Not a criticism, but an observation
Since we recently talked about how terrible paying for a beer with a credit card is, and a dozen or so members explained they would never use a credit card, I thought this is relevant and interesting.
A new seller with zero feedback has an item I am interested in. He happens to be local.
I send a brief email shown below:
”Hello, I see you are new to GB, and have no feedback. If I win your auction can I meet you face to face and pay cash?”
My thought being anyone who says no, would be a fraudulent seller. Keep in mind, this is not a firearm & I stated I would bid (GB would be paid).
My email was blocked by Gunbroker for me violating their terms and conditions. See below:
So how in the world do I bid on a local item from a seller with zero feedback and feel protected from fraud?
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Hmmm, what about p to p with cashiers check? Yea idk what the issue would be cause GB still gets their cut.
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It's the phrasing in your email that got it flagged. It's easy to filter for key-words in an email and almost impossible to understand intent. Even though you meant no harm and didn't plan to break any rules, the wording of your email triggered a rule that got it blocked.
If I was concerned with a seller having no feedback, I'd strike up an email conversation with him, see how helpful and responsive he is, and get to know him a little. I think that's about all anyone can do, really.
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What about a phone call to the seller?
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How can they say that? Several sellers here say you can pick up in store? What's the difference? I guess the difference is they want you to pay through GunBroker?
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just email the guy and say you have a question that you would like to have answered before you bid and would he please email you His phone # so you could call
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I never heard of such. It doesn't happen often, but I have sold several items to local buyers through Gunbroker, and all have showed up with cash. No problem.
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I have picked things up after I have won an auction if they were close enough to drive and lived in Illinois. I done this in order to save on shipping cost and not take a chance on damage when shipped. If it were me I would ask questions through GB, if he doesn’t reply to your emails, then move on. If he does reply to your emails, you might ask if it would be possible to drive and examine what you’re looking at, hands on inspection are always the best. Now if it’s from a private seller and not a store front I could understand him saying no, account of he doesn’t know you either. Now if it is a store front dealer, he wants to make the sale and I’m sure they would oblige your request to inspect said article.
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