A New Place to Buy and Sell Firearms Online: Trusted Gun Exchange

With SHOT Show coverage coming to a close, there are many new and great products on the market that most of us would probably like to own. I’m no stranger to the gun-buying bug, and often times the balance on my gun wish list is higher than my gun-buying budget.

After running up my credit card balance with new gun purchases, and having a few guns that I probably realistically won’t take to the range anymore, I was looking for a service to buy and sell used firearms. Having sold firearms and firearm accessories on some of the big-name websites, I was looking for something a little bit more convenient. I was looking for an online marketplace with a payment processor, to make sure I didn’t get screwed. As luck had it, one of the TFB crew met Ken Kwak, founder of the Trusted Gun Exchange at the SHOT show.

I got to interview Ken and ask him important questions: Why did he start the Trusted Gun Exchange? Is he into shooting sports? Can I buy a fully automatic MP5 from the site, and if so what is the chance I’d be ripped off? All of those questions were answered, but first, let’s take a look at the site.

Trustedgunexchange.com promises to be a one-stop shop for buying and selling firearms. Their website is very transparent, and the process aims to be risk-free for both the buyer and the seller.

In the past, I've been hesitant to sell my firearms. Firearms are a great store of wealth, and the local shops that purchase firearms don't always give you top dollar. I've sold a few firearms through local sites, but it gets a little sketchy when meeting up. Worst case scenario you may get robbed. Best case scenario you're still usually handling a firearm out in the open, and the person you're selling the firearm to may not be the person on their government ID. It's just not a lot of fun to be hanging out with a stranger who's checking a gun out in the back of a Dollar General parking lot.

Buying a used gun comes with the same setbacks. The seller may come to the meetup with a lot of friends and a firearm that doesn't meet the description of the listing. I've always been nervous about buying guns from a private party as well because I don't have a way of knowing if the firearm is stolen. No one wants to go to court for accidentally purchasing a stolen firearm, which although rare can happen.

Buying or selling a gun using the Trusted Gun Exchange gives you control of the asking price, a broader market than your local area, and generally a safer physical and financial experience.

If you're selling a firearm, you would verify your identity online, choose a price, and list it on the website. When someone buys your firearm, you would ship it out using a shipping label that TGE provides. If you or the shipper have any questions, TGE provides a phone number and promises to have a US-based person available to pick up the phone.

If you are the buyer, you'd pick up the firearm at the local FFL of your choosing. You and the FFL would check out the firearm to make sure it matches the website description. Although they don’t insure for functionality now, they will be doing it in the future! If the firearm matches the description as advertised, you'd go through the transfer process with your FFL.

The buyer can use a credit card to buy the firearm. The seller doesn’t need to set up any kind of payment processor or use any additional service. The payment is entirely handled through TGX. The payment is held in an Escrow account held by TGX. If the firearm is not as advertised, you can request arbitration with TGX as the arbiter and get your money back. If the buyer leaves the FFL with the firearm, the seller gets an e-check the same day. An invoice is sent to both parties and acts as a bill of sale. The invoice includes the make and model of the firearm, along with the serial number. The firearm details have to be confirmed by the FFL and is an easy and streamlined process for them. TGX’s comprehensive shipping and inventorying instructions make it easy on the FFL as well.

It’s safer than a private party meetup because you don’t have to meet a stranger in a parking lot. You can shop from home, and when you decide to buy a firearm, you can check it out in the safety of your local gun shop. You don’t have to worry about someone calling the police because two dudes are pointing a handgun around in the Waffle House parking lot because they can’t tell if the red dot is turning on or not.

Although both the Trusted Gun Exchange and your FFL can not tell you if the firearm you purchased is stolen, they at least can provide you with proof that you sold or purchased your firearm through legal means. The Trusted Gun Exchange keeps records on file of the seller for a set amount of time. The buyer’s records are held by the local FFL. The transaction is meant to be safe and legal for all parties involved.

Sounds great right, but do they have any good firearms listed? At the time of this article, they have an HK USP compact in .40 for $450 plus shipping and fees, which is honestly pretty tempting.

Ok, let’s get into the interview I had with Ken.

Cameron: Can you promise me I won’t get screwed?

Ken: Yes, in fact, we just saved someone a lot of money on a $50,000 machine gun purchase. The buyer's FFL received the firearm and performed a function check. He was verifying the machine gun, a fully automatic HK MP5, was as advertised. It did not perform as a full auto at the FFL. The buyer’s chosen FFL broke it down and identified that the trigger pack was a 3-round burst trigger pack, and was swapped at one point. It turns out the seller didn’t even know. The buyer got their money back and no one got screwed. We even worked with the Seller when dealing with his firearm. That is hard to do in a parking lot.

Cameron: Oh so you can buy or sell NFA items on the site, nice! Why did you start the exchange?

Ken: I want Trusted Gun Exchange to be a place where people feel safe buying or selling a firearm. They can do it from their own home, and there’s less risk. I’m hoping to create an efficient marketplace and one that will also curb gun violence. It will also reduce the amount of guns sold to criminals. No more scams and where else can you pay another private seller with a credit card?

Cameron: What’s your favorite firearm?

Ken: That would have to be the CZ Shadow 2 compact. I carry it on a daily basis, with a Holosun EPS red dot.

Cameron: Nice, that’s a gun enthusiast’s gun. What kind of shooting do you like to do?

Ken: I recreationally practice USPSA, IDPA, and rimfire Bullseye. I have a .22 Volquartsen Black Mamba as well and have really enjoyed shooting it one-handed lately.

Cameron: So what did you do before you started Trusted Gun Exchange?

Ken: I worked as an ATF agent. I hated that gun control was a political topic. I wanted to start a marketplace for the person who wants the safety and security of a legal financial transaction with national Buyers and Sellers. I saw a lot of instances where bad things happened at a meeting to buy or sell used firearms, or when a firearm ended up in the wrong hands.

Ken and I talked a little bit more about Trusted Gun Exchange and website features. It sounds like it’s a new marketplace, and they are working on some pretty neat updates. For example, FFLs can register their inventory with TGX through the electronic bound book software “Fastbound.” If you have a particular firearm on your wish list, and an FFL is showing the firearm in their Fastbound inventory, TGX can bug them to let them know there might be someone who wants that dusty old S&W 5906 sitting on the shelf.

Speaking of a wish list, if you see a gun on TGX and want to make an offer, you can currently email the site to make the offer. The seller will get an email with the offer and can accept or decline it. They are planning to add this as a feature to the site moving forward.

TGX can also prevent you from buying a non-state-compliant item if you’re in a ban state. For instance, they recently had a buyer who bought a non-California-compliant P320 in California, and TGX was able to stop it and direct the buyer to a compliant firearm. I don’t think any person who’s knowledgeable about firearms really likes the gun restrictions in ban states, but people also don’t like accidentally buying something they don’t know is illegal in their state. The checks are being performed right now by a person, but they should be part of the marketplace’s functionality in the future and will happen automatically.

From my discussion with Ken, I truly believe he believes in the site and the site’s mission. I am rooting for the site to be a big success, and I am looking forward to buying some cool second-hand firearms from the site. Make sure to check out the site at https://www.trustedgunexchange.com/