Selling Guns Online Without FFL – What Are the Penalties

Selling Guns Online Without FFL – What Are the Penalties

You posted a gun for sale on Armslist. Or GunBroker. Or Facebook Marketplace before they banned it. You sold it. Made some money. Did it again. Normal stuff that millions of Americans do. Except now ATF is asking questions about your sales. And you’re discovering that the “internet loophole” you thought protected you doesn’t actually exist. The same rules that apply at gun shows and parking lot sales apply to online platforms. The platform you used dosent change the law. Online sales dont get special treatment – they get the same treatment as every other sale.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We created this page because people think online gun sales exist in some kind of grey area. They don’t. If your selling guns online for profit without a Federal Firearms License, your committing the same federal crime as someone dealing guns out of a trunk at a flea market. The internet just makes it easier for ATF to prove what you were doing.

Here’s the reality that should concern you. The platform that helped you make money will hand over your entire history to ATF. Every listing. Every message. Every login. Every sale. The anonymity you thought you had never existed. Armslist has a legal department. GunBroker has compliance officers. These platforms respond to ATF subpoenas promptly and thoroughly. Your “private” sales were recorded by corporate compliance systems the entire time.

The “Internet Loophole” That Doesn’t Exist

Heres the paradox that destroys online gun sellers. There is no “internet loophole.” The same rules that apply at gun shows and parking lots apply to Armslist and GunBroker. If you need a license to sell guns repeatedly for profit at a gun show, you need a license to sell guns repeatedly for profit online. The platform dosent matter. The law applies to the ACTIVITY, not the location.

ATF dosent need to catch you posting a listing. They request your account history. The platform provides everything without hesitation. Your private sales were never private – the platform kept records even though you werent required to. Every timestamp. Every IP address. Every message you exchanged with buyers. ATF gets a complete picture of every transaction.

You thought online sales were harder to trace. Actually, online sales create MORE evidence then in-person sales. Digital records. Timestamps. IP addresses. Message histories. Payment records. ATF gets a complete picture of every transaction you made. The anonymity you assumed existed was an illusion created by the screen between you and your buyers.

Todd Spodek has explained this to clients who cant understand why there facing federal charges for what felt like casual online selling. “I thought the internet was different” isnt a defense. “I didnt know I needed a license” isnt a defense. The law requires you to know. Ignorance of federal firearms licensing requirements dosent protect you from prosecution.

When Online Gun Sales Become Federal Crimes

The question isnt “are online sales legal?” They are. Private online sales are perfectly legal for occasional sellers disposing of personal collections. The question is “are you engaged in the business?” And if your posting dozens of listings, buying guns to flip, making repetitive profit – ATF already knows the answer.

Heres what converts legal online sales into federal crimes. Repetitive sales. Profit motive. Pattern of buying guns specifically to resell. It dosent matter that you listed them on Armslist instead of selling at a gun show. The activity is the same. The crime is the same. The penalties are the same.

You kept no records of your sales. You thought that protected you. Actually, it destroyed you. When ATF investigates, YOU have no proof of who you sold to. But THEY have your platform history. Your lack of records becomes YOUR liability. The platform’s compliance department documented everything while you thought you were operating anonymously.

The 2024 ATF rule explicitly includes “online broker or auction” in the definition of what constitutes engaging in the business of dealing firearms. The rule removed any ambiguity. If your using online platforms to repeatedly sell guns for profit, your a dealer who needs a license. Period.

How ATF Investigates Online Gun Sellers

Every time you buy two or more handguns within five consecutive business days, the dealer files a Multiple Sale Report with ATF. That report goes to local law enforcement. Both systems start running checks immediately. Your buying pattern triggers automatic surveillance before you even list the first gun for resale.

Heres the cascade that starts federal investigations. Gun you sold online in 2019 shows up at a Milwaukee drug house in 2020. ATF traces it. Your Armslist account appears. ATF subpoenas Armslist. They discover 200 other listings you posted. Investigation opens. You have no idea any of this is happening. By the time anyone contacts you, ATF has your complete sales history and evidence connecting your guns to crime scenes.

Armslist has a legal department. GunBroker has compliance officers. Facebook has law enforcement response teams. These platforms respond to ATF subpoenas promptly and thoroughly. Your “private” sales were recorded by corporate compliance systems that exist specifically to respond to law enforcement requests.

Online marketplaces are associated with the THIRD HIGHEST average number of firearms trafficked per investigation. ATF prioritizes online selling cases becuase the yield per bust is substantial. When they open an investigation into an online seller, they typically recover significant numbers of firearms. Your case isnt small potatoes to them.

The irony is brutal. You thought online sales were harder to trace then in-person sales. The opposite is true. In-person sales leave no digital trail. Online sales create permanent records that platforms are legally obligated to preserve and produce. Every message. Every listing. Every login from every IP address. The evidence ATF needs to prosecute you exists in corporate servers waiting to be subpoenaed.

The Warning Notice That Proves Willful Violation

ATF serves written “Warning Notices of Unlicensed Firearms Dealing” to people they believe are engaged in the business without a license. If you continue selling after receiving one, youve proven willful violation. The warning becomes evidence. It transforms your case from “maybe he didnt know” to “he definately knew and kept doing it anyway.”

