This past week, hotdog250j posted a heads-up to an SP1 upper receiver for sale on a website called Revolvr.com.  I’d never heard of the site, nor had I ever used their payment system, PistolPay, but the deal on the upper was good and the single photo looked okay, so I decided to give them a try.
I figured I’d show you what I got, then in case anyone cares, I’ll also share my experience using Revolvr.

The upper is in very nice condition, with only a few small spots of finish wear.  Upper-to-lower fit on this old SP1 carbine is…well, not as tight as I’d like, but then I’ve been spoiled by Nodak lowers. ?
And the finish really doesn’t match up, but I think that’s the fault of the lower, not the upper.  First thing I noticed when I picked up the lower was how smooth the finish feels—almost like it’s plasticoated, but I think it’s just from wear.
I may need to apply some artificial wear on this upper to get a closer match to the lower.

In all, though, I’m very pleased.  Especially considering that the pivot screw and early port door account, value-wise, for more than half of what I paid for the upper.





Now regarding the purchase experience:

First, note that Revolvr is not an auction site.  It’s more like classified ads for gun stuff.
After clicking on the “Buy Now” button, I had to create a Revolvr account.  That was easy enough and resulted in them sending me a confirmation email.  I clicked the link in the email and my account was instantly active.
Next, I went to pay using PistolPay.  Again, I had to create an account, which included providing credit card info.  Again, I received a confirmation email and again, as soon as I clicked the emailed link, the account was active.  (Based on info from the site, PistolPay is an escrow service.  You pay them and they hold the money till the buyer is satisfied.  That may be a slower way for the seller to get paid, but it could be beneficial to the buyer.)

Anyway, I paid for the upper late Monday night (right at midnight).

On Wednesday, around mid-morning, I received an email from the Revolvr Team that read, “Congratulations!! Your order…has been accepted by the seller and will be shipped to you soon. You will receive a notification when your order has shipped.”
I thought that was oddly worded, since I didn’t make an offer to buy (I accepted the offer to sell), but I assume it’s just an auto-response of some sort.

About 3 hrs later, I received TWO emails informing me the item had shipped and including a USPS tracking number (not sure why I got two copies of the email at the same time).
The Priority Mail number indicated it should have arrived Friday, but it took an extra day and it showed up today.

In the meantime, I’ve kept an eye on the credit card account to watch for unusual activity but so far all looks fine.  The charge for the item was registered when I bought it late Monday and shows up on the bill as a payment to “PATRIOT POS INC” in FL (the actual seller of the upper was in Wyoming, so Patriot Point of Sale is apparently "PistolPay's” business name).

I have not yet seen anything asking if I’m satisfied with the purchase, so I assume PistolPay is still holding my payment, but hopefully the seller will get his share soon.  When I log into PistolPay, it shows the payment as “Pending Complete,” but there is no way for me to mark it as complete.  The terms indicate they seller will be paid when I mark the transaction as complete, or 48 hours after the item was delivered.

Ah, one other note: PistolPay may not be the cheapest online payment service.  Their terms indicate if you pay by credit card, they charge both the seller and the buyer 2.7% (each).  If you pay by electronic transfer, the fee is 1.6% (each).  HOWEVER, the charge on my credit card was for $65.00 flat.  It doesn't look like I was charged the 2.7%.

So there you have it.  There’s not a LOT of items on Revolvr, but I’ve added it to my list of places to look for deals.  It may not yet be fully mature, but I don't see any major risks there.
...For what it's worth.

OG, thanks for posting about the experience, and showing the upper. Looks like you did really well.

I'ma sucker for slick sides!

Once again a very well written synopsis Gunner. Thanks for posting.

I figured that might be noticed.
(That's an autographed proof copy that just arrived in today's mail!)

glad it worked out,
i was afraid (since the description SAID A2 Upper) that they may have used the wrong picture, and you did buy a A2 (oh, the humanity!).
but all's well that....etc.

I've learned that occasionally, Priority Mail tracking information might best be viewed as a suggestion.  For example, a package was recently shipped to me via Priority Mail.  Tracking number indicated out for delivery last Monday, but no show.  Tuesday was Veterans Day, so of course no mail service ran, and the package showed up on Wednesday.

It was not the first time my emotions have been toyed with in such a manner.

Just to add a little closure, at 4:02pm today, I received an email from PayPal saying:

We have released the funds held in our escrow account to [the seller]. Now it's time for you to get out there and have some fun!
Just remember, even though we are finished for now, we hope you will keep us in mind the next time you are looking for a payment partner! We are here for you, to help keep you safe each and every time you send money online.
Thank you for using PistolPay!
The PistolPay Team

So I paid on the 10th, received the item on the 15th, and apparently the seller got paid on the 21st.

Just FYI.

I'm glad you got that upper, I was beating myself up over it and I have over a dozen SP1 uppers, I really wanted it for the pivot screw, port/door, and rear sight assembly.

I also used Pistol Pay on two pricey items I bought off the EE a while back. The SELLER insisted on using that service to make sure I was satisfied before accepting payment and he (the seller offered) to eat the charges. Haven't been buying much lately (those darn college costs) but I will be back and have no qualms about using them in the future.

I'm not familiar with Pistol Pay, is it another form of Paypal?

Good start to a SP1 carbine.

Similar, in that it's an online payment system, but with two main differences from PayPal:
First, it's an escrow service.  instead of directly sending money to a seller, you essentially send it to Pistolpay, then when you've had time to evaluate what you bought, PistolPay sends the money to the seller.
And second, they ain't anti-gun!