High costs of firearm transfers

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ischia

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Not sure if this is the correct forum but here goes. Agreed to purchase an M&P airweight from a member here recently. THEN... Went to check on the transfer here in Washington state. WOW... transfer fee $60 PLUS 10% state sales tax. These added $110 to the $500 price of the piece. Ruined the deal and I did feel bad about not checking first but no way was the revolver worth $660.to me. Owner did not charge shipping ($25) but if he had we would be at $685. Too much! Have any other forum members experienced same ? These costs have killed my interest in collecting further but at 70 I have plenty of firearms. Thoughts?

Ischia
 
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we dont pay sales tax on guns being transferred in new york either. i pay $27 for a transfer of a handgun. Question.....how do they know how much you paid for the gun to base the sales tax on?
 
Prices vary from LGS to LGS around here. The one I use charges 'strangers' $60+ the CBI fee + tax, meaning he doesn't like doing transfers on firearms purchased elsewhere.

He charges me $20+CBI, but I'm a regular customer at his store.
 
The guy I use just about all of the time charges $20. I know of a couple of other shoos that charge the same thing. Plus there is a state mandated $6 charge for the background check.
 
The local FFL Pawn Shop I use charges $15 for long guns and $25 for handguns. He only charges tax if the gun is shipped from a dealer.
No tax on out of state purchases from private non-FFL sellers.
This is in Washington State
 
Sorry man but your FFL is ripping you off. In Spokane the transfer fees range from $15-$35. Anybody charging you $60 doesn't really want to do the transfers for people and is overcharging to discourage them from using their business to do it.

They also should not be charging you sales tax on the price of the gun, unless they are the one selling it to you. There is no mechanism under current WA law for them to pay those taxes to the state since they did not make the actual sale of the firearm. The state released the info on this shortly after I-594 was passed to clarify this question and notify everyone that they shouldn't be collecting sales tax on merchandise they did not sell. If they are charging you sales tax on the purchase of the gun then they are probably pocketing the money. They can charge you sales tax on the transfer fee, but that is it.

TECHNICALLY you are obligated to pay the sales tax directly to the state - in fact you are supposed to pay sales tax to the state on ANYTHING you buy online, and even on trades (barter deals) you make.

Yeah RIIIIIIGHT - like anybody is ever going to do that!

Anyhow, you need to find a different and better FFL - one that is interested in your business instead of only being interested in sucking every dollar they can out of your wallet.
 
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"TECHNICALLY you are obligated to pay the sales tax directly to the state - in fact you are supposed to pay sales tax to the state on ANYTHING you buy online, and even on trades (barter deals) you make."

It's called a "User Tax" that is the same as the sales tax rate.
The guy I deal with is North West Pawn.
Can't seem to get around it anymore.
BC38, you have somebody who does in Spokane, let me know... :)
 
We charge $20 for a transfer...don't care where the gun came from, and are glad to have the business. Why would you not be? A NICS background check, whether done online or with a phone call, takes literally minutes. The shop has no inventory costs and next to no labor cost. It is free money...hello.
 
Best price for a basic, no-nonsense FFL transfer anywhere around my location is $20.00. More common price is $25 to $35. No one collects sales tax on a simple transfer because, among other reasons, there is often no way for them to know what you paid for it. :confused:

Some transfers can get unusually complicated because of our moonbat laws. In such cases the fee will be more like $55 to $75. That is the exception, not the rule. :cool:
 
I've used the same two local FFL guys for long time, and they've both been $25 for at least the last 3-4 years :)
 
Here in Pueblo, Colorado the FFL dealer I use for transfers charges me $30, which includes the mandatory background check. I consider that to be reasonable, and I consider these services to be a favor to me. In fact, I have been known to buy lunch for all of the shop's personnel from time to time as a "thank you" for helping me.
 
I have access to a gun shop and a local gunsmith. The former charges me $15 for a transfer with no tax and the latter charges $10.

i feel very fortunate.
 
Anywhere from $0 to $50 here. If you are smart you check through Gunbroker.com No sales tax on weapon bought from out of state here in Georgia. I've bought 4 through FFL transfer and paid a total of $20 in transfer fees.
 
