How to Sell Guns and Gear Online

The summer shooting season is nearly here. That means many of you need to raise cash or move older items to finance your new toys. What’s the best way to sell gun gear and accessories quickly? In today’s world, the Internet provides the easiest, most economical means to sell precision firearms, high-end optics, and specialized reloading tools. On our AccurateShooter Forum, we have a very active Marketplace with FREE Classifieds for registered Forum members. If an item is priced attractively, even a big-ticket item, there’s a good chance it may sell within 48 hours or even sooner. One Forum member told us: “Stuff sells fast on your Forum. I had a take-off barrel on the Savage Forum for a couple weeks with no takers. I put it up on the AccurateShooter Forum and it sold the same day.”

The Benchrest Classifieds operated by Benchrest Central is also a good place to sell benchrest guns (both centerfire and rimfire), actions, scopes, rests, and reloading tools. Benchrest Classifieds listings aren’t free, but the $3.00 basic fee is nominal.

Gunbroker and Auction Arms
The mainstream gun auction sites such as Gunbroker.com and Auction Arms have large audiences. These sites are good choices for selling factory rifles, shotguns, or pistols. Gunbroker.com is a bigger site than Auction Arms, with much more traffic. That means more potential buyers, but it also means you’ll be competing with many more sellers. Both sites allow you to set reserve prices, and offer “Buy It Now” (fixed price) options.

How Much Will It Cost?
Listing fees and policies for the important gun classifieds and online auctions are listed below. Check the pricing structure carefully. Gunbroker.com and Auction Arms have sliding-scale fees based on a complicated formula. But basically, the higher the auction price, the more you pay. For a rifle with a $1000.00 high bid, the fee is roughly $26.00 at close of auction. For a $2000.00 sale, the fee would be about $41.00. For a gun sold at auction for $3500.00, the fee would be $63.50. GunsAmerica has tiered fees due on sale–$10 minimum plus another $10 each time you pass a $1K mark. For example, the fee for a $1001-$2000 sale is $20, while the fee for a $2001-$3000 sale is $30.00. That makes a FREE listing on AccurateShooter.com or a $3.00/mo listing on Benchrest Classifieds look very attractive.

Classified Advert vs. Auction
For a precision benchrest, F-Class, Tactical or High Power rifle, you may get the best results posting a For Sale ad on a Forum that caters to the right discipline. You want your ad to reach the right “niche” audience. On the other hand, a GunBroker.com auction will have tens of thousands of potential buyers. For our Shooters’ Forum Classifieds, we’ve found that, if you price your rig attractively (and you provide good photos), your gun should sell quickly. Plus with conventional Classifieds, you can sell immediately–you don’t have to wait for an auction to end. For scopes and reloading equipment (but not firearms, actions, barrels etc.), also consider eBay. Many gun-related items are still allowed on eBay and it does have a huge audience.

To learn more about selling guns and gun accessories online, read our full feature story on Online Gun Selling and Auctions. This story includes Sure-fire Tips for Selling online, plus advice on how to take and upload the right kind of photos. Products with photos sell much faster.