Question How do i Avoid getting scammed on a PPT Purchase?

[Wolkenflieger]

I’ve done a lot of PPT’s but for the first time the other day a guy brought out one of the pens to check then bills. I thought to myself you can never be to cautious

Hopefully those work. There are phone apps to check bills too.

 

[KingRansom]

I have a rule that if I'm doing a private party transfer and the other party has absolutely no feedback then I do it at the gun store closest to my home. This way if they flake I'm not out a lot of time. There's some people out there who think it's funny to make you drive all the way and then ghost you. Make sure you exchange money prior to starting the paperwork and you should be fine

 

[BigBlaze]

I have a rule that if I'm doing a private party transfer and the other party has absolutely no feedback then I do it at the gun store closest to my home. This way if they flake I'm not out a lot of time. There's some people out there who think it's funny to make you drive all the way and then ghost you. Make sure you exchange money prior to starting the paperwork and you should be fine

I agree

 

[CaptainLevi]

I agree

When I sell and know I am giving something really valued and in demand I would ask for them to come to me or drive 15-20 miles at most. This would be after we hash out the details on iMessage. I would also confirm via text before I go to make sure they are on their way. If i don't hear a response I'm not driving until they confirm.

 

[BigBlaze]

When I sell and know I am giving something really valued and in demand I would ask for them to come to me or drive 15-20 miles at most. This would be after we hash out the details on iMessage. I would also confirm via text before I go to make sure they are on their way. If i don't hear a response I'm not driving until they confirm.

I do the same. I always text the day of to confirm the meeting time. If I don't get a response back, I'm not leaving my house.

 

[CaptainLevi]

I do the same. I always text the day of to confirm the meeting time. If I don't get a response back, I'm not leaving my house.

We think alike bro. how do you get your roster exempt handguns?

 

[BigBlaze]

We think alike bro. how do you get your roster exempt handguns?

The first rule of fight club. Is we don't talk about fight club.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

I do the same. I always text the day of to confirm the meeting time. If I don't get a response back, I'm not leaving my house.

Yep, this is very logical. Minimize risk with untested, unvetted buyers. I do the same.

 

[21SF 2.0]

don’t close your eyes during the transaction they could switch the gun, also make sure the ffl isn’t in on the sting

 

[kemasa]

don’t close your eyes during the transaction they could switch the gun, also make sure the ffl isn’t in on the sting

There was a gun shop which took expensive parts off a transfer firearm and put cheap parts on it, when the buyer complained, they said that he could cancel the transaction. They also stole the second magazine from new firearms that they were selling. Fortunately they went out of business, I heard due to both owners going to jail, for different reasons.

 

[psun786]

There was a gun shop which took expensive parts off a transfer firearm and put cheap parts on it, when the buyer complained, they said that he could cancel the transaction. They also stole the second magazine from new firearms that they were selling. Fortunately they went out of business, I heard due to both owners going to jail, for different reasons.

Both the buyer and seller can corroborate that parts were missing in front of a judge, not to mention the security footage from the transaction. Not exactly the brightest criminal

 

[Wolfee10]

Hello, New here: There is a listing here for a GLOCK 19x PPT local in San Clemente
1st I've never done a PPT purchase so I'm not sure how it should go.
Any advise on how to protect myself against getting scammed or running into a police sting?
What steps should I take in contacting the seller and purchasing the firearm.
The FFL to DROS is in my area so I've been there a few times in the past
At what point do I pay for the firearm?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really am only interested in a safe LEGAL transaction

Thanks,
JamMan1213

Why would it be a police sting ? Unless you are doing a back alley deal and not doing the paperwork at the FFL nothing about PPT is illegal.

 

[BONECUTR]

There was a gun range FFL that was notorious for shooting PPT guns during the 10 day wait. They sold it and the new owners are great but it was a known thing.
Lot of people started DROS's on never fired (mint) firearms and picked the up being clearly fired and not cleaned.

 

[BONECUTR]

Why would it be a police sting ? Unless you are doing a back alley deal and not doing the paperwork at the FFL nothing about PPT is illegal.

Lot of people are afraid the gun they are buying was not legally obtained since its off Roster. I do get people who openly admit they received the gun via illegal means before attemping the PPT.... People are dumb....

 

[Wolfee10]

Lot of people are afraid the gun they are buying was not legally obtained since its off Roster. I do get people who openly admit they received the gun via illegal means before attemping the PPT.... People are dumb....

