$96? What a freaking ripoff! You know, I've said it before: FFL transfer fees are free money for the dealer. The FFL doesn't have to pay to order it, ship it, stock it. Doesn't have to spend a dime on it. All he has to do is spend 1 minute filling out a form and make a quick phone call, all things he would have to do anyway on a firearm bought in his shop. I really don't mind if they charge $20 for this service, as it does take a little effort and time away from other shop duties. But any more than that is just greedy.
Fact is, a dealer stands to gain MORE money by advertising they do FFL transfers at a fair price than they do by not advertising it and charging you through the nose when you ask. No dealer has everything you want all the time, and lots of customers these days know exactly what they want.
A local gun store advertises, right on their website and business card, that they do Internet gun transfers. They only charge $20 for the service. If they didn't offer this service, I'd never have set foot in their shop in the first place. But because they did this, I've taken advantage of the service multiple times and been in their shop and looked around. I haven't bought anything from them, other than a holster, but the fact is that it got me in the door, and got me looking at their selection. And they've still got a fair deal of money from me that they otherwise would not have had. And because they got me in the door, and were friendly and fair with me, myself and other people are far more likely to buy from them. It's not just a transfer service; it's a way to get potential customers in the door and get them familiar with their shop.
