For dealers
5% of the sale. Nothing else.
No listing fee, no monthly fee, no charge for photographs or featured slots. Five per cent of what something sells for, charged to the seller — and your stock never leaves your hands.
The part most dealers ask about first
You never ship us anything
This is not consignment. Antique Arms Parts never takes possession of a dealer’s items — not for vetting, not for photography, not after a sale. Your stock stays in your shop, you pack it, and you post it to the buyer.
Vetting is documentary: photographs and paperwork. That is a deliberate structural choice rather than a convenience — a platform that takes possession of secondhand goods takes on both the liability and, in a number of states, a dealer or pawnbroker licensing obligation. Avoiding all of that is better for everybody, and it means you are never waiting on us to get your own property back.
It is written into the terms, so it is a commitment rather than a current practice.
What you are asked for
- — Who you are and where you trade
- — Where else you sell, so your work can be looked at
- — A few sentences for your dealer page
- — Photographs of representative stock
What you are not asked for: a fee, an exclusivity agreement, a minimum listing count, or your inventory.
Why list here rather than anywhere else
Your listing lands inside a reference book
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Arms documented
List a Model 1816 frizzen and it appears on the Model 1816 page, beside the history, the diagrams and the identification notes — read by the person who came looking for exactly that.
70
Part types
The same listing also appears on the frizzen page, and on the flintlock era page. Three routes to one item, none of which you had to do anything to earn.
0
Open wanted requests
Buyers say what they cannot find. It is a public list, you can read it before applying, and it is the fastest route from a drawer of old stock to a sale. Go and look.
The fee
Five per cent is the ceiling, not the starting point
Paying reduces the rate. Nothing raises it above five per cent — that is enforced in the software, not promised in a paragraph.
Standard
5%
of each sale · no monthly fee
Nothing to pay until something sells.
- — Unlimited listings
- — Your own dealer page
- — Listings appear across the reference — on the arm, the part, and the era
- — Paid out on a fortnightly cycle
Pro
3%
of each sale · $29.00/month
For a dealer moving enough that the rate matters more than the fee.
- — Everything in Standard
- — Listings skip the moderation queue once your record is clean
- — Bulk listing upload
- — Demand reports: what collectors are asking for and nobody stocks
Charter
By invitation0%
of each sale · no monthly fee
Granted, not purchased — the dealers who were here first.
- — Everything in Pro
- — No commission, permanently
- — A say in what gets built next
Why the rate can only go down: a marketplace that raises its take rate later loses the sellers who joined for the old one, and every dealer who has been on another platform for more than a few years has watched it happen. Putting the leverage in tiers that reduce the fee means the headline number never has to move.
Straight answers
What gets an application refused
- Anything outside the scope. Complete firearms of any kind, frames or receivers, modern firearm parts, ammunition or propellant, NFA items. No exceptions, and it is the condition the entire business rests on.
- Photographs that hide damage. The house standard is to photograph the worst flaw. Not photographing it only moves the discovery to after the sale.
- Attributions you cannot support. “Probably a Model 1842” is a fine listing. “Model 1842” when you are guessing is not.
- Reproductions sold as original. Reproductions are welcome here and sell well. Described as original, they end an account.
Straight answers
What happens after you apply
- 1. Butch Schoeller reads it himself. He may write with questions; answering quickly is most of the difference between a fast decision and a slow one.
- 2. If approved, you get a dealer page and can list straight away.
- 3. Your first listings are read before they go live — everything from a new dealer is, usually same-day. Once your record is clean, that stops applying to you.
- 4. Payouts run on a fortnightly cycle for orders that are paid and despatched.
Apply
How applying works
- Sign in or create your account. One email, no password. If you already post in the forum, use the same account.
- Tell us who you are. Your trading name and a few sentences for buyers, plus your legal name, telephone and address. Those last three are never shown to anyone; your storefront says only your town and state.
- Add your paperwork. A photo ID, and business papers if you trade as a company. Vetting is done on paperwork, never on stock.
- Butch reads it. Every application gets an answer from a person, either way.