Who sets transfer fees?

T

TrueBlue711

New member
So I, like many people of the modern age, buy more online now days than in-store to include guns. Of course there's the transfer fee from the FFL holder you have to ship it to. When I shop around the local FFLs, the average price is $20. But none of them are consistent, which leads me to believe that it is the FFL holder him/herself that sets the price. Is there a min price they have to charge by law and the rest is profit for them? Or does it cost them nothing to do (except for 20min of their time) and is all profit? Can somebody shed some light on the subject?
 
It is whatever the market will bear. In more restrictive states, fees can top $100/gun. In others it can be as little as $10.

Or does it cost them nothing to do (except for 20min of their time)
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Is your time worth nothing; do you work for free? That FFL has overheads to cover, profit to make to make house payments and buy groceries, etc.
 
What FITASC said.

Some states also do have fee's associated as they go thru another source..
But if you're in a NIC's only state there is no fee.. NICS cost nothing to use.

The FFL set's the fee!

In my experience true gun shops are the highest.
Pawn shops are usually cheaper.. I say usually.

The cheapest is the FFL's that work out of their home and do little else but transfers.

In my area 15 is as cheap as it gets.. I've seen 10 out in rural areas but to far to travel to save 5 bucks.

Most FFL's will charge separate fee's per gun if you're transferring more then one.
Some of which will do so at a discount.
The rare ones will charge a fee PER form, not PER gun.

FFL's absolutely deserve to make some money for their time/service.
I think anything over 20 is unreasonable though.
 
$20.00 in my mind is fair and is what I pay my regular guy, who does own a pawn shop.
There are several who charge double that plus, but I'll never use them.
There are a few private individual who are a tad cheaper than $20.00 as well, but I'm a creature of habit.

So... what JoeSixpack said? ;)
 
MY state is one that uses its own system, and they charge the FFL $5 for the call. Around here, Gander and pawn shops are stupid high - as high as $75. That said thee are enough local guys that charge $20 + the call.
 
It varies

When a good friend bought a failed gun shop about 15 yrs ago, he transferred for me free. Of course I bought many guns and ammo and accessories from him. He charge $20 at the time. Now hie is charging $50, because he is the busiest gun shop in town. He said he may lower it if times get tough.
I moved 30 miles away, and a local guy will do it for $25, or maybe less if you by enough ammo.
Also I hav a friend who is a licensed gun manufacturer, no retail shop, but sells lots of guns,, been at it 40 years. . His price varies from free to $40, depending, depending. So it is the FFL accepting the transfer that sets the price, at least in my two states.
 
FFLs set the transfer fee.
There is no standard. There is no law (at least Federally and in any jurisdiction that I know).
It's just what the FFL feels their time is worth.

For me...
Most local shops charge $20 +$5 for each additional 4473.

A few shops charge $35-$50 per transfer (they don't want the business).
A couple shops charge $25 or $30.

I'm willing to pay $35 per transfer, as long as it's a shop that I want to do business with. If my preferred FFL raised their fee from $20 to $35, I wouldn't blink an eye. I'd still go to them without question.


As for current times...
On Monday, I was in my preferred LGS to drop off information for them to email a copy of their FFL; and I asked about business. (I'm no gun store counter lizard, but I'm in frequently and they know me well.)
I know the market is bad for gun shops. And I know these guys, even though they're one of the best places in town, have been pretty flat for business.
The owner's response, "With your $20 coming my way, I might actually make rent!"

:( :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the info. I had a feeling that was the case. The purpose I made this post is I feel pretty cheated from a recent transfer and wanted to double check my facts before blasting them on Google/Yelp.
Tennessee Arms are having their empty AR lowers on sale for $35 each w/ free shipping. I didn't want to pass up the sale, so I bought 9. The shop I sent them too is charging me $20 per lower. If they were fully assembled guns, I'd understand. But damn near $200 for a single box of parts (I know each part is the technical gun, but they're still just parts) is BS.
 
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I had an FFL do that to me, with five TN Arms lowers for that matter, and I told them [there was no way I'd pay that].
The deal was $35 for the first and $5 per additional. Once the lowers were in their possession, they changed the deal to $35 PER. Anger. Vulgarity (from the shop owner, first). And a wasted trip. I wasn't going to pay.

I contacted TN Arms Corp., and they had the lowers sent across town to a different FFL. (Took a while. They had to go "home" and then get shipped back out.)

The "different" FFL turned out to be the best place in town. They get all of my business now.
 
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Always check your FFL's pricing before sending something to them.

I had a pawn shop that did transfers for 20 per form.. But I had not been to them in like 2 years and now they're 25 per gun..

so my new ffl works out of his kitchen and does it for 15 for the 1st and 5 after.
It's a price im comfortable with.

P.S ya ar15 lowers are tricky.. with the transfer fee's even a good deal online is usually no better than the LGS.
 
What does an FFL cost now? I thought they were up around $200. Don't they get renewed every year for $90-$100? Even the guy working out of his house has to meet that before showing a profit. Then he has all the paperwork to keep track of. Right now I am paying $25 and $10 each additional. As somebody else said, $35 would not bother me.
 
