Reasonable FFL Transfer Fees

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My FFL dealer charges $25, which is a good value considering the service and courtesy I receive from him. I could go across town to save $5 per transfer but wouldn't think of it.

On the other hand, if he raised his price to $50, I'd have to think long and hard before continuing our good relationship. A $50 charge for a transfer seems not just high but out of line for what's involved.
 
NYS does not require a permit for a long arm, so no additional background check.

In NYC you must have a long arm permit before you can possess.
 
$20 is reasonable. Unfortunately, everybody around here just went to $30. All did it around the same time, too.
 
Transfer

Transfer fee in NNJ right now is $50 ($15 for NICS check and $35 for transfer, but I've heard they go up to $75 in some places around here.
 
It may sometimes be "just a couple minutes of work", but that's not always the case. Statistically, you're going to wind up with the Transfers From Hell from time to time, which wind up turning into huge headaches. $20 might be reasonable for a couple minutes of work, but that same $20 turns into a loss for the FFL if he winds up having to spend a significant amount of time trying to get things straightened out from the other end, dealing with 4473 issues, placating irate customers, etc. That flat rate has to cover both the simple and the complex, because there's no way to know in advance which it's going to be.
 
I pay 15-20 bucks and have no complaints. :)

The real issue needs to be considered.

When I am doing a transfer that usually means the gun came from out of state. Being in Texas it is 8.25% sales tax that was just saved.

Then add in what was saved by shopping for the gun through the internet. I often find what I want and do not settle for what is avialable.

So you must balance getting exactly what you want at a fair price, plus shipping and FFL fee (whatever) against paying sales tax for something you may have settled for at a higher price.

So yeah, there may be times I would pay more for a FFL transfer. Just depends what I was transfereing and how much that gun was worth to me.

But I am glad to only be paying 15-20 bucks depending on FFL.
 
but that same $20 turns into a loss for the FFL if he winds up having to spend a significant amount of time trying to get things straightened out from the other end, dealing with 4473 issues, placating irate customers, etc.
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I am not sure I understand what problems you expect to encounter.

What kind of things might need to get straightened out from the other end?

What 4473 issues are you talking about?
 
$20 -- $25 is the standard transfer fee locally, across numerous shops. It's also the charge for ordering a gun online and having it shipped to the FFL.

Flat rate whether you transfer one gun or a half dozen.

NICS check in Oregon is done by the State Police and they get $10. That $10 comes out of the $25 transfer fee. ATF is not involved in the transfer beyond keeping the "bound book," and accordingly receives no money in the transfer.

Gun dealers locally just want to sell firearms.
 
I am not sure I understand what problems you expect to encounter.

What kind of things might need to get straightened out from the other end?

What 4473 issues are you talking about?
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It's whatever shouldn't happen but does. Buyer doesn't know how to fill out a 4473, or doesn't have current ID, or otherwise screws up. Seller doesn't know what the heck they're doing, has issues figuring out how to ship, or otherwise has communication problems. Buyer proceeds to call shop every day for a week asking if their firearm has arrived. Buyer comes back as a conditional, and requires more hassle of waiting for response, explaining procedures to buyer, and dealing with the paperwork. Package that arrives is incorrect/broken/damaged/contains bobcat instead of firearm (and then headache of dealing with that mess).

I'm sure given time there's probably fifty more things that can go wrong, but no matter what all of them wind up taking up your time. Time = money, and it's money that comes out of the dealer's pocket. In a perfect world, the seller already has the dealer's FFL information, the item ships as expected, it takes a couple minutes to do the paperwork, and everything goes smoothly. In a perfect world.
 
I think Washington DC has everyone beat for the most unreasonable. There is one (yes, only one) FFL in the entire city and he charges $125 for a transfer of a revolver. Semi-autos are considered machine guns and are banned. :barf:

Thankfully, I live across the river in VA and only pay $20 at my local gun store.
 
fairfax1 said:
I think Washington DC has everyone beat for the most unreasonable. There is one (yes, only one) FFL in the entire city and he charges $125 for a transfer of a revolver. Semi-autos are considered machine guns and are banned. :barf:

Thankfully, I live across the river in VA and only pay $20 at my local gun store.
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Not quite correct .. there are 5 or 6 FFL's in DC, but only ONE that will deal with the general public.

Oh, btw, he just spend 9 MONTHS waiting for DC to approve a new business location so he could have his FFL amended with the new address before he could legally conduct business.
 
I have noticed that areas that have high cost of living also have higher transfer fees.

I charge 10.00 for a transfer. 6.25 % goes to the state plus 2.00 goes to ISP for the NICS check.

The amount of time it takes is not relevant to the cost since the dealer has to keep your paperwork on file in case it ever needs to be checked by local or Federal LE.

IL will eventually pass a law that will require FFL holders to buy a State license to sale/transfer handguns. When that happens there will be a two tier system of charges here. One for long guns and one for hand guns.:cuss:
 
I have a local shop that charges $19.99 for a transfer, and the club/range I used to belong to charged $15 for members. I would not have had a problem with up to $35.

A dealer in some states (e.g., California where I came from:rolleyes:) has all sorts of paperwork/documentation hoops for both the buyer and shop to jump through, and could (IMO) justifiably charge another $10 or so. A full C-note or even more is ridiculous. :mad:
 
They can charge what they want but here everyone wants like $40-$45 dollars and IMO thats ridiculous for the 3 minutes of work that goes into a transfer
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I suspect that bookkeeping, liability insurance, etc., absorb a fair amount of coast.

One of the amazing and wonderful things about this country is that if you think you can do something better/faster/cheaper than the next guy, you can set up shop. If you make money doing transfers for $5 a pop, and everyone else in your area is charging $50 a transfer, then you might make a pile of money. On the other hand, if there are a lot of hidden costs, you may not do so well - but that's life in America.

Mike
 
I pay $10 at "The Trading Post" stores in Zimmerman and Princeton, MN.

That said, I think anything over $15 is robbery figuring the time that is needed to open, record & do the background check (15 minutes - tops). My guys do it in 10 minutes flat from the time I walk in until the time I walk out - & "No", nothing is completed ahead of time. Well................. sometimes I linger to check out the merchandise - it IS a trading post ya know!
 
The place I currently use charges $10 for transfers. Most of the other places in town range from $15-$35
 
Gunnerpalace said:
Make that 4-5 I think the ATF paid Suggarman a little visit.


But as for the others don't they have to do business to keep the license?

Wake-up call to them?

Oh yeah the FFL's around here it is to their discretion :( .
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All but Sugarman "do business", they just don't do it with the general public. Which, if you think of it, would have been illegal in the last 30 years or so.

At least 2 holderers are theatrical companies that need the FFL for shipping / receiving prop guns.

One is the BATF office in DC.

The others deal exclusively with LEO's and security companies. The one fellow who -is- willing to deal with the general public also falls into that category. He would MUCH rather not do so, but felt that -someone- had to facilitate transfers into DC.
 
In Jacksonville you are looking at anywhere between $35-60 depending where you go. That does not include the $5 background check fee.
 
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