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So, I have all the paperwork filed (local, state, and federal) to become licensed as an 01FFL. (And am now playing the waiting game, which I have on good authority sucks.) I'm planning various ways to make said side business worth bothering engaging in. One that crossed my mind is handling all the leg work for an Internet-based sale/auction of a given arm.

If you wished to sell off a piece and the establishment was going to:

  • Handle all the pictures.
  • Handle the listing.
  • Take care of secured storage until such time as the item sells.
  • Handle the sale (with appropriate reserve price entered and any other caveats).
  • Handle the shipping.
  • Handle all the record keeping.
  • And any communications, incidental issues, problems, hiccups, et al.
What would you consider a reasonable fee for said service? It can be a fixed dollar amount or percentage of the final sale.

Thanks much for any thoughts. :)
 
Depends really. IMO a sliding scale or fixed price is really the only way to do it as it's just as much work to sell a 10/22 online as it is a high end firearm worth 1000's. Fixed price of say $75 for example prices you out of the 10/22 but $75 commission is not enuff imo to sell a high end say Perazzi shotgun worth $2k+
 
I have a gunsmith that sells my high dollar guns on GB. He takes pictures and post them and manages the sale but I keep the gun at home. He charges $35 to ship a gun if I sell it myself. His sale fee is set by the dollar amount of the sale, a percentage.

Being an FFL is feast or famine, you get what you work for and it takes a lot of time and expenses to make money. What caries a man through is the FFL is a business lic that allows discount purchases of things to sell when guns dont. There is a lot of competition and if you want to make money you have to tie your weekends up doing shows, that's where the money is.

Before all the oregon regulations on buying and selling came in you could make a good living with buying and selling. Oregon is working to put FFL out of business, it's a good thing the lic is good out of state.o_O
 
Internet sales, like Gunbroker, should probably go something like this.... 25% commission for an auction, 20% for BIN, FFL handles all of the transaction. Fair is fair. I have sold (and bought) plenty on Gunbroker and it can be a real hassle.
If a brick and mortar gunshop takes in a weapon on consignment then reach a number with owner of the gun for the expected retail price (used or not) and then charge say, 20% commission. However, any price reduction to a potential purchaser comes from the gunshop's side.
Just my $.02 ;)
 
I will preface my post by saying that if you ask me what time it is, I may very well tell you how to build a watch. ;)

Do you have a specific market you're targeting or some type of hook that will generate business? Because I wonder how you distinguish yourself from Gunbroker et al.
It seems that you're offering a valet service for private gun sales, so perhaps that might be a profitable angle to explore.

I've used Gunbroker to sell a few guns in the past and had decent results and the fees seemed reasonable. But I couldn't for the life of me tell you what it actually cost. Armslist seems to have gone downhill. But I say that based on the assorted whacko and con artist users, not so much the site itself.

So, I can't really give you any realistic fee ideas. But I can wish you well as you slog through the molasses of bureaucracy and starting up a business.

P.S. I'll also pray for your clarity and success. :)
 
Maybe relevant, maybe not. A lot of the pawn shops I have gone to, have stated up to 40 or 50 % consignment sale fees on items over a certain dollar value... they also will only give you 40% of the fair market value if you're selling to them instead of consignment. Some of the clothing resale stores here I have seen, have similarly high consignment fee prices as well.
 
Back in the day at Larry's, we charged 20% for consignments, but only 10% if the proceeds from the sale were being applied to another firearm.

E
 
Bottom line is what is your FFL time worth? Guy with a store has to pay a lot of expenses to keep it open so he will want a bigger percentage. Guy working out of his house can charge less but the hassle of store hours at home will weigh heavily on the family.

IP43 may be a short term oportunity for buying and selling but the FFL is going to be a loser in the long run in oregon. The market decides your fate and when the state controls the market you lose.
 

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