Sales to FFL dealers ONLY

partsman

HOW many firearms can a person sell to an "FFL dealer- ONLY", before that public/privite legal person needs a FFL to do business ???

nmyers

There's no limit. Suppose I have a collection of 500 guns; no reason why I couldn't sell them all to a dealer, or even a bunch of individuals, for that matter.

You need an FFL when you are buying & selling guns with the intention of making a profit. (It doesn't matter if you actually earn a profit, or not.)

Appearances count. I know some slick fellas who buy, say, 5 Mosin-Nagants with their C&R license & get a quantity discount from the distributor. They pick the best one for themselves, maybe even swap a few parts, then put the remaining 4 on a table at a local gun show at a price that allows them to get theirs for free. They may even put out 4 SKS's the same way. To a passing ATF agent, it sure looks like someone "dealing in firearms without a dealers license."

So, you have to consider everything.

Neal

givette

Dammit, Neal: beat me to it!

The 'red flag' will occur not so by the amount of guns sold (liquidating a collection, per se'), but the repeated appearance at a venue selling your guns, either in person, or through an electronic medium. Then the Fed's will consider the 'sting' operation, as that's the easiest way to get a bust. Best, Joe

dfletcher

I think state laws need to be taken into account also. CA has a limit of no greater than 6 transactions and does not differentiate between private sales and FFL sales; I don't know the definition of a transaction - selling 10 guns to an FFL may count as a single transaction. In CA we also have something called a "private party transaction" which is essentially a private sale done through an FFL. So while the feds may have a rather fluid definition of being in the business, some states may impose limits on unlicensed individuals regardless of whether or not they may appear to be in the business.