[ithacaartist]

Here is a rundown of my related activities to add to this dogpile.

I've sold Erma parts on GB in close to 500 transactions. I accept PayPal, USPS money orders, and personal checks. The only problem ever encountered was a magazine I sent to Puerto Rico that was lost by USPS, with which I exclusively ship parts.

I've bought and sold several GB guns, also without a problem. Granted, they are shooters, not high end collectibles, so I'm generally not operating in an arena where big sums of money are involved--which may help explain the lack of trouble.

Several years ago, I caught a fresh GB listing for a Navy, committed to the asking price, and was gathering funds for the payment when my FFL dealer pointed out a problem with the "seller's" FFL copy, which had the holder's name and address doctored. That stopped the deal cold, of course, so no loss of money.

After doing a little digging for the heck of it, I found the same gun, same pics, listed on two other auction/listing sites. One of the listings was made by the actual owner and was legit, but he was asking more for it, which figures. I reported the scam listing on their sites. The scammer seemed to be located in Indianapolis or wherever, and I corresponded with the ATF's closest office and gave them the scoop. They are chronically understaffed/under-funded, so promised to do little or nothing, and that I wouldn't hear of any results thereafter. I posted the story here back then, but won't bother looking it up now.

Most of the guns I have were purchased from auction houses via Proxibid, which never presented any problems. No hangups, either, with deals made through the forum's WTS/WTB.