Quick question on transfer fees.



How long have they charged 10% of purchase price to receive and transfer firearms bought online?  I thought they only charged $50.

Are you talking about the sales tax on the firearm?

If coming from a FFL, you'll get charged sales tax.  

If private to private, no sales tax, but you're suppose to pay use tax....

Dealers have had to collect tax for years, its dumb but we have to do it. Its supposed to be equal to local sales tax.

OP's not talking about use tax, he's talking about their fee, which is bullshit:



ETA: Jeff at Sound Loan will make all this nonsense go away.

lol wtf, that is bullshit.

how the hell can they justify it.  

My local guy here does them for $20.  $50 is crazy

+1 for sound loan. WCA north is terrible

I understand the sales tax part, I just wish I saw the 10% thing before I bought the gun.  I've used Sound Loans before, it's just WCA is near my employer.



Expensive lesson learned I guess, I'll be sure to let them know that I will never use them again.  Not that they will even care.

They're trying to get people to buy their guns, which I understand, but they're stepping over a dollar to get a dime. Do the transfer for a reasonable fee, then upsell accessories, ammo, etc.. having a range on-prem is a license to print money at that point. Charging the ridiculous fee guarantees that customer will never darken your doorstep again.

I'm not one to do transfer, but this is the first I've heard of an additional  surcharge . It doesn't appear to be common practice, is it?

As an FFL myself, I can see both sides of the equation.  I'm home-based, so the "upsell" option is near zero for me, but let's pretend that it does exist.  So, let's go....

You are an internet gun buyer.  Why?  Because the prices are pretty damn good, even when you factor a transfer fee and Use Tax.  The typical response here to a high transfer fee is "what a dumb shop.  They should charge a low fee and try to sell the transferee some ammo, mags, accessories, etc. and make their money that way."  Here's the flaw in that logic: INTERNET buyer!  If someone is willing to go through the extra hassle of buying a gun online to save some money over buying local, do you really think they are going to pay "local" prices for accessories, PLUS Sales Tax?  Really?

That internet gun buyer is also buying all their accessories and ammo online too.  Even with shipping, it's highly likely that shipping is going to be less than the 9.5% sales tax (soon to be 10.0%+)  So where is the upsell opportunity in this scenario?  You are already dealing with a "bottom dollar" internet gun buyer, do you really think they're going to be a retail-dollar accessory shopper?  I highly doubt it.  They are walking in to get their transfer, then scoffing at the "outrageous" cost of ammo, mags, etc. in that shop.

Now, here is how I approach the scenario.  I can't really upsell products for sale at the same time (don't keep any inventory on hand), but I look at it as an opportunity to build a relationship with the customer for future business.  "What are you looking for?  Give me a call next time before buying and maybe I can get you a better deal!"  I try to understand what their current needs are, as well as their future needs.  My "upsell" is a future sale, maybe a handgun, rifle or even an NFA item.  I have that luxury though, to get to know my customers on a more personal level.

Sometimes that works, but not always.  I had one customer buy a handgun online for a "decent' price.  After adding in Use Tax and my transfer fee ($35), he spent almost $2,000.  I told him afterwards that I could have ordered that same exact handgun for him for $1,600 out the door.  Yes, he would have paid $400 less, and I would have made $150 instead of $35.  So we both lost out in that deal.  Guess what, a few months later, another transfer shows up for him, and again I could have saved him $250 and tripled my profit.  Another Win-Win that didn't happen.  I told him again how much I could have saved him, and his reply was "yeah, I forgot.  It was just so easy to punch in the order late one night."  

The amount of time spent dealing with either transaction is nearly identical (handling a transfer or ordering in the gun.)  But in one case, I make $35 and the other it could be $150.  If you had the option to trade your time for $35 or $150 for the same exact work, which one are you picking?

One way of changing or discouraging that type of shopping?  New guns are 10% fee plus Use Tax.  The question is, does that change the behavior of the customer, or just send them down the road?  I generally feel it results in the latter, which is why I don't personally run such a pricing scheme.  And I don't have the customer base anyway to "lose a few" with such a policy.  But a large retail store, looking at paying an employee $20/hour after benefits/taxes/etc, to make that same choice between $35 and $150?  They've likely done the math and figured out that the transfer is actually losing them money, so losing a customer that is costing them money is no loss at all.    Add in the additional unproductive and money-losing time dealing with the "showrooming" customers, and it might make even less fiscal sense.  

Just some points and counter-points to consider.

Wades in Bellevue used to have a disclaimer about it that said if the firearm you purchased was available in the shop, then they would charge an extra 10% based on what Wades would sell it for. I don't know if they still have it on their transfer form, but I never charged anyone the extra 10% when I was there.

If you are looking for a decent place up north, you could check out Lynnwood Gun. Last time I checked, their transfer fee was $25

I just referred somebody to then today.



I'll send him a text in the morning pulling that back.  fuck them

Can I request it be sent to another FFL in the area?  

Is it already there?  they can ship it to another FFL, but they are going want you to cover the shipping.  If it is still en route, the seller will probably have to recall the shipment, or have it held for delivery to a new address.  They'd have to update their books to show the disposition to a different FFL as well.  So not impossible, but a huge hassle.  And the seller likely has a clause  that says "make sure your FFL will receive it first."  

Depending on the value of the firearm and the resulting "fee", it might not be worth it.  Just have to chalk it up as an expensive lesson....

Alrighty, thanks!



 

The last time I told a dealer that the incoming firearm was a gift, he said he would estimate it's tax based on a sort of blue book value, and charge the tax according to that.  If you have a receipt showing you paid $13.27 for an unfired, new in box, first generation 6" model 29, that is what you would be taxed on...even if the dealer says BS.   At least that is my experience.

Your scenario makes sense.  I usually include shipping, handling, taxes, and any other fees in my bottom line, out the door price when evaluating where to buy.  I find that it is often a wash paying a little more locally, rather than paying shipping and handling, plus I do not have to wait until someone back east feels like processing my order.  

The main problem with many local shops is that they will refuse to give you a price unless you come into the shop.  I usually do not feel like spending an entire afternoon driving to all the gun shops in a 35 mile radius to find out what they charge.  In those instances, it is easier to buy online as my time, fuel, and mileage are also worth something.

I paid tac on $27 worth of raffle tickets (plus handling) for my $3000 Scar 17I won last year. Iirc it was $1.87 tax

Yeah, the shop that I used to work at would try to help people out if it was a gift. We would value the gun lower than blue book so that the tax was lower. We did have one guy get pissed about it though. He kept complaining saying that " The gun is worth more" and that "we don't know what we're doing". So we increased the tax on him and told him we were trying to do him a favor. He kinda felt stupid after that. Was an old Remington Rand 1911 that we originally put at $400, so tax would have been $38. We ended up pushing it to $1200 and charging him $114.

I picked it up tonight, I asked about the 10% and they waived it only charging me the trf fee of $50.  Still a little high but a lesson learned.