Firearms Trading Post Guidelines and FAQ

[Okuma]

Please post Want To Buy Firearms in the WTB forum, Thanks

Dealers are welcome here at the trader, we just ask that you post in the appropriate forum. A dealer is classified as someone who sells two or more items a week.

If you are a dealer and require sales tax and a background check, make sure that is clear on your posts.

If you think someone's price it too high, do not post it in the thread, send it in a pm. People can post there items for whatever price they want. We do not want any sales threads hijacked with price arguments.

For the time being, dealers and private sellers can post in the main firearms area, but if we have any problems we may have to split it up into two separate forums.

I will just listen to the trader community as to whether that will be needed or not.

If you are listing in the firearms swap and sell please do one of two things:

Put a general location in the title: NW, Metro, South, etc.

or

Put your location in your profile, again it doesn't have to be specific. Just to keep someone in Canton from getting too excited about something in Savannah
You can ask questions and get answers in the actual thread, pms are no longer required. Please note that the threads will still stay in chronological order, so it is impossible to bump a post. After a few days you can re list the item and place a link to the original post or just start a whole new one.

If you would rather have PM's and not have any responses in the thread of your sale item, just put that in the post and close the thread. Just make sure to mark it sold when it sells.

You must adhere to all local, State, and Federal gun laws

We strongly recommend you require a Ga Driver's License and preferably a Ga Firearms License for any trade, purchase, or sale of a firearm.

We also recommend filling out a Bill of Sale for any transaction for the protection of both parties. If you need one, you can find one here:

http://www.freebusinessforms.com/print/bill-of-sale/Gun-bill-of-sale.rtf

Once your item has sold, please mark it as such. Please leave the title and price, just edit the title to include sold or traded. We ask this so people can search the forums to see how frequently certain items come up and how much they are going for.

Right now we are thinking you can repost every three 3 days, but you wont be able to delete the old one. In the new post, you could have a link to the original post, or you could just go back to each and mark them sold. Our thinking is that we would like for items that have been sold to remain in the trading post so people can reference them for asking price or see about how often that particular item comes up for sale, rarely or often.

 

[Okuma]

Also, if you list something as a zombie slayer, and it does not perform as such when there is a zombie invasion, you will be banned. Zombies are no joke, and no one should be lulled into a false sense of security.

 

[branscott]

Well spoken mr.Steve lol

 

[Okuma]

guidelines amended

 

[Okuma]

Added a couple more guidelines

 

[CCW]

All the rules for the sale and transfer of guns between private citizens can be found on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tax and Firearms “Frequently Asked Questions”.

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/faq/faqindex.htm

Considerable confusion about the sale of a firearm from one individual to another arises because there are usually two aspects to the sale – the legalities of the sale itself, and then the actual physical transfer of the gun, which is governed primarily by the internal regulations of various shippers. (Major caveat: Most states do not have any additional requirements beyond the federal ones, some do. There is no effort here to address state requirements. You are on your own for that.

Legalities: A private citizen may sell a firearm to any other citizen of the United States who the seller does not have reason to believe is legally disqualified from owning a firearm. The persons to whom a sale can be made are divided into two classes; residents of the same state as the seller, and residents of all other states and territories.
Sales to residents of the same state:A private individual may sell either a long gun (rifle or shotgun) or a short gun (revolver or pistol) to a resident of the same state who the seller does not have reason to believe is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. This standard affords considerable protection to the individual making the sale. The only cases where BATF has prosecuted someone for violating this provision is where the seller actually knew the purchaser was a convicted felon.
Delivery of a firearm sold to a resident of the same state: There is no requirement that any gun (long or short) that is sold to a resident of the same state as the seller have to be physically transferred in any manner. Specifically, the firearm does not have to be delivered to or transferred through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). The firearm may be transferred in a face to face transaction, or delivered to the purchaser by a third party, or delivered by a carrier. The seller has the option of delivering the firearm to an FFL, in which case the purchaser would have to fill out the appropriate forms and undergo a background check.
Required paperwork for a sale between private individuals: Simply put, there is no required paperwork for a sale between private individuals. However, either party to the transaction may require at least a bill of sale (BOS). The BOS is a simple document that identifies the seller and purchaser, and the item sold. A BOS has no specified legal format, and many are handwritten on a notepad. It may include additional information about the price, or other circumstances. The seller may wish to have a BOS to show the person to whom he actually sold the firearm, and the buyer may wish to have a BOS to prove from whom the firearm was purchased (and the fact that it was purchased).