Heres how the warning notice changes your legal exposure. Before the warning, prosecutors have to prove you knew you needed a license. After the warning, that knowledge is documented. Your continued sales after receiving written notice from ATF proves conscious disregard of federal law. The warning isnt a friendly heads-up. Its a trap that makes prosecution easier.

Eitan Benjamin Feldman received a warning notice in October 2015. He continued selling on eight or more occasions after that. The warning appeared in his indictment. Thomas Caldwell received a warning in 2015. He continued selling. Both men’s continued sales after warning became central evidence in there prosecutions.

Heres the consequence cascade. Gun you sold online is used in crime. Traced to you. Investigation opens. Warning notice issued. You continue selling. Willful violation proven. Enhanced penalties apply. Federal prison. The warning notice is the pivot point that elevates your exposure from “potential defense” to “proven intent.”

Real Online Gun Sellers Who Got Convicted

Eitan Benjamin Feldman became the first high-profile case after Obama’s 2016 executive action on unlicensed dealing. Feldman bought guns from GunBroker.com. He flipped them within days. ATF served him a warning notice in October 2015 telling him his conduct was unlawful. He continued selling on eight or more occasions after that. Indicted for unlicensed dealing. The warning notice appeared prominently in the governments case.

Thomas Caldwell posted over 200 listings on Armslist. He bought 95 handguns and 11 rifles from 57 different sellers. Eleven guns he sold were recovered by police at crime scenes. ATF served him a warning in 2015. He continued selling. One gun he sold was used to kill Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer – shot six times. An Armslist sale led to a murdered cop. Caldwells online selling history became evidence of a trafficking operation.

Heres the hidden connection that should terrify online sellers. Caldwell didnt know his gun would be used to murder a police commander. He sold it on Armslist to someone who seemed normal. That person sold it to someone else. Down the chain, the gun reached a convicted felon who used it to kill a cop. Caldwells “private” online sale connected him to a police murder.

The Chicago Armslist Trafficking Ring shows how platforms become trafficking pipelines. Henderson, Phillips, and Wright purchased 90 firearms through Armslist in Kentucky. They trafficked the guns to Chicago. They resold them to Conservative Vice Lords gang members. The investigation traced gun after gun back through Armslist records. Federal prosecution followed.

Kristopher Ervin in Florida sold machine gun conversion devices online. Convicted on seven counts of transferring unregistered devices. Faces up to 110 years federal prison. Online sales create permanent evidence that makes prosecution straightforward.

The Federal Penalties for Online Unlicensed Dealing

Willfully engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A) carries 5 years federal prison per count. Maximum fine of $250,000. Multiple counts stack. If your charged with selling to prohibited persons, penalties enhance. If guns you sold were used in violent crimes, penalties enhance further.

Only 3.6% of ATF trafficking investigations involve online marketplaces. But online marketplace cases are associated with the third highest average number of firearms trafficked per investigation. ATF dosent prioritize online cases by volume. They prioritize them by yield. When they do investigate online sellers, they find substantial trafficking operations.

Heres what makes federal prosecution devastating. Federal conviction rate exceeds 90%. ATF dosent bring cases they think there going to lose. If there investigating your online sales, they have the platform records, the traces, the pattern analysis. By the time you learn your under investigation, the evidence is largely assembled.

Federal prison means federal prison. No parole in the federal system. You serve 85% of your sentence minimum. A 5-year sentence means over 4 years actualy incarcerated. Plus conviction means lifetime prohibition from possessing firearms. Your gun rights disappear permanantly. The activity you were trying to profit from – selling guns – becomes something your never legally allowed to do again.

And the consequences extend beyond prison. Civil asset forfeiture takes any guns and proceeds connected to the unlicensed dealing. A federal felony record effects employment, housing, and civil rights for the rest of your life. Professional licenses can be revoked. Security clearances vanish. The online sales that made you a few thousand dollars cost you decades of consequences.

Contact a Federal Firearms Defense Attorney

Maybe ATF contacted you about guns you sold on Armslist. Maybe you received a warning notice and your wondering what happens next. Maybe guns you sold online have shown up at crime scenes and your waiting for federal agents to appear. Whatever brought you here, understand this: if youve been selling guns online for profit without a license, the platforms kept records of everything you did.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196 before you talk to ATF. Federal unlicensed dealing charges carry up to 5 years per count. Everything you say to federal agents – even trying to explain yourself – becomes evidence against you. “I didnt know I needed a license” is not a defense. The law requires you to know.

Todd Spodek has defended clients facing federal firearms charges for unlicensed online dealing. We understand how these investigations develop – the platform subpoenas, the pattern analysis, the warning notices, the traces connecting your guns to crime scenes. We know how to challenge the circumstantial evidence ATF relies on to prove you were “engaged in the business.” We know how to present legitimate personal collection defenses when the facts support them.

The internet dosent protect you. The platforms you used kept records of everything. But theres still time to build a defense before ATF builds a case. Call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. The mistake of talking to federal agents without counsel could determine wheather you spend the next several years in federal prison.

Your online selling history exists in corporate databases. ATF knows how to access it. Call Spodek Law Group now. 212-300-5196.