FFL Fees- WOW!!

[Beemerguy53]

The various FFLs in my county are engaging in a bit of price-fixing right now...they are all charging $50 to do the transfer (in addition to the $10 fee the state of Maryland charges for doing a background check on you) and each is blaming the fee increase on the others. ("Gee, I'm sorry, that's the going rate...")

Despicable...

 

[gemijames]

I purchased a Pistol from an Out Of State FFL and My local FFL Gun Shop agreed to accept it.
I have been a Customer of this FFL Gun Shop for 23+ years.
At first the Fee was $15.00 plus $8.00 for the FDLE Background Check.
Later the Fee was raised to $25.00 plus $5.00 for the FDLE Background Check.
The #4473 forum I fill out and the GunShop's paperwork plus the FDLE telephone call takes 10 minutes or less.
Yesterday when I went to receive My Pistol I was informed that the Fee was $50.00 plus $5.00 for the FDLE telephone call.
This height in Fees was without prior understanding.
The weapons I purchase from Out Of State is discontinued Models that are not available
locally.
Is this Fee normal or out of line?

Jimmy

I just finished a transfer Monday and my main man here in Kokomo In. ''Mr. Big John Danley'' only charged $15.00 so if you live anywhere near Howard County give him a call..

 

[Jack Flash]

A shop I have done a lot of business with in the past just raised their fee from $30 to $40. I have never had a problem with them, but there is a shop down the road that only charges $25.

I only buy one or two a year now, so I doubt that $15 will make much of a difference to me. If I bought more, it might.

If I were in your shoes, I would weight the financial impact (only $25 / year? Over $100 / year?) against the good will and service I have recieved from this FFL in the past. Very little good will and half-assed service? I would find someone else just on principle. Great sevice? Stick with him.

 

[Peter J.]

I was using a good guy but he was $40. I looked on Gun Broker (they have a find an FFL listing) and found another good guy in my area for $27.

 

[tripledipper]

A good guy, $18 incoming and says ship it out yourself.

 

[Landpimp]

no fee, there are just 2-3 of us he will do transfers for period, but will not let us pay a dime, good friends

heard of some that want to charge sales tax on the incoming gun, or fee's as high as $50

my FFL just hands me his FFL, I let him know whats coming.

once I had a NIB HK P7M8 Jube sent, well they took the Jube out of the box and put a surplus P7 in it.........I can put up with that

 

[lcdrdanr]

There are 5 FFL's in town that will ship/receive a firearm, all charge $25 for each transaction whether incoming or outgoing. The one I use ships firearms out USPS and charges me actual shipping. They package up the gun and take it to the PO. My only gripe is that they charge for each gun the same amount, regardless of if they ship together. I sold 3 guns in one transaction to one individual and they wanted $75 for the FFL fees plus the $22.00 shipping. I wound up eating some of that myself and wasn't happy at all.

In Georgia, my FFL charged me $25 but shipped outgoing UPS because they came to the shop to pick up packages. I got him to let me package it up, bring it to him for serial number verification, then I would seal it at the shop and carry it down to the Post Office. It seemed as if I did most of the work but it was still the cheapest game in town. Also, he refused to ship to a C&R, demanded an FFL on every transaction which placed a burden on some purchasers.

Note that since an FFL can use the U S Postal Service to ship a handgun (and it can go first class mail if you desire), the savings on shipping alone often is far greater than the FFL Fee. However, these guys that charge $50 plus require you to ship overnight on UPS are not living in the real world.

Dan R

 

[paladin42]

$25 plus $10 to the state.

 

[Noah Zark]

$20 to $25, depending on which dealer.

Noah

 

[animalmother]

I've seen transfer fees go from a low of $10 up to $75. I have two friends with FFLs who don't charge me any transfer fees. So, I pay nothing.

 

[The Rabbi]

FFLs are free to charge what they like. Customers are free to shop elsewhere.
When is started I charged $25+10 for the first gun, $20+10 thereafter, and it was per transaction, not per gun. It was about the lowest in town.
And then a funny thing happened.
The customers I got through the door were all bottom dollar guys. They wouldn't buy a bullet or a target because they could save 15 cents buying it at Wal Mart.
Additionally I've had to wait on line at the PO for half an hour picking up a customer's gun when the postman came before I opened.
I've had guns dumped on my front porch because FFLs can't tell the difference between a premises address and a mailing address.
I've had guns come with no documentation of any kind.
I've had an FFL call me an idiot because he lost my FFL and then sent the gun to the wrong address.
I've had to unpack rolls of tape and bubble pack from over-packed guns and then haul all of it out to the dumpster.
I've had guns shipped that turned out to be stolen.
I've had guns shipped that were for customers trying to do a straw purchase.
I've had guns sit in my safe for 3 weeks while the customer was out of town.

I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. For old customers I'll still charge $20 but some guy coming through the door is going to pay $50 flat. Don't like it? Go elsewhere.

 

[VonFatman]

$10.00
Seems reasonable to me. I don't transfer many, but when I do I don't worry too much about the fee.

Bob

 

[ohiobuckeye]

25-30 bucks is probably a reasonable fee, in most locations, for a dealer who's makes his living off his FFL where the state doesn't pile on more paperwork. The paperwork you see him do at the time of purchase is only part of the job. At the end of the day he still has to enter all those 4473 forms in his ATF log book and sort and file them in a manner to make them readily accessable to ATF inspections and keep them filed for the next twenty years as required by federal law. Just keeping an FFL requires an investment of time, money, and submitting to scrutiny by ATF that most of us would rather avoid.
Of course, there are a few hobby dealers who will do it for less, and even do their buddies for free, and a few dealers who give good customers a break on the fee. I don't know all the specific details of what's required for transactions in CA, MA, and a few other unfriendly states, so maybe 50-75 bucks for just the transfer paperwork is not out of line in some states. IMHO 50-75 bucks would be outrageous for a state like Ohio.

 

[walnutred]

The small shop I frequent charges $20 either coming or going, but the outbound fee includes postage.

 

[rbert0005]

My guy is usually 25 bucks, sometimes it's a strawberry shake.

Bob

 

[psm06270]

25.00 coming or going here. Phil

 

[montezumaz]

$15 if you have a CCW, $25 if not.

 

[pistolite]

I received two at once recently. It was $25 for the first and $10 for the second plus $10 for the state.

 

[Class III]

The FFL I have been using for several years use to charge me $20.00 + $10 for the state, to receive, do paperwork and log. I worked a deal with him a few years ago. I pay him $100.00 every January and he only charges me the $10.00 state fee for as many as I care to buy in a years time. Most years it has been in my favor, averaging about $10.00 per transaction + the $10.00 state fee. This year he may get the upper hand on me as it now stands at a $50.00 per transfer average. As far as having him ship for me, he only charges actual USPS First Class Postage + a six pack of Sam Adams. I do all the packing in my own box and tape it closed after he has logged it in & out. He drops it at the post office as he lives just a couple of blocks from there.

Class III

 

[WaterburyBob]

Mine charges $25 if he has to mail his FFL (he will only send it certified mail), $20 if he can fax it (or he's already done business with the other FFL and they have his license). He still charges that fee if you do 2 guns; I've never done more than that at a time, so I don't know if that still holds true for 3 or more.

There are no call fees or state fees here in CT.