Procedures for buying guns online

[flak88mm]

I'm bidding on gunbroker.com. What's the california law as far as purchasing guns online from an FFL and non-FFL? What are the procedures the seller must follow selling online to someone that lives in California? I want to make sure my transaction goes smoothly. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[paul0660]

Assuming it is coming from outside California, it always has to go through a FFL. You need a FFL who will do a transfer for you at a reasonable price. Gunbroker has a nice way to search for one based on zip code. You need to pay for the gun, pay the FFL fees, pay the backround check fee, and the sales tax on the gun. If it is a handgun it has to be on the roster. You need to wait ten days to get the gun after the FFL gets it.

[Ford8N]

What I do is send the money plus what ever the shipping will be. Then tell my FFL the sellers contact info. He sends a copy of his FFL to the seller, I pay the $25 DROS and I pick up the gun after the ten days. Simple.

[flak88mm]

Wow Nice. So all I have to do is once I'm ready, pay the seller and give him the local FFL info or vice versa, and at the same time pay the tax and other fees to the local FFL and while the gun is in transit to the local FFL, the background check can be started? \

[xrMike]

Wow Nice. So all I have to do is once I'm ready, pay the seller and give him the local FFL info or vice versa, and at the same time pay the tax and other fees to the local FFL and while the gun is in transit to the local FFL, the background check can be started? \

Nope, doesn't quite work that way.

Here's how it usually goes, assuming you are buying a pistol from an out-of-state dealer...

You order a pistol by phone from the dealer. You give them your credit card info and they process it, then give you an Order Number over the phone. You contact your FFL and tell him to fax his FFL info to that dealer, along with that Order Number they gave you. The dealer then ships the gun to your FFL. The FFL receives it. He calls you. You go over there, inspect the gun, and assuming it's to your satisfaction, accept it. Only THEN do you fill out the paperwork, pay your fees, and your 10 days starts. Also, at this time is when the FFL would have you take the Handgun Safety Certificate (HSC) test if necessary. Then you go home and twiddle your thumbs.

On the 11th day after doing all of that you go back and pick up your gun.

You may or may not have to pay sales tax on the price of the gun, since you bought from an out-of-state dealer. Depends on the FFL. Some will try to collect it and some won't.

[akoba]

^^^
Thank you,I need that info

tag for future ref

[Hopalong]

Probably best to find out in advance what the FFl fees are going to be so there are no surprises.
Sometimes between these fees and shipping fees, your online purchase doesn't seem like such a great deal.

[ldivinag]

sometimes the seller, if they are big enough, would have your FFL already on-file.

that's why this is what i have done in the last xx number of purchases:


1. contact my FFL about buying a XXXX from out of state seller. see if FFL is already on file. if yes, good. if not, FFL will fax his info to seller.


1.5 you gotta make sure that firearm is legal to OWN/PURCHASE into kalif... otherwise, you need to find another firearm.

2. contact seller. if they are business (vs an indivual), they need to be on file with CA DOJ. if they are, GTG. if not... find another seller.

3. pay seller for price of firearm, without tax, unless they do biz with CA and they NEED to charge you tax. also pay for overnight shipping to your FFL. assuming the FFL info is already at the seller.

4. goto FFL. start DROS. pay FFL the DROS and their FEE. they SHOULD NOT charge you with tax. you need to file the tax yourself. this is called a USE TAX in calif. you file this during tax season.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub79b.pdf

5. wait ten 24-hour periods. hope you clear, otherwise you are SOL...

6. after #5, get your new toy from FFL and ENJOY!

[dieselpower]

you should already have an FFL before bidding..so you win the bid, then no FFLs want to do the transfer...now you need to flake out.

I get an FFLs approval before bidding if possible.

[xrMike]

Probably best to find out in advance what the FFl fees are going to be so there are no surprises.
Sometimes between these fees and shipping fees, your online purchase doesn't seem like such a great deal.

All true. Some dealers offer free shipping (like Bud's), so that's something to look for.

Recent FFL fees for me:

FFL: $50
DROS: $25
HSC: $25 (since I bought my last pistol 5+ years ago)

No taxes charged by the out-of-state dealer or the FFL.