[Kalmah]

Got the following email this morning from Armslist...

"Dear Armslist User,

I hope all is well.

You may be finding yourself having some difficulty navigating the site. We thank you for your patience as we upgrade our infrastructure in an effort to reduce scams, and improve the overall user experience. As you may know, we are facing yet another lawsuit from the anti-gunners at Brady United. In an effort to offset the mounting legal costs, we have created a new paid account type: The Premium Personal Program. While it's still in it's early stages, our roadmap for the program includes some exciting new characteristics for our users including exclusive discounts, exclusive deals, and a plethora of new site and account features in the months to come. If you'd like to give it a try, click here.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support as we experience these growing pains. We hope to offer a vastly improved experience soon.

Best,

J. Gibbon"


I then tried to access my Armlist account, it told me I needed to upgrade to a paid premium account.

Apparently, you can still peruse the ads free of charge, but you now need to have a paid account to post an ad or reply to an ad.

 

[G26-Has-my-6]

to be honest, I didnt like armslist at all. first, lots of scammers. second, they didnt make it very good to search. It has a very awkward and not very specific way to search.

 

[6Actual]

never much used AL now with the change all I can see that they are bringing to the table is more suk

 

[evlbruce]

Fine with me, just so long as it's nominal. Having a pay-barrier keeps the scammers down.

 

[DrewBone]

...Having a pay-barrier keeps the scammers down.

...and causes those who seriously engage in fraudulent activities to refine their efforts and concentrate even harder on scamming unsuspecting buyers out of more and more money.

A friend of mine's been taken to the cleaners on ARMSLIST twice...if I'm not mistaken it was to the total tune of $3,000 or better. It was his greed as a buyer (him: "Oh wow, what a great price! I've been looking for one of those for years and I just can't pass it up at that price!!!") that caused him to abandon his sense of doubt and lower his security shield.

Even at that he still almost fell for another scam after our dealer friend received an unsolicited email from a gun dealer's wife who was contacting other FFl dealers letting them know that due to health issues she and her husband were closing their business and liquidating their inventory, which included a number of Santa Fe H&K41's for $1,500, a Springfield Armory M25 White Feather M1A rifle for $1,200, etc. He even sent me pictures of one of the H&K41's that had been sent to him from the sellers, which I promptly found on the internet from you guessed it, a 3 year old ARMSLIST ad...the bedspread on which the rifle was laying on for the pictures had a very distinct pattern and was easily recognized. Using Google Earth I brought up the mailing address provided by the seller where a potential buyer was to send the funds, and it was a small trailer home with a couple of cars in the driveway in a very rural area south of Chicago. The sellers even emailed my dealer friend an invoice (of the generic variety with the firearm values represented in Euros and not US dollars, LOL) but no copy of their FFL, and the woman's name sounded Ukrainian-ish. My dealer friend was not entirely surprised but he himself was getting a little too close to purchasing some items from this "husband and wife" team so I made sure that I admonished him.

I also told him my friend that if he sent them even one red cent I would personally drive up to NY and beat him senseless with my cane.

 

[PolymerWonder]

Fine with me. Less spam and BS from people who aren’t actually serious.

 

[0311INF]

$4 per month, but it will make the site tolerable. I'll probably just use the local forums from now on.

 

[Kalmah]

Scammers aren't really the problem on Armslist. Yeah, there are scammers. But Armslist is intended for local, face to face transactions. Kinda hard to get scammed face to face.

My biggest complaint about Armslist is the flakes (someone who says, "I'll take it." And then POOF, just disappears) and the tire kickers (someone who asks 100 questions and/or asks for a ton of additional photos, but isn't serious about buying). Seriously, probably 80% of those who reply to my ads are either flakes or tire kickers. Hopefully, having to pay will cut down on those clowns.

 

[Deputydave]

I certainly got a lot of really excellent deals through AL. But I've gotten to the point that I really don't need anything else. Oh, it will always be fun to get something new or different, but I don't need anything. Every role I have for a firearm is covered. And if for some reason I get into the mood I have a couple of local B/S/T sites to go to that I've used in the past.

 

[Bren]

I wouldn't use Armslist if they paid me.

 

[Gray Dood]

I've attempted to use them once, several years ago, and the responses raised red flags for me.

Gbroker has been my venue of choice and I haven't been burned yet. Knock on wood.

 

[Desert Kraut]

I have had mostly good luck buying and selling on Armslist. You do need to be careful as with any buying/selling sites e.g. Craigslist, Offer Up, etc. Lately, the big issue for me has been the ridiculous pricing on basic firearms. I haven't logged into my Armslist account for some time as I have no immediate needs or wants. I will have to check it out.

 

[Lil]

Scammers aren't really the problem on Armslist. ...intended for local, face to face transactions. Kinda hard to get scammed face to face.
My biggest complaint about Armslist is the flakes...

