Rant: FFL transfers

[DRM]

[rant]

So this afternoon I stop by the Franklin Gun shop on a mission. See - I'd like to get a NoDak AK receiver, and I need a FFL to do the transfer. This process involves me sending the order form and payment to NoDak, and all the FFL has to do is fax or email a copy of their FFL, then log the transfer when it's shipped to them (I paid the shipping, BTW).

I know I'm cheap, but I ain't dumb.

But can someone please tell me WHY they want to charge me $50 (plus the $10 state background check) just do do that small bit of work? It ain't hard work, and if they were smart, they'd see it as an opportunity to earn my business on in-store items ,and potentially make me a loyal customer who will just keep coming back to them for all my needs.

Maybe I should copy/paste this over to the "why don't you like gun shops" thread

And maybe you other gun shop guys can tell me why I'm way off base, etc... I can handle the heat in the kitchen if you wanna go there

[/rant]

[Smith]

[rant]

So this afternoon I stop by the Franklin Gun shop on a mission. See - I'd like to get a NoDak AK receiver, and I need a FFL to do the transfer. This process involves me sending the order form and payment to NoDak, and all the FFL has to do is fax or email a copy of their FFL, then log the transfer when it's shipped to them (I paid the shipping, BTW).

I know I'm cheap, but I ain't dumb.

But can someone please tell me WHY they want to charge me $50 (plus the $10 state background check) just do do that small bit of work? It ain't hard work, and if they were smart, they'd see it as an opportunity to earn my business on in-store items ,and potentially make me a loyal customer who will just keep coming back to them for all my needs.

Maybe I should copy/paste this over to the "why don't you like gun shops" thread

And maybe you other gun shop guys can tell me why I'm way off base, etc... I can handle the heat in the kitchen if you wanna go there

[/rant]

Because it is Franklin Gun shop. There are many others in Nashville that will do you much better. Phil at Bellshire Hardware is a great place.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Yeah $25 + $10 for background is the goin rate...$50 is a rip look elsewhere.

[BimmerFreak]

Isnt there a shop in East Nashville that does free transfers?

I thought there was some old guy that only charged the 10.00 TICS fee, just to get people to come talk to him at his shop

[DRM]

Because it is Franklin Gun shop. There are many others in Nashville that will do you much better. Phil at Bellshire Hardware is a great place.

Since I live in Spring Hill and work downtown Nashville (Soon to be Brentwood), I'd love to find someone between those two points, or close to home to start doing all my local business with.

Yeah $25 + $10 for background is the goin rate...$50 is a rip look elsewhere.

My uninformed self still tends to think that is high, but it's not unreasonable, IMHO.

Isnt there a shop in East Nashville that does free transfers?

I thought there was some old guy that only charged the 10.00 TICS fee, just to get people to come talk to him at his shop

That's my kind of guy

But seriously - I'm not looking to get it for free, but running a business myself sometimes you make some concessions in one area to reap the benefits in another.

Thanks for the input guys - I guess I won't be making any more stops there in the future, regardless of how convenient it may be.

[Guest bkelm18]

My uninformed self still tends to think that is high, but it's not unreasonable, IMHO.

Well, they are providing you with a service they they don't have to.

[nightrunner]

Isnt there a shop in East Nashville that does free transfers?

I thought there was some old guy that only charged the 10.00 TICS fee, just to get people to come talk to him at his shop

yea but you actually have to interact with him. id rather pay $25 somewhere else

[DRM]

Well, they are providing you with a service they they don't have to.

Using that logic, why are they in business? Every service or product is something they don't have to provide.

And that is just plain bad business policy, unless your goal *is* to price it high because you don't want to do it in the first place.

And again - they just lost all of my future business over about $25. Dumb, IMHO.

[Guest bkelm18]

Using that logic, why are they in business? Every service or product is something they don't have to provide.

And that is just plain bad business policy, unless your goal *is* to price it high because you don't want to do it in the first place.

And again - they just lost all of my future business over about $25. Dumb, IMHO.

Do they sell you guns for free? Do they give you range time for free? Do they offer any classes for free? Nope. They don't have to transfer a gun for you. It takes time away from their business and they gain nothing from it. So you expect them to do this for free? I'm not speaking of your $50 transfer guy, I'm speaking of any FFL.

[Reservoir Dog]

Everything else at Franklin Gun Shop is over-priced, why not the transfer fee. At least it's not Guns & Ammo in Memphis.....they charge $100.

[skipsfirearms]

[rant]

It ain't hard work, and if they were smart, they'd see it as an opportunity to earn my business on in-store items ,and potentially make me a loyal customer who will just keep coming back to them for all my needs.

[/rant]

If it only worked that way, and I have seen that it does not. I charge $20 for transfers and I have "Loyal" transfer customers who have never bought one thing from me, but they bring all their transfer business to me. In my time selling guns I have met two types of buyers.

As a business owner too, surely you understand the philosophy of "Time is Money"? That is not some of your time, but all of your time is money.

Paper work is time and un-packing what some people ship can take lots of time.

I don't believe that anyone who charges a reasonable fee to do a transfer is doing anything wrong. They are in business to stay in business..

And in case anyone is wondering.........There not nearly as much profit in guns as people seem to think there is. Most of us hang at the shop because we love guns and gun people. But we still have to pay the bills and transfers help us do that.

[DRM]

Do they sell you guns for free? Do they give you range time for free? Do they offer any classes for free? Nope. They don't have to transfer a gun for you. It takes time away from their business and they gain nothing from it. So you expect them to do this for free? I'm not speaking of your $50 transfer guy, I'm speaking of any FFL.

I don't see anyone suggesting they do it for free.

