Anyone who is legally allowed to own an item is allowed to buy or sell it here. The following information is not intended to be a complete guide to all applicable laws. It is your responsibility to be in compliance with all Federal, state, and local laws when using this site.

What does legally allowed mean? You must be an adult who is able to enter into a contract. Anyone desiring to purchase a firearm must be able to pass a background check ( Click here for the ATF web site for more information ). There are age limits on the sale of certain items. And certain types of items are illegal in certain places - for example 'assault weapons' cannot be sold in California and certain types of ammunition are illegal in certain states and cities. The NRA also has put together a terrific NRA guide to state-by-state gun laws. The ATF has compiled information on the various state laws; click here to view the ATF state-by-state gun laws information. Again, it is your responsibility to make sure that you comply with the laws of your country, city, and state. We do not tolerate attempted illegal activity here!

You do not have to be a licensed dealer to buy a firearm. If you are not a licensed dealer (also called an FFL Holder), you must make arrangements with an FFL holder in your state to receive the item and transfer it to you. (Note to C&R holders: if you are a C&R holder you already know the Byzantine C&R rules so we will not repeat them here). Virtually anyone who is involved in the sale or distribution of firearms is an FFL holder, including gun shops. You must make arrangements with your FFL holder before placing a bid on an item. By contacting the FFL holder before bidding, the buyer can verify that all state and federal laws will be observed. For most firearms, the buyer must be able to pass a background check.

GunBroker.com has compiled a list of FFL holders who are willing to manage the legal transfer of firearms to unlicensed persons. Please check out this list on our Find a Transfer Dealer page located on the For Buyers page.

Non-firearm items, such as air guns, knives, ammunition, antique guns that were built in 1898 or earlier, accessories, and some gun parts do not require transfer by a licensed dealer. There are age restrictions on many of these items, and you will be asked to verify your age to the seller (typically by mailing a Xerox copy of your driver's license) before you can purchase the item. In general, you must be 18 years old to but items on this site. To buy Pistol ammunition, you must be at least 21 years old; at least 18 years old for Rifle ammunition.

If you have any questions or doubts about whether an item can be shipped to you, please contact your local FFL Holder or send a message to the seller of the item by clicking on the 'Ask seller a question' link located in the item listing.

International buyers: click here for information on exporting firearms from the US.

There are two ways to shop for items on GunBroker.com: Browsing and Searching.

Browsing - Our home page contains a list of item categories along the left hand side. To see the items contained within a category, click on the category name. This will bring up a list of items within that category. If a category has subcategories, the parent category will contain the items listed both in itself and in its subcategories. For example, Antiques is a parent category containing Genuine and Replicas and Relics. If you click on Antiques, you will see all items in Antiques and Genuine and Replicas and Relics.

Once you click on a category, you will see a list of all items contained within that category. Each category has two sections, called 'Featured Items in ...' and 'Items in ...'. The Featured section is located at the top of the page. When browsing, don't miss the 'Items in...' section as it is located below the Featured section. Each page contains a set number of items. If there are more items than fit on a single page, the items will be split across multiple pages. You can navigate to another page of items by clicking on 'Prev', 'Next', or a page number contained in square brackets ([5]).

Just above the Featured section, you will see links that say Current, New Today, Ending Today, Completed, and Going, Going, Gone. If you click on one of these, you will see only the items in that category which match the criteria selected. For example, New Today will display only the items in that category that were posted by sellers on the current calendar day. Going, Going, Gone will display only the items that are to end in the next five hours.

To see the details of an item you are interested in, click on the item number. This will display the item listing which contains a lot more information about the item. You can place a bid from the item listing page.

At the very top of each page of item listings, you will see links labeled Current, New Today, Ending Today, Going, Going, Gone, and Completed.  There links work just like the ones located just above the Featured section except they will display items in all categories, not just the category you are browsing. The Search link in this row will take you to our Advanced Search.

