I am looking for a FWB 300S and have placed ads on a few sites. One being Accurateshooter.com, this is a site I've bought reloading stuff, scopes and various shooting items off of over the years with no issues. The day after I post I get a reply from a guy who just joined the forum has no posts saying he has the rifle I'm looking for for sale. The grammer was off so the red flag was up, but I'm thinking he may actually have the gun so I send him a return message. I asked which version he had and requested photos, I also pointed out that he had no posts on the forum and asked for his user name on other related sites. His reply confirmed my suspicions, he said yes he was new to the site but he had "done many deals" with other people and could provide me with e-mail addresses. He was also very pushy aboug getting the "deal done" and this was the "exact gun" I was looking for. The grammar was way off in this one so l replied and politely passed on the "deal" as he put it. After a few PM's with a mod there it was confirmed he was a scammer, in one hour he had logged in from three IP addresses, two from different parts of the U.S. and one overseas. He's banned but it's easily worked around.
My second run in happened when I replied to an ad for a 300S on Armslist. There are two photos of the rifle sitting on a dining room table, it has a scope and is a decent looking rifle and I thought the price was in line for what the rifle with a no name scope that I'd never heard of was worth. I contact the guy about the gun to see if it's still available since the ad is a month and half old and requested more photos. Yes he still has it, doesn't know much about it as it belonged to his brother who had passed away. Now the grammer is pretty good on this one and according to the ad he's in Ohio. Southern ohio is really not very far from me so I ask him where in Ohio and for some more photos and the serial number. It takes a day or so for his reply in which he states that he has relocated to Georgia, okay no problem. He says he has many photos he can send but says he won't send them unless he is sure I'm buying his gun! The red flag is now popping in the wind. I told him I was a serious buyer and asked for a phone number and sent him my cell number. Another day or so goes by and I get a text asking if I'm the guy interested in a rifle he has for sale? I reply yes, then checked the area code, Atlanta. Ok this guy may be for real. His reply is "that's good to know, how can we make this work?" I told him I'd like some more photo's to see the overall condition of the rifle and a photo of the serial number. The next day I get several photos of a rifle, serial number included and it now has open sights, he says they are up dated photos. The photos in the ad show it with a scope. I immediately recognize the photos, they are of a rifle I've been trying to buy on another site. I replied and told him it was strange that he had a rifle with the same exact serial number and in fact the same photos as the rifle on antoher site. Crickets, nothing since.
I've been buying car and gun stuff from individuals off the internet for years and have never ran into this, two scammers in less than two weeks. The only problems I've ever had were misrepresentation of the items for sale and only a couple of those. I've had a policy in the past not to deal with folks who have g-mail addresses, both of these guys did. This really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Sorry for the long drawn out rant.
Justin
My second run in happened when I replied to an ad for a 300S on Armslist. There are two photos of the rifle sitting on a dining room table, it has a scope and is a decent looking rifle and I thought the price was in line for what the rifle with a no name scope that I'd never heard of was worth. I contact the guy about the gun to see if it's still available since the ad is a month and half old and requested more photos. Yes he still has it, doesn't know much about it as it belonged to his brother who had passed away. Now the grammer is pretty good on this one and according to the ad he's in Ohio. Southern ohio is really not very far from me so I ask him where in Ohio and for some more photos and the serial number. It takes a day or so for his reply in which he states that he has relocated to Georgia, okay no problem. He says he has many photos he can send but says he won't send them unless he is sure I'm buying his gun! The red flag is now popping in the wind. I told him I was a serious buyer and asked for a phone number and sent him my cell number. Another day or so goes by and I get a text asking if I'm the guy interested in a rifle he has for sale? I reply yes, then checked the area code, Atlanta. Ok this guy may be for real. His reply is "that's good to know, how can we make this work?" I told him I'd like some more photo's to see the overall condition of the rifle and a photo of the serial number. The next day I get several photos of a rifle, serial number included and it now has open sights, he says they are up dated photos. The photos in the ad show it with a scope. I immediately recognize the photos, they are of a rifle I've been trying to buy on another site. I replied and told him it was strange that he had a rifle with the same exact serial number and in fact the same photos as the rifle on antoher site. Crickets, nothing since.
I've been buying car and gun stuff from individuals off the internet for years and have never ran into this, two scammers in less than two weeks. The only problems I've ever had were misrepresentation of the items for sale and only a couple of those. I've had a policy in the past not to deal with folks who have g-mail addresses, both of these guys did. This really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Sorry for the long drawn out rant.
Justin
. Now the word new and 300s does sound like a scam.