Posted: 8/25/2008 2:08:48 PM EDT
What is up with transfer fees? I was just browsing the Indiana Dealers list and there are plenty of dealers charging $20, $25 and even $30 to transfer!!! I would hope that they discount their fees for their locals and good customers. I know "free" market and all, I am just glad that I have 3 or 4 local dealers that charge $10-$15 and they have even done multiples for the one fee!!! |
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I'm very happy to have a guy very close that does transfers fro $15 per gun. He will even order in new guns and only charge me teh $15 over his cost of teh gun and shipping. Plus, I contact whoever has it and pay for it, so he's only doing the transfer, keeping me from paying sales tax on it! And he only lives a few miles away from me! I've got my C&R application in to the ATF, and when I get it apporved, that will save me lots of transfers as my main interest seems to lay in stuff older than I am! Doug K |
Indiana Arms in South Bend. The only other transfer I have done was at Midwest Gun Exchange in Mishawaka. They charged $25 and no sales tax. But they made me feel bad for not buying the rifle from them and acted like I was putting them out. |
| We charge $20.00 here at Scott's Hardware. We had been charging $10.00, but there started to be so many more transfers than sales. It was hurting our sales. Dealers have taken the financial risk to start a business to make a living. If people keep going over dealer's heads to "find a deal" there will not be any dealers left after awhile. Someone will monopolize on that and charge you fellas $50.00 plus a transfer. What can you do about that? Absolutely nothing. The internet WILL be taxed in the near future. There is too much commerce that is not getting tapped for the government to not get their hands on it. Internet transfers will not be such a good deal then. I'm not going to take all the liability from a $10.00 transfer....$20.00 doesn't really even cover it. The gun companies have protection from law suits, but dealers do not. Please take that into consideration. |
I understand that dealer's have taken serious financial risks to start a shop, so if a gun I want is available from my local guy - I'll defenitely support him. If there is something I want that he can't get or doesn't stock, I get it from the internet. When I go to pick up the transfer gun from him I buy something from his shop as well (ammo, mags, etc) as a way to say thanks. |
It seems that you are doing it the right way. You have to support us(dealers)or we will be gone. There are some people that just want us to do their transfers and never give us any other business. That just isn't right. |
I understand and agree with most, if not all whats stated above. I guess that I am the other customer, I used to part time at Bradis years back so "I feel the pain"!!!  . I have only transferred traded firearms and used purchases from the EE boards. Never took business from the local guys. If I see a lower or something I have them order it, they usually order extra for the shop and get us all a good price. Side story, we used to have guys save $10 at WallyWorld on Rem 870s and then bring them to us for operational instructions....  Thats what we would tell them, the extra $10 covers our shop, customer service and knowledge.....Oh well, if locally the fees get too out of hand I still know some home based FFLs that charge $10-$15. I really didnt mean to start a thread to slam anyone, but while I'm paying the $10-$15 fees I just couldnt imagine paying the $50!!! Like I stated earlier, hopefully they treat their regulars better than that!!!  |
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I won't mention names, but I used to use a local shop for transfers. I mostly like older, oddball stuff and he knew that. He knew if i wanted something new or even fairly recent, I'd get it from him if at all possible. I would let him know what I was looking for so he could be on the look out for a trade in or outright purchase to sell to me. If I wanted, or found something really old and relatively unavailable online, I'd buy it and transfer it through him. He went from $10-15-20 and I stuck by him. When he said he was going to $35 per transfer, "becuase that's what Gander Mountain charges" (his shop it about 45 minutes from either Gander Mtn store) I started to take my transfers and business elswhere. I still stop in from time to time, but haven't bought anything there in quite awhile. I felt like I was being fair with him and gave him most of my business, even though it wasn't a ton of money, it was still the majority of my 'gun fund' going to his shop. I wish him the best, but I WILL NOT pay $35 for a transfer, especially now that I found Karl's Gun Bunker who is three miles from my house and charges $15/transfer even on brand new items from a distributor! Can't beat that! Doug K |
That is why I was upset about $50. I use their range all the time, and have bought handguns and other things from them before. I will still do business with them just not transter anything. |
Take a drive to Rensselaer, IN and visit Jerry's Gun Shop - it'll take you an hour to get there, but saving $30 on transfers + all the $ you'll save on firearms/ammo compared to Blythes, it is well worth the drive.......Open M-F 8:30-5 and Sat 8:30-3 Plus, if you go Wednesday through Saturday you can stop by Jasper Pulaski on the way home and enjoy some free shooting! |
| I just want to let the people in Southern IN know that if you go down to Two Brothers Firearms they only charge $15 for a transfer. The only thing about them is the are only open during the evening during the week Mon-Fri 6p-10p but the are open Sat 9a-9p, Sun 11a-7p. It beats paying $35 to another dealer that is local. They are in Downtown New Albany at 111 West Market Street next door to the Hitching Post. |
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I'm in the fort wayne area and when I read about the places charging 20, 25, 30 I was thinking just how lucky they are to have so many places that charge a low amount. Goes to show you how much they charge around this area. One guy in town charges 10% of a new guns value for an FFL charge, and another one was $50 for a transfer. I was darn lucky when I found a dealer that charges only $20 per ffl transfer. I still think that sucks, but I can live with it. This same place had a particular handgun I've wanted to buy for over a year for $600. I just bought a new one online for $450 + shipping, + ffl. Still over $100 saved. FFL fees shouldn't be more than $15 for as many as you bring in in one day, or at least half off for the next one. |
See, this guy should be strung up by his short hairs!!! The idea is to cover your time: 10-15 mins avg. and make a few bucks.... no problem. But if I have a $1000 firearm transferred and he wants $100 when he has no front $$ out, no time involved other than the phone call and paper trail...... I know, Free America.... well I would exercise my freedom by going somewhere else and my freedom of speech letting everyone know about his outragous fees!!! |
A relative in CA shipped a firearm out here to IN, he took it to an FFL in CA to be shipped. The FFL charged him $75 to send it here. When it arrived in IN it cost another $30 to do the transfer. |
Theres your problem....Blythes is a joke. I've bought three things from them over the past 8 years and each time they've been asshats. The last thing I bought was about a year ago and ill never go there for anything again. I gave them three chances. Someday when I get enough spare time i'll post my exeriences. 
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| Transfers are still only $10 each at the gun shop inside Siegel's Uniforms in downtown Evansville. The only down side is that the gun shop part of the store is only open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But when they are open, they know what they're doing with cop-type guns- Glocks, 870s, and ARs. |