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How to legally sell guns

Therapeutae said:
Hey Brothers,
Covid destroyed my business and my marriage. It looks like I may need to sell a few of my guns to help me get through the difficult times ahead.

How does one go about legally selling firearms? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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You could try visiting some local guns stores in your area to see what percentage they take for consignment.

Consignment is better than selling them to a store as you will make a higher percentage and also you won't need to worry about who maybe buying the firearms because the LGS will run a background check on anyone trying to buy them.
 
Depends on your state laws.

If your state allows person to person sales, that’s how you will usually get the most for your guns; dealers usually take a pretty good cut.

Armslist used to be a good site, but now sucks donkey testicles. Google your state and local gun classifieds, you may find someplace to post an ad.

But, it will behoove you to learn all of your state (and possibly local) laws before doing this.
 
Private person-to-person sales are perfectly legal in my state without a background check, but some sellers I've noticed require the buyer to have a CC permit and show it upon the sale. Doesn't do any good if the buyer has become a criminal since the permit was issued...and you would have no way of knowing this.
 
10mmLife said:
You could try visiting some local guns stores in your area to see what percentage they take for consignment.

Consignment is better than selling them to a store as you will make a higher percentage and also you won't need to worry about who maybe buying the firearms because the LGS will run a background check on anyone trying to buy them.
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the only downside i saw to this, was that i took a couple of my guns to the range, for a consignment sale. they get 20%.

but the time waiting is a killer. from the time the person buys it (or puts a deposit on it to hold it) , goes thru the background check, then finally goes back to pay for it, then till i get the call to go and pick up the check.

and all THAT is dependant on if the dummy can pass the background checks!

i had this happen to me, 1 month on consignment, then the guy could not pass that background check, ticked me off.

all that waiting time for naught.

so i took my non-sold gun(s), to the LGS and dumped it there, cash in hand, thank you very much.

then it's HIS problem if a potential buyer can actually by it or not.

i didn't get what i wanted for them at the LGS, but frankly, consignment sales (to me) suck.

like that tv commercial...."It's my money and i want it now"..!!
 
Well it depends how important it is to you to get what it’s worth. Or close to it. And how important it is to you to be sure you aren’t accidentally putting a gun in the hands of an idiot or a criminal.
 
Jfal said:
Private person-to-person sales are perfectly legal in my state without a background check, but some sellers I've noticed require the buyer to have a CC permit and show it upon the sale. Doesn't do any good if the buyer has become a criminal since the permit was issued...and you would have no way of knowing this.
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It does show that you made a reasonable attempt to verify they weren’t prohibited; and since it’s on the state to revoke a carry permit, it’s the state’s fault for not having retrieved it from a prohibited person.

I require a carry permit when I sell to someone I don’t know, or go through an FFL.
 
Bassbob said:
Well it depends how important it is to you to get what it’s worth. Or close to it. And how important it is to you to be sure you aren’t accidentally putting a gun in the hands of an idiot or a criminal.
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i don't know how LGS's around the country operate, regarding buying used guns from an owner, but here, "generally" you get 60% of the value, since when they are sold again, they cannot be sold for new pricing.

so again "here" whether it's on consignment or sold out right, you just don't get as much as you'd really like.

only during the "pandemic", used guns were going for almost the exact same prices as new.

but now...???

pfffttt........

it is not legal "here" to sell to anyone without that 8 day waiting period, and forms to fill out

i'd rather an FFL take care of the sale/transfer, (the buyer pays transfer fee's) that way, if the buyer has a bad background, he just does not get the gun.
 
Old_Me said:
i don't know how LGS's around the country operate, regarding buying used guns from an owner, but here, "generally" you get 60% of the value, since when they are sold again, they cannot be sold for new pricing.

so again "here" whether it's on consignment or sold out right, you just don't get as much as you'd really like.

only during the "pandemic", used guns were going for almost the exact same prices as new.

but now...???

pfffttt........

it is not legal "here" to sell to anyone without that 8 day waiting period, and forms to fill out

i'd rather an FFL take care of the sale/transfer, (the buyer pays transfer fee's) that way, if the buyer has a bad background, he just does not get the gun.
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Sure, but we don’t know where the OP is located or what the laws are in his state.
 
10mmLife said:
You could try visiting some local guns stores in your area to see what percentage they take for consignment.