I haven't paid a transfer fee in 20 years. All the local dealers are very nice to me. I don't see how anyone can charge a sales tax for something like this. How do they know how much you paid for it? If I send you a gun for free, how would they establish a value? I'm with the other men, find a new guy.
 
My local FFL charges $10....sometimes he waived the fee if he's been delayed in connecting with me to do the transfer. Runs out of his house. Around here (DFW) there's a lot of "part time" FFLs.... just gotta look for them. My old FFL charged $20, then decided he need to raise it to $25. Said 'see ya'. Anything more than $20 is crazy to me.... for what, 5 minutes of me filling out a form and 2 minutes waiting for a yay or nay from Uncle Sam?


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eahicks said:
My local FFL charges $10....sometimes he waived the fee if he's been delayed in connecting with me to do the transfer. Runs out of his house. Around here (DFW) there's a lot of "part time" FFLs.... just gotta look for them. My old FFL charged $20, then decided he need to raise it to $25. Said 'see ya'. Anything more than $20 is crazy to me.... for what, 5 minutes of me filling out a form and 2 minutes waiting for a yay or nay from Uncle Sam?


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Click to expand...


Here in GA having a CWL eliminates the wait for the background check (and lowers the FFLs cost). I fill out 4473, they check it and ID, they make copies of IDs, they give me receipt of transfer. 5 minutes max.
 
PPS1980 said:
Here in GA having a CWL eliminates the wait for the background check (and lowers the FFLs cost). I fill out 4473, they check it and ID, they make copies of IDs, they give me receipt of transfer. 5 minutes max.
Click to expand...



Far as I know, TX too, but it's up the FFL discretion. Mine is just in the habit of doing so; I've asked him why, he just does it. Last time was very quick so I really don't care.


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One reason I don't buy on line.

Do your due diligence and shop around. Two local guns shops I frequent charge $25. Tax MUST be collected by the gun shop based on the value of the gun. If you were provided a receipt for the gun then the tax will be based on that. If not then the gun shop will determine the value and charge the tax. This is Washington State law.

If buying a new gun, shop around locally because by the time you pay shipping and transfer fees it usually ends up being the same cost. Collectible or hard to find guns are a different story.
 
This to me is why the C&R license is so important . I assume(correctly?) that most of the membership here are collectors of classic guns which are C&R eligible. The only cost you should incur is shipment to your door if you have a C&R license.
And yes i know some States don't even recognize C&R licenses. IMO you should get busy to get this changed.
Jim
 
I understand, as I sent a rifle to my son who lives north of Seattle. The Cabelas told me they would charge the sales tax, I mentioned it was "his" gun, I'm just mailing it to him. We did get a FFL at a range Just north of Marysville to transfer for $50, but agreed if it was already my son's rifle there was no sales tax. This was about 2 years ago. But neither one would accept it as a shipment from me (with a C&R FFL), I had to pay my local FFL to ship it. (Which only cost me the price of the shipping).
 
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Kanewpadle said:
One reason I don't buy on line.

Do your due diligence and shop around. Two local guns shops I frequent charge $25. Tax MUST be collected by the gun shop based on the value of the gun. If you were provided a receipt for the gun then the tax will be based on that. If not then the gun shop will determine the value and charge the tax. This is Washington State law.

If buying a new gun, shop around locally because by the time you pay shipping and transfer fees it usually ends up being the same cost. Collectible or hard to find guns are a different story.
Click to expand...

Again, where you are that may be true. It's not everywhere.

Example: K2-45 from local shop that I frequent was $442 and that was there cost from the distributor because I get one weapon at cost per year as an annual range member. From CDNN it was $369. No tax and no transfer but $15 shipping put it at $384 to my hands. At $442 at the LGS it was $472.94 in my hands. So $88.94 less by having it shipped form Texas. I have several examples of such savings to offer that is the most recent for a BNIB weapon.
 
I learned the hard way about FFL transfer charges. You have to check the FFL for his price on transfers. I usually pay $25 per transfer and some FFL only charged me $15. So I used an FFL I had never used for a handgun transfer and I didn't check his price. When the gun came in he charged me $85 plus tax plus credit card 3%. Taught me an expensive lesson about getting prices of transfers before blindly using any FFL. Never again will I do that.
If I lived in one of the states that charge super high transfers then I would not be buying that way.
 
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