My Experiences with Gun Broker

[John Rogers]

I have been using them for several years now and have had great luck. I recently sold a revolver that was priced a tad higher than I bought it 5 or 6 years ago and made the reserve reasonable. I also had a "buy it now" amount that was a little higher and at the last minute two guys went nuts over it and for some reason neither one clicked the BIN button so it ended it selling for more than I hoped for which was nice. I talked with the buyer's FFL in the midwest and have his paperwork and waiting for the money order so the buyer seems legit.

A weird thing happened though and it was while I wanted to buy a case of #11 CCI percussion caps (1000 total) and when I bid, the first bidder had it set so he automatically put in a bid a dollar higher than mine??!! WTF I thought was this about so I contacted the seller and he said he had two additional cases he'd sell me for the price that was originally bid so I mailed off a check. I figured it is pretty safe as he live a couple miles from one of my daughters in the Phoenix AZ area who just happens to be a judge so I don't think there will be any problems?

Have any of the members on here used Gun Broker and if so how did you do? I also have used a service in Texas too with great luck as it is where I found my Gibbs muzzle loader!

[Hugh R]

I think ebay lets you do the exact same thing on bumping the bid by $1 up to a maximum you want to bid.

[turbo owner]

Originally Posted by john rogers

I have been using them for several years now and have had great luck. I recently sold a revolver that was priced a tad higher than I bought it 5 or 6 years ago and made the reserve reasonable. I also had a "buy it now" amount that was a little higher and at the last minute two guys went nuts over it and for some reason neither one clicked the BIN button so it ended it selling for more than I hoped for which was nice. I talked with the buyer's FFL in the midwest and have his paperwork and waiting for the money order so the buyer seems legit.

A weird thing happened though and it was while I wanted to buy a case of #11 CCI percussion caps (1000 total) and when I bid, the first bidder had it set so he automatically put in a bid a dollar higher than mine??!! WTF I thought was this about so I contacted the seller and he said he had two additional cases he'd sell me for the price that was originally bid so I mailed off a check. I figured it is pretty safe as he live a couple miles from one of my daughters in the Phoenix AZ area who just happens to be a judge so I don't think there will be any problems?


Have any of the members on here used Gun Broker and if so how did you do? I also have used a service in Texas too with great luck as it is where I found my Gibbs muzzle loader!

I have, never a problem on my deals.

I did have one that went over the buy it now price, the buyer paid several hundred more on a de milled MP5 for a build, he was thrilled to get it regardless. He already had a sear, spent 15k for that, a couple hundred more was no big deal.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by john rogers

... and when I bid, the first bidder had it set so he automatically put in a bid a dollar higher than mine??!!

Proxy bid.

[Jeff Higgins]

I know lots of guys here have had good luck with them. My first - and last - experience through them was, however, very disappointing. I will never use them again. I even posted about here.

In essence (without digging up that old post), I "bought" a NIB Virginian Dragoon in .45 Colt. I sent a certified check from my bank, which was listed as an acceptable means of payment. The whole deal went sideways, with the seller making all manner of accusation concerning the validity of the method of payment. It eventually became clear that I was never going to see that revolver (and he was likely going to cash that check), and in spite of using all of the tools available on the Gunbroker website, I could not get Gunbroker to intervene. They would not even respond. I finally had to put a stop payment on the check, which as anyone who has ever tried to do so on a certified check will attest, is no easy feat.

I'm sure everything is fine when it goes fine. However, we hope to use the "safety net" provided by these sites when things go south. Gunbroker failed miserably in that regard. One of my favorite sayings is "everything is fine 'till it's not...". When it's "not", Gunbroker will never do anything to help.

[black_falcon]

When you bid on GunBroker, you're entering your MAX bid upfront and the system will bid up to that amount for you. The other bidder simply entered a higher dollar amount he was willing to let the system bid up to (by a dollar in your case?).

No problems with GB on my end, but always do my due diligence. For example I was bidding on a WWII rifle a few weeks ago. Noticed another bidder with zero feedback bidding the auctions up. Not just my item, but everything the seller had to offer. Reeked of a shill bidder so I dropped out. Obviously be leery of sellers with excessive negative feedback. I've been told GB is not much of a help when things go bad.

From a selling standpoint, GunBroker almost always brings top dollar. Great pictures and description, no reserve, penny start. You'll get fair market value plus some almost every time.