Florida Gun Trader has seriously gone downhill

[Deputydave]

What kills me is he has been on there for years doing the same old crap.

Yeah, I don't know why it's allowed. The owner/admin should have the ability to review/approve accounts. Particularly new accounts. The SEP forum uses the same software as this forum. I have the ability to check IP addresses and emails on all new account registrations prior to approval. So I can zap all the scam accounts with obviously fake email addresses or IP's that are from China or wherever.

If they did that with Terry and other problem posters it would at least cut it down in short order.

An excellent illustration how little the site owners care for their reputation.

Well they definitely don't bother with replying to messages sent to them. I've contacted them twice with zero response. That pretty much says it all.

When I first joined that site, it was pretty good. And, I got a good deal there on my most recent purchase

Yep, I've gotten some really good deals from them over the years and met some really nice folks. But yeah, now you've got to wade through all the nonsense to try to find something of interest. The owners/admins are to blame.

[Deputydave]

Looks like FGT is starting to take some positive action. This is what you see if you try to make a new registration.

As of 3/24/21 all new users will be required to verify accounts with a credit card before placing ads.

This will not effect existing accounts. New users will be able to contact sellers without verification. This small one time charge will be credited to your account once processed.

I realize this is an unpopular decision but it is a decision which will eliminate 90% of the scams and fraud that is encountered on this site.

Thank you,
David Bradford
( * ) indicates required fields

We'll see how well it curbs the scammers and the idiots.

[George W]

Scammers are paying the $3 to join. I've been looking for another M1 Garand on FGT. of the 9 listed within reasonable driving distance, only 2 aren't scammers. Most are recent members after the new policy took hold.

[amheck]

I kinda like how reddit does it. Picture required of the item along with a piece of paper with the date and your screen name. Anything is better than nothing.

Almost all of the Tavor x95 ads are scams too.

[Deputydave]

Yeah, the scammers are finding a work around and still posting. I haven't seen too much of Terry lately or his gay porn so at least that is something.

I'd be curious to know how many scammers/spammers hit this site daily? I know I have to zap 8-15 daily on the SEP forum. They don't get through to the main board so the members never see them. But they're there when I log in. Only takes a few clicks to zap the bastards.

[rentprop1]

I kinda like how reddit does it. Picture required of the item along with a piece of paper with the date and your screen name. Anything is better than nothing.

Almost all of the Tavor x95 ads are scams too.

they are going after the big money guns, someone over there must have scammed my 40th Anniversary AUG, Tavor 7, and the FS2000 that I currently have on Gunbroker, I don't have the pics water marked....another local gun shop saw the post and emailed me over the weekend, its gone now, so someone must have reported it.

[Deputydave]

Yep. Like I've been saying, the scammers are working around the measures that FGT has installed. Which was a pretty weak response from the get-go.

All they have to do is make it so that an admin has to approve every new account. That gives the admin time to look at the IP addresses, email and screen name. If any of it is hinky the account gets the ax. It's a simple as that. And maybe start responding to communication from actual real members that are expressing their concerns, that would be kinda nice.

[Deputydave]

I'm about done with FGT. Right now on the first two pages there are a half dozen gay porn pics. It isn't safe for home or work. I've repeatedly contacted FGT and have yet to receive one response. Disgusting and ridiculous.

[Off To The Races]

Yeah, by now I thought Terry would have gotten bored with his little act, but he seems to still be going strong. It's a shame as other have mentioned since it was always a great place to buy and sell. The real problem though is the massive influx of scam ads. Aside from clogging up the board with fake inventory, when you do post an item for sale it gets knocked down multiple pages within hours because of the Nigerians.

Once Armslist went pay to post, I really relied solely on FGT before joining this site. Now with the nonsense going on there, our private purchase options are becoming even more limited. I'm glad I was able to use FGT in its heyday.

[horridus13]

I keep using FGT and have made some nice finds over there. It really is annoying sorting through all the garbage but im afraid if they went the armslist route they would lose a lot of the good people in addition to the scammers. Armslist is a shell of what it used to be.