Selling a Gun in Pennsylvania

CaliberSwap purchases new and used guns from hard-working Americans. We’re also an information resource when it comes to the purchase, possession and ownership of guns. While we are not attorneys; we are firearms enthusiasts that want to help clarify difficult to understand and confusing gun laws. As avid supporters of the second amendment, we do our best to help fellow members of the gun owner community understand the gun laws in their areas as well as advocate for gun safety and adherence to the law. We hope this article will aid you in complying with Pennsylvania gun laws. Specifically, we’ll explain the steps necessary to Sell a Gun in Pennsylvania, which laws you need to keep in mind and an assessment of the options at your disposal.

Pennsylvania Gun Purchasing Laws

Pennsylvania laws defining what a firearm is depends on which subsets of law you are looking at. Additionally, your right or absence of right to carry a gun in a car in Pennsylvania depends on whether the gun is loaded or unloaded and whether you have a license to carry a firearm. Finally, the repercussions for violating the relevant laws for carrying a gun in a vehicle are equally confusing.

What’s the takeaway?

Ignorance of confusing gun laws doesn’t allow you to break them. Even if you inadvertently break these laws, you can face serious repercussions including but not limited to a misdemeanor of the first degree (results in up to 5 years in prison) or a felony.

The Legal Brief touched on the confusing nature of Pennsylvania gun laws in 2018 after Pennsylvania introduced HB2669:

“… the PA legislature, in all of its wisdom, defined the term firearm in several different places throughout the law, which means that you need to know where to look to understand what is being referred to. The term firearm means something different when we’re talking about a general definition versus when we’re referring to what a prohibited person under PA law can possess, etc. And as you may have guessed, it doesn’t exactly match up to federal law either.”

The Gifford’s Law Center has a comprehensive overview about the legalities of gun purchases, ownership, sales and carrying in the state of Pennsylvania.

"Among other things, Pennsylvania:

• Requires a background check prior to the unlicensed sale of a handgun; • Conducts its own background checks when licensed dealers sell firearms; • Prohibits straw purchases, a common source of illegally trafficked firearms, and has a Straw Purchaser Education Program; • Maintains a state database of information regarding the sale handguns and certain other types of firearms;

However, Pennsylvania does not:

• Require a background check when an unlicensed person sells a rifle or shotgun; • Require gun owners to report if their guns are lost or stolen; • Allow courts to issue protective orders to prevent dangerous people other than domestic abusers from having access to guns; • Have laws to prevent children or other unauthorized people from having easy access to unlocked firearms; • Allow local governments to regulate firearms or ammunition; • Prohibit the transfer or possession of assault weapons, 50 caliber rifles or large capacity ammunition magazines; • Require firearm owners to obtain a license; • Require the registration of firearms; • Regulate ammunition sales; or • Provide local law enforcement with discretion to deny a license to carry firearms.”

I don't think we stand alone when we say it is very frustrating that lawmakers make it intentionally difficult to know what is legal and what is illegal regarding firearms. Laws should be designed to deter and penalize criminal behavior and should not be written to trap law-abiding gun owners with confusing legalese.

Based on what we know of gun laws in Pennsylvania, it seems that even those who wish to follow them to the letter may inadvertently fail.

If you prefer not to navigate the complexities and nuances to gun control laws in Pennsylvania, you can quickly and easily sell your unwanted firearms using CaliberSwap.com.

Venues for Selling a Gun in Pennsylvania

If you are thinking about selling a gun or a gun collection in Pennsylvania you have multiple options at your disposal.

CaliberSwap:

Pros: Our process is simple, secure, discreet, and backed by the Federal Government. We guarantee a great experience and value for your guns. There are no costs to our clients, we cover shipping and transfer costs so you don't have to. Our customer service team will respond to you in minutes or hours, not days or weeks.

Cons: Although our turn-around time is lightning fast, our limitation is we cannot offer same day sales. Once we agree on a price for your firearm, we provide you with a shipping label. Then you mail your firearm to us. Once we receive and confirm the identity of your firearm, we issue your payment!

Private Party:

Pros: This method allows for same-day sales.

Cons: Private party sales often result in a disparity between what is fair and what is desirable. Each party has a tendency to seek the “lopsided deal” without providing a solid rationale. In other words, it can be difficult for two private parties to agree on value. The location of the transaction can be contentious. One party may desire the transaction to occur in a public place, whereas the other party may wish to conduct the transaction at a private residence. Perhaps most relevant is private party sales mean you as the seller must navigate legalities of their state's gun laws.

Gun Shop / Pawn Shop:

Pros: This method allows for same-day sales.

Cons: Obtaining a loan via pawning your gun will always come with a steep interest rate. Consigning your gun to a pawnshop via a shared-profit agreement can be fruitful, but the payout can take weeks or months. If you choose to sell your gun to a pawnshop the process might be fast, but you’ll only receive a maximum of 30% of the gun’s value. Pawnshops might even require your fingerprints and other intrusive information. You might get a slightly better deal at a gun shop, but there, too, the gun shop has a vested interest in purchasing your gun for a lowest possible price and re-selling it for a high price.

GunBroker:

Pros: This method allows many prospective buyers to look at your firearm from around the country.

Cons: Gunbroker charges fees associated with creating a listing on their site and can catch you off guard once the gun is sold. Creating the listing itself can be burdensome. Your gun will be one among many thousands guns being sold everyday by other sellers. Their customer service is known for taking ages to respond and if some aspect of the transaction or process gets confusing you could be left high and dry by the buyer. Similarly, if an error occurs during the process, good luck wrangling a member of their customer service team.

Sell Your Gun to CaliberSwap

CaliberSwap makes the burden of selling a gun simple and fair. Whether you’re looking to downsize a private collection, you inherited unwanted firearms, you plan to move to a more restrictive state or any other reason, we would be honored if you would consider selling your firearm to us.

Our process is fast, legal and it delivers the best bang for your buck. Some online gun selling companies take days or weeks to get back to you. We ensure the response time of our firearm experts to our customers is minutes or hours, not days and weeks. We professionally appraise every firearm that comes to us. We can also help you identify the gun or guns in your collection if you’re unsure of their makes and models. Our appraisal process follow strict guidelines based on: make, model, metal finish, wood & composite finish, overall condition & functionality, rarity, and the open market. Our appraisals are always fair, and we are more than willing to explain our assessment and answer any questions you may have.

We pay for the shipping and transaction costs associated with selling a gun or gun collection. Our firearm transfer methods are approved by the ATF and major shipping carriers. By using CaliberSwap, you save money in fees, not to mention the time and resources needed to sell a gun collection to a private party.

We allow you to track your gun shipment during the entire process. You can feel safe knowing that your firearm collection will arrive at our warehouse quickly, safely and most importantly that you get paid.

Once your gun or gun collection has been received, we send you a check for an agreed-to value. Not ready to ditch your whole collection? No problem! Dip your toes and explore our process by starting with the sale of one gun. If you like the process that's great and we'll work with you on the rest of your collection. If not, no worries, we will still be available as a resource to guide you through alternatives.

Begin our safe, discrete and legal process here.

“DISCLAIMER The information contained on this website has been prepared as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice. CaliberSwap.com has used reasonable efforts in collecting, preparing, and providing quality information and material, but does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy, or currency of the information contained in or linked to this website. Users of information from this website or links do so at their own risk and should consult their local firearm law resources and/or an attorney when engaging in selling a firearm. The cited information in this article was obtained on 01/18/20.”