FFL Transfers!!??

988 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by sniper69, Sep 30, 2004

yosuthnmasa

Discussion Starter · Sep 28, 2004

So I've been contemplating the idea of building a few AR's for myslef, since I don't own a single one. Since the ban has expired, and I can get what I want for a decent price, I figured I'd give it a whirl...along with a lot of encouragement from Max.

I apologize for such a long rant, but here we go!
:rant:
To make a long story short, I have recently moved to a new area, Atlanta, and am no longer able to deal with the dealer that I used before I moved. My previous dealer charged me $15 a transfer. I never ordered more than one at at time, so I don't know if he would've given me a discount on mulitiple transfers in one delivery...such as a couple of AR lowers.I went ahead and gave the local dealers a call to get their prices. First was $25 a transfer with no quantity discount. Second was $35 with no quantity discount. At this point, I just decided that it would almost be worth it for me to have them sent to my old dealer, and when I go back to visit family pick them up. But, this is really a PITA to do over a couple of lowers.

Why do dealers charge so much to "fill out the paperwork" to make a legitimate transfer? Or rather, why do they have to charge so much? I understand that they are invovled legally, have rent to pay, etc, etc. But why so much?

Is there anything else involved in a transfer from the distributor to my dealer other than him logging it into his books? How long does this actually take?..How many forms?

What is the average price in your state? The state of Georgia?

Do your local dealers give you a volume discount?

I'm by no means trying to step on anyone's toes here, I just have asked myself the question over and over again, and then just submit to forgetting about it instead of getting pissed off. Can someone help me feel a little better about paying $25-$35 per lower?

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· #5 · Sep 28, 2004

I work part time at a local gun shop. Transfers are another income source, but they also can be a liability too. Each transfer needs to be logged in and out of our bound books. Our store does have to keep records of transfers. The records must be maintained for twenty years. Our store has to assign a regular employee to do all of the reseach when the ATF calls, and needs us to track a firearm. A regular employee has to contact the person to whom the transfer belongs. A regular employee has to wait on this person when he or she arrives to recieve the transfer. A regular employee has to provide and follow through all of "paper work" for the State and Federal Government. There is always a lot of interest in "exotic" transfers, and this distracts employees from doing their regular duties, not to mention the "wow" factor that regular customers have. Transfers are in dirrect competition with the products that we sell. Granted there is not much mark up in new firearm sales, but there is a lot of mark up in "accessories".

I think that high transfer fees are ment to discourage individuals from doing them. (Believe me! I used to gripe about transfer fees until I understood what a seemingly simple transaction actually costs a busy shop.)

I hope that this helps explain what may be going on where you live.

Yours,
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