GunBrokerReviews 232

Since most guns are sold "As Is" and you can't inspect or fire the weapon before hand, Gunbroker.com seems to be the place people sell guns that are unsafe, inaccurate, or otherwise need repairs. I purchased a Ruger 357 only to find out that the cylinder was loose, and the head space was way out of tolerance. Not only is the gun inaccurate, the excessive head space is dangerous. What seemed like a fair price has turned into a rip off, as I've sent the gun to Ruger for repairs that have increased the total cost beyond what a new fire arm would have cost.
Buy locally from a reputable dealer, and forget Gunbroker.com.

I have NEVER in my Life had an on-line vendor want this much info... not Amazon, Not Ebay (buy & sell)... NOT ANY... NONE!

After you give them all of your personal info, Address, CC Info, email... all of it... you automatically get flagged?

THEN... they want you to send them a Copy of Your Drivers License (Not gonna happen) along with Copies of bills that come to your home addressed to you (NOT gonna happen)

I've bought a ton of guns from dealers and tons of ammo on-line along with a myriad of many, MANY other on-line retailers and dealers... NOT ONE has ever wanted that much "Identity Stealing Information"... there is not a single gun they have or will ever have that will entice me in to that setup!

AND... WHAT REALLY MAKES IT STINK!... I've bought ammo from them... YES... Shipped it to my home... signature required?

... until out of the blue they changed my user name and email to something I hadn't used in years - and refused to change it back. Then, a month later, they suddenly corrected my information - but set my transaction history back to zero. Didn't like that but could live with it. But when I next entered a bid on a rifle I got a pop-up message stating I could not submit bids any more due to a "previous problem." Trying to resolve problems with a customer service department that has no concept of customer service - with their curt 3-word replies - is impossible. They'll reply if and when they want to - or not at all.

I have used www.gunbroker.com dozens of times and all the transactions I have had (buying and selling) were good smooth transactions. The guys buying and selling have all been good to work with, and all have been fair and reasonable. The problems I have are with the nameless, faceless gunbroker website. Issues that I have had using the site are not addressed by anyone with there "tech support " if you want to call it that. Also when listing an item to sell, the offer the "showcase feature" for $4.95. Don't get suckered into it, it is a waste of your money. Your ad will NEVER show up where it is seen like you would think. The only ads that actually show up on the home page are the people that list and sell thousands of items. Your ad will not be there. I complained about it and was told that there are over 8000 show case ads that are randomly exposed. I check the home page more than 200 times in a week and it was never shown. In the 8000 ads, mine was a needle in a hay stack. However I did see other ads shown over and over again, just not mine. It seems to me that only the gunbroker people and their good buddies get the showcase treatment. Don't buy into it, let people do a search and they will find you. For the average gunbroker member, showcase feature is a scam.

Gunbroker site says this:

Gun Broker Fraud Protection - Buyer's Protection
The item you receive is materially different that its description, such as winning a stainless steel pistol and receiving a blued one instead.

Gun broker reality is this: I purchased a rifle that advertised a 16" barrel. When I received the rifle it had a 18.5" barrel. Seller said I was wrong. I contacted manufacturer with serial number and received email confirming 18.5" barrel on the rifle from day 1.

Made a claim with Gunbroker and they denied the claim. They said that my claim of misrepresented barrel length was not covered due to the fact that the barrel length was not "materially different" than the its description. The auction clearly stated barrel length as 16" and it was not.

The moral of the story is Gunbroker states on its website that claims are very "RARE", well of course they just deny the claims arbitrarily so not to have to pay on their advertises bogus "seller insurance/protection" How convienant.

I've read a lot of the reviews below about Gunbroker and they're complaining about Gunbroker as if Gunbroker was a merchant. They are not a merchant. They are not selling you anything. They are brokering (see what they did with the name there?) transactions between sellers and buyers.
I have used their services at least 20 times. Every time I get exactly what I bought.
You have to be smart about what you're buying and read each seller's fine print.
Here are some rules to follow that will make your experience more satisfactory:
1. Each seller is unique. Read their rules (they can take, or not take any payments they want and they can charger whatever they want for shipping).
2. If you don't agree with a particular seller's rules, don't buy from them.
3. If it's something you need to see before you buy, ask the seller to send pictures. If they won't, don't buy it.
4. If you think something is too expensive, don't buy it. Once again, Gunbroker isn't selling you anything. The sellers are. Complaining about the price you paid for something is like walking into a mall an complaining to the mall owner that Auntie Anne's is charging too much for pretzels.

I PLACED ABOUT 60; 000 WORTH OF VARIOUS ITEMS. AND EVERY TIME A SCAMMER WOULD PLACE A BUY NOW THEY TOOK THEIR FEES IMMEDIATELY.THE SCAMMER ALSO GAVE ME A BAD RAP FOR NOT FALLING FOR HIS BULL$#*!. AND GUNBROKER REFUSED TO REFUND MY MONEY AND REMOVE THE BAD RAP ABOUT ME. STAY AWAY FROM GUN BROKER... AND NO WAY TO CONTACT THEM EITHER AND IT TAKES WEEKS TO RESPOND IF YOU GO THROUGH THEIR CHANNELS. I CLOSED ALL MY ADS AND THEY BAND ME FROM USING THERE SITE AND A YEAR AGO TO DATE THEY WANT THEIR MONEY. LUCKILY ENOUGH I LOST MY WALLET AND GOT A NEW CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND NEVER GAVE THEM THE NEW ONE. OR I WOULD BE OUT OF MORE MONEY. I CAN'T EMPHASIS THIS ENOUGH ''STAY AWAY''

A few years ago I registered with GunBroker.com. They accepted my registration and charged my CC for the $1.00 registration fee. When I attempted to purchase a firearm via their website I received a message stating a long the lines that my order could not be processed because I was a "Character of Suspicion". What? Really? When I received that email I replied to it and requested a refund of my registration fee and told them I would never do business with them again. I've been a gun owner my entire life and a conceal carry permit holder for almost 10 years and I'm a suspicious character? My current issue is that they continue to send me promotional adds and there is no where on their website to call or email and request to be removed. Not a fan Gunbroker. Please stop emailing me

I assume that there are idiots on both sides of the table when buying a gun online, but it seems that is making everyone worse. I have bought a lot of guns through GunBroker, and the transactions used to go smoothly. Lately, the buyers have become bigger and bigger assh*les and made the process harder than it needs to be - making me supply copies of things and information that is not necessary, refunding one type of payment and demanding different types of payments, threatening to turn me in to the ATF if a personal check doesn't clear, etc. It has become not worth it to deal with them and therefore the site. I will pay more to go through a local broker than continue to buy through them.

I bib on several pistol auctions with the same seller. These were "no reserve" auctions. I was the highest bidder until the last day when I was out bid ion the items by the same person. I click on the bidder's list and then click on the same bidder's ratings. Holy Cow... they have 23 pages of bids for this vender with glowing ratings. They would buy 10 or 15 guns a month. It was instantly obvious the scheming vender was bidding up his own "no reserve" items. Looking at the bid history, this has gone on for several years. It then becomes obvious gunbroker.com does nothing to stop this crap. I am done forever with gunbroker! May lawsuits and bankruptcy be their next Christmas gift.