Rittmeister
Member
Rittmeister,
You said $50 transfers! Holy @#$%! Here in Rowan County, NC you can come across $15-$20 transfers. What are those gun shop owners thinking charging that much???
Enachos - I got into shooting only about 8-9 years ago, when I got out of college. I had done the boy scout thing (rifle and shotgun) and had fired pistols owned by adults of my acquaintance. Part of the issue is that I had no mentor really, or anyone to point me in the right directions as far as where to go for things.
So I bought my first gun (Kimber full-size 1911) at what I later learned is the most expensive store in the area. I knew of it because of their indoor range and large selection. Over the ensuing few years, due to being on a limited budget, I looked for good deals here and there, and tried to find more shops in my area to look over. It seemed that wherever I went I got reactions that ranged from a pronounced unwillingness to help, to downright hostility. This was over the course of maybe a year, and about six different gun shops.
So I looked into the new (then) internet and discovered that prices were often lower, and I could actually find the guns I wanted (budget stuff - FM Hi-power, EAA/Armscor MAP-1, etc). Before buying I checked into transfers and this is when I had the problem I mentioned before. Either they wouldn't do the transfer at all (especially on new guns) or they charged what I thought was an exorbitant fee. You can argue that if people are willing to pay it then it's not too high, but the fact is that I put the high transfer fees together with the general attitude and came to the conclusion that these folks wanted you to buy guns from them, and if you weren't interested in what they had in the case right that minute, you weren't worth any more time.
I've since found a shop only 10 minutes from my home, that will transfer anything I want for $25 in addition to being friendly, helpful folks. I just wish it hadn't taken so long. At one point I was honestly ready to say the hell with the whole idea, keep my Kimber and never buy another gun; I took one more chance and went directly to Southern Ohio Gun (they're less than an hour away) for an FM Hi-Power; they were a little surprised to see me, as they're more of a wholesaler than a direct-to-the-public outfit, but they were nice enough to point me to a shop right down the road that did the transfer on the pistol, and I went straight back to SOG and picked it up half an hour later. It sort of restored my faith in things.
Hope this wasn't too OT for the thread. My only further advice for the OP echoes what others have said - if you act helpful and make sure anyone else in the shop does the same (employees AND hangers-on) things should go well. I understand that a brick-and-mortar shop will need to charge more than an internet concern; the key (like with transfer fees) is to make sure the price is reasonable.