Consignment is better than selling them to a store as you will make a higher percentage and also you won't need to worry about who maybe buying the firearms because the LGS will run a background check on anyone trying to buy them.
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Agreed on the consignment sale. I've sold a couple of rifles over the years on consignment and both times I've gotten very close to the price I asked. No issues both times.
 
Bassbob said:
Sure, but we don’t know where the OP is located or what the laws are in his state.
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the o/p should really check his state's laws, and not circumvent them. as lawsuits can arise in a shooting, for an illegal sale.

it was an easy google search for me

how to legally sell a gun in the state of_______________________
 
Therapeutae said:
Hey Brothers,
Covid destroyed my business and my marriage. It looks like I may need to sell a few of my guns to help me get through the difficult times ahead.

How does one go about legally selling firearms? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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So, to cut to the chase…there’s basically three options…you just have to decide how much you want to get out of your guns, how much risk, and how much hassle you want to put up with.

The least hassle, least risk option is also least amount of return option: sell them to a dealer. Expect to get 50% of what you have in them, at best.

Consignment through a gun shop is still low risk, slightly higher return, but slightly more hassle, as it will likely take longer to get a return.

The highest return is to sell them yourself, but that’s also going to be higher hassle (you will likely deal with idiots; if you’ve ever sold anything on Craigslist, you know what I am talking about…gun buyers are no different) and MUCH higher risk in both personal safety (you’re dealing with an unknown person in a situation involving a large-ish amount of cash and at least one firearm) and possible legal repercussions (should the person you sell to be prohibited). I’ll add that I know someone who made an Armslist deal and was given counterfeit bills…so that’s a risk as well.

One could always auction on Gunbroker…but there’s a fair amount of hassle going that route as well.

Guess you need to decide what you want to put up with.
 
I'd go to the major auction sites like Gun Broker, Guns America, or Guns International, and see what people are asking for guns like yours. I like Guns International because you can set your own price and if you have a desirable piece and the price is right it will move. All of your sales must go through an FFL if the buyer is in another state, or if your state laws require it. The buyer will send you a signed copy of his GS's FFL and you ship it to that dealer. Or you can have a local FFL ship to their FFL. Either way there will be extra fees/expenses to deal with. Whichever way you choose make sure you do it legally.
 
HansGruber said:
So, to cut to the chase…there’s basically three options…you just have to decide how much you want to get out of your guns, how much risk, and how much hassle you want to put up with.

The least hassle, least risk option is also least amount of return option: sell them to a dealer. Expect to get 50% of what you have in them, at best.

Consignment through a gun shop is still low risk, slightly higher return, but slightly more hassle, as it will likely take longer to get a return.

The highest return is to sell them yourself, but that’s also going to be higher hassle (you will likely deal with idiots; if you’ve ever sold anything on Craigslist, you know what I am talking about…gun buyers are no different) and MUCH higher risk in both personal safety (you’re dealing with an unknown person in a situation involving a large-ish amount of cash and at least one firearm) and possible legal repercussions (should the person you sell to be prohibited). I’ll add that I know someone who made an Armslist deal and was given counterfeit bills…so that’s a risk as well.

One could always auction on Gunbroker…but there’s a fair amount of hassle going that route as well.

Guess you need to decide what you want to put up with.
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which is why i just now sell them to the gun store, and be done with them. no hassle, no responsibility, less money, but then, they are used guns that i am getting rid of. which by the way, nearly all my guns are factory stock, with maybe the exception being new grips. not too much money invested from me.

heck, used just about anything, one never really recoups all money spent on the product.
 
Wannabewoodsman said:
In my state, (Iowa) I can do any private transaction with someone who isn't a prohibited person. Might be a possibility in your state, check the local laws.
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Same here in my state ..... but the question and the risk is, how do we as private sellers verify the buyer to not be a "prohibited" person? Actually the law here says If I 'know or 'should have' known'. That second part about 'should have' known is the real catcher.

Long time ago I decided to never sell privately to anyone I didn't know personally to be a responsible, law abiding citizen or a legitimate LGS. Just something to think about.
 
jumpinjoe said:
Same here in my state ..... but the question and the risk is, how do we as private sellers verify the buyer to not be a "prohibited" person? Actually the law here says If I 'know or 'should have' known'. That second part about 'should have' known is the real catcher.

Long time ago I decided to never sell privately to anyone I didn't know personally to be a responsible, law abiding citizen or a legitimate LGS. Just something to think about.
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That's basically my choice as well. If it's a stranger I would suggest we go to an FFL
 
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