Selling an RIF on ebay

[snowy70838]

I want to start selling some of my RIF's on ebay. But as you don't know who the winning bidder might be until the end how do you check their defence??

 

Or are you allowed to assume if they are bidding on an auction, and you've stated they must have a defence to buy, that they do??

 

Or is it better to brake the RIF's down into parts and sell them seperatly? If so how many? What if one person wins all the auctions?

 

Thanks

[jcheeseright]

it's against eBays terms of service, your auction will get deleted.

[snowy70838]

Can you please back that up with a fact rather than just a statement? Quote your source as I see RIF's on ebay all the time.

 

Thanks

[Longshot]

Yeah, every now and then I go on there and report people doing it to ebay. Then the auction gets taken down and I feel like a big man.

[Longshot]

Can you please back that up with a fact rather than just a statement? Quote your source as I see RIF's on ebay all the time.

 

Thanks

No you don't, you see idiots splitting their guns in half and trying to sell them as 'parts.'

 

You are not allowed to sell any kind of 'BB gun' on ebay. Here's your source:

 

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/firearms-weapons-knives.html

[Monty]

 

 

Can you please back that up with a fact rather than just a statement? Quote your source as I see RIF's on ebay all the time.

 

"We don't allow listings for Airsoft guns, BB guns, pellet guns, or air rifles because they generally shoot a projectile."

 

Not allowed:

 

 

• Air rifles, air guns or air pistols
• Airsoft rifles or Airsoft guns
• Any frame or receiver for a BB gun or air rifle
• BB guns
• Pellet guns

   

  

[snowy70838]

Thank you. So the answer is split the RIF then?

[Longshot]

Thank you. So the answer is split the RIF then?

The answer is sell it somewhere designed for that purpose so that you can safely establish a legal defence for yourself.

 

If you sell it on ebay in two parts you're trying to get around their policy and they will remove if someone (like me) reports it. You could sell one half now and then the reset after the initial sale is completed, but the majority of people who buy a RIF off ebay will be looking to buy both parts, not buy half now and hope you stick the rest up later.

[Spatch]

Depends if you want the grief of trying to sell something that's gonna get you reported to eBay and give you the problem of not being able to check any defence

 

Why not just sell them through the proper channels like the forums where everything is above board and everything can be checked? You are kind of making yourself out to be somewhat shady by even asking this

[snowy70838]

Ebay has a much bigger target audience than anyone airsoft forum which in turn invites competition which gets the best price.

 

That's why I was thinking ebay.

 

Thanks

[Longshot]

I think the problem is that it is illegal for you to sell a RIF without a defence. You can't stop people who can't provide you with that defence from bidding on a RIF that you put on ebay. If such a bidder wins you have entered into a legal contract to sell that item to them. At that point you will either sell to them, which is illegal, or refuse to sell to them, which is illegal. It's a lose/lose situation.

[snowy70838]

I already know this, that's why I started this thread.

[Spatch]

Ebay has a much bigger target audience than anyone airsoft forum which in turn invites competition which gets the best price.

No, what it does is opens our fragile sport to idiots who want something that looks real so they can be 'gangsta' and as stated, you are opening yourself up for problems and possible prosecution also leaving an indelible trail for anyone to follow, you won't find a larger genuine audience than the forums where you will also get the best price paid

[snowy70838]

It was a simple question, I'm not certain why people get so aggressive on this form.

 

If I was the sort of person who didn't care about making sure a buyer had a defence I would have never started this post in the first place.

 

I don't think I need any more information.

 

Thanks

[Spatch]

I already know this, that's why I started this thread.

If this is indeed the case then why did you start this thread? Your other responses show that this is not what you knew at all

 

The reason threads like this get disliked and defended so heavily by forum users is that our sport is on fragile enough ground and in the eyes of most outside the sport it should not be allowed to happen with realistic weapons, things like this and people trying to circumvent the few rules that keep the sport alive just fuel them further

[snowy70838]

Don't worry, I know that I would never sell an RIF without a defence and so do the mods from this site from the last time I was selling them here with the amount of checks I did.

 

You obviously never bothered to read my original post as it was just asking for basic information. Seeing if there in fact was another forum for selling RIF's.

 

But it is actually people like you who jump down peoples throats who put them off doing things properly and resorting to other means to purchase/sell.

 

It was just a simple question that required a simple answer. I don't think I can tolerate the aggression on this forum any longer. I have see this happen far too often now when simple questions are asked.

[Spatch]

I want to start selling some of my RIF's on ebay. But as you don't know who the winning bidder might be until the end how do you check their defence??

 

Or are you allowed to assume if they are bidding on an auction, and you've stated they must have a defence to buy, that they do??

 

Or is it better to brake the RIF's down into parts and sell them seperatly? If so how many? What if one person wins all the auctions?

 

Thanks

I think you should read your original post again before writing mate, at what point does this say anything about other forums or other means of selling other than eBay?

 

You actually state you want to sell RIF's on eBay, you were looking for someone to say, yeah, go for it, no one cares when actually we do care for our sport, so correct me if I'm wrong seeing as I have quoted your entire first post

[Del Monty]

Snowy has just PM'd me asking to delete his account. ... not really sure why ?!?!?!?

 

Can a Mod look into this and take the appropriate action please ..

