[Anthony]

Hello Everyone,

Is there a particularly good way to order a DSA SA-58 in a custom configuration?

Directly from DSA or through a particularly good distributor?

If directly from DSA do they charge the retail price in their catalog on everything?

Do their distributors discount the rifles very much?

Thanks for the input.

[Chuck R.]

I ordered my DSA SA58 a couple years ago with a “custom” barrel length of 19”, I’ve since added the DSA Para stock.

The “best” way, and what I did, was to:

1. Find a FFL that would handle your transaction for a transfer fee.

2. Contact DSA and tell them you’re about to order a rifle and use a FFL to conduct the transfer.

3. Get the FFL to contact DSA by sending a letter stating that he authorizes you to deal directly with DSA (or authorizes DSA to deal directly with you, also send copy of FFL.

4. After DSA gets the letter and Copy of the FFL they should quote you the “dealers” price.

5. You then order the rifle directly through DSA, and pay them (they didn't charge my card till the rifle was ready to be shipped). Once complete, the rifle is shipped to your FFL and you pay him the transfer fee.

I did the above and saved about $150 on the MSRP and other dealers prices I was quoted.

Chuck

[Thefabulousfink]

It depends what you want, If you idea of "custom" is a carbine or "shorty" length barrel with a 4-rail handgaurd you are probably better off looking for a distributer, dealer, or private party that has one near what you want and spend what ever extra $$ to get it the way you want it.

However if you want something really funky like a 13 3/4" barrel or you would prefer to have the work done at DSA rather than one of the many competent FALsmiths that are online, you may have a bit of a wait. Earlier this year, DSA had over a 6month backlog on recievers and were taking a long time to fill most of their FAL orders. They just got caught up in July, but I am unsure of what their back log is now. DSA does great work, but you may have to wait for it.

If you don't mind the wait, find an FFL who will order direct from DSA and give you the Dealer Price + FFL fee (mabey some markup as well). This is probably the cheapest way to get a new DSA rifle the way you want it.

If you have to have now, check the FALfiles.com. Some one there can probably point you in the direction of a FAL close to what you want and there are lots of smiths there that will do a great job getting it the rest of the way. This could be more expensive b/c you have to buy the rifle and might have to send it to a smith to have made how you want it.

The cheapest option would be to buy a used DSA-58 $600-$900 and have work done to it.

Prices would all depend on what you want done, but there are several options. However, each has its own pitfalls.

[HorseSoldier]

When I bought my DSA carbine the stuff it came with included, for whatever reason, the mini-catalog with dealer prices on the rifles. Going by that compared to their MSRP on their website, I paid about halfway between the two for mine.

[Anthony]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding this method, but it sounds like you are simply paying your local FFL a transfer fee and avoiding sales tax as well?

This does not seem possible.

Could you please clarify?

[Chuck R.]

Anthony,

That’s exactly how it worked, I paid DSA directly. DSA is an out of state company, so I paid no state sales tax.

I’ve also done this with 4 BPCR rifles costing about 5K each, and a couple of other handguns that I special ordered. Since the FFL is only handling the transfer, the sale of the gun itself is an out of state sale. No sales tax, and on a 5K gun it really is a savings.


Chuck

[Thefabulousfink]

^^^ That is pretty much how I bought my DSA receiver. I found a friendly gunsmith/FFL that was willing to do the transfer for $10. I called DSA told them I wanted to place the order (using dealer pricing) and transfer throught XXXXX FFL. DSA then called XXXXX and verified that it was OK. I then called them back and gave them my Credit Card info.

It depends on the the FFL; some FFL's will order the rifle for you so they can get their markup (not bad, it's how they make $$), others will order it and charge you cost+transfer fee, and a few others will give you a deal like I got.

It helps if you are on friendly terms with the FFL. The FFL I went through was a gunsmith and earned his living that way, not selling firearms. I also had a friendly relationship with him and was also buying parts from him. That plus the fact that I will use him again for other (more expensive) business made it worth his time and effort.

**Know what the normal retail/internet price is before hand, if the FFL is asking less than that, thank him, don't beg for dealer price. Most FFL are businesses that need some markup to stay in business. If you get offered dealer pricing, it is a special favor aimed at ensuring future business, not an "every-day-joe-off-the-street" kind of thing.**


Edit: I also gave My FFL an extra tip b/c he did parked some extra parts free of charge.