Quick question on out of state gun buys

[Jack Burton]

If I were to buy a handgun from a person out of state which would be shipped to an FFL here for me to pick up to whom would I direct the money? Do I send it to Fred in Georgia and he sends the gun, or does the FFL become responsible for paying Fred either before or after I pay him?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Good question. I've never done it, but I would think you'd pay the seller and the FFL is merely the "paper shuffler"...but interested in what the correct answer is...

 

[mrjarrell]

Pay Fred for his gun and maybe even pay the FFL for his time. Don't know of any FFL who's going to insert themselves into the deal like that.

 

[223 Gunner]

Pay Fred, Fred ships gun to your FFL, then you pay your FFL a transfer fee.
When I do this, I send a copy of my DL with payment and FFL info (where the gun is to be shipped).

 

[joejenders]

Sellers are going to expect payment before releasing and shipping the gun to you. They will also require some legal ID for you like your Indiana Drivers License as stated by 223 Gunner in the last post. The seller's FFL will need the ID and license number for your FFL that will be receiving the gun. Your local FFL will expect to be paid by you for receiving the gun. That fee is usually established between the two of you and you will have to pay him before he hands over your purchased gun.

You need some security when making payment for the gun. A credit card works great but many dealers will charge a fee for the credit card transaction. A 3% fee would be normal. You can also choose to use a USPS money order for the purchase, that gets the Federal Government involved for you if something goes wrong and you never receive the gun. If you are buying from an online dealer, definitely check the sellers sale history from the online service like: Guns Internationa, GunBroker.com. etc.

You could also be responsible for the shipping charges. That must be established in advance of you sending any money.

 

[wolfman]

First check with your FFL and see if he will accept a handgun shipped from from a non FFL. Some will, but most want an FFL to FFL transaction, and shipping in this manner will be less expensive, since FFL's can ship USPS, (Fred may want you to foot this cost on his end). Then send Fred the $$ in a format that you can verify that Fred actually received it, and was the person that cashed the payment along with the info his FFL requires, to ship to your FFL. Then wait for your payment to clear and the post office to haul the mail.

 

[HavokCycle]

some FFLs do not desire to do it at all. they'd rather cut a deal and make the sale themselves. so yes, check with your FFL of choice and see what they'll do for you, and how much they want, BEFORE you buy the gun.

payment of the firearm goes to the seller, transfer fee goes to your FFL, as others state.

 

[joejenders]

Wolfman, that is good information to know that an FFL can ship to another FFL via USPS. That method of shipping can save a lot of money, since UPS and Fedex will now only ship via Next Day Air, which raises the cost of the transaction tremendously.

 

[Jack Burton]

Thanks for the answers guys. The situation was that a noted and well respected blogger posted on his site that in an interstate firearm transfer the gun was sold to the FFL in the buyers state, and then the buyer bought it from the FFL.

I knew that wasn't true but I wanted to double-confirm it though you guys just to make sure I didn't embarrass myself correcting him before a national readership.

 

[Mark 1911]

Pay Fred. Fred ships to your FFL holder. You fill out paper with FFL holder and may have to pay your FFL holder a transfer fee. A common example of this type of transaction is when you purchase a gun from a non-FFL holder in another state using the bid process on a website like gunbroker.com.

If Fred is also a non-FFL holder and the transaction involves a handgun, then I believe Fred also has to ship through an FFL holder on his end.

For longguns, Fred can ship himself, but must ship to an FFL holder. I'm a non-FFL holder and have shipped several longguns that I have sold, but always ship them to an FFL holder.

 

[CountryBoy19]

They will also require some legal ID for you like your Indiana Drivers License as stated by 223 Gunner in the last post. The seller's FFL will need the ID and license number for your FFL that will be receiving the gun. Your local FFL will expect to be paid by you for receiving the gun. That fee is usually established between the two of you and you will have to pay him before he hands over your purchased gun.

Not true. #1 the seller doesn't have to ship through an FFL, they can ship straight to your FFL. The seller also does not need any proof of who you are, that if for the receiving FFL to verify. I have done MANY out of state purchases both from individuals and from out of state dealers and I have NEVER been asked to send a copy of my DL or any other photo ID. Anybody that requests said things are going above and beyond what is required. I can understand a person requestiong photo ID for sales that won't involve an FFL, but to do so for a transaction that will involve an FFL (like this one) it is redundant to do so.