How to sell a used rifle/pistol safely?

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  1. What documents are required to sell your used firearm?

  2. What do you use to determine the value? How do you determine the scope value if selling packaged together?

  3. What form of payment is best to avoid being scammed?

  4. Selling to a felon or someone who shouldn’t have access to a firearm makes me nervous. Is there anything I need to do to vet the person buying?

  5. Where do you usually meet up when doing a transaction like this?

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First question I would ask is if you live in a liberal psycho state. If you’re in a conservative state there’s less to worry about.

Personally, I ONLY sell guns through my local FFL or if the buyer has a concealed carry license and lives in my state. Seeing the concealed carry lets me know that at least when they got it they weren’t a prohibited person.

I don’t do any documentation.

If the gun is still relatively new, I usually list the item for 80% of what I paid for it. Same with scopes.

I met people to do the sale in a sportsman’s warehouse parking lot and had the guns cased in my trunk and didn’t pick them up and show them around. Just handle them in the trunk.

Biggest thing is to be certain the buyer lives in your state or else you have to go through an FFL. Advertising can be tricky. Utah has UtahUsedGuns.com that most people use, but not every state has an equivalent.

But, that’s what I’ve done in the past. I don’t sell guns anymore at all.

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I live in one of the liberal psycho states Jim referred to, namely California. For a private party sale, we must conduct the transaction through an FFL, who does a background check. You should check your state laws. I have bought and sold used guns in this manner, though like Jim I haven’t sold any guns recently and don’t plan to.

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Oregon is the same. There is no face to face transaction and private parties need to agree on the FFL to use. You can ship your gun to an FFL if the buyer does not live in your area. But I am not an ATF lawyer.