Buying from a new member

[dgeesaman]

I rely mostly on regular feedback preferably both as a buyer and seller. I always include my phone number in case the other party wants to do a call and although I don’t always initiate the call I’m always happy when there is one. You get to chat up with another airgunner, talk about the item and related experiences, etc.

There’s less risk working with someone new when you’re selling - you dont ship until you’re paid. 99% of the scams involve someone lying about having an item for sale and you send them money and they vanish. Accurateshooter.com (a firearm site: full disclosure) just had a scammer hit a couple members by finding some old unused accounts and brute force hacking the account passwords or something. Then they posted FS ads and even though the account had zero buy sell transactions, somebody bit because the ad was for a hard to find item at a better than normal price.

 

[woogie_man]

I have no problem doing that cuz I am new myself but it better be through a service I trust that'll help me get my money back if I am scammed like PayPal goods and services. I even offered to pay the fee so if someone has an issue with that than that's automatically a red flag

I do the same, ALWAYS pay for goods and services. The little extra will be worth it if something happens.

 

[shortychance]

I rely mostly on regular feedback preferably both as a buyer and seller. I always include my phone number in case the other party wants to do a call and although I don’t always initiate the call I’m always happy when there is one. You get to chat up with another airgunner, talk about the item and related experiences, etc.

There’s less risk working with someone new when you’re selling - you dont ship until you’re paid. 99% of the scams involve someone lying about having an item for sale and you send them money and they vanish. Accurateshooter.com (a firearm site: full disclosure) just had a scammer hit a couple members by finding some old unused accounts and brute force hacking the account passwords or something. Then they posted FS ads and even though the account had zero buy sell transactions, somebody bit because the ad was for a hard to find item at a better than normal price.

Well this is kinda the same deal, was killer good deal but not to good of deal to make it look suspicious right of the bat. And it's pretty sickening especially since I am a Christian that lately 2 scammers have contacted me and they pull God into the topic just randomly saying how they couldn't possibly scam u . So as soon as someone brings up God kinda of topic than run away major scam alert.

 

[Hold_Over]

If it seems off there is no harm in backing out. Not everything is a scam, but unless it's some really rare and unusual item I would pass and even pay a little extra to get it from somewhere I was comfortable with.

 

[shortychance]

I do the same, ALWAYS pay for goods and services. The little extra will be worth it if something happens.

Ya it costs surprising little, like for $400 there's not even a $15 fee, basically a no brainier

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

Anytime you post a WTB you also need to be extra careful,

I don't, ......or I should say didn't even buy from members that I did not see in the forums for at least several months contributing.

My take was always you send me the gun and if it checks out I will send you the money, in your case I would have done this very thing.

 

[shortychance]

Ya also something I wanted to do he didn't agree to that either

 

[IMADMAN]

Always check the scammer list. The user name may not exist, but the email addresses may.

 

[TonyP]

Anyway I guess I have WTB listing in the classified section and then one of the members on here contacted me telling they have what I am looking for. So any we proceeding in contacting each other and so forth and he gave me his price and I agreed but when it came to the form of payment I wanted to use PayPal goods and services cause I am not willing to just send money to a complete stranger than has next to no history on here and hasn't been on airgun nation for even a month. The seller refused using all sorts of excuses which just raised red flags so in the end I just said if it's not through PayPal goods and services I have no interest and I haven't been contacted again since. Did I do it wrong or overreacted? Just curious on how you people deal with purchasing from a somewhat new member with almost no background so that your covered if you're scammed.

If something doesn't feel right or outside of your comfort zone then deff walk away. u did the right thing

 

[dgeesaman]

I do the same, ALWAYS pay for goods and services. The little extra will be worth it if something happens.

I quit Paypal years ago. They will shut down accounts and refund purchases for no legitimate reason. As a buyer things are pretty cushy with them. As a seller they will stab your back. In the classifieds world, you'll eventually be selling as often as you buy and so consider yourself warned about that.

 

[rangur1]

But all this being said, I hardly ever see anyone selling an air gun using goods and services which is kind of what I was wondering . Y'all must be a lot more trusting than I am

Usually because of TWO reasons. 1- feedback reputation is boss. If there is someone sketchy, it will show there. 2- Usually the member is one that has been dealt with before. I have more trust in 4-5 members here that I have NEVER met in person than I do with "friends" I have nearby that live locally, There is just a vibe you get with someone that will feel right or wrong. No deal is worth going against that. By the way, that response you got is fraud as f***. Classic craigslist style scam. You want to find out about a forum member? Look up their feedback, then click of a couple recent buyers of that member and read their feedback. Those don't lie. Higher the feedback, the better. But even when I saw they had 5 or 6 positive reviews, I read all and could see they were real solid.

 

[shortychance]

Ya but what threw me off is his photos of the gun and accessories not exactly something u just take of Google that's y I put up with him as long as I did. You know what ur right, had a previous encounter with a scammer and I told him that his response is a lot like that scammer and I even sent him a screenshot.

 

[Gramps]

As others have said you did the right thing by passing on the sale. I will only buy using Good & Services unless it from someone that I know really well and have met them in person. As I see it the fees for Goods & Services is part of doing business, I consider the fee when pricing. It's a business transaction treat it as such.

 

[shortychance]

Yup I agree completely. It just looks like sellers on here don't like or want to use it

 

[grackleblast]

I always request the "friends and family" when selling. If you are an established member with plenty of positive feedback , I have no problem whatsoever sending payment as F&F . If a new member without a track record , I may only offer to pay "goods & services" for my own piece of mind
or I may just pass on the transaction.

 

[cavedweller]

View attachment 468903here is one of the excuse

Scammers suck

 

[bchannell]

I've been buying and selling online for years and got scammed a couple times but had insurance via goods & services. I've learned a lot.
1) if it's too good to be true.....run.
2) if they balk at providing info, or provide something other than what you asked....run.
3) use g&s AND pay with a credit card, double the protection.
4) don't buy on americanairguns classifieds.
5) double check name & address online.
6) if PayPal, email and name don't have some connection, ask for explanation. Don't pay aunt Dorothy for Johnny's airgun.
7) look for verified pp accounts.

If I sell, I provide whatever info the seller asks for and offer to talk on the phone all they like.

If people are honest, they understand you being careful.

 

[JimBentley]

I’ve been selling and buying air guns since before most of the Internet forums. Any one old to remember Shot Gun News, or Gun list??
Paper that got delivered by snail mail.
I bought at least 50 air guns through them, send a MO and wait. Never once was I burnt!
Now days I prefer to buy/pay by PayPal. I do F&F for almost every transaction. The new tax law for over $600 per year requires a 1099 is so stupid. Most of us are not making a profit from selling our goods!!

 

[rangur1]

Yup I agree completely. It just looks like sellers on here don't like or want to use it

Well, some sellers don't want to pay extra taxes to the Gov't. Anything over $600 has a tax hit. As it is, a lot of stuff is discounted a good bit, Throw in shipping cost, that comes out of sellers hand and finally, a tax hit. F&F softens the blow a little.

 

[SilentSquirrel]

Well, some sellers don't want to pay extra taxes to the Gov't. Anything over $600 has a tax hit. As it is, a lot of stuff is discounted a good bit, Throw in shipping cost, that comes out of sellers hand and finally, a tax hit. F&F softens the blow a little.

The $600 "tax thing" is incorrect, The IRS has never implemented that regulation. It has been on hold for a few years.

What you need to know about next year's $600 reporting rule from the IRS

The new "$600 rule" involves payments received through third-party transaction networks like Venmo and PayPal.

www.cnbc.com

Just my 2 scents
Edward