Has anyone heard of "The Retirement Gun Business Guide"?
- Thread starter CyberRon
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Then go to the ATF's website and find out what is involved in becoming an FFL.
And then investigate whether there's a market for the service you plan to offer. If all you plan to do is handle the paperwork for internet transfers, you may find that field crowded. The town I live in has only two commercial gun sellers and a licensed gun range that also sells guns, but as many as fifty FFLs operating out of their homes. Because of the competition, most can only charge $25 or $35 to process a transfer, not the "10% plus a fee" that you find other places.
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I looked into getting my FFL to run a side business and decided not to go there for the following reasons:
1. There are already people in my area doing $10 & $20 transfers.
2. The FFL I used to do my business with (until he gave it up for medical reasons) could never come close to Gunbroker or Bud's pricing, so I purchased online and paid him $10 for the transfer. I had no reasonable expectation that I would be able to do any better.
3. I do not seek to advertise in any way that I have guns in my residence, as I see that as an invitation to thieves.
4. I do not want anybody showing up at my door unexpected or uninvited.
5. Though the "annual" inspection and record keeping didn't seem like any big deal, in the end, I decided that I did not want to be on any type of list at the ATF.
6. I was not at all interested in making the type of investment needed for a brick & mortar set up.
7. The guys in my area that have set up new brick and mortar gun stores don't seem to be doing very well.
8. Many, many people here on THR advised against it, reporting that there wasn't much money to be made in selling firearms.
9. Seeing how people (potential customers) are so demanding (and even dishonest) with retail vendors, I didn't want anything to do with complaints, rejections, and returns.
10. I really don't want to hassle with liability insurance and will not put my assets at risk should someone I sell a gun to decide to go postal.
11. My dad advised me a long time ago not to make my hobby my business, as it could potentially rob me of any time to enjoy my hobby, and turn it into a four letter word.... "work"
12. The FFL I do business with now, only does it so he can keep his Type 1 Class 3 status and legally own newly manufactured machine guns as product samples. He does just enough transfers to turn a small profit and not be declared a hobby posing as a business, and to pay his license/SOT fees. Though owning cheep machine guns (full auto M16s for <$1,000) sounds like a lot of fun, that's not something I want to get into (all the ranges in this area ban MGs, so I would have to find new& far away places to shoot).
So in the big scheme of the risk vs. rewards analysis didn't even come close for me and I threw away my FFL applications.
1. There are already people in my area doing $10 & $20 transfers.
2. The FFL I used to do my business with (until he gave it up for medical reasons) could never come close to Gunbroker or Bud's pricing, so I purchased online and paid him $10 for the transfer. I had no reasonable expectation that I would be able to do any better.
3. I do not seek to advertise in any way that I have guns in my residence, as I see that as an invitation to thieves.
4. I do not want anybody showing up at my door unexpected or uninvited.
5. Though the "annual" inspection and record keeping didn't seem like any big deal, in the end, I decided that I did not want to be on any type of list at the ATF.
6. I was not at all interested in making the type of investment needed for a brick & mortar set up.
7. The guys in my area that have set up new brick and mortar gun stores don't seem to be doing very well.
8. Many, many people here on THR advised against it, reporting that there wasn't much money to be made in selling firearms.
9. Seeing how people (potential customers) are so demanding (and even dishonest) with retail vendors, I didn't want anything to do with complaints, rejections, and returns.
10. I really don't want to hassle with liability insurance and will not put my assets at risk should someone I sell a gun to decide to go postal.
11. My dad advised me a long time ago not to make my hobby my business, as it could potentially rob me of any time to enjoy my hobby, and turn it into a four letter word.... "work"
12. The FFL I do business with now, only does it so he can keep his Type 1 Class 3 status and legally own newly manufactured machine guns as product samples. He does just enough transfers to turn a small profit and not be declared a hobby posing as a business, and to pay his license/SOT fees. Though owning cheep machine guns (full auto M16s for <$1,000) sounds like a lot of fun, that's not something I want to get into (all the ranges in this area ban MGs, so I would have to find new& far away places to shoot).
So in the big scheme of the risk vs. rewards analysis didn't even come close for me and I threw away my FFL applications.
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