Serial number XXX ??
New to the gun auctions. Why do sellers list all serial numbers sub'ing last two or three numbers with "XX"? Is there a logical (or legal) reason the entire serial number is not posted?
K J Allard
K J Allard
0
-
Keeps honest folk honest.
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net0 -
Just nervous about posting the entire #, really nobodys business anyway. Besides from what I see and understand, you can figure out most of what you want to know about the firearm in question with the first few digits of the # anyway.
BTW, welcome aboard. Enjoy your stay.0 -
Thanks for the info - I plan on posting a few firearms and wanted to make sure I understand the "rules".
K J Allard0 -
If a gun has been stolen at any time in it's life, it could be on the Dept of Justice's computer list of stolen guns. This list is checked when any dealer (or LEO) does an Insta-Check, and a hit could result in confiscation of the gun and it's return to the original owner. (If you bought an old bolt action rifle from your local VFW, THAT rifle will be on the stolen gun list; the VFW did not own that rifle, they borrowed it.) The current owner would then have to seek a refund from the previous owner, and so on down the chain of ownership; the first person unable to obtain a refund "eats" the loss.
So, unless you bought the gun new, you can avoid minimize the possibility of having a gun confiscated by not showing the entire serial #.
There is no federal agency trying to maintain a registry of firearms in private hands. Heck, the federal govt has a difficult enough time keeping track of the firearms IT owns!
"Just because you are paranoid, that doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you."
Neal0 -
quote:Originally posted by nmyers
[br
So, unless you bought the gun new, you can avoid minimize the possibility of having a gun confiscated by not showing the entire serial #.
This comment would seem to imply that someone selling a firearm without showing the full serial number was concerned that it might be stolen.
I'd suggest that keeping the serial number obscured could have other motivations.
Consider this as one possibility:
Joe Shmow has just had some guns stolen in a home burglary; he didn't have a list of the stolen guns' serial numbers; he's angry when he hears his insurance company won't pay him (much) without a list of the stolen guns' serial numbers; he's angry with the police when they do little investigation and tell him it's unlikely he'll recover the guns without serial numbers. He gets online and finds GunBroker.com; he finds guns similiar to his that were stolen and makes a list of their serial numbers. A few weeks later he goes to the police and his insurance company and tells them he found a list of the serial numbers he had made and forgotten about.
Now somebody will purchase those firearms that were listed on GunBroker and they will be buying guns that are listed as "stolen." While it may be possible to prove that they weren't stolen (and expose the fraud/crime committed), there are good odds that the time required for the legitimate owners won't make it worthwhile--they'll just give up the guns and eat the loss.
A seller obscuring the serial number can be protecting himself--and his potential buyers--from such "hassles."0 -
kallard1: The xxxxx's are used to hide the full Serial Numbers from possible use by any Unscrupable and Unsavory Person's potential use of 'Same' to try and renumber a gun of the same type....For whatever reason......99.99% of the Users of Gunbroker are Honest and Upright Citizens, and if You are a Potential Purchaser or Bid Winner, all You have to do is Ask the Current Ower/Seller for the Complete Serial Number, and He/She will send it to you...Via email or if asked...will call You on the Telephone upon request...If you supply the number...or viseversa.....
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
6 comments