OK people I just won a particular auction for a very hard to find magazine.  A Springfield armory M2 rifle (AKA  22lr M1903 training rifle) on auction arms.

I have never purchased anything before from an online auction. I have a money order all made out for the seller.

I have reviewed the sellers auction history and the majority are all good. The negative ones are very minor in my opinion. Mostly people griping on technicalities but the product was always delivered.

But my big question is how should I send the money? Certified mail, ordinary mail?

What is the best way to send the money to prevent a rip-off?

If he has never ripped someone off, you are not going to get ripped off. I have been trading on the Intenet for years and have NEVER been screwed in literally hundreds of transactions. Sometimes folks are a little slow but things do happen.

I always use a US Postal money order and send it through the regular mail. Or Paypal. That is really the way to go.

-elliott

If you have a case of nerves start with small deals. i have bought and sold for years on the net and the only problems I have had were misunderstandings.

Use the U.S. Mail then if they rip you off, it comes under  mail fraud.  

I would suggest that you obtain the seller's telephone number, in addition to the address. I have sold and bought many items over the internet---probably over 250 different items on eBay and AuctionArms alone---and have not had a bad experience yet.  Good Luck!

yup i have the fellas name, business address telephone,fax,cell number and email address. all in arizona

He has his business card pictured along side the product he is selling. I dam near have everything on this guy but his underware size.

The mag price is $90.00 I suppose i just have a case of nerves.

I purchased at least two dozen items without a problems.

You are not likely to have problem but what the heck.

1)  Pay with USPS money order or money orders as I believe the USPS max is $700.00 per money order.

2)  Send money order/s USPS Express mail - second day or whatever and require a signature acknowledging receipt as well as requiring proof of delivery returned to you.

I've bought probably a couple hundred things off auction sites. Felt a little gypped once or twice, in that the item condition was not what I had hoped, but never ripped off seriously.

Note that "I had hoped" is the key to my less good experiences. Some people purposely give little or no real description of the item, and hope you'll assume it's OK. Then if you complain they'll come back with "I never said..."

I don't play that game, and if it goes beyond what I feel an inexperienced non-gun person might innocently do, there is negative (or at least neutral) feedback on the way. The point is, you might want to watch out for vague descriptions. Though some honest people are just lazy or illiterate.