Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 I have purchased a number of firearms off the Wire Classified over the years, but they have always been antiques or C&B or front stuffers that could ship direct to me. There have been some fair deals lately so I started looking into FFL fees for transfers into the state. The first I got was $150 per gun. That is just the fee to receive the gun, on top of that are all the normal CA registration fees, DROS and taxes. Looking around at other shops, I have found the transfer fee as low as $75, which is much better than $150, especially when you are looking at a lower cost gun. If you are buying a $2000 rifle, $150 isnt quite so outrageous. But when you are looking at a 100 year old shotgun for $250, paying an additional 60% for transfer fees is kind of out of line, in my humble opinion. That takes a good deal and makes it not such a good deal. So, just wondering, how much do you pay for out of state transfers to your LGS? ... if you dont mind me asking. I'm not against my LGS making money, far from it. Sometimes I think I am covering their mortgage payments all by myself. But excessive fees just seem like gouging to me which is why I am looking for a broader sense of what is the norm. 1 Quote
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 $25 here in Tucson at my LGS. No extra fees, taxes, or whatever. 2 Quote
Cypress Sun Posted January 15 Posted January 15 9 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said: $25 here in Tucson at my LGS. No extra fees, taxes, or whatever. Same in Pinellas Co. Fl. Varies by FFL around here but not by much. 1 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Between Free and $20. Typically $20. There is one guy in my area that apparently doesn't want to do it as he charges $75 last I asked. Haven't called him in years! Only used this guy once, but he had to drive a short distance over to New Hampshire to pick up a pistol I purchased from an LGS. I expected to be charged for that effort. I had to go to his house to do the transfer, $20. 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted January 15 Posted January 15 (edited) There’s one small outfit that will do it for $10, but their schedule is weird and doesn’t work for me. The guy I use most frequently charges his hourly labor rate ($35) per transfer form (4473), which includes up to 4 or 5 firearms per form. Bass Pro here charges $85, not sure if it’s per firearm or per transfer up to a certain number. Either way it’s an asinine price. From my understanding it’s a simple process… receive firearm, catalog it in your inventory, call customer, fill out 4473, catalog it out of your inventory and move on. I spend more time standing there talking to the guy than the paperwork takes. It shouldn’t be an outrageous price. Edited January 15 by Leroy Luck Add more info 1 Quote
Rye Miles #13621 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 (edited) Free at my LGS, I used to work there so they don’t charge me. They do charge $50.00 as well as most of the gun shops around here. Edited January 15 by Rye Miles #13621 1 Quote
Black Angus McPherson Posted January 15 Posted January 15 43 minutes ago, Leroy Luck said: There’s one small outfit that will do it for $10, but their schedule is weird and doesn’t work for me. The guy I use most frequently charges his hourly labor rate ($35) per transfer form (4473), which includes up to 4 or 5 firearms per form. Bass Pro here charges $85, not sure if it’s per firearm or per transfer up to a certain number. Either way it’s an asinine price. From my understanding it’s a simple process… receive firearm, catalog it in your inventory, call customer, fill out 4473, catalog it out of your inventory and move on. I spend more time standing there talking to the guy than the paperwork takes. It shouldn’t be an outrageous price. Wow, I used the Bass Pro in St, Charles (several years ago) and they charged me $25. It was almost free because the clerk forgot about it. I had to remind him that I owed them some money for the transfer. Angus 1 Quote
Leroy Luck Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Just now, Black Angus McPherson said: Wow, I used the Bass Pro in St, Charles (several years ago) and they charged me $25. It was almost free because the clerk forgot about it. I had to remind him that I owed them some money for the transfer. Angus This is going off of one of the associates that works the gun counter… I don’t think he’d been there too long and the answer might’ve been incorrect. I’ve got other options closer, so I wasn’t worried about asking anybody else. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it is that high. Quote
Shotgun-Gibbs Posted January 15 Posted January 15 My local Gun Shop that I use charges me $30,00. I don't mind that at all. I want them to stay in business. 1 Quote
