What's the deal with "buyer pays transfer fees"?

[wired]

Why would that be on the FFL holder doing the transfer. I understand it's nice to say "OK I got my money I'm out of here" but the deal is between the seller and the buyer. Laying it on the FFL holder is a good unethical way of showing that dealer its not in his best interest to continue to do private transfers.

 

[etrain16]

Why would that be on the FFL holder doing the transfer. I understand it's nice to say "OK I got my money I'm out of here" but the deal is between the seller and the buyer. Laying it on the FFL holder is a good unethical way of showing that dealer its not in his best interest to continue to do private transfers.

It's not "laying it on the FFL holder" - that is how they do business - they informed me of their practice, not the other way around. As I noted in my post, this was for one specific FFL, what others do will likely vary. As to why they choose to do it that way, well I guess you'd have to ask them. They are the ones that tell the buyer to pay the seller and tell the seller they can leave - at that point, the gun is in possession of the FFL and they will have to deal with the buyer if the transaction doesn't get completed. Must not be a problem for them or they likely wouldn't do it that way.

 

[wired]

What a stupid business practice. I can't imagine you will find too many other dealers who would replicate that. One or two deals that go south and I'm assuming they'll put the kibosh on it as well.

 

[etrain16]

What a stupid business practice. I can't imagine you will find too many other dealers who would replicate that. One or two deals that go south and I'm assuming they'll put the kibosh on it as well.

Doesn't seem to be hurting them. They explained to me if the deal falls through with the buyer that they will offer to now sell it for them on consignment. I don't know how many times they've had to do that, but I suspect if it were a bad business practice, they wouldn't be doing it. They are a very popular spot for transfers, and seem to be very successful at it.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Well, considering its an additional $25 sellers are most likely already selling at a loss.. Would you really want an additional $25 off your property?

The BGC is total bullbubblegum, to entice people into buying "lightly used" private property sold from one another, most sellers already had to take a small loss on the property they are trying to sell.. Otherwise for that $X value the buyer could just buy new.

Truly it depends on the item being sold, the demand/value of said item and the necessity for the seller to sell said property.

Lastly Ill echo what @bolus said. Its the buyers hoop to jump through.

 

[thorborg]

To use another's phrasing: What is this tax you speak of? We don't pay tax down here.

A rose by any other name, is still a rose.

 

[IronMonster]

Have I mentioned lately how absolutely amazing it is to be treated like an American in free Idaho?

 

[Koda]

Doesn't seem to be hurting them. They explained to me if the deal falls through with the buyer that they will offer to now sell it for them on consignment. I don't know how many times they've had to do that, but I suspect if it were a bad business practice, they wouldn't be doing it. They are a very popular spot for transfers, and seem to be very successful at it.

Correct me if im wrong, but if the buyer fails his check they own the gun they paid nothing for....

Brilliant if you ask me...

 

[Joe13]

Correct me if im wrong, but if the buyer fails his check they own the gun they paid nothing for....

Brilliant if you ask me...

I get paid before we go into the FFL...

If you fail the BGC or get delayed, that's not really my problem

 

[IronMonster]

i almost always get delayed. So I guess I can't buy Joes gun

 

[Koda]

i almost always get delayed. So I guess I can't buy Joes gun

No complaints allowed from Free America

 

[Joe13]

i almost always get delayed. So I guess I can't buy Joes gun

Hey, don't get me wrong, delayed is one thing - denied and I would refund the money for the gun. I'm not out to steal from people.

 

[thorborg]

My thoughts are it is the buyers responsibility. I have likely already reduced the cost by the transfer fee amount already. Some transfers take hours and even days and am not about to wait or return when the buyer should have made a reasonable effort to determine his ability for approval before the purchase.
I am not culpable should a transfer not happen after I walk out the door.
Nonetheless;
I understand crap happens so within equitable terms, am willing to buy back my firearm but since it was of no fault of mine, after withholding any monetary loss incurred on me due to the buy back.
i.e. transfer back fee if that exist, gas, FFL's fee or whatever.
I would like to think any seller would do that for me.

 

[Flopsweat]

What a stupid business practice. I can't imagine you will find too many other dealers who would replicate that. One or two deals that go south and I'm assuming they'll put the kibosh on it as well.