Searching - You can search for an item you are interested in by using the Search facility located near the top of the home page or the item category pages. You can access our Advanced Search page by clicking on the Search link located at the very top of each page. We have detailed information on how to use our search effectively on our Search Tips page.

When the seller posts an auction listing, he can set a Starting Bid and/or a Reserve Price.

A Starting Bid is the least amount you can bid in an auction. As the name implies, it is where bidding starts. You cannot place a bid lower than the Starting Bid. If an auction has a Starting Bid and no Reserve Price, the high bidder on the item will win the item at auction close. Every auction has a Starting Bid, even if the Starting Bid is $.01.

A Reserve Price is the least amount you can win the item for. The Reserve Price is kept secret from the bidders. You can place a bid that is lower than the Reserve Price, but the item will not be sold unless bidding meets or exceeds the seller's Reserve. You can identify Reserve Price auctions by the red (R) in the item title and by the words 'Reserve Met' or 'Reserve Not Met' next to the Current Bid in the item listing.

Some items may have a BuyNow! price. The BuyNow! Price is publicly posted in the item listing. If the item has a BuyNow! Price you can immediately purchase the item for the BuyNow! Price without placing bids and waiting for the auction to close.

Dutch auctions are a special format in which the seller has multiple identical items to sell. You can bid on anywhere from one item to the available quantity of items. At the auction close, all winning bidders win their items at the lowest winning bid price.

For example, a seller may have five copies of Stephen King's 'The Stand' (on videotape) to sell. Each copy of 'The Stand' is three videotapes together as a set. In the auction listing, the quantity posted will be 5, and the bid price is the amount bid for each item. If you want to bid on two copies at $10 each, you enter 2 in the Quantity field and 10.00 in the Bid Amount field. You do not enter 20.00 in the bid amount field, as this would be a bid for 2 copies at $20 each.

You can identify Dutch auctions by the blue (D) in the item title, and because the quantity listed in the item listing will be greater than one. A Dutch auction cannot have a Reserve Price.

AutoBid is not enabled on Dutch auctions.

Our auction site has a feature called AutoBid. When you place a bid, you are entering the maximum amount you are willing to pay for an item. AutoBid always bids the least it can to win. When you are outbid, AutoBid will raise its bid. It will never bid more than your maximum. If the item has a Reserve Price AutoBid will attempt to meet the Reserve Price. AutoBid is not available on Dutch auctions.

To use AutoBid, simply enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for the item in the bid amount field when placing a bid.

If you place a bid and the bid posted is less than what you thought you bid, it is most likely due to our AutoBid system. See our Help Center for more detailed information on AutoBid.

You must be a registered user to place a bid. Click here to Register with GunBroker.com.

When you have found an item that you are interested in you can place a bid on the item. You place your bid from the item listing page. The bid form is located below the item information, pictures, and description. You can scroll down to get to this form, or click on the picture of the bid card located along the left side of the page.

You should check the seller's feedback rating before placing a bid to see what others have said about him. The seller's feedback rating is located directly to the right of his user name. The rating looks similar to A+(5) or C(8) or F(1) or sometimes NR. NR means that the seller does not yet have any feedback. This typically indicates that he is a new seller. The letters are an average feedback grade like the ones you used to get in school. From best to worst, they are A+, A, B, C, D, F. The number in parenthesis indicates how many users have left feedback on this seller. If you click on the feedback rating, you can see the comments that were left about the user.

You should review the terms and conditions posted in the item listing carefully. For example, if the terms state cashier's check or money order, do not assume that the seller will accept a personal check. If shipping charges have not been specified, do not assume that they will be a certain amount. If you have questions about any of the terms, please contact the seller by clicking on the 'Ask seller a question' link.

You should also review the item listing itself carefully. Most problems reported by users are caused when the buyer has failed to do his homework or has assumed the item to be something that it is not. If the item condition is not specified, do not assume it is new or in good condition. Ask the seller! If you do not know what the item is, do not bid until you find out.

