Selling on gunbroker?

[wheelguns]

I am new to selling on gunbroker. I have done plenty of buying. Can anybody give me any suggestions? Are any of the add ons worth buying to get your add “more” noticed? I learned alot selling the first one. I now have another one listed. Have a few more to go down the road.

[squawberryman]

My experience is not. If you have a product I wanted to and didn't misspell the listing I'll find it

[wheelguns]

That is good to know. The only add on I purchased was the view counter.

[bushog]

Dec 19, 2020 12:03:34 GMT -5 wheelguns said:

That is good to know. The only add on I purchased was the view counter.

I like that view counter too.

Thats the only add one I do too.

[mike454]

My recommendation would be to let someone else do it. I started with David Carroll several years back than went to Jim Brewster. There are a number of other guys that can list for you that do a great job on writing them up, photographing them and handling payment. The commissions are reasonable and there auctions will get a lot more views than yours, which is the name of the game.

[wheelguns]

These are just generic guns. Nothing special. I got my price on the first one. My starting bid has already been met on the next one, and I just listed it last night. I have shipped guns before with ups next day air, without a hitch. I am on the east coast, and the guy that bought the last one is in Alaska. That makes for a huge shipping bill. Although he is responsible for shipping, I told him that I would try to get him a better price. So, I reached out to a retired gun shop owner who still has an ffl. He is going to ship it usps for me. 

This last one I gave a set shipping price to the lower 48 that I know will cover the shipping. When I buy, I figure all of this in. I am not so sure about other people. I am trying to make it as foolproof as I can.

[zac0419]

For future reference I'd say pay attention to these things as they have worked well for me. ymmv


- Good pictures. iPhone pics are perfectly fine but make sure they're focussed and detailed. Close ups of where scratches and wear tend to find themselves. A decent inside the barrel pic is nice too. (flashlight shining on white paper for inside the barrel lighting works well) Nothing bugs me more than a $4400 Bowen with 3 blurry pictures. Try to add in the description that you can provide pictures of whatever they need, just ask.

- Good thorough description of everything you can think of. Start with questions you would want answered and go from there.

- I don't charge more than say $25 to $40 for shipping, and don't promise next day air. I know I'll have to eat a little cost to get it from a-b but "actual shipping cost" is an unknown and charging $90 because you might have to pay it turns away folks too.

- I do 7 or 10 day auctions with penny starts. My sales are for typically for harder to find things and while I've gotten less than expected maybe twice, I've done really well many times. The more buyers you get interested the better. If you're selling a very common gun having a reserve price a little below what you want might be a good idea.

Insure it.

[wheelguns]

All good information! Keep it coming.

[squawberryman]

I ONLY take USPS MO's. Even after you state it they call and ask if I'll take a cashier's check. It's convenient for them, not me. MO's are like cash with no waiting, no wondering. I'll take a personal check from just about anyone here, everyone else pays cash.

[bushog]

I agree with the shipping thing. It always costs more than $45 but i wont ask for more. I do think it turns folks away if u ask for more.

[wheelguns]

Dec 19, 2020 17:00:44 GMT -5 squawberryman said:

I ONLY take USPS MO's. Even after you state it they call and ask if I'll take a cashier's check. It's convenient for them, not me. MO's are like cash with no waiting, no wondering. I'll take a personal check from just about anyone here, everyone else pays cash.

On the first one, I clicked paypal and usps money order. Since then, I found out that you can’t pay for a gun on paypal. So the next one says usps money order only.

[diddle]

I have never sold a gun on Gunbroker (etc.) but I have bought a bunch. Most of my experiences have been excellent but I have had reservations on a few. So, my $0.02 worth from an experienced buyer’s perspective: Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Use plenty of quality photos in your ad’ ... try to accurately illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of your gun. Be unambiguous in the description of your gun ... for example, if you say a gun is “ mint” or “98%” know exactly what that means and over deliver on it. Be aware that if you require someone to buy more than $3000 in USPS MO’s, they will be treated like a drug trafficker at the P.O. when they buy them (that’s been my experience, at least). If you agree to accept personal checks with shipping once the check “clears the bank”, keep in mind that doesn’t take a couple of weeks these days ... the buyer will know exactly when their funds are transferred to your account, then you have their money and they have nothing but a promise from you ... ship the gun when the funds transfer. When you ship the gun, package it to survive wreckless and irresponsible handling by the carrier; it will probably be treated worse than that. In short, “The Golden Rule” goes a long ways in selling a gun ... and a “good deal” is only when it’s good on both ends. Good luck!

[bushog]

Dec 19, 2020 17:15:04 GMT -5 wheelguns said:

Dec 19, 2020 17:00:44 GMT -5 squawberryman said:

I ONLY take USPS MO's. Even after you state it they call and ask if I'll take a cashier's check. It's convenient for them, not me. MO's are like cash with no waiting, no wondering. I'll take a personal check from just about anyone here, everyone else pays cash.

On the first one, I clicked paypal and usps money order. Since then, I found out that you can’t pay for a gun on paypal. So the next one says usps money order only.

Oh Hell NO!

They will freeze your account with all your $$ in it and come after your first born.

It's messed up... Ebay owns Gunbroker and Paypal so why won't they allow you to pay for a gun with it?

Optics I guess.

[nicholst55]

I haven't sold anything on GB yet, so take this for what it's worth. In today's world, if you don't accept some form of digital payment (Venmo, Zelle, or whatever), you're losing sales - especially from younger people. I recall that during the primary elections, some younger people complained that they didn't vote because they didn't know where to buy a stamp to mail in their ballot! As incredible as that seems, if they don't know where to buy a stamp they most certainly don't know where to buy a USPS money order! Also, I have read many comments online from people who simply don't have the time to locate a post office and stand in line to buy a money order. And, USPS money orders are not the gold standard payment device that many mistakenly assume them to be. They are commonly counterfeited, and most post offices don't keep enough cash on hand to cash one for more than just a few bucks.  Banks tend to treat them like any other check or money order - you can get your cash when the thing clears.  Just MHO.

[wheelguns]

So I am a little torn on the shipping. I would prefer to ship through an ffl that would use the usps. I am talking handguns here. The one that I usually deal with doesn’t offer shipping, but will ship for me. I feel like I am asking him to do me a favor. He has always said yes, but I am sure he would rather sell them for me. The quote that I got from ups for the gun going to alaska was for over $130. When you are selling a $500-$700 gun, how much of a hit am I expected to take. That is over twice what I paid to ship one to washington state. There is a gun store that offers shipping by the ups depot, so I stopped there after going to ups. They told me that they only ship ups and charge $50 on top of that. No thanks, I can do that myself. I am on the east coast.