I just received confirmation that I won an auction at auctionarms.com.  I was hoping that someone could give me advice about how to avoid getting ripped off during the money for firearm transaction.  I have no reason to believe that the seller is a con-artist, but no reason to believe that he isn't.  Any help would be much appreciated.  He has no reviews;pos or neg.

Auction Arms requires that seller provide buyer with phone and address.. request this info in your email to confirm auction close.  Upon receipt, call the seller to verify the info.  Also, I recommend payment via USPS Money Order, certified w/return receipt.  I have never had any problems with any sellers or buyers, but you can never be too careful.  Good Luck!
Bravo5-2

Rick, I haven't bought firearms on the net, but have bought tons of stuff on e-bay. The 1st thing I check is the seller feedback. If its good, I make the deal..Might be something to consider in the future..Trucker

Hello Rick:

I do alot of internet deals.  Here at AR15.com, gunbroker, AW.net, subguns.com.  Check seller feedback, call them on the phone, and check if they are listed in the phone book(online). firearms should always go through a dealer(both ends).  Send the check & FFL togther certified return reciept to the dealer!   This way the post office will help you if you are defrauded.  Postal MO is good but is not as important as using "the mail".  PayPal is no protection at all.  Get a tracking number and insurance on all shipments(empty box syndrome).

Also if a deal looks too good, its probably bad.

I think the best thing to do is contact the seller over the phone to confirm the deal and chat a bit. Positive feedback is good, but I recently got ripped off for $ 355.00 for a new Bushy upper on Ebay from a chump that had 129 positives and no negatives. He did the same thing to a fellow on another auction that closed the day before mine too. I've contacted the Attorney General in both states, the Postal Inspectors office and some other fraud outfit but it looks like nothing is going to get done. They look for repeated mail fraud cases and if a guy burns two or three people, it's small potatoes for them. When I talked to the Postal Inspector in Chicago they told me that their getting more and more reports from people who bought from a seller with excellent feedback.  You know the old saying: If it seems too good to be true...................... [:(!]