Before you place a bid, it is extremely important that you make sure that you want the item. If you have any questions, you must contact the seller and ask him before placing your bid. You can contact the seller by clicking on the 'Ask seller a question' link. If you place a bid and win the item, you will be expected to complete the transaction with the seller. Although it is a harsh remedy, we terminate the accounts of buyers who fail to complete transactions.

Right after you place a bid on an item we show you the status of your bid. If you place a bid that does not meet the seller's Reserve Price, we will tell you that. If you are outbid by another bidder using AutoBid, we will tell you. If you are outbid for any reason, you are no longer obligated to buy the item. You are then free to bid again or pursue another item.

When you place a bid, we send you an email confirming your bid. If another user outbids you, we send you an email message telling you that you have been outbid. However, Internet mail is not guaranteed delivery; just because we sent the message does not guarantee that you received it. You should check on your auctions using the My Auctions page as explained in the Monitoring your auctions section to keep track of your auctions.

Our auction site automatically keeps track of items you have bid on, listed for sale, sold, and won. You can access your My Auctions page by navigating the link located at the the top of any page. The My Auctions page contains tabs that you can click on to see the various views of your items. You can select a time frame to further specify the items that you wish to see. For example, to see all items that you won in the last two weeks, you click on the 'Items I Won' tab, then select 'Ended in Last Two Weeks' from the 'What auctions would you like to see?' drop-down menu and click the 'Go' button.

There is a special tab called 'Watch List' on your My Auctions page. All items in this list are managed by you. You can add items to this list and remove items from the list. To add an item, click on 'Add this item to your Auction Watch List' located in any item listing. That item will be placed on your Watch List. To remove an item navigate to the My Auctions page, select the 'remove' checkbox(es) of the item(s) you wish to remove, and click the 'Remove Selected Items' button.

If you win an auction, we send you an email at the end of the auction that contains the seller's user name and email address along with your winning bid amount. If you think you won an auction and did not get your notification, you may have changed email addresses without telling us or we may be unable to send you your notification due to technical problems with your ISP. Always check the 'Items I Won' section of your My Auctions page to see if you have won an auction. If you have won an auction and did not get your notification, please request help by navigating to our Help Center.

From the time the auction closes you have a maximum of five (5) days to contact the seller at the email address located in the notification we sent you. The seller must contact you as well within the same five days. If you do not receive a response from the seller within the five days, please check the 'What if I have problems with a seller?' section of this tutorial.

The seller will send you instructions on making payment and will request your address for shipping. Typically you will be required to prepay using a money order, although some sellers will take credit cards, personal checks, COD, etc. Make sure that you follow the seller's payment instructions carefully. We suggest that if possible you use a US Post Office money order and send payment by US Mail. This way, the US Post Office will be able to help you in case of problems with the seller.

When sending payment, always include your name, address, phone number, the item number of the auction you won, the name of our site (GunBroker.com), and your email address. We cannot tell you how many times we hear of problems because the buyer sent a check and included no other information!

If your item is a firearm, you will need to get a copy of your transfer dealer's FFL license, signed by the dealer in blue or red ink, and enclose that with payment. You may need to send proof of age for other purchases; again please follow the seller's instructions carefully.

If you cannot get in touch with the seller within the five-day window, you do not receive your item in a timely fashion, or you are having some other problem with the seller, please navigate to our Resolving Problems with the Seller wizard located on the For Buyers page. The wizard will help you get the issue resolved.

At the complete of your transaction, you should post feedback on the seller. Feedback lets other users know how the seller handled his transaction with you. You can submit feedback using the Submit Feedback form located on the For Buyers page.

When posting feedback, please be honest and unemotional about the transaction. Posting 'the seller is a jerk' is not very helpful or informative. Posting 'the seller contacted me promptly but took three weeks to ship the item' is informative and truthful.

The seller gets the chance to reply to your feedback, and you can post a follow-up to his response. To view another user's feedback, use the View User Feedback function located on the For Buyers page. While reviewing the user's feedback, you can delete or change the feedback you posted on that user or post a follow-up to his response.