Even if it was obtained illegally the seller is still giving all their information to the FFL. That’s like putting a flier up selling drugs with your home address and telephone number on the door of a police station

 

[BONECUTR]

Even if it was obtained illegally the seller is still giving all their information to the FFL. That’s like putting a flier up selling drugs with your home address and telephone number on the door of a police station

No its not, Most people have no idea what the did was not following the law:
Was visiting a friend in AZ- Friend gave the gun and told them in AZ they don't have PPTs
Visiting grandfather in Tennessee and he gave me a gun. Called CADOJ and they told me it was legal......
Still have an out of state ID so I bought it in Utah and drive back with it
Im a tier 2 Police officer in CA and didn't know I couldnt sell this off roster I bought in CA to a non exempt person...

The list goes on and on....hear it every week.

For the buyer very little risk.... Worst I can think would happen is if the seller is being investigated the CADOJ might come seize the gun during the DROS.
I know of two Law Enforcement officers who were arresting for dealing without a license where some guns they had in DROS were seized from what I heard from another store.

 

[Wolfee10]

No its not, Most people have no idea what the did was not following the law:
Was visiting a friend in AZ- Friend gave the gun and told them in AZ they don't have PPTs
Visiting grandfather in Tennessee and he gave me a gun. Called CADOJ and they told me it was legal......
Still have an out of state ID so I bought it in Utah and drive back with it
Im a tier 2 Police officer in CA and didn't know I couldnt sell this off roster I bought in CA to a non exempt person...

The list goes on and on....hear it every week.

For the buyer very little risk.... Worst I can think would happen is if the seller is being investigated the CADOJ might come seize the gun during the DROS.
I know of two Law Enforcement officers who were arresting for dealing without a license where some guns they had in DROS were seized from what I heard from another store.

In this case the OP is the buyer, so again they should have no reason to fear it being a police sting unless they know before hand the firearm was obtained illegally

 

[BONECUTR]

In this case the OP is the buyer, so again they should have no reason to fear it being a police sting unless they know before hand the firearm was obtained illegally

Hence my first comment.... Many people are afraid of how the gun was obtained and if it went thru proper legal channels.

If the seller is breaking the law there is a chance you will be out the money and the firearm. Police are not going to be waiting at a dealer. They have 10 days to go seize the firearm in question. This happened with GKY selling single shots that did not comply with SSE2 rules. Now they are doing the same thing under a different name.

Its a good idea if you are buying something to see it was properly registered here. (DOJ registration paperwork, Previous DROS showing how it was transffered, ect)

 

[treelogger]

No its not, Most people have no idea what the did was not following the law: Was visiting a friend in AZ- ...

For the seller, if this happened more than 3 years ago, they can't get prosecuted in California, due to the statute of limitations. Warning: The SoL can be 1, 3 or 6 years, depending on the severity of the crime.

Visiting grandfather in Tennessee and he gave me a gun. Called CADOJ and they told me it was legal......

Seller most likely would not be convicted, since they are shielded by "detrimental reliance", if they can produce reasonable evidence (such as their own testimony) that they did a good faith attempt to contact CA DoJ and got that answer. The evidence only has to be good enough to create reasonable doubt in a jury. And most statutes in California are "intent crimes", so one has to have intent to break the law; the attempt to contact the DoJ shows the opposite intent.

The list goes on and on....hear it every week.

Indeed, the gun community is actually full of people who have committed crimes. But the thing is that in most cases, those "common mistakes" are not actually prosecuted. In spite of what the polyannas say, the average person is not at a constant risk of going to jail.

For the buyer very little risk.... Worst I can think would happen is if the seller is being investigated the CADOJ might come seize the gun during the DROS.

And in theory, the buyer should be able to get the gun back after the investigation is complete, via the LER process. Still a big hassle, but at least not a loss of the gun.

I know of two Law Enforcement officers who were arresting for dealing without a license where some guns they had in DROS were seized from what I heard from another store.

That has happened somewhat commonly. But those were not officers who sold one gun by mistake; it was mostly the ones who carefully planned selling dozens or hundreds for profit.

 

[1911-CV]

Nitpicky question...This is also a federal issue, transferring a handgun between residents of different states without an FFL, would having relied upon CADOJ help?

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Seller most likely would not be convicted, since they are shielded by "detrimental reliance", if they can produce reasonable evidence (such as their own testimony) that they did a good faith attempt to contact CA DoJ and got that answer. The evidence only has to be good enough to create reasonable doubt in a jury. And most statutes in California are "intent crimes", so one has to have intent to break the law; the attempt to contact the DoJ shows the opposite intent.
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