However I do take issue with the concept of "takes time away from their business", because this IS their business - and if they don't want it to be their business, they need to tell me "sorry, we don't do those", because at least THAT is a legitimate and honest answer.

And let's be honest - that fee is PURE profit. They didn't have to spend a DIME in inventory, they don't have to stock or track it, and they don't have to ship it, clean it, or take precautions to keep it from being stolen.

And even at $25, there is a larger profit margin there than many of their on-the-shelf items, even if you pull out the employee time to do the work (which CANNOT be more than 30 minutes, TOPS).

And even with all that, nobody is expecting them to do it for free, but it's reasonable to expect them to do it for a reasonable fee where they make some money AND they get a new customer (and don't get negative press from the guy they rubbed the wrong way )

[DRM]

As a business owner too, surely you understand the philosophy of "Time is Money"? That is not some of your time, but all of your time is money.

Paper work is time and un-packing what some people ship can take lots of time.

I already estimated 30 minutes time, tops, to take my money, send a fax, and receive a package.

How much "time" do you say it takes you to do that process? mayb'e I'm way off base - educate me.

And just how hard is it to un-wrap an AK receiver?

[nightrunner]

actually since they did the transfer,they have to keep record of it forever, and if the atf comes knocking they have to have proof of it

[BimmerFreak]

I dont think anyone is saying you're a prick for expecting a reasonable transfer fee.

We have discussed this in great length (im too lazy to search, maybe someone can and post the threads) and I think most of us came to following conclusion:

1. Most understand that dealers need to make money to stay in business.

2. There is an acceptable cost or fee associated with transferring a gun from another dealer.

3. The average "acceptable" cost to do so was 25-35 dollars.

So, if you find dealers that are rude when you ask them to accept a transfer, or in your case charge a fee outside of your comfort zone, my suggestion is to smile and walk out the door and continue your search for a FFL that better meets your needs.

[Guest bkelm18]

Gun shops are a business. Businesses are in business to make money. That's just how the world works. Have a problem with it, don't buy guns. Fairly simple.

[DRM]

actually since they did the transfer,they have to keep record of it forever, and if the atf comes knocking they have to have proof of it

Understood - but it's just one line item in a loooooong list of other line items they are keeping too, so it's not like the lifetime maintenance of that one line item is expensive, or burdensome - in the grand scope of thousands or tens of thousands of entries.

[DRM]

I dont think anyone is saying you're a prick for expecting a reasonable transfer fee.

We have discussed this in great length (im too lazy to search, maybe someone can and post the threads) and I think most of us came to following conclusion:

1. Most understand that dealers need to make money to stay in business.

2. There is an acceptable cost or fee associated with transferring a gun from another dealer.

3. The average "acceptable" cost to do so was 25-35 dollars.

So, if you find dealers that are rude when you ask them to accept a transfer, or in your case charge a fee outside of your comfort zone, my suggestion is to smile and walk out the door and continue your search for a FFL that better meets your needs.

See, I'm new here - I like to re-hash the obvious

And that is exactly how I handled it - I kindly let them know that paying $60 for a $96 item for them to get it to me didn't make much sense, so I said thanks and exited the building.

[BimmerFreak]

Well played Sir.

[DRM]

Gun shops are a business. Businesses are in business to make money. That's just how the world works. Have a problem with it, don't buy guns. Fairly simple.

If they were charging double the price of everyone else for firearms, am I supposed to give up buying guns because of that? That doesn't make much sense...

That may be "how it works", but taking that attitude is a good way to see how "going out of business" works too.

[Mike.357]

I dont think anyone is saying you're a prick for expecting a reasonable transfer fee.

You are a prick for expecting a reasonable transfer fee

[DRM]

You are a prick for expecting a reasonable transfer fee

Ohnoes!!1 You hurteded my feewings

[Guest grimel]

My uninformed self still tends to think that is high, but it's not unreasonable, IMHO.

Well, he has to log it, call it in, and keep the paperwork. Between sending his FFL and keeping up with all this, he has at least an hour of his time involved. I don't see $25(minus any expenses no matter how slight)/hr being either high or unreasonable.

[DRM]

Well, he has to log it, call it in, and keep the paperwork. Between sending his FFL and keeping up with all this, he has at least an hour of his time involved. I don't see $25(minus any expenses no matter how slight)/hr being either high or unreasonable.

I just have to pick on you, but where do you get an 'hour' to:

1. find out what i need and take my money

2. fax or email FFL to gun manufacturer

3. receive item in mail

4. log serial numbers

5. call me and tell me it's in

Let's assign a generous 10 minutes to #1 - maybe it takes a while for me to say "I need an AK755 receiver" and hand him the form I've already filled out telling him where to send the FFL.

#2 can't take more than 5 minutes - I mean, it's a fax for goodness sake, not a smoke signal or a telegraph, stop.

#3 we'll assign 5 minutes to sign for the package and put it on a shelf - if I can run a mile in that time, he can walk across the room.

#4 we'll assign a generous 10 minutes - maybe he writes slow.

#5 takes 2 minutes, TOPS - assuming a rotary phone.

That's 32 minutes - and that's being quite generous...

So how are you getting an hour out of those few items?

EDIT* oh, and even saying all of that, I will still agree that $25 is not unreasonable for the service.

[Metalhead]

We charge a $25 transfer fee normally to random_customer_01, but since it means taking a potential customer away from FGS, I will do it for free, this once. We are about 25min from Nashville occording to how you drive.

But lets be honest, it takes about 1 minute to log in a gun, and depending on the POS system you use, 2-5 minutes to put the gun in your system. $50 to do a transfer is outrageous. Hell, some people think 25 is outrageous.

EDIT: I'm also drunk, so get it while the getting is good.