Complaint Review: EGunner.com - Internet

I can’t say with certainty that egunner is intentionally complicit in any of the wrongdoings there but there are definitely suspicious activities which have made me abandon this site.

I have participated in their promo auctions as well as their penny auctions.  I have actually won several items there, like a $375 handgun for $8.57 but there are many pitfalls to beware of.

In one case, I placed an “autobid” where the system automatically bids for you each time you are outbid.  With only about 20% of my autobids used up and with 80% of those bids remaining, the auction ended with another bidder winning.  I sent an e-mail asking how & why this happened.  A Rep answered the next day, said there was a “glitch” in their system and she restored the bids I had lost during that auction.  Would they have restored the bids if I didn’t complain?  We’ll never know.  BTW:  This was the ONLY time I was able to get any type or response from egunner about a question.

There are also scams with customers “teaming up” to control an auction.  One person won 5 guns in 2 days.  Here’s how:  At least 3 bidders work together.  Two bidders place themselves on autobid.  A third bidder will place “last second” bids against the other 2 for about 15 minutes.  After the 10 or 15 minutes, the 2 autobidders secretly stop bidding at the same moment and instead of placing another “last second” bid, the 3rd bidders lets the clock run out, making the most recent “autobidder” the winner. 

The scam works because people are all trying to “outsmart” the other bidders.  Rather than dozens of people bidding at once, smart bidders save their bids and watch the other bidders compete against each other.  When the clock runs under 5 seconds, the bidders on the sidelines know to place a bid.  As the scam bidder places “last second” bids for 10 minutes or more with at least 2 other “autobidders” participating, the bidders on the sideline gain a false sense of security, believing that with 2 “autobidders” remaining, the clock won’t run out.  That logic fails when the 3 bidders are conspiring together.

The other problem is accessibility.  The telephone number for the site is available ONLY to FFL Dealers and to members of the dues-paying private club Bud’s offers for sale.  If you’re not in either of these categories, your only contact option is an e-mail or their live “chat line.”

When I encountered a problem, I tried the phone number but was told I must use e-mail or the live chat.  Over 2 days, I left 2 e-mails.  More than a week has passed and I have never received a response.  I initiated a live chat 3 times.  Each time, a polite response said:  “I will be happy to assist you.  Please hold on while I research this for you.”  After waiting about 5 minutes each time, the chat automatically disconnected due to a “long interval with no contact.”

My question remained unanswered.  I ended up with a product I didn't want. (and if you make returns or cancel a sale for ANY reason, you are charged a 15% "restocking fee")

Auctions that mysteriously end because of “a glitch,”  bidders conspiring to cheat the system, 15% "restocking fee" and a “service department that refuses to provide service makes egunner more trouble than it’s worth in my opinion.

Not a scam.  A lot of PA sites were scammy (most have folded), but eGunner is what it says it is.  And they ship the orders quickly.  It's not for everyone, but there are a lot of people who get very good deals.  Like any PA site, you should watch it for a week or so before jumping in.  Egunner has tight win limits on handguns (4-month), so there are plenty of good deals depending on when people are locked out. Additionally, eGunner caps the number of bids anyone can use on an auction.  You can't bid based the "buy-it-now" limit, so there is more strategy to it than just mindlessly throwing bids.