 

Can you please delete my account on this forum as I no longer find this a friendly place to discuss airsoft. There are two many aggressive people on here for my liking.

 

I'm also not sure how to check if my subscription re news automatically or not? Can you please let me know if I need to cancel anything my end?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

yup, looked into it, cheers for bringing that to our attention

[Ian_Gere]

I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the conduct within this thread. Snowy has totally gone off at the deep end and that in itself is nobody's fault, but nonetheless this thread has the distasteful flavour of bullying along with whatever else it is. It's in the tones used to post: no one thing which we as mods could point to and say, "yeah, right there, that sentence was out of order," but hey, a forum is not the letter of its rules, it is a vibe, and what separates us from other airsoft forums is just how relaxed and friendly the vibe usually is around here...

 

On some points of fact, eBay rules do indeed bar the sale of BB Guns, however they do not bar the sale of parts, be they RIF, IF, or internal. We see plenty of such threads all the time and while I wouldn't be surprised to find out for certain that some people do choose to report those threads which break up a working gun into 2 or more listings, that is a practice about which it is for eBay to set their policy. It most certainly is not an offence under the VCRA to sell parts of an RIF. It would be an offence for the buyer, if s/he was not a skirmisher (etc), to manufacture an RIF out of parts, but that is not the concern of the seller, or any broker, such as eBay or indeed a forum.

 

Perhaps this flaw in the VCRA is one of the reasons ACPO declared the law unenforcible, but then again there are so many inconsistencies and flaws, along with more holes than the Pornstar Oscars, in the VCRA that it's probably impossible to tell which ones in particular the police have read, sighed, looked at each other and grinned sardonically, before mentally filing under A for 'As if lol'...

 

As for protecting our sport from events which the likes of the Daily Fail would use as cause celebre to try banning us, it's a laudable concern IMO, but this thread is a good example of how not to go about it. I'm hoping that Snowy can be persuaded to come back, but if not he may very well decide 'fuck it, I don't care about the consequences for these people which my actions may bring about'. Now, for sure I started with saying that the bloke was overly touchy, and I do maintain that nobody here is responsible for him leaving, but the point still stands: if we treat questions which ask about things close to the boundaries of what is or isn't illegal with derision, then those questions will be asked less often and the discussion which follows, within which what we consider to be best practice, regardless of what we know*, and the reasons we consider being responsible to be important, will not happen. Bear in mind there are lurkers reading these threads too...

 

 

* The fact that we know that nobody is actually going to be arrested under the VCRA. At most it may just be a further charge tacked on to Public Order and/or Firearms offences if somebody were to do something really stupid like get their self-manufactured RIF out in public and/or threaten people with it. The trouble is, because the VCRA is such bad law, the CPS would probably decline to attempt a prosecution and those charges would be dropped before the defendant got to court.

[Zak Da Mack]

Ebay has a much bigger target audience than anyone airsoft forum which in turn invites competition which gets the best price.

 

That's why I was thinking ebay.

 

Thanks

 

But surely putting it on an airsoft forum would be easier to get the correct audience? Most people will go to an airsoft forum to buy guns anyway, not ebay. Ebay can be pretty dodgy.

[two_zero]

meh..... if you where not concerned about eBay rules. why didn't you just list it, state that defence will be checked then offer to 2nd/3rd buyer if first does not have a valid defence.

 

As for selling it in parts, usually when people do this, it could not be clearer that they are trying to bend the law. Hence people reactions here, acceptable or not, was to be expected.

 

As for getting a wider audience on eBay... you're only legally allowed to sell to a narrow audience.. and of those I'd say majority that are interested in buying second hand airsofts would be checking the sales sections on airsoft forums.

 

Leaving? meh. you already said "I don't think I need any more information. Thanks", why didn't you just abandon the thread after that? and for that sake, when you decided you do not want to be on this forum any more, why not just leave? whats this deleting-my-account business??

Ian: as for who would be legally responsible, I would not want to be tried at a court for selling a RIF in two parts to the same person unless I've made sure he have a valid defence.

 

I do much agree thou, the friendly spirit is the main reason this is one of my favourite forums. Generally law sections seems to be a bit heated from time to time thou.

[two_zero]

btw..

 

At most it may just be a further charge tacked on to Public Order and/or Firearms offences if somebody were to do something really stupid like get their self-manufactured RIF out in public and SLASH or threaten people with it.

 

Sounded hilarious in text-to-speak program! then again, I've never had any family member slashed with a self-manufactured RIF.

[Deva]

I think there is a bit too much questioning of the OP's questions and decisions. Trying to put the OP in a bad light isn't going to help in any respect. It's better that we explain in a clear and informative manner rather than one which comes across a bit aggressive and know it all.

 

An assumption that splitting something up for parts automatically means someone is trying to bend the law is ludicrous. How does anyone ever get a hold of parts that are not brand new? And how is that any different to used parts? The buyer could still put them all together. It's important to remember that the seller does not do anything wrong if a buyer happens to collect all the parts and is able to manufacturer a RIF. It's on the buyer.

 

We are here to help people and answer their questions. It seems to me that those who have become very familiar with the VCRA forget that not everyone knows its contents. It once took you some time to get to grips with it and know the ins and outs, so do not expect others to just know it.

 

Closed.