Is it even worth buying a stripped lower online?

[Bukujutsu]

Really, with the transfer fees stores charge in the Bay Area, wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy one in store?

I was planning to buy an Aero Percision lower, which I've heard nothing but good things about (they make lowers for other major companies) for about $69 total:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=229736947

But if it's going to cost me at least $75 for fees AFAIK I may be better off buying one in a store.

Anyone know a place that stocks stripped lowers? Most stores don't list the items they have online and I hate talking on the phone. I know Irvington Arms has Stag lowers and I've emailed them for a price. Think I could convince one of the Bay Area stores to stock up on Aero lowers? They're a great deal.

[gatesbox]

US firearms in Sunnyvale could probably hook you up...if you are not picky about manufacturer most shops that carry ARs probably can get you a stripped lower quick. Sacramento Black Rifle always seems to have a few insane deals, I'm sure you could get a competitively priced lower from them....

[Ripon83]

I bought one in a group buy, and DROS'd another rifle at the same time. That saved me a little ... I guess you could say on both. Others bought 2 or three for the same reason I believe. If I were doing it again i'd wait and buy the whole thing..... Not to hijack your thread but they seem to be getting less expensive or maybe I'm just finding lower priced sellers.

[dvsdev]

For the Bay Area, it would probably be cheaper to buy ONE in store. It might be worth it if you are doing multiple transfers. To my knowledge, there is no FFL up here that gives a price break for receivers only.

[Merc1138]

Really, with the transfer fees stores charge in the Bay Area, wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy one in store?

I was planning to buy an Aero Percision lower, which I've heard nothing but good things about (they make lowers for other major companies) for about $69 total:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=229736947

But if it's going to cost me at least $75 for fees AFAIK I may be better off buying one in a store.

Anyone know a place that stocks stripped lowers? Most stores don't list the items they have online and I hate talking on the phone. I know Irvington Arms has Stag lowers and I've emailed them for a price. Think I could convince one of the Bay Area stores to stock up on Aero lowers? They're a great deal.

Most bay area shops have decent deals on lowers, but I don't think you'll be seeing $70 lowers in-store no matter how nicely you ask(they have a shop to run, compared to a warehouse that ships nationwide). Unless you're buying guns already from a source and just throw a lower into the mix, or buying multiple lowers at a time it's pointless to buy them online.

[bender152]

Cheaper if you buy a few. Eventually, you'll probably end buying more than one anyway.

1 lower = $70 + $75 = $145
3 lowers = $200 + $75 + $10 +$10 = $295 (~$100 per lower)

Some places have sold these lower at 3 for $200.

My FFL charges $75 for the first lower, then $10 per additional.

[Khram]

I did it 1x during the tail end of the Obama gouging. $90 lrb. Made sense taked on to 2x Saigas and one dros. Usually does not make sense. It does happen because people want special lowers sometimes that are hard to find locally.

Some FFL's charge less fees for a stripped lower ship in.

[CHS]

Does the Bay Area just have crap for selection on lowers in stores?

In Orange County I can think of at least 3 shops right off the top of my head that I can walk right into and find a lower in stock to buy for less than $120.

And that's without doing any research at all.

[Merc1138]

No, there's plenty of stores in the bay area to get lowers from in the $130 range(or less sometimes).

People just see lowers online for $60 and wonder why they don't find them in shops for that price and complain how the fees negate any savings.

[jonzer77]

In Sacramento you can get 3 for $199 and they have that sale pretty regularly.

[Turbinator]

It's only natural that the FFL's receiving fees are going to make your mail order non-competitive. They want to sell what's on the shelf, not what's on someone else's shelf.

Turby

[Bukujutsu]

Hey, do FFLs have to pay any fees when they buy lowers to stock?

My idea is that some nice person (with an FFL, of course) could simply accept some cash from me and buy the lower I want lower, then "sell" it to me. Of course, there'd be some extra money paid for their trouble. Is that legal?

Seems that with all the stores I found I'd probably be paying at least $170 total. Screw that, sell me a cheap Aero lower and you can still manage the same profit and we both get a good deal out of it.

[Merc1138]

Hey, do FFLs have to pay any fees when they buy lowers to stock?

My idea is that some nice person (with an FFL, of course) could simply accept some cash from me and buy the lower I want lower, then "sell" it to me. Of course, there'd be some extra money paid for their trouble. Is that legal?

Seems that with all the stores I found I'd probably be paying at least $170 total. Screw that, sell me a cheap Aero lower and you can still manage the same profit and we both get a good deal out of it.

You don't seem to realize that maybe the shops in the area don't buy 500 lowers at a time from aero to get the pricing down to the point you're looking at.

The transfer fee that the FFL charges is their profit. Even if you asked them to buy a lower just for you directly from aero precision, doesn't mean they'd do it for $60. The extra money you'd be providing to make it worth their while would be that $50 and up transfer fee. Like Turbinator said, the shops want to you buy what they have on their shelves, not the stuff online with little to no markup.

You either find a place like Jonzer mentioned that sells 3 for $199(and I think he meant Sacramento Black Rifle), or you wait until you're buying more than 1 thing at a time and put some extra lowers on the same DROS.

[Bukujutsu]

Well, if they bought one from here: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=229921753

would there be any fees involved? I mean, as long as the profit is the same or higher than they'd get from me buying a lower in store it would be worth it, no?

Bay Area dealers, listen up, I refuse to buy your in store stripped lowers so you may as well meet my demands. Come hell or high water I will get what I want.

I really just want one rifle and one handgun. Sacramento is too far from here anyway.

[Merc1138]

Yes, they're going to charge you their standard fees that you don't want to pay. They won't care about one guy demanding pricing they don't feel like offering. Without even telling us what part of the bay area you're in, no one can even make shop recommendations for better pricing(nor have you bothered to tell us what shops have given you any pricing).

The biggest problem here is that you refuse to understand anything about margins, bulk pricing, and how gun shops make their money. They don't make money by getting a whole $5 out of you because you want some $60 lower online. The online resellers also don't have to put up with running na actual shop or operating in CA. If you want to be able to buy lowers for $60 in a shop and get local pickup, then move outside of this state. It's like complaining that gas is $4.20 or more a gallon here when the national average is sitting at $3.80 or so.