Online Sales/Scammers

[Gcs7th]

I think I have a scammer on the line for a purchase I made on GunBroker. Price seemed almost too good to be true with a buy it now a few dollars over starting bid. Buyer lists paypal, USPS, Money Order as accepted payment. They contacted me today asking if my dealer name was correct , couldn't type my name right (very common name), and asked about payment. I stated I wanted to use paypal and i get that they don't want to use it and how about cash app, venom or Zelle.

The seller is new to GunBroker and not rated.

This left me with an uneasy feeling, so I did some digging and their other posting follow the same method. List as 700 buy now for 750 but the kicker is none of the pictures are in the same location, different backdrops, lighting, and tables etc.

Next I google image searched and saw what appears to be the exact same image as the gun "I purchased"

At this point my mind is saying scam, thinking of offering to use some type of escrow service. Has Anyone used one of these services for firearms? This is one I found.

https://www.guntab.com/pricing

Thanks, stay safe and alert out there MDS community.

[slsc98]

I have zero experience using any brokers and, you’re a better man (person, sorry?) than I; there’s a long list of things that cause the little voice in my head to say, “Be Patient, Just Keep Looking” and your OP covers just about all of em.

Caveat Emptor. Really.

[Gcs7th]

Ya, the other items they listed seem to be at normal prices, I've opened a request with GunBroker for investigation. I hate seeing people being taken advantage of and don't want to see anyone fall for a trap like this. Most people may just say sure thats fine, but my spider senses were tingling.

[rseymorejr]

I wonder if you could make up some kind of concern and ask for another picture from an angle that they don't already show? If they have the gun on hand should be no problem

[Gcs7th]

I should ask for a MDS style foot picture.

[davsco]

maybe they posted on multiple sites. yeah i'd ask for a custom pic, maybe with a mag sitting on the slide or something they couldn't easily photoshop.

[Atrox88]

There is nothing I need so bad that when my gut tells me something isn't right, I won't trust my gut. I do not buy from -0- rated folks.
I just don't trust them. And I have found some sellers that have a few ratings actually don't have the product in hand. When you buy
they order from a warehouse. I had that happen once and the guy couldn't supply the product and tried to give me a substitute. They
hate bad ratings and I slammed him. Gunbroker tried to intervene, I showed them the evidence and I got my money back. The dude has
since had quite a few bad ratings for the same scam. Trust your gut.

[cantstop]

Send him a message saying you want to talk to him on the phone and ask for his number. I usually shun sellers with no feedback, but if he's willing to talk on the phone at least you'll get a better feel. Ask him if he has pictures of the actual gun instead of a stock photo.

Good luck.

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

All sellers start at zero ratings...even the best of them. Due diligence...ask questions...more photos. Just look out for yourself first. With a first time seller you might find a real bargain due to the reluctance of other bidders.

[dfitzs1]

There's also a bunch of new websites that are popping up with too good to be true prices on guns. The red flag is that only take bitcoin/cashapp/venmo, not credit cards. I