How to Sell a Gun in Arizona: Dealer, Consignment or Private Sale

Whether you're upgrading, downsizing, or settling an estate, selling a gun in Arizona is legal and fairly simple, as long as you do it the right way. You have three main options. Here's how each one works, what it pays, and how to protect yourself.

Option 1: Sell to a licensed dealer

This is the fastest and lowest-risk option. At Guns 2 Ammo it works like this:

1. Tell us about the gun on our sell your gun form: make, model, condition and what you're hoping to get.
2. Get an offer, usually the same business day.
3. Bring it in with a valid Arizona ID. We verify the firearm and handle the federal paperwork.
4. Walk out paid in cash, or take store credit at a boosted value if you're trading up.

A dealer has to resell at a profit, so you'll usually get less than a private sale. What you get in return: no listings, no strangers, no no-shows, and no legal exposure.

Option 2: Consignment

Want closer to full value but don't want to deal with buyers? Put it on consignment. We display it, photograph it, list it and handle the sale and transfer. You keep 80% of the sale price, there's no listing fee, and if it doesn't sell in 90 days you owe nothing. Our average consignment sells in about three weeks.

Option 3: Private sale

Arizona doesn't require a background check when two private Arizona residents sell a gun to each other. That doesn't mean anything goes. The rules that still apply:

• Both of you must live in Arizona. Under federal law, a private sale to someone from another state has to go through a licensed dealer in the buyer's state.
• Never sell to someone you know, or have reason to believe, can't legally own a gun. That's a federal crime, and "I didn't ask" won't protect you.
• Handgun buyers in a private sale should be 21 or older, and long-gun buyers 18 or older.

Protect yourself in a private sale

• Check the buyer's Arizona ID and write down their name and address.
• Write a simple bill of sale: date, names, make, model, serial number, price, and both signatures. Keep a copy.
• Better yet, do it at our counter. A private-party transfer is $30 with both parties present. The buyer fills out a Form 4473 and passes a background check, and you get a paper trail showing you sold it legally.

Selling to someone out of state

The gun has to ship to a licensed dealer in the buyer's state. Drop it off with us and we'll pack, label and ship it to their FFL, from $45 ground or $95 next-day.

Inherited guns and estates

Handling a loved one's collection is hard enough. We can appraise everything at once, make one offer for the lot or consign the pieces worth more on their own, and handle the paperwork. Make sure the executor or legal heir is the one selling, and bring any paperwork showing the guns came to you.

How to get a better offer

• Clean it, but don't refinish it. Refinishing often lowers a collectible's value.
• Bring the original box, manual and every magazine you have.
• Bundle quality optics, lights and holsters into the offer.
• Be honest about condition. Problems found at the counter cost more than problems disclosed up front.

Get a free offer

General information current as of October 2026, not legal advice. Laws change; check the current statute or ask an attorney about your situation.