I'm trying to find a place on the north shore, MA to transfer in a lower receiver. I've been to 2 places that a regularly did business with and was told $35 and $40.
Who has a reasonable rate up here?
Who has a reasonable rate up here?
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Any dealers on the North Shore with reasonable transfer rates?
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yanici
NES Member
Try these guys. http://www.businessendcustoms.com/ They are a dealer on here, too.
Says $30 on their site. I guess it's better than the alternatives, but still feels like a rip-off.
It's what happens when MA dealers can't sell at a competitive price and everyone transfers firearms from internet sales. It's not rare for me to see firearms I've bought brand new online and transferred for cheaper than identical firearms in used condition at local shops here.
For what it's worth -- 30$ is a pretty good deal in these parts.
For what it's worth -- 30$ is a pretty good deal in these parts.
I've very rarely seen transfers in MA for less than $35-40 nowadays. The only one that I know in MA that is up that way that's $25 is Bob's in Salisbury. I'd still call ahead to make sure it hasn't changed.
-Mike
I guess. But 15 minutes into NH it costs me $10 at a shop that does nowhere near the volume of someplace like 4seasons for example.
But the owner isn't out to rip-off his customers, so I guess that's more along the lines of what the issue in MA really is.
Guess I'll be passing on that Zombie lower I had my eye on...
But the owner isn't out to rip-off his customers, so I guess that's more along the lines of what the issue in MA really is.
Guess I'll be passing on that Zombie lower I had my eye on...
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Did you ask them specifically about the price to do a lower only? Most places will do those for $20 which is typically half. But you need to be specific.
Why not say who that is? Not many shops anywhere charge $10 so I'm sure lots of others would appreciate the tip.
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$30 or $40 isn't a lot of money when you consider that the dealer is taking on liability by doing the transfer, they have to swap paperwork with the shipping dealer and they have to receive the shipment, then they're tying up an employee for 10 or 15 minutes while you're there picking it up.
What additional liability do they incur as opposed to receiving a shipment from a distributor? And if I'm picking it up on a Wednesday at 10:00AM, they should be thankful I am 'tying up' an employee to make a sale.
If those are really the kinds of excuses dealers use; they should consider a new line of work IMO.
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When they receive a shipment from a distributor they are presumably going to sell the goods and make some money. Therefore the potential for loss, theft or breakage is offset by the potential profit. When they take a delivery for your transfer item they aren't going to be making any money. However, if they lose the item I'm guessing that you will want them to pay you. No? Do you think that they might possibly be held liable if you do something stupid with the gun? Should they take that risk on for free too? BTW, if the majority of the firearm sales they make come at 'busy' times what makes you think that all of the transfers are done at slow times.
Why don't you open a shop and do the transfers for free? That way we'll all see how an efficient gun shop makes money.
Oh noes, capitalism!!!! Run!
Fact: Most gun shops are in business to make money. That means they're going
to charge whatever the market is going to bear.
The best ways to not pay too much for a transfer are:
-Always use the cheapest dealer, or...
-Negotiate with the more expensive ones. Tell them you're just moving a lower, and that you'll come in when the shop isn't busy. See if they budge. If you do any other business with the more expensive dealer, they might be willing to budge a bit on the price.
Part of the problem overall is the damned gun laws in MA. Crappy laws mean less gun owners, and consequently, a smaller market, and as a consequence of that, less dealers. Less dealers is less competition, which means there's limited incentive for a given dealer to offer a low transfer rate.
I don't have a list of them offhand, but I bet there are also some gun clubs in MA that have Type 01 FFLs. A lot of times these clubs will do transfers for <$20.
-Mike
flintoid
Banned
Do you own or run a shop? And why are you defending the $40 charge so viciously?
If the dealer isn't making anything (and isn't the transfer fee profit??? Please explain) then why would they bother doing it at all?
BTW, a lot of the volume gun shops in MA don't make that much on guns, a lot of cases that profit from selling a new gun is pretty close to what their transfer fee is. I would not be surprised if a lot of shops rationalized a $35-45 fee based on the average profit they make off of selling a gun.
-Mike
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That's my point. The fee allows them to cover costs and hopefully make a few dollars. They deserve to make something off of the transfer! They're paying the employee, they're paying the rent and they're taking some risk. In my opinion $30 or $40 isn't unreasonable.