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted January 15 Posted January 15 That's Gawd Ugly Barney. Here in my end of the swamp (Pennsylvania) the going rate is usually $35. No extra fees or charges. 1 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Customarily, we pay $20.00 to 25.00 for the service and $10.00 for the NICS call and form filing.. 1 Quote
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 Well then, looks like we are being gouged. I'd be interested to hear from any pards in Southern California to see if this is just a very regional issue around me or if it is common. Looks like I am going to have to take a ride and visit some gun shops a little further out than I usually go to see what I can find. I know there has to be some level of charge, but $150 for taking delivery of a box seems more than a bit out of line. Some of these same shops only charge a $30 fee for person to person transfers, so it is $120 more for them to take delivery from a shipping company rather than from the original owner? That just doesn't seem right. 1 Quote
Sedalia Dave Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Most shops around here charge $20 to $25 per gun. My preferred FFL charges $10 per transaction. Doesn't matter if I am transferring one gun or ten. He also has a GB account and only charges a 10% commission fee. Most shops charge 20% to 25%. I send him a lot of business. 1 Quote
Eliphalet R. Moderator Posted January 15 Posted January 15 California: $100–$125+ (And Here’s Why) California isn’t just expensive because FFLs feel like it. The state requires dealers to collect sales tax on the purchase price of the firearm (even though you already paid it to the online seller), plus an 11% firearm excise tax that kicked in July 2024, plus DROS fees, plus compliance costs. Discount Gun Mart in San Diego charges a $100 base, and by the time you add state fees and taxes, you’re looking at $150+ total. This isn’t price gouging—it’s California’s regulatory environment in action. https://gunsammoandgear.com/ffl-transfer-fees/ 2 1 Quote
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 (edited) The numbers I am getting is just the fee. On top of that is the DROS, Taxes, and all of the normal fees you pay when you buy a gun. Those fees are state mandated and nothing I can do about those. But the straight fee for just accepting a box from Fed Ex is gouging. here is a screeshot of one of the cheaper LGS, the DROS and all taxes are above and beyond the base fee. Edited January 15 by Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Quote
Jeff, #21334 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 In elko nv they charged $25, but they will charge you sales tax. If you bought it somewhere besides gun broker, if you bought it on gun broker gun broker already charges the sales tax and you just have to show them that and they don't charge you, but that's not them charging you.That's basically the state doing it 2 Quote
Stump Water Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Probably been ten years since I had on transferred. It was $20. 1 Quote
Sheriff Dill Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Anywhere from $25-75 depending on the FFL I chose. If I plan everything correctly and don’t buy guns from January to April the fellow cowboy that’s an FFL is back from his EOT trip and it’s $25 1 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 15 Posted January 15 I never been charged any fee when I've purchased the firearm from the FFL doing the transfer and NICS check. $100 base fee seems pretty exorbitant to me. 1 Quote
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted January 15 Posted January 15 An old shooting friend who is retired and does gunsmithing in a shop out back of his house also does transfers for $20. That includes however many firearms he is doing in the visit, not per firerm. With my Texas Carry Permit he does not have to call NICS, only deal with the paperwork. 2 1 Quote
Sheriff Dill Posted January 15 Posted January 15 We also have a 72 hr hold after the paperwork is filed in VT. 1 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Just now, Sheriff Dill said: We also have a 72 hr hold after the paperwork is filed in VT. That's so we can cool down! Wasn't hot in the first place! Had a week or so waiting for shipment, plenty of time to cool. Besides if we were going to do something nefarious, we'd use something we already own! 1 Quote
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 3 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said: $25 here in Tucson at my LGS. No extra fees, taxes, or whatever. Last two (February and October 2025) were $25.00 and $30.00....two different shops. 1 Quote
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 9 minutes ago, Sheriff Dill said: We also have a 72 hr hold after the paperwork is filed in VT. that beats our 10 day mourning period. 3 Quote
