Equipment Exchange

Legal Resources

These resources should be used as a general guide when buying, selling, or trading firearms. They are by no means a replacement for actual legal counsel and should not be used as such.

• Laws Regarding Interstate Firearms Sales and Transfers
• NRA Guide to Federal Firearms Laws
• ATF Online
• ATF / FFL eZ-Check
• Click here to find an FFL / transfer dealer in your area

Face-to-Face Sales & Trades

Meet during daylight in a neutral place so you can take a GOOD look at the firearm. If there happens to be one, meeting at a gunshow or a shooting range works well. Police stations these days will also usually allow transactions between strangers if a neutral, public meeting place cannot be arranged.

Most important of all, trade information when you do a F2F. It protects both of you.

Never let the paper trail end with you - know who you're selling to. If you're going to do a F2F sale or trade, we strongly suggest clicking on the link below and printing two copies out (1 copy for the seller, 1 for the buyer) and using them.

As long as nothing goes wrong, nobody except the buyer and seller will ever see either copy.

Related Documents

• Firearm Private Bill of Sale / Trade

Shipping Items Outside of the United States

We periodically get questions on who will ship parts to people outside of the US in the General AR forum. The laws that govern this are covered in the ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations). A set of regulations that the State Department has about what can and cannot be shipped outside the US. Those of us in the Defense Industry deal with this all the time, but for most folks this is a completely unknown set of regulations.

Right now this pretty much covers just about everything (parts & accessories) made for any semi-automatic firearm.

I recently did some reasearch for a thread in General AR and I thought I'd share the info.

Info on ITAR from the State Department: ITAR

Specifics on Firearms & Ammo

These regulations are particularly important: ITAR Munitions List - read page 2 in particular sections (a) and (h)

Section (a) in particular covers all semi-automatic firearms under .50 caliber, and section (h) lists all the parts and accessories of those times in section (a). Thus pretty much listing all semi-auto parts & accessories on the Munitons list.

What does this mean? It means in order to legally ship those items to someone in another country (even Canada) you need the approrpriate licenses. (see the first link on how to obtain the right license).

Of course there are countries that you cannot ever ship items on the munitions list, these countries are on the Embargo list which can be found here: Embargo List

My Ad was Locked / Deleted

If your ad is locked or gone (in the trash), it is because you violated one or more of the Equipment Exchange rules. The EE mods have two options: lock or delete, at the mods' discretion.

If you've just discovered that your ad has been locked for an EE rule violation, have no fear. Your ad is still visible to potential buyers and your IM and e-mail features still work but no further posts can be made and the automatic feedback system will not work.

After 72 hours have passed from the time of the lock, you may request that your ad be unlocked. Depending on the rule that was broken, it will be up to the discretion of the mod who locked your ad whether it will be unlocked or whether you will be given permission to repost the ad. DO NOT REPOST A LOCKED AD WITHOUT OBTAINING PERMISSION FIRST! Not doing so will result in the new ad being trashed and a temporary suspension of your EE priviliges. If you have such a request concerning an ad, just send an IM to one of the EE moderators/staffers, and BE SURE TO INCLUDE A LINK TO THE AD! It's time-consuming for us to have to search for your locked ad when you don't provide a link.

If your ad has been deleted, you may repost it after 72 hours, on the condition that you follow all rules. Please read the Equipment Exchange Rules to discover why your previous ad was deleted before reposting.

