FFL Gripe

[raljr1]

I was looking at an GB auction today on a gun that I would be very interested in owning. Look at the sellers location and find out it is a zip code adjacent to the one where I live. Oh, cool, I can save some $$ on shipping and transfer and just get this the day after the auction ends. WRONG. So this dealer won't do any face to face transactions. Now, this place is literally 4 miles from my door, but If I want this gun, I have to pay $30 to ship it an another $40 to the dealer who receives it, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!!! Not happy, probably wont bid again....

I thought that 01 FFL dealers had to maintain regular business hours. Oh well. Wont be the first gun I let pass, nor the last.

End of rant.

 

[chief38]

I was looking at an GB auction today on a gun that I would be very interested in owning. Look at the sellers location and find out it is a zip code adjacent to the one where I live. Oh, cool, I can save some $$ on shipping and transfer and just get this the day after the auction ends. WRONG. So this dealer won't do any face to face transactions. Now, this place is literally 4 miles from my door, but If I want this gun, I have to pay $30 to ship it an another $40 to the dealer who receives it, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!!! Not happy, probably wont bid again....

I thought that 01 FFL dealers had to maintain regular business hours. Oh well. Wont be the first gun I let pass, nor the last.

End of rant.

I can understand your frustration but these days FFL's want as little personal contact as possible. They are frightened by the ATF, State Police, not to mention "customers" who might pose a potential threat. As frustrated you probably are, try and understand it from his point of view.

Many years ago I was up at the Colt factory and I wanted to order a custom set of grips from the fellow that did them for the Colt custom shop. He lived exactly 12 miles from the Colt factory and he was on my way back home, but he would not allow me to drop off the gun in person to his home workshop. This was not even for selling or buying, just to get a set of grips made. His answer to me was that his home workshop was just not opened to the public. While I was a bit upset, I did understand his POV.

 

[Vtgw938]

I've had the opposite results with the GB sellers within state and adjacent in NH. They usually even allow for inspection of the firearm before purchase. Had one seller even meet me. I'm sure it depends on what part of the country you reside in.

 

[Onomea]

Well, that is aggravating, for sure.

 

[LVSteve]

I was looking at an GB auction today on a gun that I would be very interested in owning. Look at the sellers location and find out it is a zip code adjacent to the one where I live. Oh, cool, I can save some $$ on shipping and transfer and just get this the day after the auction ends. WRONG. So this dealer won't do any face to face transactions. Now, this place is literally 4 miles from my door, but If I want this gun, I have to pay $30 to ship it an another $40 to the dealer who receives it, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!!! Not happy, probably wont bid again....

I thought that 01 FFL dealers had to maintain regular business hours. Oh well. Wont be the first gun I let pass, nor the last.

End of rant.

There's a couple of pawn shops with FFLs in Vegas who play the same game. They don't get my business.

 

[wood714]

Some people are just paranoid.

I met a guy in the Taco Bell parking lot across the street from the Daytona Speedway around 2am to sell him a Ruger 9mm pistol.

Met a off duty cop in a Mac D's parking lot at midnight to buy my 2.5" 686. He did want me to sign a bill of sale.

 

[dave1918a2]

When I sell or buy a gun FTF here I do the transaction in the PD parking lot. I won't let any buyer near My house. The rest of the time it's at one of the three gun shows a year. The PD is aware of the transaction and the time and usually there is an Officer in a car parked in the lot.

 

[yaktamer]

Some people are just paranoid.

I met a guy in the Taco Bell parking lot across the street from the Daytona Speedway around 2am to sell him a Ruger 9mm pistol.

Met a off duty cop in a Mac D's parking lot at midnight to buy my 2.5" 686. He did want me to sign a bill of sale.

I once transferred a bloody skull to a guy in a busy convenience store parking lot in broad daylight.

 

[Protocall_Design]

I once transferred a bloody skull to a guy in a busy convenience store parking lot in broad daylight.

Hopefully it was from a game animal, not a person...

 

[StephenWhoDat]

I have to pay $30 to ship it an another $40 to the dealer who receives it,

$40 for an FFL transfer?! Why so much? Sound like you need a new FFL. Or are they all that high in Florida?

 

[czgunner]

$40 for an FFL transfer?! Why so much? Sound like you need a new FFL. Or are they all that high in Florida?

There was a guy in Portland charging $100, and getting it.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[raljr1]

$40 for an FFL transfer?! Why so much? Sound like you need a new FFL. Or are they all that high in Florida?

