Transfers insult to FFLs?

[gezzer]

I am an FFL, I charge $10.00 each transfer. When you are a regular customer it may even be free. I found it has increased my business about 30% or so due to sales in the shop as customers buy from me instead of my competitors.

CA you guys are being fornicated without being kissed.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I let my ffl guy know that if he can match the price ,Ill buy it from him.

Thats the way I feel. I'd like to buy locally and if you can match the price I gladly will (I'll even factor in a $30 or so leeway mentally to avoid the trouble)
If you can't match it, stop complaining. You are getting an easy $20-$100 (the latter in Cali I bet) to do a simple transfer. There are a lot of FFL's around. If you want my business, earn it.

 

[Euclidean]

I asked my local FFL about this once. He said he loves doing transfers because he doesn't like keeping so much inventory on hand, and he gets to see all different kinds of cool guns this way. He works out of his home, so his overhead cost is very low.

 

[dixierifleman]

i asked how much a $600 AR would cost to have it transfered to him. $60 he said. i asked why hes so much higher than everyone else. he said "we got a place on the highway so we wouldnt have to do transfers". i then said he should carry more in stock. "oh well we can order you anything you want." i asked about used ARs. "oh well we only order new. i dont know why you want one used anyways."he said. i asked "well how much for a Bushmaster AR carbine?". he said "itll be at least $1000". i said with smile on my face "well you just answered your own question."

 

[Bogart]

Most of the gun dealers/ranges on Long Island in NY will bend you over if you buy from out of state. Most charge $50 for a used gun and 25% of the cost of the gun for a new one. The cheapest I've been able to find an FFL to do a transfer for me on Long Island has been $50 new or used. I guess I'll be using him in the future.

Contact www.freeportjuniorclub.org/frrstore/store-index.htm
Alan is the FFL

We did a transfer of 15 AR15 lowesr without any issue & the fee was quite reasonable and quite a bit lower that your prices

 

[Rugerdaddy]

gunbroker.com has a list of FFLs. I found one on that list who works out of his house, charges only $20, is easy to work with, will transfer anything (legal, of course), and is a nice guy. The first transfer I did, we sat around and chewed the fat a little, then he gave me a Cuban cigar probably worth more than the transfer fee!

I wouldn't bother asking any shop what their fee is. The last time I did, the guy said $100, but he was thinking of going up to $150. I didn't bother asking why. What possible reasonable answer could he give?

 

[ScotZ]

$40 at the local Bass Pro Shop. Usally around $20 everywhere else in Cincy.

 

[mrmeval]

I had to use two quarters

Dumped one and got another one who actually wanted me to use them. AFAIK they make MORE on a transfer than the sale of some guns at least according to what another FFL who is out of business told me.

 

[mrmeval]

Shooting their feet to spite their face.

Correia, why are you not in this state!

I did finally find a place I can do business with and not feel put out. One other one had some internal nepotism idiocy and are out, the other would not show what price the guns were and didn't seem to like browsers much so I walked. This latest one is run by a younger couple who are very good and they have no problem with transfers. While there getting an Olympia knockoff transfered I saw this gun and a magazine I needed cheaper than online+S&H and some ammo and a used fobus holster CHEEP.......

 

[evan price]

The shop that is a mile up the road from me is a deer check station, they always ave coffee and donuts at 5am during hunting season, and its always great to go out there and hang around and observe the harvest. He charges $25 for transfers, long gun or pistol, and is always happy to see me because I buy game licenses, ammo, etc. from him, and always check their inventory. As a matter of fact they charged only ONE $25 fee for a box of FAL upper receivers. They are great folks and I will always go there first for anything I am looking for.

 

[Crosscut]

I buy from Auction Arms alot and the FFL I use does not mind transfering the gun for $25.00, because I'll buy 500 to a 1000 rounds of ammo from him when I pick up the transfer. I think his mark up on the ammo, more than mends his ego on the small mark up he gets on handguns.

 

[Hoppy590]

He informed me it was an insult to him as an FFL if a customer ordered from someone else and had him transfer it.

its called capitalism and a free marker. the only reason he is even involved is via the governments interference.


if hes so "insulted" then maybe he can do some things about it like
Lower his prices
Stock the item
Dont do transfers or make it especialy clear he doesnt want to do any.


there are plenty of other people who would be more than willing to do transfers

 

[hoji]

Good posts all.
If an FFL feels "insulted" then screw him. They will generally make more on a transfer than on a gun sale{if what my FFL friends say is true} and will gain the customer's sales in ammo, and other accessories{ which are more profitable.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I used to take it as somewhat of a slap inthe face, however my attitude towards transfers changed dramatically. I encourage it now because I want more people in the store. I can perform a service, answer questions about their new firearm, and maybe sell some ammo and accesories. Also I really enjoy meeting new people or catching up with regular customers. The more people through the door the better. Hardly a customer comes in with a transfer that doesn't stop for a minute to browse the guns in the shop.

 

[ilbob]

Many small business owners do things that are counter productive to their own profits. Not taking an easy $15 or $20 to pass a gun through your books counts as almost criminally stupid in my book.

 

[PaladinX13]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of liability does the FFL have in a case where a "simple" transfer goes bad? Say if the item is not what the auctioneer promised and the buyer refuses to pick it up or pay... or if the seller is criminally late in sending the item... etc.

