BUYING USED HANDGUNS ONLINE FOR THE NOVICE

Buying used handguns online is growing in popularity among firearms owners, and with good reasons.  It offers a number of advantages over limiting yourself to your local dealers.  These include:

• Having access to the largest gun market on earth.  Just as with shopping for books, tools, electronics, and thousands of other items, no local store can compete with the enormous selection that can be found on the Internet.

• The potential to save serious money.  Anyone who knows guns is aware of how much the prices have gone up in the past few years.  One way to still get the best bargain possible is to compare costs from one website to the next.

• The convenience of shopping on the Internet.  There’s no need to spend your day off running from one gun shop or show to the next trying to find the piece you’re looking for.  By using the web, you can locate it, pay for it, and have it shipped directly to your local FFL dealer for pick up, all without ever leaving the house.

Of course, it only makes sense to use a little caution and common sense whenever you’re buying something sight unseen.  Web-based gun sellers are, for the most part, honest, reputable people who do their best to give their customers a good deal.  Unfortunately, there are a few that shouldn’t be in business at all, including a small number who are outright crooks.  So how do you protect yourself from those types? 

Here are some tips for buying guns safely online:

• Look for a site run by a dealer with a real, physical location that you can walk into.  The longer that store has been open, the more trustworthy the merchant likely is.  For example, Dury’s has been doing business right here in San Antonio since 1959.  We’re well established and highly respected throughout south Texas.  There’s no way we would risk the good name we’ve built up over all those years by running a fraudulent web site.

• Look for reviews of the site by past customers.  You can usually find these by typing the name of the business into a search engine screen followed by the word “reviews.”  This is one of the reasons why shady sites tend not to last; word spreads very quickly online.

• Ask friends and family members if they have dealt with online gun shops and, if so, what kinds of experiences they had.  Even in these high-tech days, word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to find out about how well a company treats its customers.

• Make sure the site offers a guarantee on everything it sells.  A reputable dealer will gladly repair or replace any weapon it sells that doesn’t function properly.  For example, Dury’s offers a free lifetime warranty on every gun it sells, used or new.  If the site you’re looking at doesn’t do so, then pass it up.

• Call or email the business that runs the site with a question or comment.  Then note how quickly they respond and whether their response is acceptable.  Companies that are polite and helpful to those who contact them are more likely to offer good service when you do business with them.

Okay, now that you know how to tell the good guys from the bad guys, here’s what you need to know about how gun transfer laws work.  As you probably already know, all firearms purchases must be handled through a federally licensed dealer.  So, you’ll need to designate a gun shop in your area to have your purchase shipped to. 

Before you do so, call the shop to let them know you’re planning on doing this.  Almost all dealers are happy to handle these kinds of purchases, but a few may have special policies you should know about first, such as charging a small handling fee.  Also, you may need to wait a specified period of time to pick up your shipment, depending on the laws in your state.  Your local dealer can give you the details. 

One other thing that’s probably on your mind is how you can judge a weapon’s condition when you’re buying it sight unseen.  This is especially true when buying pre-owned guns, as their condition can vary widely.  It boils down to the issue we discussed previously: making sure you’re dealing with a reputable shop that values its customers.  A good dealer will examine each weapon to make sure it’s in good working order.  For example, Dury’s subjects each used gun it sells to a rigorous inspection by our highly trained, well-seasoned gunsmiths before we put it up for sale. 

Another thing to look for is the weapon’s condition, or grade.  A legitimate site will always include information about cosmetic blemishes such as faded bluing or signs of wear to any of the gun’s components.  In most cases, such issues only affect the weapon’s appearance, not its safety or how well it functions.  Occasionally, you’ll run across guns that have been dipped in Cosmoline to prevent corrosion.  This is especially true when the weapon is several decades old, like many of the military surplus firearms for sale on the Internet.  Cosmoline does a great job of preventing rust but it can be challenging to remove.  Fortunately, you can find videos on sites like YouTube that tell you how to do so with a minimum of fuss. 

Hopefully this article has answered your questions about buying used handguns online.  Of course, one way to make sure that you’re getting a great deal is to buy from us.  So take a few moments to browse our selection here on our site.  Remember that every weapon we sell has received a top-to-bottom inspection and is in top-quality condition.  Plus, all of our guns are backed by our famous lifetime warranty.