extra days for you to get paid. The buyer has already paid, so you don’t have to worry about collection after you’ve sent your gun.

So, there you have it. Easy peasy once you understand the process.

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