I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but the thought just occured to me... what a pain in the ass it is buying stuff and having it shipped to an FFL... why not me?  So, what does it take?

Paging SteyrAug...

Somebody is going to know the exacts to this, but....

I know they frown upon people getting FFL's to increase their personal collection.

You need to move some pieces to outside parties and make a profit.

I have also heard that if you do not show enough activity, they will pull your license.

Zoning is the biggest key. If you are not properly zoned in your county and/or city to sell firearms from your residence - then basically it's no dice.

Quoted: Somebody is going to know the exacts to this, but.... I know they frown upon people getting FFL's to increase their personal collection. You need to move some pieces to outside parties and make a profit. I have also heard that if you do not show enough activity, they will pull your license.

I certainly wouldn't mind doing it as a side job for some extra $$ either.  I would try to do as much activity as possible.

As long as you sell some to others beside yourself you'll be fine.

Just go ahead now and print up some standard forms for $5 transfers. Also, have a structural engineer check your floors to see if they can support all the bags of cash you're going to have lying around from the monster mark-ups that FFLs make on every gun sale.

Quoted: Just go ahead now and print up some standard forms for $5 transfers. Also, have a structural engineer check your floors to see if they can support all the bags of cash you're going to have lying around from the monster mark-ups that FFLs make on every gun sale.

I'm not sure how to take this.

Quoted: Quoted: Just go ahead now and print up some standard forms for $5 transfers. Also, have a structural engineer check your floors to see if they can support all the bags of cash you're going to have lying around from the monster mark-ups that FFLs make on every gun sale. I'm not sure how to take this.

With a grain of salt, because selling firearms is a very low markup business.

Quoted: Just go ahead now and print up some standard forms for $5 transfers. Also, have a structural engineer check your floors to see if they can support all the bags of cash you're going to have lying around from the monster mark-ups that FFLs make on every gun sale.

And think about that collection of guns you end up with!!!

Quoted: I'm not sure how to take this.

Take it with all the sarcasm with which it was given.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm not sure how to take this. Take it with all the sarcasm with which it was given.

Well around here, all FFL's charge $25-35 and up for simple transfers.  A couple a week for a little bit of work doesn't seem like a bad way to put a couple of bucks in your pocket.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm not sure how to take this. Take it with all the sarcasm with which it was given. Well around here, all FFL's charge $25-35 and up for simple transfers.  A couple a week for a little bit of work doesn't seem like a bad way to put a couple of bucks in your pocket.

There is a LOT more to it than that... The BATFE looks dimly on the kitchen table FFL.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm not sure how to take this. Take it with all the sarcasm with which it was given. Well around here, all FFL's charge $25-35 and up for simple transfers.  A couple a week for a little bit of work doesn't seem like a bad way to put a couple of bucks in your pocket. There is a LOT more to it than that... The BATFE looks dimly on the kitchen table FFL.

The biggest stick they had in that regard was the zoning restriction imposed by local .gov. Supposedly, in the post Klinton years, that has eased slightly.

ETA - they do frown heavily on the collector getting an FFL to buy himself toys instead of engaging in a business venture.

I've heard the following:

You have to have a room or designated area for the business, or an actual business location.
And....
You have to list all of your own guns on the forms to get started.

Are either of those true?

I just received mine in August. I had the same impression of a huge mystery and lots of difficulty getting one. there wasn't. As was previously mentioned, Zoning is the biggest issue. If you are properly zoned then your half way there. The ATF WILL call your county Zoning authority and will call your sub-division HO Association. The forms are easy to fill out but approval does take some time. I patiently waited for 4 months and finally decided to follow up. It seems the Atlanta Office did there part in about 3 weeks and the application was sent to a field office. There it sat for 3 months until I started making calls. About 2 weeks after calling the field office, an examiner came to my house. She was extremely nice, helful and professional. My guess is they were verifying the security provisions, your general character and demeanor and your level of professionalism.

If you plan to go that route, bone up on the regs and procedures a little. You don't need to be an expert as the ATF examiner will cover these subjects in the interview but she seemed generally impressed with my overall knowledge. Seemed to put her at ease. I do have a gun safe but I also have a whole house security system (ADT). She was completely satisfied with the ADT system and didn't need to see the vault.

I learned some important things in the interview. Most important, you need to keep a personal firearms record. If you operate out of your home you are signing up for essentially a warrentless entry. They can show up anytime unannouced during your stated hours of operation. All weapons in the house must either be on your personal firearms record or your acquisition and disposition log.

DO NO USE YOUR FFL EXPRESSLY TO INCREASE YOUR PERSONAL COLLECTION!


Bomber

thebomber, thanks for the info!

I do have a home office, I don't live in a devolopment (subdivision).

I DON'T like the idea of the "warrantless entry" or listing ALL of my firearms.  I may just abandon this idea because of that!

Getting a FFL is only PART of the equation.

You also will more than likely have to have a sales tax number issued to you by the state so that you can collect and pay sales tax revenue. You will also more than likely have to get a business tax license from the city and/or county in which you have your business. You will also have to fill that out and pay those taxes as well.

I used to have a FFL back in the 80's and into the early 90's. As a one man operation you do have low overhead, but, all the paperwork, etc. has to be done by you. By the time I factored in my time and effort, I was not making any money and it went from fun to drudge. Not being a stocking gun dealer also had its drawbacks. Some wholesalers will not sell to non stocking dealers and some do not give the better prices either. In the end I gave it up. It just wasn't worth it to me compared to just paying a guy $20 and letting him put up with all the hassle and headaches.

There is not near as much money in it as you might think.

Could a small one room structure be built on your propety to be used as a office/store?  So that only that stucture would be subject to searches and only firearms stored there need to be accounted for?