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Selling on GunBroker.com
Hidalgo
Member Posts: 3 ✭
I am new to this site. There are a number of options when setting up a gun for sale. What are the best choices that make it attractive to a buyer but safe for a seller?
Auction or Fixed Price? Auction with reserve? Limited time auction?
Payment methods. Which are best?
Shipping methods. Which are best.
I would like to make it easy for the buyer but safe for me.
Comments
As a buyer I can say I do not like reserve auctions. Others do not mind them. I have no desire to guess what a seller wants for their product. Instead of a reserve just start the auction at the least you will accept rather than a reserve.
I won't even bid with a reserve. Set a price that you feel comfortable with and let it roll. I also try to start and end my auctions on a Sunday afternoon or evening. Not everyone can bid while they are working, at church, with family on a Saturday , and so on. I always list my auction shipping as ground. As far as payments, I only except USPS, Certified check and money orders. I don't ship until they are excepted. Run your auctions for a minimal of 7 days, to get as much exposure as you can. I only ship to this country, period. Oak
Reserves are among the LEAST popular auction listings. Avoid having a reserve. I find seven days listings- Sunday evening to Sunday evening- to be ideal, but I've done just as well with five days. Once you go above ten days, buyers take the attitude that they can always come back and bid later. Sometimes they do. Too often your listing ends up on the back burner and they forget all about you and never bid. The vast majority of buyers are in the Eastern and Central time zones, so don't end you auctions too late in the evening. I set my endings at 9 PM eastern, which is 8 central.
The Postal Money Order is the best known, and are usually preferred for payment. Nearly everyone has a Post Office within driving distance. Otherwise, certified funds from banks work. Personal checks are at your discretion. I've never had one that bounced. Other sellers haven't been so lucky. Credit cards are a world unto their own. Any sort or electronic payment service such as PayPal or Zell are nightmares waiting to unfold. Neither company allows for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, or "weapons." Many sellers guessed that they wouldn't get caught. Just as many guessed wrong and came into the forum blaming Gun Broker.
Shipping depends on what you plan to sell. Keep in mind that if you are selling a handgun, only licensed dealers can put a pistol into the US Mail. Individuals selling handguns must use United Parcel or FedEx, which charge high rates for shipping handguns. Long guns can be mailed or shipped UPS or FedEx. My advice is to very careful offering flat rate shipping on large items like rifles. If you list shipping a rifle at (say) a flat $35, you'll be overwhelmed with buyers from Alaska and Hawaii, who know perfectly well that is half the actual shipping cost! BTDT...one time (never again).
Before you list the item, bring your listing info into the forum and we'll looking it over and offer advice. Once you listing goes live, come back into the forum and link it into into a thread which we call a "Shameless Plug."
Good luck, and welcome to Gun Broker.
Thank you. This all very helpful.
Hidalgo
How do I switch my listing from a fixed price to an auction?
IME, the best way to get auction attention is to list desirable guns on auction started at a low price and let 'er rip. Might not be the best strategy for a bubba'd gun or something rareified somehow. Throw up a Glock 19 at a penny and look at the hordes come, though. YMMV.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Click the edit button, and go thru the pages until you get to the price. Change your starting bid to 0.01 and let 'er rip...
I bid and buy at reserve auctions all the time. I don't understand the beef, unless some of you just want things done your way. BTW, you end up buying the guns that I bought at reserve auctions.
Pichers!!! If you want to sell it, good pichers! In focus, well lighted, show details. I'm not in a gun shop- can't pick it up, turn it around and lay my eyes on it- all I have is your pictures.
Only in secret reserve auctions can both buyer and seller experience a complete waste of time.
One doesn't even know if it is for sale for a reasonable price, which it often isn't.
Thankfully GB let's searchers exclude reserve auctions.
On a reserve auction..in fact most on which I purchase... I always communicate ahead of time to the seller.. and most times ask what they need for the firearm or item. You folks that avoid the reserve auctions help me out since you avoid this. A lot of times I have ask if they will take a little less and then the seller posts a buy it now on what we agree on. The item sells .
Funny part is when I do the communication the seller knows the buyer is serious.
When you do your pictures, don't use a white or bright background. Use a neutral color and not reflective. It allows details in the item to stand out.