Of course scammers are problematic, very problematic. How about getting scammed out of your time pursuing the non-existent? People should do much more flagging of scams! As for flakes, do a better job qualifying.

 

[RightNYer]

Just noticed this. I guess I'm only using Floridaguntrader from now on. I usually pay FGT the $1.50 for "support their site," but that's because it's voluntary. I won't be pressured into it like Armslist is doing. I also don't like the huge price difference between ACH and credit. Yeah, no I'm not feeling giving Armslist access to my bank account.

 

[familyman357]

An underperforming service is going to charge a fee now?
Using PhotoBucket's model is a bold choice. :laughing:

 

[RightNYer]

In recent times, Armslist has been overrun with scammers. The common one would be to list a Glock for way below market (at least during panic times), and then the "seller" would say that he was out of town, or somewhere not close to you, but that he would deliver it to you if you'd sent him half the money.

It's amazing to me that anyone fell for this crap, but enough must have for it to have been worthwhile for the scammers.

 

[Kalmah]

Of course scammers are problematic, very problematic. How about getting scammed out of your time pursuing the non-existent? People should do much more flagging of scams!

I've been using Armslist on a regular basis for years. Can't say I've ever had a problem with scammers. They're annoying, but I've never even come close to falling for one. The fake ads posted by scammers are pretty easy to spot, and the scammers who reply to my ads are also easy to spot. As long as you keep your transactions face to face, there's really no way to get ripped off even if one gets by your scammer radar.

As for flakes, do a better job qualifying.

Not sure what you mean by that.

 

[Judge Bean]

Those in Florida should try www.FloridaGunTrader.com. Donations are appreciated but you can still use it for free. Scammers can be found, but most people insist on face-to-face with Florida ID.

 

[Glock4life!]

Scammers aren't really the problem on Armslist. Yeah, there are scammers. But Armslist is intended for local, face to face transactions. Kinda hard to get scammed face to face.

My biggest complaint about Armslist is the flakes (someone who says, "I'll take it." And then POOF, just disappears) and the tire kickers (someone who asks 100 questions and/or asks for a ton of additional photos, but isn't serious about buying). Seriously, probably 80% of those who reply to my ads are either flakes or tire kickers. Hopefully, having to pay will cut down on those clowns.

I think it’s quite easy to get scammed or robbed face to face. My example:

I posted an ad for a Glock and exchanged texts and a phone call with the potential buyer. My first red flag was he was about 45-55 minutes outside of my selling area but he asked for a bill of sale and seemed pleasant on the phone.

I show up early to meet and circle the area that I pick for these transactions looking for his car. I find him. Blacked out tinted windows and at least one other person in the car, maybe more in the back but I can’t tell.

I call him and explain that I’m not meeting with him as he brought others and I’m alone. He was pissed. Called me racist and all kinds of names. I was calm and told him if he still wanted to buy my gun we could go meet at the police station. He cursed me some more and hung up.

Call me paranoid but my gut instinct was to bail. Had he told me he was bringing someone else ahead of time I would have thought nothing of it.

Anyone can take advantage of you if you let your guard down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[capt.carl]

I think it’s quite easy to get scammed or robbed face to face. My example:

I posted an ad for a Glock and exchanged texts and a phone call with the potential buyer. My first red flag was he was about 45-55 minutes outside of my selling area but he asked for a bill of sale and seemed pleasant on the phone.

I show up early to meet and circle the area that I pick for these transactions looking for his car. I find him. Blacked out tinted windows and at least one other person in the car, maybe more in the back but I can’t tell.

I call him and explain that I’m not meeting with him as he brought others and I’m alone. He was pissed. Called me racist and all kinds of names. I was calm and told him if he still wanted to buy my gun we could go meet at the police station. He cursed me some more and hung up.

Call me paranoid but my gut instinct was to bail. Had he told me he was bringing someone else ahead of time I would have thought nothing of it.

Anyone can take advantage of you if you let your guard down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it’s quite easy to get scammed or robbed face to face. My example:

I posted an ad for a Glock and exchanged texts and a phone call with the potential buyer. My first red flag was he was about 45-55 minutes outside of my selling area but he asked for a bill of sale and seemed pleasant on the phone.

I show up early to meet and circle the area that I pick for these transactions looking for his car. I find him. Blacked out tinted windows and at least one other person in the car, maybe more in the back but I can’t tell.

I call him and explain that I’m not meeting with him as he brought others and I’m alone. He was pissed. Called me racist and all kinds of names. I was calm and told him if he still wanted to buy my gun we could go meet at the police station. He cursed me some more and hung up.

Call me paranoid but my gut instinct was to bail. Had he told me he was bringing someone else ahead of time I would have thought nothing of it.

Anyone can take advantage of you if you let your guard down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good call. Ive shown up and saw that there was another person with the guy as well, so I bailed. When I got him on the phone he explained the situation and I felt ok with it, so it all worked out. But I definitely would have done the same thing you did in your situation.