I have been doing business with my dealer for over 20 years. He just raised the price from $30 to $40. I can look around, but it's still a stupid cost when the selling FFL works out of a warehouse location a mile away as the crowbflies

Robert

 

[StephenWhoDat]

There was a guy in Portland charging $100, and getting it.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

I have been doing business with my dealer for over 20 years. He just raised the price from $30 to $40. I can look around, but it's still a stupid cost when the selling FFL works out of a warehouse location a mile away as the crowbflies

Robert

That's wild. I suppose I'm happy to be in Louisiana when it comes to this. I use two different FFLs near me. One still charges $10, and the other raised his price to $15 a couple years back. I did once pay $25 for a transfer at a big box store.

But, I totally agree that it is pretty silly for a dude a mile down the road to make you pay both shipping and his outrageous transfer fee.

 

[raljr1]

That's wild. I suppose I'm happy to be in Louisiana when it comes to this. I use two different FFLs near me. One still charges $10, and the other raised his price to $15 a couple years back. I did once pay $25 for a transfer at a big box store.

Some shops in Pittsburgh were charging $50 three years ago



Robert

 

[yaktamer]

Hopefully it was from a game animal, not a person...

Yup. Bear. Gave it to the beetle man for cleaning. Still felt weird to do the exchange there, though.

 

[Ματθιας]

The same thing happened to me.

There was an FFL that had a small store, but did most of his business through GB. The prices, he had on GB were WAY cheaper than the in-store prices I had been regularly buying mags and the odd stuff he had.

It had been a few months, but I bought a complete lower from him. When I called him, I asked him when I could pick it up, he said he closed his walk in business and that I could pick it up at an FFL across town in a couple of days. He told me to pay through the GB system and that I'd get my shipping reimbursed. That was a mess as nobody knew what was going on. It took two more trips and bunch of phone calls but it worked out and I got my shipping costs back.

About a month later I bought two 5 pack bundles of magazines. I messaged him and asked when I could pick them up. He said pay through the GB system he'd let me know. I did and when I didn't hear from him, I messaged him - no reply. I called the FFL that did my transfer perviously and they said they hadn't been working with him for a month or so. I called and talked to him, the GB guy, and he said the FFL he was dealing with wasn't;t doing his local transfers anymore and that he'd have to mail them to me. When I asked how long it'd been since he and the FFL parted ways he said earlier in the week. Somebody is lying.

I tried to cancel the order, but he said they'd already been shipped. So what would've cost 20% under retail, ended up being over twice the price with shipping and taxes! If I had known, or better yet, if he'd told me, I wouldn't have purchased from him.

The thing is he's a top 100 seller on GB and sometimes has a bad reviews but he sells so much it doesn't matter if he looses a few customers.

 

[JayCeeNC]

Same problem with a local outfit that does bonded coatings for firearms parts, 10 minutes from my house.
I wanted an AR bolt/bolt carrier plated. Not a serial number item, just parts.
They wouldn't allow me to drive over and drop off, I'd have to ship it (at my expense) to an FFL on the other side of the state, who would ship it to the business 10 minutes from my door. Then the business would ship it back across the state, and the FFL would ship it back to me.
I decided I didn't want it done that badly after all.

 

[2152hq]

.....I thought that 01 FFL dealers had to maintain regular business hours. Oh well. Wont be the first gun I let pass, nor the last.

End of rant.

When applying for or renewing an FFL Lic, the applicant must list Business Hours on the application.
Must be 'open' at least one or 2 hrs /week.

This is NOT for the public to do walk in business, these 'Open Hours' are for the BATF.
During these noted hours the Compliance ATF Inspectors can come in unannounced and check your FFL 'business'.

It used to be that if the 01FFL checked the box that said 'Gunsmithing Only',
you did not have to have those 'Open Hours' listed.
That changed a few yrs ago, and those 01FFL's that still choose to go the Gunsmithing Only 01FFL license have to list hours as well.

On the application is a 7day chart. You list when you are 'open' or not each day, and if open btwe what hrs.

Many FFL's don't have a storefront (completely legal as long as local Zoning permits it) and like to do biz strictly by appt and/or shipping in and back out.

 

[Pisgah]

The best thing to do when you make a purchase online is to completely ignore the seller's location and transaction requirements beforehand. That way, you will have something unrealistic to gripe about and blame the other fellow for once he's lived up to what he'd told you ...

 

[CH4]

My FFL gripe is a general complaint. The one thing that drives me up the wall are dealers who have customers fill out their paperwork at the counter instead of an alternative area, or be deeply involved in a discussion on world peace, right in front of the display case. It never fails that a fellow purchaser is blocking my view of a gun(s) that I want to check out. I know, it's all about CH4 - I am an entitled narcissist. When asked to complete my paperwork, I try to stay out of everyone's way.