FFL cost

[Torinoman]

My uncle wants to ship a gun to my brother in Austin but after looking into it my brother found it was about a bill for the FFL down there. Is that typical? Is it cheaper here? We discussed shipping the gun here and then I can give it to him if it's cheaper?

Aren't there a few guys on here that have an FFL or whatever?

[phaux]

If by "bill" you mean $100, then yes, that's outrageous. Look on gunbroker or google to find an ffl in his area. $20 is about standard for small or home based ffl's. Most expensive place I know is academy at $50

[Sleeper]

100 bucks for a transfer. Fuck that

[Torinoman]

Yes, $100. That's what my brother told me he found in Austin, I have done zero price shopping in his area but I figured that was high.

Does anyone know if 100 is common for Austin or he just called the wrong people?

[LANTIRN]

$20 to $25 everywhere I have ever checked personally. Fuck paying $100 for that.

[likeitfast55]

I charge 20 without CHL. 10 if you have a CHL. I just fill out a 4473 for God sake.

100 is more than the dealer makes on the gun(most guns). Outrageous price.

[phaux]

Yes, $100. That's what my brother told me he found in Austin, I have done zero price shopping in his area but I figured that was high.

Does anyone know if 100 is common for Austin or he just called the wrong people?

There's no way that's the going price for any large city. I've only seen one place that had high transfer fees and that was some small town down south near the border. They charged $50 and that's simply because they could. Every single FFL in the town charged $50, really pissed me off as I felt bad for my customer having to pay that.

[Torinoman]

Is anyone here in or near Austin? He'll gladly pay a 20 for this.

[bobs94formula]

Gander Mountain told me they charged $70 and my head almost exploded! I asked the guy if he was serious, and he said yes. I just laughed and walked away.

[Darren M]

Rates like that could be intended as a politically correct way of mitigating unwanted business. Of course the "box store" gun businesses, e.g. Gander Mountain, have FFL's. But, they may decide to discourage person to person transfers by invoking an outrageous price. I can see that practice being suggested by Attorneys trying to keep from any negative press if a gun that was transferred through the store was found in a crime, illegal transfer from previous owner, etc.
I'm not saying this is fact, just speculating.

[Moose242]

No, they want you to buy from them and not someone else. Simple as that.

To make a transfer worth their time by paying an employee to process it they have to charge a high price. Big bix store overhead is a bitch.

[Darren M]

Well, yes, I agree that is another reason to discourage person to person transfers. "Buy from us and we'll waive/reduce the transfer cost."
However, it is just a 4473. It isn't like the employee would be kept from "selling" while the 4473 was filled in an processed for more than 15 minutes, tops? (Granted, I'm making TONS of assumptions here. Like the employee gives 2 shits about making a bit more than minimum wage....)

[phaux]

It's not their business. Having a firearm shipped in from some unknown source, hoping that they mailed it legally and with proper paperwork, and then logging it in, waiting on the customer to pick it up, then if the customer gets there and complains that they damaged it or they don't like it and they have to ship it back, and so on.

While yes it is "just a 4473" not all transfer go super smooth. There are many variables that come into play when dealing with firearms, especially used ones. I used to have a customer who would insist any firearm I got in of his had to be opened in front of him and then half the time would complain about the gun and have me send it back to the seller. I ended up dropping him as he started getting weird.

That being said, I still beleive you can find much cheaper than a $100 transfer.

[Darren M]

We're saying the same thing. Not their business.

[Moose242]

The number one reason the ATF yanks FFLs is because of improper transfers. More goes into a transfer than just a 4473, and the "minimum wage employee" listed above by you does not give a shit if a firearm is properly logged in, the senders FFL or info is properly filed, etc.

I know that it is so bad at Gander that they have in house auditors to make sure everything is in order for when the ATF audits. So yes, a high transfer price that high basically makes it worth their time.