Armslist is a national advertising medium for gun and accessories sales. It is much like Craigslist but focused on guns. AmmoLand was able to have an extended conversation with the owner and founder of Armslist, Jon Gibbon. Jon came up with the idea for Armslist when he saw how little gun stores were offering customers for used guns when he was a college student. Because many online advertising platforms discriminate against firearms advertising and sales, Gibbon believed a platform that featured advertising for firearms and accessories could make money. The economies of scale and the intrinsic efficiency of using digital instead of paper communications offered significant advantages.
Armslist is a means for buyers and sellers to communicate with each other. It does not sell firearms or accessories and does not compete against the sellers and buyers who use the platform.
Those who wish the population disarmed have attacked Armslist with frivolous lawsuits. Those lawsuits have failed. The Wisconsin lawsuit failed under Wisconsin tort law. The lawsuit was probably unsound under federal law and likely a violation of First Amendment rights.
Fighting and winning these lawsuits was costly. Armslist, in effect, has shouldered the burden of protecting First and Second Amendment rights on the Internet without assistance from the NRA or other Second Amendment groups.
Gibbon never went into debt, even when his initial partner bailed at the first lawsuit and had to be bought out. Armslist continues to exist and grow, but they are banned from nearly all social media. This makes it difficult to get the word out about the service. This correspondent used Armslist several years ago. The deal was consummated without a hitch. The rifle was purchased from a private seller and was sent to a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder. Armslist did not charge a fee. Such transactions are still available on Armslist. Over a thousand FFLs subscribe to Armslist. Purchasing a firearm from those dealers does not cost any additional fee to the buyer or seller. The default search is for premium vendors; the search can be expanded and or limited by checking the appropriate box or boxes.
Today, the service is free when purchasing from an FFL. A buyer can search for private sellers on Armslist, but to communicate with private sellers, a buyer has to subscribe.
A subscription includes advanced search features. Charging for a subscription limits the customer list to people who are seriously interested. When doing a search, anyone can filter the search to private sellers. If you want to contact the seller, you have to create an account and log in to do so. If you wish to advertise an item for sale, you are required to subscribe.
An individual subscription costs $6.99 a month, discounted to $2.99 a month for veterans. A business subscription costs $30 a month, discounted to $12.99 for veterans.
The green arrow shows where to apply for the military and veteran’s discount. Armslist uses GovX.com to verify military or veteran status. This correspondent used GovX.com when subscribing to Armslist recently. The subscription was paid for from the Correspondent’s funds. Armslist did not offer to give this Correspondent the subscription for free. The green arrow was included above to highlight the “small print” for the military service/veteran’s option.
Because Armslist is not “politically correct”, it is difficult to advertise Armslist on the major social media sites. They are banned from advertising on most social media. Most search engines will return articles about the lawsuits and not about the utility of the service.
Other services, such as auction houses, charge more for their services than Armslist does, especially the higher-end auction houses. The subscription fee is a flat once-a-month charge and can be stopped at any time. Most auction houses charge a percentage of the sale. Some charge a flat fee as well. Auction fees can be charged to the buyer or seller or to both, depending on the auction. The fees are, in effect, “paid” by the buyer, no matter what. The fee is part of the cost of the transaction The money has to come from somewhere. With a subscription service such as Armslist, the monthly fee can be spread out over many sales, reducing the fee per sale significantly.
One high-level auction house this correspondent has worked with charges fees to both buyer and seller. For lots totaling less than a few thousand dollars, the fees are over 30% of the final price of every item.
Armslist offers significant savings for people who wish to sell a collection. The seller can save money by taking photographs themselves. The subscription is the same price for one sale or hundreds of sales. Sales of antique firearms are not required to go through an FFL. If you have an FFL, Armslist is an inexpensive way to reach the national market.
Armslist is not an auction site. A definite price is required. There is no arrangement for bidding. For those who wish to sell a gun to a gun store quickly, Armslist has dealers who advertise “We will buy any gun”. A picture and description of the gun are required, and then the FFL will make an offer.
Armslist is a useful tool for those who want to buy or sell firearms.
Those who want a disarmed public have worked for decades to require government approval before a person can purchase a firearm. Armslist is a step back from that precipice.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
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