doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com FFL holder shipping my gun to another FFL holder??

Virginian, Repairs are logged into a different set of books and can be returned to the owner. Guns for sale, transfer or consignment are logged in and can only be logged out via 4473 or FFL. Even consignments can't be shipped back to original owner per ATF.

When I offered the service in the past I charged 50$ and felt I was loosing money at that rate. In a one man shop the time it takes to complete the process was worth more to me than the 50$. Mark said it well. Very different in shop who has clerks to wait on folks. It just takes me away from real money making work.

In the few times that I do a transfer I charge
40

With a few exceptions

I do not do many as lots of part timers/FFLS do it for 20 to 25

They can have that business for that kind of money

John Boyd

Quality Arms

I think perhaps the process takes more time at some places then others. In Virginia the dealer does it all on line. Once the 4473 is completed by the buyer and the dealer, the dealer hops on the computer terminal and enters the information and hits send. Goes through the Va State Police and normally its a 5 minute process. If it gets hung up (which it often does for me, because of my previous life in the government) then the dealer calls me the next day and I swing by and pick up the gun.

Absolutely, the kick in the shorts is when the gun doesn't pass inspection and needs to be sent back and the dealer can't send it back to the individual as it needs to go to an FFL. That can turn into a giant pile of horse dung.

So what percentage of internet sales result in the buyer returning the gun under the standard 3 day inspection period? I've bought 40-50 guns that way and haven't had to return even one. One was broken during delivery by Fed-Ex, but the seller and I agreed to a reduced the price rather than shipping it back and going through the insurance hassle. That was with an antique that didn't need a transfer anyway.

I have used several different FFL's to do transfers, and none has opened the package. I open the box and remove the bubble wrap, etc. when I get there. I fill out most of the information on the 4473, and the FFL makes a phone call that has never taken more than a few minutes, and logs the transfer into his bound ledger. In a gun shop, it's likely you're going to B.S. with a customer about dogs, guns, hunting, etc., whether he buys anything or does a transfer or not.

I owned and operated my own(not a gun shop) business for many years. I derived a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction talking to my customers many of whom were repeat, about guns ,dogs, hunting or anything else they wanted to discuss.
To me that was an integral and enjoyable part of the business and I wouldn't have wanted to operate in any other way.
If someone doesn't enjoy interacting with people why they would want to run a retail business is beyond me.
Jim

John,
On the north side of town, I find most brick and mortar shops are $50.00 and you better make sure they will accept from an individual.

Here it ranges from $35-$50. The $35 guy requires shipment from an FFL. The $50 guy does not. I recently got an FFL03 which has already paid for itself. I haven't yet come across any FFL's that do not honor the regulations and won't ship eligible guns directly to me. The way I see it, I made a good faith effort to show the ATF that I am a law abiding citizen wanting to legally acquire older guns.

Why did you cut it up? You were out the $$$ either way and by doing this you guaranteed that it couldn't be returned to the rightful owner.

For your business model, I can understand this view, but there can be a good bit of money in transfers.

I know of one suburban gunshop that advertises this service and has a full time staffer that deals only with this. On busy days, I have read he does as many as 50 transfers. Not sure what they charge, but even at your lower number that is $5k of income for zero cost in inventory.