FFL Not Contacting Buyer

[whidbeycaliber]

I bet you get a phone call if you set their house on fire.

Lol, probably a lot more than a phone call.

 

[Nosferatu]

Lol, probably a lot more than a phone call.

It's going to take a lot more than that to stray me away from the arson resolution.

 

[TTSX]

It's going to take a lot more than that to stray me away from the arson resolution.

It's so hot when you talk like that

 

[bradsteen]

I bet you get a phone call if you set their house on fire.

Well, that escalated quickly.

 

[lucusloc]

Damn near every single proprietor FFL in my town is was closed over the long weekend. Even a few of the larger places took the whole weekend off. For many of them these are the only vacations they get all year. I have two guns that came in last week, and I know I am not getting a hold of them until Wednesday at the earliest, as my FFL will be slammed as soon as they open again tomorrow. It's just the price you pay for getting stuff on sale when the receiver is on holiday.

Honestly I don't think you will have a complaint until they have ghosted you for a week while they are open. If you want stuff faster then that you need to establish contact before shipping, not after. Then you can talk and set expectations. But shipping it to them cold kinda means you are on their time and they will get to it when they get to it. If this is a side hustle for them that might take a while. You wouldn't know because you didn't ask.

Setting their house on fire is not advised. If they are a home based FFL they probably have cameras and can see you coming. They also have guns. I think we can all work out the calculus on that ourselves.

 

[TTSX]

Damn near every single proprietor FFL in my town is was closed over the long weekend. Even a few of the larger places took the whole weekend off. For many of them these are the only vacations they get all year. I have two guns that came in last week, and I know I am not getting a hold of them until Wednesday at the earliest, as my FFL will be slammed as soon as they open again tomorrow. It's just the price you pay for getting stuff on sale when the receiver is on holiday.

Honestly I don't think you will have a complaint until they have ghosted you for a week while they are open. If you want stuff faster then that you need to establish contact before shipping, not after. Then you can talk and set expectations. But shipping it to them cold kinda means you are on their time and they will get to it when they get to it. If this is a side hustle for them that might take a while. You wouldn't know because you didn't ask.

Setting their house on fire is not advised. If they are a home based FFL they probably have cameras and can see you coming. They also have guns. I think we can all work out the calculus on that ourselves.

 

[bradsteen]

Setting their house on fire is not advised. If they are a home based FFL they probably have cameras and can see you coming. They also have guns. I think we can all work out the calculus on that ourselves.

Awwww, come on man. The guys in the black masks get to set things on fire when they're unhappy, why can't we? Seems like a double standard.

 

[Lazyfaire]

I have a quality FFL here in my area that told me that they do not call to tell someone it has arrived. Said they figure the buyer already knows it coming/there. Don't wait. Go and sit on their doorstep.
BTW, who chose this FFL as the receiver of the pistol?

If you get no response I would be on the phone to Guns.com and tell them their 'preferred FFL' is not communicating with a Guns.com customer. Ask what their policy is to deal with this.

I know an FFL in Banks that runs out of his garage and he is a great guy to deal with. Lots of FFLs are individuals. GL

 

[raftman]

That's one of the drawbacks of home FFL's. While they often offer cheaper transfers and can be much closer to home than a brick and mortar store, their hours tend to be much more variable. Many proprietors have day jobs, sometimes they'll go on vacations, have emergencies, get sick, and are generally less able to be available M-F 9-5 or whatever compared to an actual store with set hours, multiple employees, and such.

Regardless of whether it's a home or brick and mortar FFL, before selecting a new one, it's always important to call them first to figure out their workflow and availability. Some are appointment only, some have set hours, some want to know all of the details ahead of time (model of firearm, from whom ordered, etc) ahead of time, some say go ahead and order whatever and we'll deal with it when it arrives. Some will open the package, get everything logged, and then call you when they're ready for you to show up, some won't open it and want you to show up and open it, etc, etc.

 

[WAYNO]

We keep spinning excuses and causes...

Three of the most prolific FFL's on this site, wont respond to emails. And I don't have time to sit on the phone endlessly.

Bottom line, these FFL's miss out on sales. And again, if they have more business than they can handle, and can't expand their services, then that's a wide open door for competition.

 

[lucusloc]

We keep spinning excuses and causes...

Three of the most prolific FFL's on this site, wont respond to emails. And I don't have time to sit on the phone endlessly.

Bottom line, these FFL's miss out on sales. And again, if they have more business than they can handle, and can't expand their services, then that's a wide open door for competition.

