The Best Way to Sell a Gun

If you are a gun enthusiast, you might dread having to sell your gun. Yet sometimes it’s necessary. If you’ve inherited a gun that you do not plan to use, it’s often much easier to part ways. Either way, you’ve deemed it necessary to sell your gun. There are many ways to legally and safely sell a gun, but not all options provide you with the best return. We are going to list various methods to determine the best way to sell a gun.

How to Legally Sell a Gun

1. Private sale: If you have a friend that would like to purchase your firearm, or maybe a friend of a friend that you do not know quite well, you can do a private sale of your firearm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF) lays out guidelines for the two types of private sales: in state and out of state. In state sales are much easier as generally, “any person may sell a firearm to an unlicensed resident of the State where he resides as long as he or she does not know or have reasonable cause to believe the person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under Federal law.” However, there may be additional state or local laws that regulate firearms transactions based on which state you both reside so it is important to check with the State Attorney General’s Office to inquire on any restrictions.

   Selling a firearm to an individual out of state requires additional steps. “Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed individual who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) within the recipient’s State of residence. He or she may then receive the firearm from the FFL upon completion of an ATF form 4473 and an NICS background check.”

2. Sell to a local shop: Within your city or town you might have a local gun or pawn shop that would be willing to purchase your gun. Generally the shops that are able to purchase your firearm have an FFL in order to engage in the purchase and sale of firearms. This option might limit the value you receive for your firearm. Some local shops will sell directly to customers, sell your gun online or sell your gun on consignment. Whichever option they choose, their motive relies on purchasing your firearm at a low price so they can mark up your firearm to resell.

   If they prefer selling your gun on consignment however, they act as a middleman in selling your firearm for you. Basically, they auction off your gun to get the best price they can and collect a fee, generally in the form of a percentage of the sale price. Selling your firearm on consignment can be a great way to sell a gun but selling on consignment through a local shop limits the audience and therefore the opportunity to get the best price. An online gun consigner is a far better option.

3. Sell online: There are many resources on the Internet that can help you sell your firearm or in which you can sell it yourself on. The underlying question you might have, “how do I know which businesses or websites are legitimate?” This question is of upmost importance in understanding how to legally sell a gun.

   As mentioned before, The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF) is the best resource in determining the legality of a business that sells and purchases firearms. Within the Department of Justice, part of their duties is to issue FFLs (Federal Firearm Licenses) to individuals or businesses that want to engage in the sale or purchase of guns. Obtaining an FFL is not an easy task (involves background checks, in person interviews, and inspections). The ATF has an online tool to help you identify legal and legitimate firearm businesses here. You can enter the businesses’ FFL number and ensure they are licensed and approved by the government.

   Selling your gun online has its benefits, as your audience base is much higher than going to a local shop. Yet selling it yourself can be difficult as you may not have as much credibility or experience in selling firearms. Just like in a private sale, you also want to make sure to sell the gun to someone who is of age (this of course can be more difficult online), and to someone who is not prohibited by Federal law to receive or possess a firearm (ex. convicted of certain crimes, is an unlawful user or addicted to a controlled substance, an illegal alien, a fugitive from justice, has been admitted to a mental institution and more). Knowing this, Craigslist and E-Bay should be automatically ruled out of your online outlets.

   There are many legitimate online businesses to sell your gun to or that can help you sell your gun. Often times it is easier to sell your gun to a business or use an online gun consigner to facilitate the sale of your firearm as they have an active following of gun enthusiasts that purchase firearms from them on a regular basis. Using such outlets will get you a great price on your firearm as these businesses have the knowledge and expertise in valuing all types of firearms and often already know customers that will peak interest in your gun.

4. Participate in a gun buyback program: These types of programs generally involve the police purchasing your firearms for a cheap price with a goal to reduce the number of civilian-owned firearms. It is a way for some people who might have inherited a gun and have no interest in owning it, or want to get rid of a collection in the quickest way possible with little effort. For some, this method might be appealing, but there are so many other outlets to sell your firearm through that can also be done quickly. Plus, you will obtain a much better price by avoiding a buyback program.

The Best Method to Sell a Firearm

Selling a gun online has been a great outlet to reach a large number of people and in our opinion, the best way to sell a firearm. As briefly mentioned, gun enthusiasts tend to monitor and follow online gun sellers they’ve used before as a reliable way to find the firearms they seek.

Dunlap Gun Consigners is the superior option to use when selling your gun online. The gun consignment process is a fast, easy and affordable way to sell your firearm. Dunlap Gun Consigners is a company under D4 Guns, a Nevada-based team of firearm curators on the hunt for rare and collectible firearms and a top 100 seller on GunBroker.com.

Selling your gun with us is not only quick, but we will get you the best price possible. As an FFL dealer with years of experience, we know the firearms market inside and out. We professionally photograph, generate listing content, market and auction your firearm for you, all you have to do is send it to us. When the gun is sold, payment will be collected from the winning bidder, and we will handle all the governmental documentation and insurance needed to ship the gun to a licensed FFL specified by the buyer. Once payment from the winning bidder has been received, we will send you the Bill of Sale and a check. The check should be received within one to two weeks of the auction end date.

Visit our website to see our full gun consignment process and give us a call at (775) 636-9594 with any questions and we will be happy to help.