 

[Essex County]

One of my local dealers charges me 15 dollars and gives me courteous service. Essex

 

[MD_Willington]

An insult?

I guess eTrade etc and other online trading is an insult to brokerage firms too...

All I can say about dealers like that, I've already posted:

Never shop there again, tell everyone you know to never shop there again...


Let them dig their own graves...


And people wonder why no one supports the "Mom & Pop" shops anymore, they tend to be their worst enemies...


MD

 

[Deanimator]

The things that I want, no dealer around here is going to have anyway.

If I want a particular ex-NYPD four screw M&P, or a 3" Model 13 or Model 65, it's that gun or nothing. I'm not interested in the two piece barrel, lock afflicted, overpriced piece of garbage the local gunstores have... nevermind the braindead racist, sexist, etc., etc., etc. blather from the ne'er do well buddy of the counter guy who's SUPPOSED to be watching the range.

I've had very good luck lately with people like CDNN, Summit Gun Broker and RM Vivas. My original FFL charged $25 a transfer. He screwed up and let his FFL lapse, so I found another guy who only charges $20.

 

[Eskimo Jim]

I've seen high fees for FFL transfers at some places and reasonable fees at others. I rarely buy firearms on line. If someone has a high price for something that I want, I keep looking until I find what I want closer to the price I want to pay.

What a lot of firearm dealers have forgotten, or haven't learned, is that the internet has now increased their competition from just the shops within say a 50 mile distance to the entire country. In order to survive, they need to compete with pricing, outstanding customer service, number of potential customers etc.

My repeat business has always gone to the local store that offers the friendliest atmosphere with a competative price. Competative price doesn't necessarily equal the lowest price. If the prices for a firearm or any product for that matter, is comparable, I go with the friendlier store.

If a sales clerk or store owner is rude to me, the message sent is "I don't want your business". How many times does a business have to send this message before they start losing sales?

Jim

 

[Deanimator]

Many small business owners do things that are counter productive to their own profits. Not taking an easy $15 or $20 to pass a gun through your books counts as almost criminally stupid in my book.

I used to live in a crappy little town in Northwest Ohio. There was one bookstore in town.

I spend a LOT of money on Squadron-Signal "In Action" aircraft books, probably hundreds of dollars a year when they release a lot of good volumes.

Entering the bookstore for the first time, I saw that they had a few Squadron books. I asked the woman proprietor if she could get any more. I was treated to a five minute discourse on how it was too much trouble, and she didn't want to buy them and have them sit on the shelf, etc., etc., etc. Apparently, she thought I didn't want her to order them for ME, but instead just to fill up her shelves. I listened to her indolent, unambitious BS and left. Shortly thereafter, I found a hobbyshop in Norwalk, OH that not only had a big stock of the books, but would order them for me any time I wanted. It was a 1/2hr-40 min drive one way, but guess who got a lot of my money, until I moved back to the Cleveland area?

 

[Zundfolge]

Is that V Research @ Academy and Union??

Yep ... Rich is a good guy to do business with. He only charges $20 (the other guy I use is Hickman Rifles ... he only charges $25 ... but its a farther drive for me to get out there and frankly the novelty of picking up a gun in a shop sells Macs just cracks me up 'cause Mac users aren't usually the most gun friendly bunch).

 

[thumbody]

Check out the FFL list on Shotgunnews.com.
http://listings.shotgunnews.com/fflguide/findfflguide
There are several dealers you will never find in the Yellow pages,many offering to do transfers for a very reasonable price.

Wow. You guys are getting a bargain. Cheapest I found in N. Cal. is 75.00 transfer fee, plus 25.00 for the state check, plus tax at 7.75%.

I see several starting from $20.00

 

[30 cal slob]

all my local FFL's don't like doing transfers ... not just because of the lost profit, but also because of the extra paperwork they have to put with (on the state level) and ... sales tax issues. Recently our state Dep't of Revenue started mucking around with inquiries on taxing the value of guns "sold" - even if there was an equal economic trade.

frankly, i can't blame my local ffl's for staying out of the fray ... too much headache.

i have to drive 2 hours to get to a guy who will do a transfer for $25 or so.

 

[TaxPhd]

I see a transfer as basically being straight profit for half an hours work. Just have to log the gun and run a background check.

It would require pretty good accounting to get to that result. He's paying insurance, rent, taxes, utilities etc. which creates an hourly cost, and hopefully they make something to feed the family. Not to mention things like depreciation. So for 30 minutes, maybe less, he's tied up doing your stuff. If they charge $25 (seems about average around here) that's $50/hour gross, subtract out the cost per hour previously identified and you get the amount left to buy groceries for the kids (after income tax of course).

They are lucky to be making $15 an hour after all that. Now if you can get it down to 5 minutes, and do 100 transfers a day it might make business sense.

Actually, the accounting is pretty simple. The insurance, rent, taxes, utilities etc., are fixed costs. They are incurred whether or not he does the transfer. Look at it this way. If he does the transfer, he gets the $25. Does he have to pay more rent? No. Fixed cost. As long as doing the transfer doesn't keep him from doing other work that he would be paid more for, it's a net benefit. $50/hour with no (or very minimal) marginal cost is a pretty good deal.




Scott