Consignment

[CSACANNONEER]

I heard of this deal with the firearm being taken from the person who it happened to. He did not want to sue or otherwise cause problems, which I think is wrong. I can not confirm the story, but I believe it to be true. How would you confirm what happened? Unless I told you who the person was and they decided to say what they told me, you can not really confirm it. I am sure that this FFL would not confirm it.

Yes, the money should have been returned. Yes, the customer should have taken action against this place, but people don't always do what they should do.

I have many customers who won't set foot in that place, all for different specific reasons. It is really unclear as to how they are still in business and it is amazing all the stories I have heard, some from multiple sources. One customer of mine said that he would not go in the place if he *won* a firearm from a FNRA event and that place was doing the transfers. A couple other people told me of an event at a local firing range when a customer was being shown how to shoot a derringer in which the FFL's (ex-LAPD) thumb got in the way of the bullet. I would suspect that could be somewhat confirmed by looking at this FFL's thumb.

I will say that it is a local place and it is not Fort Courage Armory. If this place is your favorite place, then I feel sorry for you.

Thanks for your responce. I wasn't sure which side of the grade you were talking about. Actually, FCA is my FFL of choice. I've got to get back in to the other gunstore in Simi, Bullseye, and check it out again. However, I doubt that I will ever step foot into that Simi Valley holster shop, with a poor excuse for a cannon on the front lawn, ever again.

[kemasa]

It is not Bullseye either, I tend to forget about them for some reason. The other place is in Simi Valley.

I just got the reference. I did not know there was a cannon. I find the web page interesting as it claims that they have been in the same location since 1994, but I know that they moved locations and I know it was after 1994. I also heard that the name came from the prior owner, not as claimed.

[CSACANNONEER]

I thought the name came from an owner's dog. Which owner? That's a good question.

[ugimports]

What happens if the buyer does not pick it up? You have not delivered the firearm to them. While you could say that they own it, they have not taken delivery and they do not actually own it yet.

What if the police take the firearm due to some issue (as I mentioned) after the waiting period is over, but before the buyer picks it up? You should be able to refund the money to the buyer as it would not be their fault.

What if it turns out that the firearm is stolen and so the police come and take it so that you can not deliver it to the buyer? Do you want to refund the money to the buyer out of your own pocket? Do you want to tell the buyer to go after the seller? It is much easier to wait to deliver the money until after the firearm is picked up.

I would hold the money until the deal is done, meaning that the firearm is picked up. Until that time, many things can happen. Remember Mr. Murphy.

Good points...btw: Mr Murphy is a jerk.

[kemasa]

According what I was told by those who know the history, the business was named after the woman who owned it at the time, who then sold it and the current owner named the dog after the name of the business. Most likely this was done to explain the name of the business.

I have also heard that the owner of the business claims to own the land, but that a person checked and the owner of the land is not the same as the owner of the business. Just one of the many interesting and amusing statements which appear to not stick to reality. In these examples, it is not that these are serious issues, but it goes to show a mindset which is not positive and which is a warning sign of more serious issues. I have heard of more serious issues, but since I have no proof and due to the statements told to me, I will not mention that in a public forum or even in private messages. I believe the statements to be true, but I can not confirm them. It is all just a warning to be very careful if you choose to do business with that place. Considering there are better choices nearby, I would personally suggest going to a better place, such as Fort Courage Armory. I only do special orders and transfers, which is why I refer people to FCA for other things.

Mr. Murphy might be a jerk, but he was right.

[Capt. Speirs]

I've never heard of a storage or display fee for consignment guns which are returned. If someone tried to charge me for either of those, they would loose my bussiness. Why should someone pay for you to have free stock on your shelves?

It is not free; I have to pay a higher insurance premium to cover your guns in case of loss. I also have to secure your gun every night to help prevent loss. I am not saying I would charge a fee, however, if a person made a habit of consigning guns and then removing them, I would consider it.

[centralgunsandammo]

Hello all. Looking for info on how to handle the issue of consignments. I'm a new dealer in Hawaii and have numerous customers coming in to request placing guns on consignment. As explained by the local ATF agent any one who places a firearm on consignment and later changes their mind thus wanting the firearm back needs to go through what we have as the Permit to Acquire process (via local PD) just as they were purchasing a new firearm. Although our laws are different from California's maybe you could help with some in-store consignment "policy". It seams as most people are charging 10-15% on the sale which seems like a fair amount. My main issue is the consignment "form/contract" as you will. If anyone has a copy they would be willing to share it would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[tenpercentfirearms]

I think I am going to have to re-look at consignment when I get into the new shop and have some space. That means I have to get a second hand dealers license...again.

[kemasa]

The are places which charge more than 15%. I have heard of 20% and I think some places might charge even more. Some firearms might take a long time to sell, so higher rates are reasonable in those cases, at least to some.

[FortCourageArmory]

I take in a large number of consignments. I don't charge a fee to return a consigned firearm other than the mandated DROS fee. I take 20% of the sale price. That seems fair to me. The seller sets the price, BTW. The seller also gets right of refusal if the offered price is less than they are asking (as it always is...). So, the seller is really in the driver's seat to sell the firearm. We try to make sure that the consignments are fairly priced, but some people insist that their used gun should demand new gun prices. These usually sit for a long time.

The other thing is if the seller brings in what we call a "boat anchor" (lets say an old Sears .22 from their youth), we politely tell them that we'd be lucky to get $100 for it and that it will probably sit for 100 years before that one guy comes in looking for it. For those folks, we suggest GunBroker or Auction Arms to get quick $$. Initially, we took in all these boat anchors and they sat f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We try to get smarter as we go along.

[tenpercentfirearms]

I take in a large number of consignments. I don't charge a fee to return a consigned firearm other than the mandated DROS fee. I take 20% of the sale price. That seems fair to me. The seller sets the price, BTW. The seller also gets right of refusal if the offered price is less than they are asking (as it always is...). So, the seller is really in the driver's seat to sell the firearm. We try to make sure that the consignments are fairly priced, but some people insist that their used gun should demand new gun prices. These usually sit for a long time.

The other thing is if the seller brings in what we call a "boat anchor" (lets say an old Sears .22 from their youth), we politely tell them that we'd be lucky to get $100 for it and that it will probably sit for 100 years before that one guy comes in looking for it. For those folks, we suggest GunBroker or Auction Arms to get quick $$. Initially, we took in all these boat anchors and they sat f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We try to get smarter as we go along.

Thanks for the tips.

Does anyone have an e-mail address we can contact people for and get their sample consignment sales policies? I'll trade for any of the policies I have like my OLL Agreement, my new POR cheat sheet, or my Excel Bound Book.

[kemasa]

You can subscribe to the Net-FFL email list and ask if someone will share their information. It is for FFLs only.