BeerThirty
Senior Member
My guy charges zero but he kindly requests a $20 donation into his wounded warrior donation jar. It’s a fair trade off.
So will South Georgia Outdoors in Cairo. They didn’t have the gun I wanted so I ordered it and had it shipped to SGO. I was shocked when the transfer fee was $50. $25 I’d be okay with but $50 to fill out a form??Deatons in Loganville will stick it to you on a transfer $50
So will South Georgia Outdoors in Cairo. They didn’t have the gun I wanted so I ordered it and had it shipped to SGO. I was shocked when the transfer fee was $50. $25 I’d be okay with but $50 to fill out a form??
When you think about it, it kind of makes sense. If they can’t get the inventory to sell themselves, they need to make a profit somewhere to keep the lights on. If the LGSs go under we won’t have them to do transfers. I don’t like it either but we’re all in a strange time.Prices around me have creeped up, $25 to $30, now.
When you think about it, it kind of makes sense. If they can’t get the inventory to sell themselves, they need to make a profit somewhere to keep the lights on. If the LGSs go under we won’t have them to do transfers. I don’t like it either but we’re all in a strange time.
I agree, but at $25-30, maybe not so bad, but at $50, that sounds to me like they don't want your business. That makes the deal you thought you got online, not such a good deal.When you think about it, it kind of makes sense. If they can’t get the inventory to sell themselves, they need to make a profit somewhere to keep the lights on. If the LGSs go under we won’t have them to do transfers. I don’t like it either but we’re all in a strange time.
This is a good point, if you are spending that much, a little more for the transfer isn't that big of a deal as it would be for a $300 gun.i chuckle every time i see a guy belly aching about any transfer fee on a 1000.00 rifle......
I have been watching this thread with some interest for the duration. I think you all should hear from a dealer's perspective the other side of the story.
I am a gunsmith. I have a Federal Firearms License, and I am authorized by that FFL to sell guns. I choose not to do transfers. Here is why.
1. It takes about an hour to do a transfer from start to finish (and that includes the bookwork on my end -- not just the 4473 that you fill out in the store). My hourly rate has to cover my expenses: Rent, insurance, license fees, shop supplies, internet access, utilities, advertising, accounting, etc. At my shop I have to get around $25 per hour just to cover those expenses. Anything over that can be called earnings. If I had a $6.50 per hour counter man whom I could trust to do transfers, I might be able to get by with $25-35 per transfer, but I am a one man operation, as are many local gunsmiths.
2. What do you think happens to those 4473 forms that you fill out? They must be maintained on file at the place of purchase for 20 (Yes, that is TWENTY) years.
3. I am subject to ATF audits to assure that I am in compliance with Federal law on all the sales that I make. An ATF audit is a day (at a minimum) shot in the ***.
4. While concealed weapon permit holders can be processed without making a separate call to the FBI NICS system, about half the folks who want to buy a gun are not permit holders. Delays, refusals, etc., mean that I may not get paid at all for my work. People lie on applications. "Well, ****, that was 30 years ago, and my record was supposed to be expunged!"
5. My posted labor rate is $100 per hour, covering man and machine time. When I am tied up doing transfers, I am not making that hourly rate. (By the way, your local LGS isn't making any money when you go by to chew the fat with him either!)
Given all the above, I have to charge around $100 per transfer just to keep from losing money, and that is before the storage issue for records. If it bothers you to pay $35 to get a transfer made, you have your head up somewhere that it doesn't smell too good!
Bill Jacobs
Bolt&Barrel Gunsmithing, LLC
Greenwood, SC
I’m going to disagree on some points. First, not all LGSs are offering $100/hr gunsmith services. Many are just retail goods sales. I doubt they sell the $300 guns with a $100 mark up which takes the same process as a transferred firearm. There are, in normal times, many small two man gun shops that may go hours without making $100 in sales. They make what they can when they can and doing transfers helps with income without having to stock the items. Like I said earlier, in these strange times where inventory is hard to come by, a little increase may be understandable from dealersI have been watching this thread with some interest for the duration. I think you all should hear from a dealer's perspective the other side of the story.
I am a gunsmith. I have a Federal Firearms License, and I am authorized by that FFL to sell guns. I choose not to do transfers. Here is why.
1. It takes about an hour to do a transfer from start to finish (and that includes the bookwork on my end -- not just the 4473 that you fill out in the store). My hourly rate has to cover my expenses: Rent, insurance, license fees, shop supplies, internet access, utilities, advertising, accounting, etc. At my shop I have to get around $25 per hour just to cover those expenses. Anything over that can be called earnings. If I had a $6.50 per hour counter man whom I could trust to do transfers, I might be able to get by with $25-35 per transfer, but I am a one man operation, as are many local gunsmiths.
2. What do you think happens to those 4473 forms that you fill out? They must be maintained on file at the place of purchase for 20 (Yes, that is TWENTY) years.
3. I am subject to ATF audits to assure that I am in compliance with Federal law on all the sales that I make. An ATF audit is a day (at a minimum) shot in the ***.
4. While concealed weapon permit holders can be processed without making a separate call to the FBI NICS system, about half the folks who want to buy a gun are not permit holders. Delays, refusals, etc., mean that I may not get paid at all for my work. People lie on applications. "Well, ****, that was 30 years ago, and my record was supposed to be expunged!"
5. My posted labor rate is $100 per hour, covering man and machine time. When I am tied up doing transfers, I am not making that hourly rate. (By the way, your local LGS isn't making any money when you go by to chew the fat with him either!)
Given all the above, I have to charge around $100 per transfer just to keep from losing money, and that is before the storage issue for records. If it bothers you to pay $35 to get a transfer made, you have your head up somewhere that it doesn't smell too good!
Bill Jacobs
Bolt&Barrel Gunsmithing, LLC
Greenwood, SC
Wrong! Lots involved other than thumb thiddling. What do you think happens to those 4473 forms that you fill out? Cost the dealer/LGS to have someone compile and complete the records.Even at only $10 for a transfer, if the FFL holder is twiddling his thumbs, that is easy money for him. Now if he is swamped with other purchases, then it might be cutting into his revenue. But as others have said, support them whenever you can.
Rosewood
This reminds of a buddy of mine that bought a small apartment building. Had like 6 units and he lived in one. He was wanting like $700 a month for rent, but he had a few vacant units. I told him, why don't you lower the price. He said "I can't rent for that, I am losing money". I am like well, you aren't making any money if no one is paying rent. So, he would rather let his units sit empty with no income than lower his price and get some income. That is losing money to me.
Rosewood
This reminds of a buddy of mine that bought a small apartment building. Had like 6 units and he lived in one. He was wanting like $700 a month for rent, but he had a few vacant units. I told him, why don't you lower the price. He said "I can't rent for that, I am losing money". I am like well, you aren't making any money if no one is paying rent. So, he would rather let his units sit empty with no income than lower his price and get some income. That is losing money to me.
Rosewood
I would have never suggested $200 a month, that would be plain stupid. But he wouldn't even lower it to $600 a month to get more tenants.what if his unit gets damaged? he is losing money
The cost is the cost. If he rented the units for $200, and it cost him $600 a month, he is still losing money. And when the people paying $700 find out, guess whut... they are gonna want a decrease in their rent. So now all his units are losing money.
This is the classical race to the bottom, and the business owner never comes out in those situations.