READ THE RULES

Rules & Guidelines

1. No bold commands are allowed in subject lines unless you're a paying Dealer/Industry Partner.
2. You MUST have valid contact information to sell on the Equpment Exchange, and provide it to EE Staff upon request.
3. You MUST have both your Instant Messenger and e-mail turned on to sell here.
4. No links to other commercial sites except to AR15.COM Dealers and Industry Partners.
5. WTB/WTT ads MUST be placed in the appropriate WTB/WTT forums ONLY. Posting them in the WTS forums may result in them being deleted instead of being moved. The ONLY exception is the NFA Firearms & Parts forum.
6. Anyone selling or interested in selling large quantities, recurring stock, or selling for profit needs a Dealer Account in order to sell on the site. Businesses, FFL holders, and manufacturers are required to have a Dealer or Industry Partner Account in place before selling on the site. Click Here to see Advertising options
7. Absolutely no stomping on other member's listing. Do not remark in any way that would negatively impact the sale of someone's merchandise. Do not post comments, opinions, or make low-ball offers in threads. This can result in your account being locked for 72 hours.
8. No posting of anything illegal. Including trademark infringements such at knock-offs that bear the trademark of the original company.
9. Do not delete ad text, including prices, or subject lines. Doing so may result in a temporary suspension from the site. Leaving the subject lines and prices intact allows others to search items out and gauge current market value.
10. If you buy an item, you must post in the thread in order to leave and receive feedback under the automated feedback system.
11. Don't use a secondary "shill" account to ask a phony question or post any other messages. This will result in BOTH accounts being locked!
12. Sellers should not re-post an ad again in order to get it back on page 1. DO NOT REPOST AN AD THAT IS LOCKED.
13. Sellers must not post items for sale that you do not have in their possession. Also, do not list items for sale unless you are 100% positive that you wish to sell them. No "testing the waters" to gauge buyer interest or taking pre-orders. This includes no sales for third parties. If your "friend" wishes to sell here, he must take the time to open a separate account. Refrain from posting personal info in ads, such as phone numbers and email addresses.
14. Sellers should use their own photos in ads. If you cannot post images of the actual item you are selling, it's best to not post images at all.

IF YOU BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES, EXPECT ANY THE FOLLOWING:
Your ad may be locked
Your ad may be deleted
You may receive an account warning
You may be locked out from the site, possibly even a permanent ban
You may be restricted from posting in the EE

MOST IMPORTANTLY
These for sale forums operate on honesty and integrity. If you cannot handle deals in an appropriate manner, don't post here. If you break our trust, it will be noted in our feedback forum. Selling rights may be removed and/or your account here will be subject to termination.

All items listed for sale should be described honestly. Do not attempt to represent replica (AirSoft, etc.) parts/products or cheap knockoffs as if they were Name Brand/OEM equipment! Do not knowingly sell defective products without acknowledging the defect. You must handle your transactions in a timely fashion. If you can't, don't buy it or sell it. And lastly, please maintain a reasonable level of civility. If a problem arises, don't immediately fly off the handle with threats & insults.

Industry Partner & Dealer Rules

Industry Partners & Dealers must pay a fee to advertise in the Equipment Exchange. Selling items in large quantities, possessing an FFL, or manufacturing items also constitutes being a dealer - even if you do not own a business.

Please send an e-mail to [email protected] if you are interested in selling here.

Welching

Sellers: Be 100% sure that you want to sell the item and are satisfied with the selling price. If you back out of a deal* AFTER a purchase or trade agreement has been made, your account will be locked.

Buyers: Be 100% sure that you can financially afford to purchase an item before offering to do so. If you back out of a deal* AFTER agreeing to purcahse or trade an item, your account will be locked.

*Note: If you are unsure about whether or not a deal has been struck, Instant Message an Equipment Exchange moderator or Staff Member for clarification. They will advise you on how to proceed.

HOW TO DEAL WITH COMPLAINTS

Posting a Complaint in the Feedback Forum

How do I know if I have a valid complaint that should be posted in the Feedback forum?
If a buyer/seller has substantially failed to honor their part of a deal that was agreed upon, chances are good that you have a valid complaint. If you have contacted that person and asked them to make the issue right and they have refused or not responded, you likely have grounds for a thread in the Feedback forum. Before posting such a thread, ask yourself if a reasonable amount of time has passed to allow the buyer/seller to address the issue. When in doubt about posting a complaint thread, feel free to discuss the issue privately with any of the EE Mods/Staff.

What should I include in my complaint?
At a minimum, a complaint should contain enough information to allow someone who knows nothing about the deal to understand what happened and when it happened. A link to the original ad is always helpful. Sometimes including excerpts from IM or e-mail negotiations is useful, but if you choose to include them, please see the next question.