Being an FFl is a massive PITA. I have considered it in the past, and still am considering it as a side hustle for my older years. Problem is I cannot square the effort with the reward, as the amount of compliance you need for even the most basic tasks is astounding. Being and FFL is not a gun job, it is a paperwork job where guns are merely the stuff being tracked. Mistakes can cost you not only your business, but also your right to participate in the hobby at all.

There could be a lot more competition in this space, but the cost to get it going is prohibitive for most people. The compliance and scrutiny is just not worth making a hobby-job out of it. I am sure this is by design, but if you get too picky about who you want to do business with in this industry you may just find yourself out of a local supplier with no viable replacement who is not a good drive away. Be thankful for the close FFLs you have, even if they treat the job more casually than you would like. Unless you want to take up the mantle to run it exactly like you would want you may just be stuck with what you have.

And if you want to take this as "making excuses" for poor service from an FFL, go bubblegum at the feds about it. I would prefer getting into the gun business to be as easy as selling your macaroni art out of your garage. Then there could be real competition and service would be the most basic benchmark, not someone's willingness to put up with government BS. But that is not the world we live in, and the "putting up with government BS" is the benchmark for an FFL, before anything else consumer related is even a blip on the radar.

 

[MDDM]

We keep spinning excuses and causes...

Three of the most prolific FFL's on this site, wont respond to emails. And I don't have time to sit on the phone endlessly.

Bottom line, these FFL's miss out on sales. And again, if they have more business than they can handle, and can't expand their services, then that's a wide open door for competition.

Which three are you referring to?

 

[WAYNO]

Who they are doesn't matter.

The point was, the requirements of a FFL are so great, they struggle to keep up.

 

[Nosferatu]

If they are a home based FFL they probably have cameras and can see you coming. They also have guns. I think we can all work out the calculus on that ourselves.

This is why you keep a 'mostly peaceful' protester on retainer.

 

[gmerkt]

But shipping it to them cold

Lessons to be learned. Before I had something as valuable and sensitive as a firearm shipped to an FFL, I'd want to see and talk to them. Establish communication before the shipment occurs. Develop the business relationship. Trying to eliminate the legwork of doing this may turn out not to save time. It's bad enough dealing with sellers at a distance.

From my own viewpoint, home FFL's may be fine for some buyers. I'd prefer to do it through a dealer who has a public retail presence. Even if it may cost more to do the transfer. Look upon that extra cost as a form of insurance.

 

[MDDM]

Who they are doesn't matter.

The point was, the requirements of a FFL are so great, they struggle to keep up.

I can't disagree with your second point, but I'd argue that if customer service is lacking somewhere it should definitely be made known. Personally, I've only ever had a bad experience in Oregon at Hummel, NW Armory, The Gun Room, and Tigard Pawn. Sticking with known entities, such as @LuckySG, @HighLine , and Oregon Rifleworks has provided me with absolutely fantastic customer experiences.

 

[oremike]

Ya gotta love the resident experts that have never done something but know all about it anyway.

 

[Mikej]

I can't disagree with your second point, but I'd argue that if customer service is lacking somewhere it should definitely be made known. Personally, I've only ever had a bad experience in Oregon at Hummel, NW Armory, The Gun Room, and Tigard Pawn. Sticking with known entities, such as @LuckySG, @HighLine , and Oregon Rifleworks has provided me with absolutely fantastic customer experiences.

I've had 3 guns delivered through Tigard Pawn 4 more. And two face to face. I don't see where problems could arise? It was just the way I'd expect it to go? They call you when it comes in. You go down and get it. Where does a problem come in? Whining about the photo copy of DL doesn't count. And the gal insisting on holding your hand for prints is really weird, but that was only once for me, so not a deal breaker. Paying some place $50.00 is what's dumb.

 

[raftman]

Lessons to be learned. Before I had something as valuable and sensitive as a firearm shipped to an FFL, I'd want to see and talk to them. Establish communication before the shipment occurs. Develop the business relationship. Trying to eliminate the legwork of doing this may turn out not to save time. It's bad enough dealing with sellers at a distance.

From my own viewpoint, home FFL's may be fine for some buyers. I'd prefer to do it through a dealer who has a public retail presence. Even if it may cost more to do the transfer. Look upon that extra cost as a form of insurance.

And if not insurance, convenience. I used to work with a home FFL years ago, and he earnestly did try to provide good customer service but was a one-man operation and he just wasn't able to match the convenience of an actual gun shop. Between his day job and life in general, sometimes no one was home at the time the shipper tried to deliver, so that would cause a day or two or three of delay, and once delivery was received, having to schedule an appointment could extend that wait another couple days beyond that. Eventually I decided it was just worth the extra $10 to not worry about that stuff.

 

[iron_road]

Good news, I got a hold of them today and astonishingly enough despite the que size I went right threw within 20 minutes