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Cranky dealers, FFL access, and shipping

antiquemedical
As a collector, it is getting harder and harder to deal with some of the sellers on GB.  The section on their sales page seems to get longer and longer with a litany of terms,  rules and, exceptions to what they will and won't do.  Whatever ever happened to 'Customer Service?'  
 With banks closed, it is difficult if not impossible to obtain a Cashier's Check, demanded by some sellers.  Going to the Post Office for a postal money order is a major health hazard on the same level as visiting Walmart.  With the extra charges for credit card use or refusal to accept them all together by many sellers, a personal check is the last resort.  
Personally, I don't have a problem sending a personal check, but the long wait now for them to clear the bank is a real problem.  And then there is dealing with so many FFL dealers being closed or not responding to calls or email, not to mention their fees to do a simple transfer before they go out of business.  The risk of a package being lost over the extended times to ship and register a pistol is just too high.  I check the news every day to see if UPS or the Post Office are closing...

So, as much as I want to buy, it is getting too hard to close a deal, so I think I'm just going to sit on the sidelines for the next few months until things get back to normal.  Whatever that is.
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Comments

13 comments

Date Votes
  • Horse Plains Drifter
    Well Allrightythen.
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  • dreher
    With this type of uncertainty, waiting until things straighten up may be the smartest thing any of us could do. 
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  • nmyers
    It takes no more than 2 days for a check, personal or otherwise, to clear a bank.  If your bank tells you that it takes longer they are attempting to profit on the "float".
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  • David Nunn
    I am a small dealer.  I don't do credit cards or Paypal.  For me, personal and business checks are preferred.

    I believe,  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

    If I am buying from you, I would rather put my check in an envelope and mail it to you.  I can accomplish this without leaving home.  I can go to the post office and buy a money order, but I prefer not to.

    If you send a money order, and it gets lost, it is a long and arduous process to have it replaced.  Meanwhile, your money is tied up, and you may have to send a second payment if you really want the item.  If you send a personal check, and it is lost, just write and send another.   No problem.  If the both checks eventually show up, one can be shredded or returned.  If it turns out that one check was misdirected and forged, all you have to do is execute a forgery affidavit at your bank and it becomes the bank's problem.

    So, I will accept your check, no problem.  Very often, I will ship your order before I deposit your check.  (So much for the "waiting for clearance time.")   Checks from Gunbroker buyers are almost universally good.  Even if I decide to wait for clearance to ship, that period has been reduced to 2-3 days, not weeks anymore.

    So, I write checks.  I accept checks.  I know I am old-fashioned; old is good.
    12
  • chiefr
    The minute a check goes to the bank, it is often scanned and if there are funds in the account, payment is made at light speed.
    The only delays are between the time a person receiving the check takes the check to the bank and when exactly the bank scans the check. Normally the bank scans the check the same day, usually later in the evening or night after the bank closes.
    In some cases if there are many branches of a main bank, all checks are sent from branches to a main bank where they are scanned. Most of the time this happens the same day.  In many instances states have laws mandating such.

    All banks at least in my state are drive thru only. I have had zero problems depositing and withdrawing funds.  
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  • toad67
    I remember Nunn talking about taking checks years ago, so I started doing it too. As a buyer, it's much easier than dealing with m/o's and certified checks. And as a seller, it only takes a day or so for them to clear. The part about cancelling them, and issuing a new one in case of loss is great. Have yet to have a problem on either side.. 
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  • Horse Plains Drifter
    toad67 said:
    I remember Nunn talking about taking checks years ago, so I started doing it too. As a buyer, it's much easier than dealing with m/o's and certified checks. And as a seller, it only takes a day or so for them to clear. The part about cancelling them, and issuing a new one in case of loss is great. Have yet to have a problem on either side.. 
    Yep.
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  • Ricci.Wright
    My bank, BB&T, tells me they can not tell me when a personal check from someone else's account has cleared and advise me to wait five business days. I recently had a $500.00 check bounce and I received a letter from my bank informing me that I was being charged $34.00 ten days after I had deposited the check. So while the sender may be able to see that his or her check has cleared my account I can not.
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  • toad67
    My bank, BB&T, tells me they can not tell me when a personal check from someone else's account has cleared and advise me to wait five business days. I recently had a $500.00 check bounce and I received a letter from my bank informing me that I was being charged $34.00 ten days after I had deposited the check. So while the sender may be able to see that his or her check has cleared my account I can not.
    I just look at my account online. When I deposit the check, it says "pending", then the next day it's under the deposit category, and the balance is updated..
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  • truthful
    When you deposit a buyer's check to your bank account, it is correct that the amount is added to your balance, often immediately. BUT that is not clearance. The bad news is it can take several days for the transaction to clear all the hurdles and become valid. A five day wait is good advice.
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  • jimdeere
    I just had a seller “lose” a $58 money order. He said he preferred a personal check and I was prepared to send one. The Postmistress told me I would need to wait 60 days and pay a fee if I wanted them to tell me the MO had been cashed. She said that was all they would tell me, whether it had been cashed or not.
    Seller finally found that his bank teller had deposited my money order in a different account. 
    I got my bullets a few days later. 
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  • mac10
    22 mile round trip to bank for pc..  us postal mo if passes my muster ships asap
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  • Locust Fork
    My one and only complaint these days are with people that need to have us contact their FFL to get a copy of their license.    I swear, its become the standard answer for a lot of buyers.     I think a few actually are dealing with FFLs that want us to contact them, but I believe the majority of them are just lazy and don't want to bother contacting their dealer, so they "say" their FFL requires us to do it.       We're ok with doing it, but I send an email out to the winning bidders with a copy of my FFL attached that says "if your dealer requires a copy of our license before sending theirs over please send this to them."     It hasn't helped though....which is why I think its just lazy buyers. 
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