Possible Straw Man Purchase Prevented

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  • grimnar15

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 21, 2019
    1,645
    A buyer responded to my for sale add that I have on here and Armslist (Colt M4A1). Met the buyer in a public place, he had a friend with him. After inspecting he looked at his buddy and handed the rifle over to him. His friend then said "I am good with it"... I took the rifle back and told the guy that I was concerned that he was not buying the rifle for himself, I explained that I would not proceed with the sale. At this point they got very angry, even kicked my car as I was leaving. Not sure, I will do another FTF. Probably will only go to an FFL.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,234
    Montgomery County
    For what it's worth, I frequently ride shotgun (so to speak) with a friend of mine who - like me - likes to shoot and buys too many guns. But he's a bit less marinated in the trends and evolving market, so he asks me to come along as a sanity check. He has - exactly as in your meet-up - handed his prospective purchase physically to me, whereupon I fiddled with it, make some judgement calls, and then handed it back to him saying something along the lines of, "Works for me." That consulting sidekick role could EASILY be perceived as him making a straw purchase for me, when it absolutely is no such thing.
     

    python

    Active Member
    Apr 15, 2010
    600
    Armslist is an accident waiting to happen. You have to be pretty desperate to use it.
     

    grimnar15

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 21, 2019
    1,645
    For what it's worth, I frequently ride shotgun (so to speak) with a friend of mine who - like me - likes to shoot and buys too many guns. But he's a bit less marinated in the trends and evolving market, so he asks me to come along as a sanity check. He has - exactly as in your meet-up - handed his prospective purchase physically to me, whereupon I fiddled with it, make some judgement calls, and then handed it back to him saying something along the lines of, "Works for me." That consulting sidekick role could EASILY be perceived as him making a straw purchase for me, when it absolutely is no such thing.

    Good point, but it was a very weird situation so I decided to abort.
     

    Bertfish

    Throw bread on me
    Mar 13, 2013
    17,606
    White Marsh, MD
    Armslist is an accident waiting to happen. You have to be pretty desperate to use it.

    I disagree wholeheartedly. It's only as dangerous or risky as you allow it to be. Weve had instances of buyers here in the past getting turned away by sellers because things seem sketchy.
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412
    With the current political climate, I wouldn't be shocked at all if it was a set-up by some task force or journalist. The left is going after FTF sales hard...especially those arranged online. That uneasy feeling people get is a pretty amazing gift that can get people out of trouble(when they listen to it).

    I turned away a bunch of people over the years I worked at the bass pro gun counter for obvious straw purchases and for people that set off my bad-guy alarm. I felt MUCH better about the ones where the person/people freaked out and got aggressive when I told them we're not proceeding with the sale. It reaffirmed that I made a good decision and judged them correctly.
     

    ken792

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 2, 2011
    4,480
    Fairfax, VA
    I've never sold on Armslist, but have used it to buy plenty of stuff with zero negative experiences. Here in VA, it's pretty standard for sellers to state in ads that they'll only sell to those who have a carry permit. When making an offer, I usually mention that I have a carry permit and a few sellers have said that I was the first "non sketchy" person who contacted.
     

    MaxVO2

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Meet at the MSP barracks or inside of AGC club house. Both places are pretty safe and scammers probably won't want to go to a barrack.

    *****I only sell at the MSP Barracks or through an FFL. I feel safer there and scammers know they are being filmed when at the barracks. I also have some friends from IWLA who are police officers and they have helped me with insuring transactions are legit and reducing the possibility scammers try to take advantage, etc...

    I don't sell much anymore due to having lost all my guns in a boating accident trying to stand up in a kayak to do jumping jacks for some odd reason..
     

    Bertfish

    Throw bread on me
    Mar 13, 2013
    17,606
    White Marsh, MD
    I've never sold on Armslist, but have used it to buy plenty of stuff with zero negative experiences. Here in VA, it's pretty standard for sellers to state in ads that they'll only sell to those who have a carry permit. When making an offer, I usually mention that I have a carry permit and a few sellers have said that I was the first "non sketchy" person who contacted.

    Christ you do that up here and you'll never sell anything
     

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