Seems to me they have the buyer over the barrel if they can't pass a BGC. Some folks call this negotiating from a position of power. Unless it's a difficult gun to sell, they'll probably make money on it.

 

[etrain16]

Correct me if im wrong, but if the buyer fails his check they own the gun they paid nothing for....

Brilliant if you ask me...

Perhaps. Again, I'm not sure how they make it work, only what they've explained to me. It does make me wonder how often they actually have an issue in a private sale where the buyer doesn't clear the check.

 

[Joe13]

 

[Koda]

Perhaps. Again, I'm not sure how they make it work, only what they've explained to me. It does make me wonder how often they actually have an issue in a private sale where the buyer doesn't clear the check.

Well there is only 2 situations a denial works out... 1 is a simple delay the other is a felon trying to buy a gun.

If its the delay as long as the shop is honest and ethical with the buyer it should work out depending on how long it takes. I do question the fact they offer to sell it on cosignment for someone going thru the denial loop, that kinda takes advantage of an honest person being worn down by the system to the point he just wants to get out of the deal with the least loss of money...

If the person is a prohibited person they will never pass the BGC and since the gun was lawfully transferred to the shop they own it paid for by the buyer...

I can see why they do it this way, the more complicated the deal the more money they make potentially 100% of the gun...

 

[Alexx1401]

My dealer charges $10 for private party sales.. just sayin..

That is an excellent price. Give him a shout out by name so others who may live in the area can show him how they like that.

 

[Alexx1401]

I asked Tigard Pawn, where I've done a number of private sales since 941, about this. Once they take the gun from me and the buyer pays, my job as seller is done. If the buyer is delayed, they hold it until they clear. If they are denied, they have the option of Tigard Pawn selling it for them on consignment, which will be at a loss to the buyer, obviously. They could try and call the seller to transfer back to them and refund the buyer, but if that happened to me, I would deduct the cost of the return transfer to me from what they paid - I am not going to pay because someone else gets denied.

So, it's on they buyer to know beforehand that they are lawfully allowed to purchase the gun, that they have proper ID and don't know of any reason to be denied. I've had two buyers delayed, one because the idiot's driver's license had the wrong address - a full year after he moved, the other for some other reason. In both cases, I had my money and headed out the door. I've never had to deal with a transaction where I might have to take the gun back - Tigard Pawn takes responsibility for the disposition of the gun once I transfer to them - if the buyer can't pass a BGC, then the loss, whatever that may be, appears to be on them.

Something to keep in mind if you buy privately, through and FFL

I like this way of doing it a LOT. If I sell one I will ask my favorite shop if they would handle it like this.

 

[etrain16]

Well there is only 2 situations a denial works out... 1 is a simple delay the other is a felon trying to buy a gun.

If its the delay as long as the shop is honest and ethical with the buyer it should work out depending on how long it takes. I do question the fact they offer to sell it on cosignment for someone going thru the denial loop, that kinda takes advantage of an honest person being worn down by the system to the point he just wants to get out of the deal with the least loss of money...

If the person is a prohibited person they will never pass the BGC and since the gun was lawfully transferred to the shop they own it paid for by the buyer...

I can see why they do it this way, the more complicated the deal the more money they make potentially 100% of the gun...

I have a tendency to kind of vet my buyers before we ever meet. I take communication very seriously and poor communication is a pretty big red flag to me. I've been left standing at the FFL waiting for someone who never shows before, so I expect good comms before I'll even set up the meeting. Also, I tell the potential buyer exactly what the process will be before we ever meet - full disclosure - if they don't pass the check, it will be up to them to finish the deal with the FFL. No one goes into a deal with me blind to that info. I also make sure they are clear on what ID they need to bring, etc. to help avoid any potential delay. I really don't appreciate people wasting my time, so by the time we get to the FFL, we should have most of details well sorted.

The whole thing is BS anyway since 941 ends up being nothing but a tax on private sales of private property. How each FFL does their business is up to them - if the buyer, or the seller, doesn't like it, they can take their business somewhere else.

But again, I've never had a buyer fail a BGC, delay, yes, but never fail, so I've never had the chance to see TP actually have to follow through to that end.