Three Foot Johnson Posted January 15 Posted January 15 There's a small ag co-op here that charges $20 per form, so three guns on the 4473 = $20. If they have four or more, then it's another $20 for the continuation form, which has 26 lines, I think. So $40 gets you 29. If there are multiple handguns, that's another form, another $20. I asked recently how many they had transferred at one time to the same person - twelve AR lowers/$40 total. 1 1 Quote
John Kloehr Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Just paid $25 today in East Tennessee. One firearm. The FFL is a pard on this forum. The seller is another member. Some around here will do it for $20, just easy with the one I used today. Some stores charge a "receiving fee" which is more expensive (I know of one who charges $35, then another $20 for the 4473 and transfer... have a good day sir). Bud's Gun Shop (local) does not charge to receive a Bud's Online purchase but does charge extra for receiving other transfers. 1 Quote
Creeker, SASS #43022 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 We charge $20 for guns 1 to 3. Then $20 again for guns 4 to 6 and so on. The Nevada State required background check is $25 if the purchaser does not have a CCW. That goes to the state - not me. 1 Quote
Michigan Slim Posted January 16 Posted January 16 My last two were $20.00. I gave him $30.00 and told him to raise his fee. I'm going back soon for a box of AR15 lowers I'm ordering. We will see if he charges 20 or 30. 1 Quote
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted January 16 Posted January 16 $20 at the LGS I use in Prescott AZ. 1 Quote
watab kid Posted January 16 Posted January 16 the place i work $0 - my LGS $20 , i have another here that never charged me but he was a client - i designed his building , i also have a friend that charges me $0 and he does my CCW too 1 Quote
sassnetguy50 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 15 hours ago, Leroy Luck said: There’s one small outfit that will do it for $10, but their schedule is weird and doesn’t work for me. The guy I use most frequently charges his hourly labor rate ($35) per transfer form (4473), which includes up to 4 or 5 firearms per form. Bass Pro here charges $85, not sure if it’s per firearm or per transfer up to a certain number. Either way it’s an asinine price. From my understanding it’s a simple process… receive firearm, catalog it in your inventory, call customer, fill out 4473, catalog it out of your inventory and move on. I spend more time standing there talking to the guy than the paperwork takes. It shouldn’t be an outrageous price. From memory, the 4473 went from 5 to 4 lines for firearms in 2016. It lowered from 4 to 3 lines in 2023. There is still an additional form you can use for multiple transfers, 5300.9A Here, $25 is a standard small shop fee and the big retailers charge $50-75. No additional fees to the customer beyond the transfer fee. Most will charge per firearm, some charge per 4473 if all 3 guns are delivered in a week's time. I've not seen a FFL fill out a continuation sheet in years, many have said they were not familiar with it. 1 Quote
sassnetguy50 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 10 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said: We charge $20 for guns 1 to 3. Then $20 again for guns 4 to 6 and so on. ... Are those charges for additional 4473 forms? Quote
Creeker, SASS #43022 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 49 minutes ago, sassnetguy50 said: Are those charges for additional 4473 forms? No. We charge $20 for a FFL transfer, whether 1 gun, 2 guns or 3. IF the transfer includes MORE than 3 guns than it increases $20 on the 4th, 7th, 10th gun, etc. 4473 forms are free from the BATFE. And just making sure we are all on the same page; transfers are NOT firearms that we sell from within the shop. There is no "transfer fee" on a firearm that I'm selling; transfer fees only apply to a gun someone orders off Grabagun, Palmetto, etc. and has shipped to my FFL for paperwork and pickup. The $20 covers my shops time for sending FFL copies to seller(s), receiving and unpacking the shipment(s), verifying and logging the information into our bound book, contacting the customer, handling the paperwork (4473 form, multiple HG form)/ contacting Nevada Hwy. Patrol to do the background check (if the purchaser has no CCW permit; Nevada requires an additional state check {$25.00 to the state} in conjunction with the Federal check), then, upon form completion (if they have CCW) or background check completion; handing the firearm over to the customer and logging the firearm out of our bound book. I estimate every firearm takes about 30 minutes worth of individual clerk time to perform these processes. But, for a small shop, we transfer a fair number of firearms - in the first six days of 2026; we had already FFL transferred 36 firearms. 1 1 Quote
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