I dont see why you are making excuses for the dealers.
yanici
NES Member
You know you'll need to pay the transfer fee of $X. If the deal dies because the fee is 10 bucks more than you want to pay, then you probably didn't want the item too badly. Jus' sayin'
Best way to see what the going rates are is search MA & other states on Gunbroker and see what they charge for FFL fees. I think you will find most are 20-35 bucks and some charge sales tax on the transfer (other states). Also I'm not sure other states do a local background check like in MA.
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And there's the irony. I don't see why you are upset about the fees.
First let me address your comment regarding the gun shop being liable if you do something stupid. Any lawyer worth his fee is going to chase you and the gun store and the gun manufacturer and the ammo maker and anybody else he can think of. The gun shop will incur legal fees which I'm pretty sure you won't be willing to pay for them. Yes, they have that same liability when selling a gun but again, presumably they are making money on the gun. That's why they probably would like to make some money on your transfer too.
Why don't you compare it to some other business? Have you ever paid a restaurant to cut and plate a cake brought in from the outside? Or to open a bottle of wine you brought in? It isn't cheap.
They have the FFL. They are doing you a service. You're either willing or unwilling to pay what they ask.
I'm just asking you to try and see it from the shop's perspective.
Like I said earlier; I KNOW I can get this service for $10 in NH and because of that I KNOW MA dealers are ripping people off. That's why I make it a point to drive there and complete the transaction whenever possible for this very reason.
Fixxah
NES Member
Are you one of those folks that'll drive 50 miles to save $5.
I'd rather pay $45 at a shop real close to me than spent an hour in traffic.
Support for the Mom&Pop is more important to me anyway.
Best of luck.
I'd rather pay $45 at a shop real close to me than spent an hour in traffic.
Support for the Mom&Pop is more important to me anyway.
Best of luck.
The core of the "issue" is how do you define getting "ripped off?" ![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
$10 is effectively an outlier. I don't know of any shops that go that cheap on a regular basis unless it's like a bulk transfer or a club shop. I know if I had an 01 I wouldn't do it for that cheap, either. No reason to if everyone else is $25+. Maybe I would arrange for a cheaper rate of say $20 for people that would set up an appointment at an off peak time.
-Mike
$10 is effectively an outlier. I don't know of any shops that go that cheap on a regular basis unless it's like a bulk transfer or a club shop. I know if I had an 01 I wouldn't do it for that cheap, either. No reason to if everyone else is $25+. Maybe I would arrange for a cheaper rate of say $20 for people that would set up an appointment at an off peak time.
-Mike
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I don't think anyone can do this with a straight face, mainly because doing a transfer is only serving one purpose, that's pretty much unique to guns.... which is fulfilling a byzantine legal requirement required by the federal government to ship firearms interstate/change ownership.
-Mike
dixidawg
NES Member
Does that NH dealer also do handgun transfers? The ones that are susceptible to Marsha's henchmen suddenly deciding a gun is no longer "safe" and demanding the fine for each one transferred?
dixidawg
NES Member
Exactly.
And the fact that they are not subject to the Ma laws means there is less risk/liability the NH dealers have to bear. That could justify them charging a lower fee ( or Ma dealers charging a higher fee)
And the fact that they are not subject to the Ma laws means there is less risk/liability the NH dealers have to bear. That could justify them charging a lower fee ( or Ma dealers charging a higher fee)
That's great, but a stripped AR lower isn't even a firearm under MA law. Of course, most dealers FA-10 them anyways, even though it is clear it is not required.
The only reason he has to transfer it down here is because BATFE changed the regs a year or two ago on stripped lowers. Stripped lowers, at least on the federal end, are typically transferred with the same criteria as handguns are. Otherwise, I would surmise this thread wouldn't exist and he would have just gone to 10 dollar guy and wouldn't be here complaining.
-Mike
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If this is the $10 NH FFL I am aware of, he's a great guy and I have used him more than once. But you have to relaize he has a full-time job elsewhere and runs his FFL out of what is essentially a shed and it is something he does as a hobby. There's certainly nothing wrong with that and I wish I could do it myself, but because of his situation, his overhead is WAY lower than a storefront and his bills are getting paid anyway. I understand your frustration and agree with you that it stinks that we have to pay $25+ for a stupid piece of paper on a transfer, but that isn't the FFLs fault.
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