Having completed many many successful buying and selling transactions using AGN's classified section, I thought it would be nice to create a thread devoted to my Lessons Learned that I feel are most valuable:
#1) always create a proper bill of sale and record your purchases and sales to include historical info like:
date and source of acquisition and take pictures that include:
A) serial numbers
B) identifying features.
How many of us do this? Thus the value of the information.
#2) If you are going to sell high dollar items, clearly identify what the item is and make sure to include a serial number(s) when applicable.
****Include a bill of sale and an additional shipping label on the inside box*****
#3) Only ship properly (double boxed and extremely well packaged) items that make it very difficult for a carrier to peak inside. Find ways to stiffen the boxes against being bent or crushed. I recently had a brand new Redwolf arrive with a bent barrel and cracked barrel shroud because the shipper failed to stiffen the inner to outer packaging method.
#4) Properly and truthfully declare package contents and fully insure them so that you can actually be refunded in case of carrier loss. At the very least, use the item your shipping legal nomenclature on shipping documents without trying to be sly by using terms like pneumatic tool or paper puncher or whatever. If you are trying to save a nickel you are likely to loose many dollars.
#5) always require a "signature on the receiving end" to avoid a porch pirate or worse an thieving delivery person.
#6) If an item is lost / or suspected of being stolen, immediately contact the carrier and provide all your documentation, time is of the essence - there is always a waiting period before you can file a claim.
#7) After the waiting period is lapsed and the carrier declares the loss, file a police report, as a police report provides a clear legal documentation of the circumstances surrounding the incident and your desire to recover your property.
#8) Be Fully aware of what is and isn't insurable and thus financially recoverable - an example: if you use Pirate Shipping, a third party discount shipper - they state in their rules that Airguns are not covered by their insurance. You need to know exactly what UPS / FEDEX / USPS will actually allow and insure.
#9) as sellers and buyers be VERY clear of what you will do in case of loss or damage.
#10) be kind enough to leave feedback for one another.
#11) be ever alert to the scammers.... they are getting good at stealing photos from a variety of sources. Vet them fully and if needed have them share a picture of a drivers license, a snail mail address that you can look up, email. Remember the more info you get up front, the less likely you are to be scammed. Recently the only way i avoided a 2K scam was because when something felt off... i said i wanted to pick the gun up in person and pay in cash.. at that point lots of reasons why that wasn't possible started flying and the scammer was outed.
I encourage AGN members to add more lessons learned to this thread; but keep them as factual information, not just hearsay.
The Classified Section of this forum is a valuable way to buy, sell, and trade things which can help us all enjoy our sport more.
I also encourage you to visit this thread regarding shipping:
Recently received a couple of things from AGN members packaged in such a way as to make me curse. This causes the need for a buyer to confront a seller with the issues and nobody likes this process. In both my cases we resolved the issues as adults. But... these situations can and should be...
www.airgunnation.com
At the 1K price point, a lot of other options are available, especially if buying used. My question is… Is “your” Notos an OTB good shooter.? Or did you mod it up for more accuracy, cosmetics, etc.? And if so, how much over the price of the gun have you invested? My impression is that the Notos is a good OTB PCP and should be capable on small pests and targets out to 40 yards as is. Am I mistaken or missing something?
