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buying guns online...
espo28
Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
Hello all, I'm very familiar with eline purchases on ebay etc, but am a rank novice here. Tell me, is it as easy as it sounds to purchase a handgun online? Are there any problems with finding a licenced dealer to handle the turnover in the purchasers home state?
And how much do the dealers charge for a service like this?
Just curious, your opinions and suggestions are very welcome.
And how much do the dealers charge for a service like this?
Just curious, your opinions and suggestions are very welcome.
Comments
We receive guns, bought online, for our customers all the time.
our normal fee is $25.00 to receive and do the transfer.
the laws vary a great deal from state to state ,a knowledgeable dealer where you live can tell you a lot about what you need to know.
http://www.gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asp
Use this link and enter your zip code for a list of dealers in your area who are registered with GunBroker.
http://www.gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asp
Thanks for your replies...based on the last post, gunbroker lists a great many dealers in my area that should be able to effect a transaciton I'm going to check out the closest to me and verify the cost etc.
Thanks for your help everyone!
I charge $15 the first time, $10 thereafter.
I'm sorry you aren't located in PA!
I know this isn't technically allowed, but my old "normal" transfering dealer gave up his shop and FFL ... a while back I asked him why he's still on Gunbroker's dealer list, he said he couldn't even edit it to change his fee nor could he get removed.
? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
Good luck and have fun online firearm shopping.
The guy I have used in the past charged me $50 to receive my Seecamp. Plus I had to drive almost an hour to get to him. Guess I was a green pea that just fell off the turnip truck!!
This FFL [at the local gun club] charges $25 to receive and transfer to me.
If it is a FTF deal, I use a shop about 35 minutes away. Again, it is $25.
A closer spot wants $50 to handle a FTF transfer. I am not sure if the law says one must charge a set fee to facilitate a FTF transfer, but that is what they charge.
When I was living in California, the local gun-shop charged $40 for the service, plus the State [
Federal?] fee of $20 for the D.R.O.S. Sixty dollars total. Another shop charged $55 total, but went to $75 total while I was in residence.
Some other California shops assessed a 10%-20% "Service fee" on top of the State $20 D.R.O.S. to handle a transfer. They based their fee on what they figured the firearm was worth.
So a Match M1A, which you bought for $1650, might be appraised at $2200, at their discretion. These guys never saw my business.
Before leaving California, I had eventually found a "kitchen table" FFL who charged $20, plus the D.R.O.S. It turned out to be $42.50 per transfer. That was the least expensive I had found during my residency in California, but I've heard of Pawn Shops having lower fees.
An FFL, be it a Pawn Shop or Full Service Firearms Dealer, can apparently decide how much a transfer is worth their time, here in Pennsylvania, whether it is a FTF transfer, in-which both parties are present, or when receiving a firearm from in-state or out-of-state.
This is a little different than California, regarding a FTF transfer only, in-which the fee seemed to be fixed.
The Delaware County Field & Stream FFL, which I use as a receiving FFL, is a good deal for me, since he doesn't care whether the gun cost $100 or $2000. And a plus, he will sign me in as a guest when I receive a gun. His deal is getting all the business at the club, and selling ammunition to the newly armed transferees.
As Kristov stressed, it is always best to have an FFL lined up before making the purchase. I have a stack of signed, valid FFL copies ready to facilitate my next dozen purchases.
If the deal of the Century comes up, and you can not wait, go ahead and pay for it, making sure to get the serial number and complete description. Usually a seller can wait a few weeks for the receiving FFL paperwork as long as they have been paid. Conversely, my FFL [I call him "my", like someone will say "My plumber" or "My bank"] has a S&W 10-7 for me, and will hold it until I find the time to get it. He doesn't get his $25 until I pick it up, but he will make $20 or $21 when I do, and probably sell some [inferior, closeout] ammunition at the same time. Gotta feed the beast.
One plus about this State's firearms laws: Long guns do not have to go through an FFL, so I can buy FTF with another resident without the FFL. It also works via the USPS, but as a buyer and seller, I am very careful to know with whom I am dealing.
Picking up the Federal FFL Type 03 license, an C&R license, is a good $30 to spend.
It covers you for three years, in purchases of firearms older than 50 years. You become a collector.
And you get hefty discounts at Brownells, to boot!
espo28, what PA County are you in?
I'm in Northampton county, Bethlehem area.
Thanks,
Mike
Gun dealers, manufacturers and the government set the price of guns. The free market has nothing to do with it.[}:)]
Michigan[xx(]that explains it[:p]
quote:Let the marketplace determine how much your gun is worth!
Gun dealers, manufacturers and the government set the price of guns. The free market has nothing to do with it.[}:)]
Michigan[xx(]that explains it[:p]
That's ludicrous. Unfortunately, the Internet seems to be setting the price of firearms...with little or no profit margin to dealers. A dealer has to be doing a large volume to make any money at it.
A lot of us have C&R FFLs, but BATF will not issue an FFL for the purpose of collecting. You must be a firearms dealer.
quote:, for you gents who are avid gun collectors, wouldn't it be worth the trouble to get your own FFL? Or are the costs and paperwork too much to make it worthwhile?
A lot of us have C&R FFLs, but BATF will not issue an FFL for the purpose of collecting. You must be a firearms dealer.
So I've come to learn...hey, do you live in T&T or just from there? Curious what the gun laws are like on an island nation like that!
[:)]
This FTF person are they from another state? If not why are you using an FFL? [:)]
quote:Originally posted by Warpig883
quote:Let the marketplace determine how much your gun is worth!
Gun dealers, manufacturers and the government set the price of guns. The free market has nothing to do with it.[}:)]
Michigan[xx(]that explains it[:p]
That's ludicrous. Unfortunately, the Internet seems to be setting the price of firearms...with little or no profit margin to dealers. A dealer has to be doing a large volume to make any money at it.
I was being sarcastic. Am I the only one who noticed warriorsfan does not believe in free market and supply and demand and in this one he is an advocate of it. Troll or a goober it is your choice.
quote:Originally posted by ECC
quote:Originally posted by Warpig883
quote:Let the marketplace determine how much your gun is worth!
Gun dealers, manufacturers and the government set the price of guns. The free market has nothing to do with it.[}:)]
Michigan[xx(]that explains it[:p]
That's ludicrous. Unfortunately, the Internet seems to be setting the price of firearms...with little or no profit margin to dealers. A dealer has to be doing a large volume to make any money at it.
I was being sarcastic. Am I the only one who noticed warriorsfan does not believe in free market and supply and demand and in this one he is an advocate of it. Troll or a goober it is your choice.
Ooops...I can be a little slow at times[^][:)]
ESPO it is kind of a long story, but a now gone poster on the boards here received some threating e-mail from some troll. A lot of guys suddenly edited their profiles and removed their states from their profile. My location was never on my profile, but I thought it was funny so I have been "living" out of the US ever since, changing locations periodically. There are several other posters who do the same.
Don't let him fool ya ESPO, he likes the sand between his toes.
Quote by Sperry,"If it is a FTF deal, I use a shop about 35 minutes away. Again, it is $25".
This FTF person are they from another state? If not why are you using an FFL? [:)]
Many states require sale of handguns (even between private parties) to go through an FFL. I believe Pa is like that. Long guns in Pa can be FTF without using an FFL.