Sales to residents of another state: Sales to residents of another state must be completed through a FFL. There are different options for the sale of a long gun and a short gun. Considerable confusion arises over this issue, and many people are of the impression that the seller has to deliver the firearm to a local FFL(local to the seller) for transfer to the FFL in the state where the purchaser resides. There is no legal requirement that the seller deliver the firearm to a local FFL for transfer. The seller can deliver the firearm to the transferring FFL by any means available. There is no legal way for a non-FFL to transfer a firearm to a resident of another state in a face to face transaction.

Sales of long guns to residents of another state: A seller of a long gun to a resident of another state has two options.
The first is that the seller can deliver the firearm to a local FFL, and the purchaser can complete the transaction at that FFL's place of business. The FFL is required to meet the sale requirements for both the state in which it is located, and the state of residence of the purchaser. So as a matter of policy, the local FFL may decline to process the sale if the purchaser is from a state with requirements beyond those of the federal government. This is the closest that a sale to a non-resident can come to being a face to face transaction. The seller and purchaser can go to a local FFL, deliver the firearm to the FFL, and complete the transaction there.

The second is that the seller can deliver the firearm to an FFL in the state where the purchaser lives, and that FFL will complete the transaction. A private individual is not required to have a copy of the actual FFL, but as a matter of good business the seller should verify through the BATF site that the FFL is in good standing, or obtain a copy of the actual FFL. The verification can be done on-line through the BATF site. An individual does not have to have a copy of the actual FFL before shipping to the FFL.

Sale of short guns to residents of another state: A short gun may only be transferred to a resident of another state through an FFL in that state. The firearm may be delivered to the FFL by an permissible means. As noted above, the seller should make some effort to verify the good standing of the FFL. The mechanics of the sale must be worked out to to the satisfaction of all three parties. For example, a three day inspection period is not uncommon. All of the parties should have a clear understanding of how the gun is going to be packaged and shipped, and who is going to pay for that shipping, before the firearm is sent to the FFL.

Shipping and delivery of firearms sold by private individuals: The shipment of firearms is governed by the regulations of the shipping agency. Federal firearms laws do not have any provisions on how any firearm may be shipped to any person. (However, federal law does make it a crime to knowingly ship something contrary to a shipping agency's regulations.)

So to determine what can be shipped, and who it can be shipped to, the seller has to be familiar with each shipping agency's rules and regulations. In the case of private companies such as UPS and Fed Ex. the rules are collectively known as “tariffs”, and are on their websites. In the case of the United States Postal Service, the regulations are in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) which is in every post office in the United States and on-line.

This is not a detailed discussion of any agency's policies. A seller/shipper should carefully read the respective tariffs or rules before shipping. Especially in the case of the commercial companies, the counter help is notoriously unreliable about the shipment of firearms.

Commercial shipping companies: Here are some general rules about using these companies.
You cannot ship through their “stores”. If the “store” accepts the package, and there is loss or damage, you will not be paid for your loss.

You must declare the value of your firearm, if it is over $100.00, and you must identify the package as a “firearm” on the shipping documents. Nothing on the package can identify the contents as a firearm. Common internet advice is to ship the package as “parts”. That's all well and good until you have a loss or damage and the company refuses to pay. Also you have violated federal law, and committed insurance fraud. It's your choice.

Handguns are treated differently by different shippers. Most require the use of some premium service, such as “Next Day Air.” Your local FFL is not bound by these regulations and may be able to ship the gun for you for a fee that is still cheaper than “Next Day Air.” This is not a legal requirement to use a FFL, but a practical, financial one.
As a general rule, a non-FFL cannot ship short guns through the post office. However, you can ship long guns. One major difference in the USPS and commercial services is that the intial increment of insurance is not included in the shipping costs. If you have a gun with substantial value, registered mail is absolutely the safest way to ship, and items can be insured up to $25,000.00.

If you mail through the USPS some way other than registered, and purchase additional insurance (and you should), you do not have to identify the contents.

Other “non-legal” considerations: While there is no legal requirement that a firearm that is to be tranferred through a FFL be shipped to that FFL from another FFL, some FFL's have implemented this policy on their own. This is to protect the receiving FFL from unauthorized shipments, such as short barreled shotguns or Class III weapons. This is the FFL's business, and if it has that policy the seller will just have to deal with it. The seller and purchaser need to determine if this is the case before the transaction is closed, so that the additional costs of using the extra FFL can be addressed. (Although as noted above, in the case of a short gun, it might actually be cheaper to go through a FFL.)

Finally the seller should educate himself about the legal requirements for selling and shipping a firearm. The best resource for this is the BATF FAQ's shown above. Shipping company employees, gun store employees, and web sites are notorious for having erroneous information. Much of the mis-information is harmless (such as needing an extra FFL), but much of it can have serious consequences (shipping “machine parts”, or a face to face transaction with an out of state resident .)

 

[CCW]

Good deal.

 

[Okuma]

added a couple more guidelines