Trueblue711 said:
Thanks for the info. I had a feeling that was the case. The purpose I made this post is I feel pretty cheated from a recent transfer and wanted to double check my facts before blasting them on Google/Yelp.
Tennessee Arms are having their empty AR lowers on sale for $35 each w/ free shipping. I didn't want to pass up the sale, so I bought 9. The shop I sent them too is charging me $20 per lower. If they were fully assembled guns, I'd understand. But damn near $200 for a single box of parts (I know each part is the technical gun, but they're still just parts) is BS.
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Since you know that each "part" (lower receiver) is the gun, what's your beef? The lower receiver is legally considered to be the firearm, and it requires the same transfer as a complete gun. It doesn't take the FFL any less time or effort to process a transfer for a receiver than it does to transfer a complete firearm.

Regardless of how you choose to regard it, you did not buy a box of parts. That's not the FFL's fault, that's the federal government's fault.

To me, $20 per transfer is a bargain. The going rate in my corner of the universe if $50.
 
Its set by the FFL and the market they are in.

The guy I use charges $20. Small shop out of the way. Its a way to get people into the shop who otherwise would not be going in.
Smart move on his part. He has sold me at least 4 guns off his shelf that I noticed he had while there for a pick up. A couple of scopes, and usually a box of ammo for what ever I am picking up.

The other place I used. I did not ask the price I just had it sent to him.
He charged me $50 for the transfer.
I did not complain. i should have asked.
I paid the $50 and left. Have never crossed the threshold of his store since.
But he has a great location and is not hurting for business.
It is what it is. Support the guy who treats you right.

I have since found a guy working out of his garage who will pretty much match any Gun Broker price and order for me with no transfer fee.
Win win there boys.
 
Pawn Shop I use was charging $15 per transaction. Raised it to $25 when they realized it was what other local FFLs were charging.
 
Icing on the cake

A number of years ago, I located an FFL dealer. I looked over his inventory and asked him what he charged for a transfer fee on shipping a rifle, from the factory. Without any hesitation, he said that all standard transfer fee was $10.00 + Tax. I was pleasantly surprised and told him that I thought that was being generous. He just shrugged it off and said that it was just ten minutes worth of paper work and enjoyed the conversations and anything more than that, is icing on the cake. ..... :)

Typically when I buy a firearm, the transfer fee, in included as part of the purchase. ..... :cool:

A buddy of mine, purchased a handgun from GunBroker, through a local FFL dealer. He paid the dealer for the item and shipping. On top of that, he pair local tax. I guess that was okay. Then on top of that, The FFL dealer charged him a $25.00 transfer feel. By my measure, that was not right. ..... :(

He asked me what I thought of that and had to search for the polite reply. That dealer is marked. ...... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
A buddy of mine, purchased a handgun from GunBroker, through a local FFL dealer. He paid the dealer for the item and shipping. On top of that, he pair local tax. I guess that was okay. Then on top of that, The FFL dealer charged him a $25.00 transfer feel. By my measure, that was not right.
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What isn't right? The part where the dealer gets paid for the gun? The part where he collects the mandated tax? Or the part where he wants to make some money for his time and trouble? Go to NJ or CA and ask what FFLs charge for a transfer. $25 is about the norm most anywhere. Some will be a little less, some a little higher as we have already seen. Why SHOULDN'T the man be entitled to make a little profit? Seems your buddy needs to factor ALL of the costs when buying on-line. BTW, how did he get the seller to ship without payment so your FFL collected the money for the item?
 
The transfer fee !!!

What isn't right?
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The part where he had to pay for the transfer fee. .... :rolleyes:

That is not the way we do things, in Iowa. .... ;)

Okay, let's try it this way. The dealer offered to bid on Ebay, as a favor. The dealer had to pay for the item and the shipping to his FFl. In short the dealer took ownership for the firearm. The dealer then sold the firearm to my buddy.
My buddy paid for the firearm, shipping and tax, which is perfectly fine. ..:)
Around here, when you buy a firearm from a dealer, the transfer fee is part of the deal. ....... :rolleyes:

I know of no Iowa dealer that sells on of his firearms and then charges a transfer fee. ..... :(

Be Safe !!!
 
I know of no dealer who bids on guns as a favor for someone else either. Almost sounds like a straw purchase (except he did do the background check, right?)

If your dealer was buying from a wholesaler and bringing it into his store, then I agree, the transfer fee doesn't exist; so why didn't your friend just buy it outright and have it sent to this dealer in the first place?

Added: If he didn't mark-up the gun to make a profit, then adding some form of it - whether as a transfer fee or similar - would be necessary so he doesn't lose any money.
 
"...except for 20 min of their time..." Time is money. Nobody works for free.
Doing stuff like that is a service for the customer, pure and simple. Like selling hunting or fishing licences. And it's a gigantic nightmare by times. A shop making one clerical error can lose 'em a lot more than 20 minutes.
No such thing as a transfer fee up here though. No FFL either. There is a firearms business licence you won't get unless you actually have a firearms business.
 
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