Why Not Ship?

[oso grande]

I've noticed that many sellers insist on a ftf transaction. Seems most Norcal guns stay up north and Socal guns stay in the south.
Why is that? Is it just too much trouble to ship a handgun to a FFL or is there another reason?
I'd like to hear your opinions.

Oso Grande

[BamBam-31]

Reasons why shipping can be a PITA:

--Handgun could be off-list, making it pretty much FTF only.
--It's expensive to to ship. Overnight via FedEx or UPS is over $50, last time I checked.
--It's more expensive to do than a FTF transfer (I've heard anywhere from $45-$100 for a transfer fee on top of DROS). That usually scares off buyers.
--Some FFL's wont accept from an individual, forcing the seller to find a local FFL thru which to ship. Added hassle and expense.
--Buyer can't inspect firearm in person, may disagree w/ online description and pictures. A FTF allows the buyer to inspect the weapon in person, so he/she wont come back a week later and say "Hey, what's this scratch on the slide?!?" and demand a refund or price adjustment.

[Oldnoob]

It's not hard to ship, but hard to receive. Most FFL will charge an arm and a leg for shipping PPT. And we have to ship to a FFL by federal law.

[aplinker]

You can't get paid in cash for a shipped transaction.

Too many unknown quantities.

[CHS]

It's not hard to ship, but hard to receive. Most FFL will charge an arm and a leg for shipping PPT. And we have to ship to a FFL by federal law.

It's not hard to ship OR receive. I don't know where you get this stuff.

Yes, you have to ship to an FFL by federal law, but you don't have to ship using an FFL, which you are implying.

FYI, lawfully you can ship using UPS or FedEX ground, but they won't insure a claim if something happens and they find out it was a handgun that wasn't shipped overnight. This will reduce the cost of shipping.

Shipping a gun really isn't a big deal. I think some people are just lazy. The only real wrinkle in the issue is the roster since as soon as you ship a gun, the roster must apply and the transaction is no longer exempt. I've done PPT's for guys that have actually flown down from NorCal to SoCal to get a particularly rare off-roster gun.

[cineski]

Some receiving FFL's will only receive a gun shipped from an FFL. On top of that, what someone says is a mint condition gun may likely end up not being mint.

[littlejake]

I see a couple of things I take exception to in this thread.

You cannot get paid in cash if you ship? -- well, you can get a USPS money order in advance and that's as good as cash.

And, you must ship to an FFL by federal law? I think that is only true if you cross state lines. The OP's question is limited in scope to within CA.

It's California that makes us use a CA dealer for transfers of handguns.

The main answer to the OP's question involves non-roster, non-C&R handguns -- they can only be PPT'ed at a dealer -- they cannot be shipped from seller to a transfer dealer or from dealer to dealer mainly because in a PPT, the dealer needs the seller to appear in person for the DROS process.

Am I wrong?

[evidens83]

I like to inspect the firearm prior to purchase.

[zinfull]

Except for non roster handguns I do not know why the seller would not ship. It would be up to the buyer to pay all expenses except return postage for miss described items. My FFL only charges me the $35 for transfers of any kind and knows the law so will except from private parties.

jerry

[littlejake]

Except for non roster handguns I do not know why the seller would not ship. It would be up to the buyer to pay all expenses except return postage for miss described items. My FFL only charges me the $35 for transfers of any kind and knows the law so will except from private parties.

jerry

Agreed.

The big dealers (you know who I mean) charge $155 to handle an FFL transfer including DROS fees. It's because they want to sell you something from their stock; and there is no restriction on what they can charge as there is on a PPT.

I assume you mean your dealer will accept shipments from a private party. I know of no law that prevents them from receiving from a common citizen as long as the shipping party provides their CA ID information. It's business policy that puts that limitation in place.

Sounds like you have a good FFL -- they deserve your business.

[Oldnoob]

It's not hard to ship OR receive. I don't know where you get this stuff.

Yes, you have to ship to an FFL by federal law, but you don't have to ship using an FFL, which you are implying.

FYI, lawfully you can ship using UPS or FedEX ground, but they won't insure a claim if something happens and they find out it was a handgun that wasn't shipped overnight. This will reduce the cost of shipping.

Shipping a gun really isn't a big deal. I think some people are just lazy. The only real wrinkle in the issue is the roster since as soon as you ship a gun, the roster must apply and the transaction is no longer exempt. I've done PPT's for guys that have actually flown down from NorCal to SoCal to get a particularly rare off-roster gun.

There is no need to be a jerk. Please read my post again, for I think you misunderstand my post.

I did not imply one need to ship firearm from a FFL. What I mean was a FFL dealer can charge for receiving from a "shipping-private-party-transfer". And just like out of state transfer, it's not limit with our "$25 DROS + $10 dealer fee" cap. Many FFL dealers will charge high transfer fee because they did not profit from the gun sale. And that transfer fee plus shipping cost (which most time goes to buyer cost) will off set the deal.

Which is why many seller will indicate FTF PPT only. Because it's waste of time going through all the shipping + dealer fee price quote and only find out it will add $100 more to the sale.


PS:
You are correct though, there is no LAW for us to have to ship through over night. They are just FexEx and UPS' company policy. You can choose not to follow their policy.

[hybridatsun350]

I just don't like the idea of it. I like being able to see who I'm selling to, and FTF transactions allow the buyer to thoroughly inspect a gun before buying. I would never want to spend the money shipping a firearm and then here from the person that it's not what they wanted for some reason. Also, for the same reasons, I will only buy through FTF transactions.

[oso grande]

I like to inspect the firearm prior to purchase.

I'm asking about shipping...not receiving.
OG

[tonelar]

Mebbe they won't ship 'cause they like the ftf aspect of selling.
Personally, I have reservations about selling to someone through the mail, cause I've been burnt before...

However if a Calgunner has a decent iTrader rating... I'd have ZERO issues with shipping.

[Oldnoob]

I'm asking about shipping...not receiving.
OG

It's just a bit of trouble on both end.

As the seller, you need to ask the receiving FFL if they will receive from private party (there are FFL dealer will not take shipment from private party). If not, you need to find a FFL that will ship for you. And they need to exchange dealer licenses if they never deal before. Unless you wish to pay for the shipping, often time you, as the seller will have to get the price quote and let the buyer know he/she is paying for on top of gun price.

Buyer need to pay for shipping, extra for transfer fee, value of gun, and don't get to see the real gun ahead of time...etc. These all add up the reason why lesser people willing to do shipping-PPT. That's assuming everything when on smoothly.

Instead, do a local face to face PPT. See the gun in person, pay with cash, do the transfer and go on your way.