Moving forward I plan on collecting mostly C&R firearms so I'd like to get a license to make things easier and cheaper for transfers.

I am in North Carolina.

Are there any negatives to getting this license?

Any pointers or tips for applying or in general?

A quick specific question off the bat:
I know it's a collector's license and not a business. Collecting is all I do, but every once in a while sell a gun to buy something else.
If I buy a gun with the C&R, how does that work if I sell it down the line? Am I allowed to sell it?

Appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Tag

Just log your stuff and you are good to go. But whatever you do don't look at old SOG or Century fliers from the early 2000s time frame

Biggest negative is your bank account may suffer for it. The paperwork is a breeze.

Aside from that if you are looking to just buy surplus guns the market isn't what it used to be.  Trying to get sellers with valid C&R eligible commercial guns to ship direct to you is a longshot, or at least that was my experience.  I've even had 01's refuse to ship a C&R surplus gun to me as an 03.

Not sure what you mean. Mostly looking to use it to buy older guns from forum members (with C&R or who ship with an FFL) or buying off of gun broker.
Are you saying that regular FFLs won't ship C&R guns to people who have C&R licenses?

Don't unless you hate your wallet. Golly, I had a 1930s arsenal going before I decided that I didn't need five Mosin Nagants and every kind of interwar police pistol ever fielded in Europe.

Yes I've had regular FFL's say they will not ship to me as a C&R license holder.  Not all, but some will state in gunbroker ads "we do not ship to C&R/03FFLs".  Their reasoning is they cannot look up the license in the ATF EZ Check system so they have to go off the piece of paper you send them or email them.  When I had my license I made copies and would sign them in red/blue ink and snail mail or email copies along with my drivers license.  On a few rare occasions I had the license notarized because that's what the seller wanted.

I ran into a few issues in PA with private individuals as well, but that's only because F2F handgun transfers aren't a thing there unless it's through a FFL.  The seller refused to sell me the gun unless we went through a 01.  They either didn't care, or they didn't know, that an 03 license is a FFL license.  Tried to convince them, they refused to budge.  I didn't buy the gun as a result.

I don't tell you this to dissuade you, but more so you go in with realistic expectations that you won't necessarily just be able to purchase XYZ gun from anyone so long as it's 50 years old, or older, or on the approved list.  One nice thing for NC is if you don't have your CWP you have no need to get pistol purchase permits for C&R handguns shipped directly to your door.

I loved it when I had mine. What's better than a gun shipped straight to your door!

But yes OP some people are retarded and do not know that an 03 C&R FFL is good to go.

Other's won't ship if they can't EZ check the license which like has been stated is unavailable on a C&R license.

Some people don't realize certain guns are C&R Eligible either and won't ship anything unless it is specifically listed by the ATF as a C&R or is over 50 years old or both or any other convoluted conditions they can come up with.

There are enough rules for FFL's to follow, IDK why some people have to make up additional ones too!

OP, I applied for my first C&R ffl this year.

I just followed the information on the ATF website and filled out the application. Was a breeze and had my license in less than a month.

Since receiving my ffl on April 4th:
I have purchased a 1942 Enfield, 1942 CE German Mauser ww2 bring back, 1939 Carcano cavalry carbine WW2 bring back, Arisaka type 38 Koishikawa WW2 bring back with shipping crate and a M1 carbine from RTI, and I’m not even at a fraction of what I want to pick up.

What I’m saying is, prepare to spend a ton of money. But most importantly, enjoy yourself.

Thanks guys!
Excited to hopefully get this done!

A quick:
I know it's a collector's license and not a business. Collecting is all I do, but every once in a while sell a gun to buy something else.
If I buy a gun with the C&R, how does that work if I sell it down the line? Am I allowed to sell it?

Yes you can sell the firearms you buy on your C&R. It specifically says in the handbook that you can sell items out of your collection in order to "enhance your collection"  You have to log then out of your bound book the same way you logged them in after purchase but it's not complicated.

You can’t buy firearms to resell them with a C&R, since you are not a business. That’s all that means.

You can sell whatever you want, whenever you want.

For my Bound Book for logging C&R guns, I use these sheets and a binder....

I don't recall the exact details, but it was incredibly easy. Certainly easier than the NFA process.

I've got just over a year left on this one and haven't bought anything with it.