Paying for the transaction

You've won an auction, so how do you pay for it? Well, some of that will depend on what forms of payment the seller will accept. If you have done your homework like we talked about earlier, you should feel fairly comfortable with the transaction.

Here's a few payment suggestions:

Credit Card - If the seller will do it, and it's possible, we strongly recommend that you pay for the transaction using your credit card. Why? For the simple reason that you have some recourse if the transaction doesn't go well. You can always request a refund, and then initiate a charge back. Merchants hate charge backs because they may have to pay a fee, and it goes on their merchant account records. Let's face it though, if the seller is set-up to take credit cards, then he or she is probably a gun dealer with an FFL. The average Joe Seller can't or won't take credit cards, so what's the next best thing? Truth is there really isn't one.

Bank Certified Check - A good way to pay, but it offers little recourse for you if the transaction goes south. You might be able to initiate a stop payment if you caught the check before it cleared the seller's bank.

Money Order - Another typical payment method that offers little recourse for you.

Normally, we would include Paypal in this list as they offer electronic payment with excellent recourse for the buyer. However, Paypal is owned by Ebay, who has a strong anti-gun stance on the sale of firearms and firearms parts. As such, Ebay will no longer allow you to send payment for firearms or firearms parts through Paypal. I don't recommend that you even try as Paypal may arbitrarily close your account if you do.

So how do you minimize the risk? In the end, the best way to cut down on your risk as the buyer is to conduct the appropriate due diligence on the seller. In other words: Check them out.