It has been slowly declining for the last 9 years. 2013/14 was the pinnacle - there were roughly 1800+- guns listed in Okc, 1100+- in Tulsa and 800+- listed throughout the rest of the state. It’s now down to about 1100+- for all combined at any given time. All of those numbers exclude FFL ads. That being said, it’s still a viable and good marketplace (to me) and worth the price of admission. I 100% agree that paying to view ads is complete garbage- they’re starting to lose me with that crap. I put price and phone number in my pics because of it. At the same time, you have a group/membership of people who are willing to pay for the privilege of exchanging firearms- for the most part, they’re a group of serious gun folk. I’ve no doubt dealt with scammers, more idiots/tire kickers/fools/drunks/trash than I could ever possibly count, but I’ve dealt with a lot of good folk as well. i don’t like it, but I understand the fee to be a member- lawsuits and scammers ruined it for everyone. They had little recourse short of the pay to play thing they have now. But again, the having to pay to view ads thing is complete crap and could very well be their death knell.
Modding for scams/fakes would be/is a full time job for several people. More people than they cared to pay for…
As far as the internet being “free”, it still is kinda- Minus connection costs and special interest groups with special needs/requirements (armslist fits that bill- Not saying it should, but it does, unfortunately). But it’s never been truly free, we’ve all paid for it dearly in our personal info and habits. It’s only free in the sense that we are the product, not the consumer.
But that’s kinda their whole reason for existence…
The free to browse part is highly suspect at this point though.
Attachments
I still browse Armslist a couple times a day. I have recently acquired a couple items on Armslist that were incredible deals. Met some nice 2A folks in the process.
It is still a good resource to see used firearm inventory at some local dealers. It is useless for buying from individuals. At this point, the secret Facebook forums are the best option for trading with individuals. That’s about the only reason I stay there.
The sites do get shut down frequently. Most of them have multiple backups in place.
About 3-4 years ago I got taken (scammed) for $450. on that site. Mods didn't help at all. Told me to get LEO involved. Very long story and not enough room here. Long and Sort of it they allow these skunks to continue their scamming and to keep coming back. There have been many members besides myself that have been scammed. As far as Armslist goes: Money talks and BS walks!
I used Armslist far more frequently than OSA for years for buying. OSAers are often very proud of their firearms and prices reflect that emotional tax.
Armslist was more for the causal firearms owner, so prices were much more competitive, and you had the occasional SOS sale where someone moved on from the hobby and dumped their stuff for pennies.
Once they added FFL ads, it was the beginning of the end however as it made navigating the site a chore, especially for the casual viewer. A few years later they added the current pay wall for everyone, and while the subscription price wasn’t that bad, the casual owner, “their primary audience,” wasn’t going to pay it. This shrunk the amount of members until it turned into another enthusiast site where everyone wants $550 for a factory used Glock because it’s “their” used Glock.
Gunbroker is about the only site left where you can still find competitive pricing, and that’s sad considering the shipping and FFL fees on top of the auction price are STILL less than asking prices locally.
It was cool while it lasted, I never had a bad experience, but that did mean turning down some deals here and there that seemed sketchy. I’ll miss Armslist when it goes dark eventually,
Armslist was more for the causal firearms owner, so prices were much more competitive, and you had the occasional SOS sale where someone moved on from the hobby and dumped their stuff for pennies.
Once they added FFL ads, it was the beginning of the end however as it made navigating the site a chore, especially for the casual viewer. A few years later they added the current pay wall for everyone, and while the subscription price wasn’t that bad, the casual owner, “their primary audience,” wasn’t going to pay it. This shrunk the amount of members until it turned into another enthusiast site where everyone wants $550 for a factory used Glock because it’s “their” used Glock.
Gunbroker is about the only site left where you can still find competitive pricing, and that’s sad considering the shipping and FFL fees on top of the auction price are STILL less than asking prices locally.
It was cool while it lasted, I never had a bad experience, but that did mean turning down some deals here and there that seemed sketchy. I’ll miss Armslist when it goes dark eventually,
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
Tornado/storm damage areas: Oklahoma AG enacts price gouging law for 12 counties- Latest: OK Corgi Rancher
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