What should I leave out of the complaint?
Please do not include "real names,” addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses in your initial complaint. This information should be published only after receiving permission to do so from the EE Staff. That information may be published in due course, but it should not be present in an initial post.

If you include portions of negotiations from IM or e-mail, please remove any identifying information. For example, "Joe Smith, [email protected]” should be removed and Joe’s board username inserted instead.

Finally, please avoid derogatory language in your post. It’s not necessary to call the other party names or otherwise insult them. You may think that they’re a "@#$%” or a "*&^%” but including that in your post is counter-productive.

My complaint thread was posted a while ago and no Mods or Staff have commented in it. Why?
The Mods/Staff in the EE all, believe it or not, have real jobs and real families to attend to. Your complaint will be addressed, but it may not happen instantly. If your complaint has dropped to page two of the Feedback forum without apparent notice by Mods/Staff, feel free to reply to thread to bump it back to the top of the forum.

If your complaint involves an Industry Partner or Dealer, please note that these complaints are handled by Staff only and that may delay the response (There are fewer Staff than Mods.)

My complaint is obviously justified, why isn’t negative feedback just being given to the person I complained about?
In almost all cases, the person you’ve levied a complaint against will be given the opportunity to respond to the complaint before a decision is rendered. This is only fair as there are always two sides to every story, even if the person cannot offer a credible defense against the complaint. If a complaint is particularly well documented, a preliminary -1 may be suggested by a Mod/Staff, but the person complained against will still be given the opportunity to respond. If no response is offered, then a decision will be made in absentia.

I made a complaint and now the Mod/Staff is saying there’s no -1. What’s the deal?
In some instances, a review of the available evidence will suggest that no -1 is warranted. These decisions are not made lightly and do not in any way suggest that your complaint was voiced in error. However, there are some instances where a complaint simply does not warrant the entry of formal negative feedback. Please don’t take such a decision personally.

I don’t agree with the outcome of my complaint. What can I do about that?
You can always ask an EE Staff member who was not involved in the complaint to review the outcome. Keep in mind that decisions in complex complaints are virtually always made only after much discussion in the Moderator forum.

Responding to a Complaint in the Feedback Forum

A complaint has been made about one of my transactions. Now what do I do?
The first thing to realize here is that ignoring the complaint will not make it go away. If a complaint has been made in the Feedback forum, you will need to address it. If you don’t address it, your account will eventually be suspended and your name and location may be published on the board.

How should I go about addressing the complaint?
The first thing you need to do is realistically assess your role in the transaction. If you’re "in the wrong” you will do far better in the Feedback forum if you accept responsibility for your mistake than if you try to argue that you aren’t at fault. If you truly believe that you’re blameless, then state your case. If, on reflection, you realize that you could have done things better, then state that and propose a solution to the problem.

Other people are making comments in the complaint thread and those comments make me look pretty bad. Why are they allowed to do that?
The EE Feedback forum is public. Anyone is free to offer commentary regarding the complaint at hand. If the commentary is particularly negative, then go back and review your role in the transaction. You may find some insight on how you need to go about fixing the situation if you take a hard look at how others view it. If someone has posted a harsh view of you, in light of the complaint, then keep in mind that you do not make yourself look better by responding in kind.

Once there’s a complaint against me in the Feedback forum, I’ll get negative feedback or kicked off the site no matter what, right?
Not at all. Sometimes it’s not the problem that dictates the outcome, but the solution. If a mutually agreeable solution to the complaint can be found, negative feedback can often be avoided altogether. That’s not always the case, but the fact that a complaint has been made does not mean that you’ll eventually receive a -1. You might, but it’s not guaranteed and your response to the complaint goes a long way toward dictating the outcome.

If I get negative feedback entered against me, will that feedback exist forever?
Not necessarily. Removal of negative feedback is handled on a case-by-case basis and is done solely at the discretion of the Mod/Staff who entered the -1. If you want to know if your -1 can be removed at some point, ask the Mod/Staff who gave it to you.

I don’t agree with the outcome of my complaint. What can I do about that?
You can always ask an EE Staff member who was not involved in the complaint to review the outcome. Keep in mind that decisions in complex complaints are virtually always made only after much discussion in the Moderator forum.