transfer fee for Cash Loan in SSF going up...(rant)

[trashman]

...just got back from DROS'ing a gun at Cash Loan Inc. in San Francisco -- I have DROS'd a few guns with these guys and they have been very efficient.

However..today - found out that the transfer fee is going up again...to $80 (had been $55).

The only thing that made this noteworthy (other than the fact that this might finally make it not cost-effective for me to buy the occasional gun from out of state...) is that the guy processing my paperwork more or less ranted the entire time about what a pain it was to process these transfers, about how stupid most people are about the process, and how much customers argue with him about the regulations, residency requirements, HSC, the locks, etc. He kept waiting for me to mess up my DROS form (which I didn't) and was genuinely astonished when there weren't any errors to correct once I finished.

Now - I understand why somebody like Irvington Arms would charge a higher fee (to keep you interested in what's "on the shelf")...but the guy behind the counter today at CLI made me think they won't be doing this for much longer.

Which is too bad -- I guess as an informed consumer I am baffled why the DROS process is so @#$king hard for people who buy guns -- and then as a pro-gunner I am disappointed because the hassle (in the form of cost) just gets passed on to me.

I have always held out hope that technology would make the regulatory absurdity "go away" (i.e., instant background checks) but it seems to just get more difficult or expensive with each passing year.

--Neill

[DRM6000]

i called yesterday or the day before and inquired about the rate and rick told me $55.

[thedrickel]

They are annoying . . . why they won't send out a copy of their FFL without first getting one from the SENDER of the firearm is beyond me. #1 what if the sender/seller is a private party, #2 what does it matter if a private party or other FFL has your license, as long as people only send firearms to addresses on licenses it won't matter.

They wouldn't send their FFL to J&G for me without getting one from them first. I was like dude - it's J&G Sales!! HELLO! Turned out J&G had CLI on file already but their copy was expired, I didn't feel like going back to CLI to explain this so I just moved on. They are real close by to me but I am not interested in doing biz with them.

Also they do the usual annoying stuff . . . like not recognizing a C&R as proof of residency for a handgun DROS. I pointed to the DOJ FAQ I brought with me that says any gov't issued license with an exp. date & your address is good enough (besides a DL) and he said "Yeah, but a C&R is not a license." How could I argue with that kind of logic?

[trashman]

Which is too bad -- I guess as an informed consumer I am baffled why the DROS process is so @#$king hard for people who buy guns -- and then as a pro-gunner I am disappointed because the hassle (in the form of cost) just gets passed on to me.

I should clarify what I meant by this -- namely, "how hard is it for people to bring the correct paperwork in when they buy a gun?" As I wrote this it sounds like *I* think the DROS process is hard

--Neill

[timmy8151]

I've posted this before, but I think Rick is a total a**hole. He is rude and thinks he's some big know-it-all. Dave on the other hand, is friendly and makes the whole process painless.

[chickenfried]

I can't believe I missed this posting the first time around. I got quite the shock when I checked to see if CLI was still $55. I agree about Rick. I wouldn't mind his attitude if he turned out to be right in the end. But so far he's 0/2...
Rick and a $80 transfer fee, I'll go elsewhere.

[Max-the-Silent]

...just got back from DROS'ing a gun at Cash Loan Inc. in San Francisco -- I have DROS'd a few guns with these guys and they have been very efficient.

However..today - found out that the transfer fee is going up again...to $80 (had been $55).

The only thing that made this noteworthy (other than the fact that this might finally make it not cost-effective for me to buy the occasional gun from out of state...) is that the guy processing my paperwork more or less ranted the entire time about what a pain it was to process these transfers, about how stupid most people are about the process, and how much customers argue with him about the regulations, residency requirements, HSC, the locks, etc. He kept waiting for me to mess up my DROS form (which I didn't) and was genuinely astonished when there weren't any errors to correct once I finished.

Now - I understand why somebody like Irvington Arms would charge a higher fee (to keep you interested in what's "on the shelf")...but the guy behind the counter today at CLI made me think they won't be doing this for much longer.

Which is too bad -- I guess as an informed consumer I am baffled why the DROS process is so @#$king hard for people who buy guns -- and then as a pro-gunner I am disappointed because the hassle (in the form of cost) just gets passed on to me.

I have always held out hope that technology would make the regulatory absurdity "go away" (i.e., instant background checks) but it seems to just get more difficult or expensive with each passing year.

--Neill

Cash Loan is the single worst transfer dealer I've ever encountered.

Better to drive one hundred miles and pay $100.00 than do business there for free.

[trashman]

I can't believe I missed this posting the first time around. I got quite the shock when I checked to see if CLI was still $55. I agree about Rick. I wouldn't mind his attitude if he turned out to be right in the end. But so far he's 0/2...
Rick and a $80 transfer fee, I'll go elsewhere.

And so, now do I, even though I might not be saving any money because xfer fees are high now everywhere in the Bay Area.

What's unfortunate is that those of us who are interested in collecting (accumulating may be a better term) older non-Rostered handguns are getting slowly screwed because PPT's, just like out-of-state transfers of Rostered guns, are treated by most Bay Area dealers pretty much as a huge drag on their business - and so they add the junk fees to cover their time.

And to be honest, I can't really blame the dealers but so much; my post-waiting-period *pickup* of two PPT guns yesterday at Sportsmen's Supply took over 30 minutes of one employee's time. They are *meticulous* with the paperwork (good for them) but I was trying to figure out how much it cost the shop to have one employee check, re-check, and triple-check the paperwork before releasing the guns to me.

I totally understand why a shop will 'tax' an out of state transfer from BudsGunShop.com of an item that is "under glass" in the store. It's just too bad that PPT's are slowly getting treated the same way.

--Neill

[chickenfried]

Started a ppt on a long gun at city arms yesterday. They were friendly and polite it took about ten minutes even thanked us for the business. Since I had cash in my pocket from selling the gun I was really tempted to buy a gun from them, almost did. I think many people exaggerate the time and hassle it takes to do a PPT. Without the two of us going in for that PPT chances of us dropping by city arms that day to purchase something were very low. The PPT got two customers with cash to burn into their store.

I agree with your second statement though.

And to be honest, I can't really blame the dealers but so much; my *pickup* of two PPT guns yesterday at Sportsmen's Supply took over 30 minutes of one employee's time. They are *meticulous* with the paperwork (good for them) but I was trying to figure out how much it cost the shop to have one employee check, re-check, and triple-check the paperwork before releasing the guns to me.

I totally understand why a shop will 'tax' an out of state transfer from BudsGunShop.com of an item that is "under glass" in the store.

--Neill

[QuarterBoreGunner]

This is the place on Grand, right? I've never done any business with them.
Guess I'll continue that tradition.

Vlad and Dimitry at City Arms are probably the nicest guys in the gun biz that I've ever dealt with. And that includes me (Hey, I had my a**hole days).

[blisster]

not to derail the thread, but I stopped by City Arms today for the first time ever since i was *sorta* in the area. Great little shop, great guys running the place, chatty and informative, not annoyed and *wiser than thou* like i've exerienced elsewhere (NOT looking at you Dan! ).

+1 for City Arms

[FallingDown]

Yeah, it's the place on Grand.

LOL - last year, one of the staff there told me I should just have a PPK from Alaska sent directly to my home since it was coming from a private party and was C&R eligible. I had to explain California law about handguns coming in from out of state. That should have been the first red flag but I'm kinda slow.

They constantly complain about doing paperwork and when they drag or lag on making things happen, they bitch back at you, when you call to follow up on why things are taking almost 2 weeks to get done.

Customer service is not their forte.