According to the Better Business Bureau, six alleged gun distributors advertising physical locations in Kansas or Nebraska accumulated numerous unanswered complaints and thousands of inquiries to the BBB. Nearly $10,000 in losses were reported by victims.
Consumers who paid for items with payment methods such as Zelle or cryptocurrency reported that they never received the purchased product.
Officials said that the homepages for these sites do not accept payment methods such as Visa, PayPal, Mastercard, etc.–instead wanting you to pay with Cash App or Bitcoin. They have a chat window for help.
The BBB added that the most notable of these gun distributors is Firearms World, which accounted for more than 4,000 inquiries in the past 11 months. Firearms World claims to be physically located in Topeka. However, the BBB confirmed that the address listed on the company website is a residential property owned by someone who isn’t affiliated with Firearms World.
BBB processed Firearms World complaints from consumers in 14 states, with many of the affected consumers using Zelle for payment. Firearms World has an “F” rating with the BBB and has 22 unanswered complaints, the majority of which stem from delivery issues. The company claims to have a Federal Firearms License, but that license doesn’t belong to Firearms World.
The site’s lifetime warranty includes a separate business, Discount Enterprises LLC, which isn’t affiliated with the company. Complaints sent by BBB to Firearms World have gone unanswered. The website domain, firearms-world.com, was initially only registered for one year, but it was renewed for another year. Victims of Firearms World sales reported a total loss of $7,600.
Other alleged gun distributors in the BBB service area with unanswered complaints include:
- Handloading Supply in Ellsworth, Kansas
- Reloading Supplies in Baldwin City, Kansas
- Fort Scott Munitions in Fort Scott, Kansas
- Guns Shop Inc. in Wichita, Kansas
- Mega Fire Arms USA in Garden City, Kansas
