Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds Why will some not ship through an FFL?

My FFL won't accept handgun shipments from a non FFL due to the possible hassle facotr if gun is stolen, and MI has some screwed up regs as well when it comes to handguns.

The store I work in accepts from non-FFL's all the time, I'd like to know what the hassle is. Takes about 15 minutes of our time. First we run a check on the serial # thru TICS, put the gun in the log book, notify the customer that their weapon is here, they come in do a form 4473, (background check), charge them $25 for the transfer & $10 for the background check. $25.00 is pretty good money for 15 min. work. And nobody complains about the fees.

What regs make it harder in MI?

Ryan

Ignorance, stupidity, and perceived liability are the "hassles."

I had an FFL in a previous life for about 20 years. Knowledge comes with the license in the form of a book but you have to read it. If a seller includes a copy of his drivers license with the firearm then your FFL can enter it in his book and out of the book to the end buyer. Oh yeah - the ATF does NOT do "call in transfers" - read the book and learn something instead of spreading or making up internet lore. As far as "stolen firearms" the FFL is NOT on the hook as if it dropped from the sky - get the proper ID so the chain can be followed in the case something turns up stolen down the road.

"10 min later I walk back into this place and ask the manager which has been a really good guy in times past about it and he say's oh yeah come on back here and we will get it took care of right away. He ask who told me they wouldn't accept from an individual and made the same guy do the transfer and they both apoligized to me several times."

Love it! It is admirable to me that the manager didn't just do the transaction himself, but hauled in the guy that was misinforomed and had him do the transaction. He received an education that day.

I think a lot of it depends on your relationship with the FFL holder.I purchase frequently from my local dealer.When I mail a gun he always charges $25.00 even if its insured for over $1000.00 he charges me $25.00.I can also get a firearm shipped to him from an individual $25.00 transfer fee.If you purchase very little from the shop and only want to use them as your shipping agent I could understand them telling you to GFY.

Some dealers just want a sale to go through them and will make it a hassle to do otherwise. Its best to find a home based ffl or someone who does a small business on the side. They will be glad to help you.

Once when looking for a transfer dealer, one here in MI said they charge $45 + state sales tax on the purchase price, no matter where or who it came from. What a crock. That is half the reason to buy a gun out of state.

Very true. I've heard some amazing b.s. spread by guns shop owners and employees. The sad part is that so many of their customers believe it then spread the misinformation. They're no IQ test or even firearms law test required to obtain an FFL.

Given the long history of erratic behavior by the BATFE, I have no trouble understanding why some FFL holders can be paranoid about the system. There is no such thing as a simple straight forward and up-to-date checklist of requirements. Simultaneously many states are working hard to complicate things. The environment ain't real friendly.

In Michigan it is good advise to transfer threw a FFL when selling a handgun out of state. Handguns are registered in your name and having a FFL do the transfer takes it out of your name into the FFL's book. The extra $10-$25 you pay them will be off set by them shipping USPS flat rate and not having to ship FedEX.

I shipped a pistol to Alaska FedEX wanted $75.20, USPS medium flat rate insured for $1000 under $25. Payed my FFL $15 and drove him to the P.O.

Part of the reason FFL's don't want to do transfers from out of state individuals. People are not sending a copy of there drivers license. They cannot log in that gun without a FFL or Drivers License.

Bingo!!!

A local guy here just got his FFL and opened a pawn shop.He is a nice guy and the brother of a friend of mine.I've stopped in, bought a few pawn shop items,and talked guns with him often.I asked him about receiving from an individual.At first he said no problem.Then being a new FFL he called his local fed guy(ATF or whatever,I don't know,but I was there)to make sure he was correct and had everything in order as to what he should do.His guy told him not to receive from an individual.


We talked about it and he said he thought it was perfectly legal but he didn't need any hassel from his guy.He told me that at one time the fed had pointed to a passage in that book of rules and asked if he knew exactly what that ment.He then told the new FFL that said passage ment that the law was whatever he said it was.Apparently he only said it to intimidate the new FFL.

I only started this thread to make sellers aware of the difficulty in the hope that some will decide to change their mind and ship through an FFL if the buyer covers all extra expense.

His "local fed guy" cannot render a legally binding determination and a f*cking telephone call sure as [bleep] doesn't qualify as that. If your little pawn shop buddy needs to get a detailed answer on BATFE letterhead, he needs to confine all of his queries in writing to the BATFE's LEGAL department.


Federal Firearms Licensing Center
244 Needy Road
Martinsburg, WV 25405-9431

The seller isn't responsible for appeasing your choice of FFL holders. Even if you're willing to "cover extra expense" that doesn't address the seller's additional hassle and bullshit of going through an FFL holder.

Sounds like somebody at ATF needs to be brought up on abuse of power charges. The next time we have a Repub in the White House (if that ever happens again), the ATF needs a house cleaning from top to bottom. On the firearms front, the ATF's harassment and strong-arm tactics should be focused on going after straw purchasers and those few gun shops that cater to straw purchasers. On the other side of the coin, the ATF should be doing everything possible to assist those who are trying to obey the laws to do business as efficiently as possible instead of harassing those people who are doing their best to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

The BATFE is less of a problem than the morons who've received FFLs and want to make up rules and blame their own stupidity on someone else.

I was pissed too but my pawn shop FFL told me that being a new FFL holder and a new business he just couldn't afford the hassel.I will pass along the address but I doubt he will have the courage to do anything other than what he was told.

He couldn't afford to write a f*cking letter? F*ck him.

Mr. Clark,

You might want to explain to your friend that doing what the "local fed" tells him could get him in a lot of trouble when there is a new "local fed" doing the compliance inspections who has a different interpretation than the old "local fed" had. If your friend has any questions, he needs to get guidance in writing from the source of official guidance, like Bricktop said. Ultimately the "local fed" can't go against what the source of official guidance puts in writing.

If you want a gun shipped through a ffl up here it costs 30- 60 bucks from dealers... Anyhow I will do it but buyer will pay the ffl fee... I sold a rifle to a fella in Wisconsin after everything was done I was told his dealer needed me to get an ffl so I ate the 25 dollar fee for that one and it was a lesson learned for sure.

[bleep], I had and FFL that wouldn't ship a rifle to my FFL in Alaska, because they wouldn't ship a gun out of the country.