Purchasing Handguns Online?

[blincoln]

Hello again!

I was doing some research on my next purchase (someday), the SIG P238.

Most of the local shops are selling it for between $575 & $625.

I came across an online vendor (I wont mention the site, but it can be found easily via google) that is selling the P238 new for $451.

Two Question:

1 - I thought selling/purchasing weapons online was illegal... Is it not?
2 - If it is legal, whats the catch?

Thanks!

[scottl]

1 - I thought selling/purchasing weapons online was illegal... Is it not?
2 - If it is legal, whats the catch?

If it was illegal how do Bud's,Impact Arms,Gun Broker,and others exsist?

There are no catches.
This pretty much covers any online dealer.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/howtobuy.php

Plus you'll notice this forum has a classified section where one can buy,sell,or trade.

[BigJimP]

The seller has to ship it to a licensed FFL dealer in your area --- and depending on the state you are in - ( like Washington) - you may have to pay sales tax on the purchase price ...as well as transfer fees, etc.

In general - buying production handguns online / I think is a waste of time. Besides - if you don't support your local gun shops - don't expect them to be there for service or anything else down the road.

[aarondhgraham]

How it works is that they ship the firearm to a local gun shop,,,
Or any business with a FFL that you choose and arrange for.

That FFL holder fills out the form 4473,,,
And transfers the gun to your possession.

The one thing that can happen is,,,
You buy the gun from the on-line dealer,,,
Then after your money is theirs the FBI blocks the transfer.

So, you better make sure you can pass whatever background they run on you,,,
Before you spend your money on a gun you can't take possession of.

This is a very rare occurrence as most people are aware if they can own a firearm,,,
But I did witness one gentleman who paid close to a Grand for a handgun,,,
Then wasn't allowed to take possession because of a delay in approval.

I'm not sure how one would handle returning the gun,,,
And how much of your money would be eventually returned,,,
I am sure that there would be shipping charges and a restocking fee.

Just make sure you can own a firearm and all should be good.

Aarond

[Martowski]

I buy just about everything online now; I'm into saving $75 - $150 off local prices.

Just like anything else, do your homework and due diligence and you'll be fine. Gunbroker.com is a great resource that I use quite a bit and the feedback scores and policies of sellers says a lot.

[tjhands]

It's been a long time since I have bought a gun via any other route than online.

As has been said, you BUY the gun online, but the seller has to send it to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who wll then transfer the gun to you. The FFL will charge you a fee for this transfer, of course.....usually between $20 and $40.

[tjhands]

In general - buying production handguns online / I think is a waste of time. Besides - if you don't support your local gun shops - don't expect them to be there for service or anything else down the road.

To some (most) people in a capitalistic society, money is their main motivation and make no apologies for it.

And hey, online gun stores aren't floating on clouds; they're local somewhere. I wouldn't mind paying a buck or two more at a local place if they seemed the least bit interested in having me as a customer, but I'm certainly not going to spend an average of $80 more for a handgun locally, especially when they act like they're doing me a favor by even ringing up the ticket.

[Billy Shears]

I'm certainly not going to spend an average of $80 more for a handgun locally, especially when they act like they're doing me a favor by even ringing up the ticket.

That's a good point. Sometimes. The flip side of that coin is the shop near where I live that has made it a point to learn customers' names. When I walk in I always get 2 or 3 "Hi threedog" greetings from the guys behind the counter, and I am nowhere near as regular a customer as "Norm" from "Cheers". These guys really go out of their way to make the shopping experience pleasurable. In exchange, I don't mind paying more locally. The money goes to supporting people I've gotten to know and like and of course there is always the the added benefit of being able to handle and physically inspect my purchase before opening my wallet rather than buying sight unseen and hoping for the best.

[BigJimP]

Money is always a motivation ....but so is customer service .../ and in my transactions, I want both.... But I'm lucky, I have a couple of local gunstores that are very competitive - and they stock a lot of merchandise as well - on productioin guns / and higher end guns.

Some online gun sales - have a brick and mortar operation somewhere ...and some don't. Some are just on the internet...and may or may not be real.

Sites like gunsamerica or gunbroker ...make no guarantees that you will ever get the gun you sent off a cashiers check for ..../ they do the best they can to cut the fraudulent sellers out of the mix ...but there is a limit to what they can do.

The only on-line purchases on handguns I've ever made - were on special order guns that my local dealer could not get from the mfg - and I was able to locate another dealer, with a real brick and mortar store, that happened to have what I wanted in stock. I didn't save any money on the gun ...it was list priced ...and I had to pay sales tax in my state anyway when I shipped it in / but I got what I wanted ---when the mfg told me it might be 6 months to a year...if I ordered it.

All I'm saying is be careful ...and go into this stuff with your eyes open. If everyone buys off the internet ...don't expect your local gunstores to keep stocking inventory for you to fondle...because they won't.

[Wishoot]

Why not mention the seller? Perhaps someone here has experience buying a gun from them.

I can tell you that with the exception of 2 handguns and one shotgun, every firearm I've owned has been purchased from an online store. I've never had a problem.

[lcpiper]

There is no doubt that you both give excellent examples of both ends of the spectrum. It's a good reason to keep both options on the table. Competition is a good thing.

[GONIF]

On line is the way to go ,no sales tax . Check out CDNN for Sigs and H&K's . If your in a free state transfers should be no more than $20.00 .

[mitchntx]

I use Bud's or Gunbroker as a litmus test. That is probably the bottom dollar most any one would sell it for.

My LGS can usually come to within $75-100 of that price and I'll most likely buy locally. I want to keep a gun range this close to me open and convenient.

In the case of the OP, $125 is another story. But it does beg the question ... why so much cheaper than any one else?

If it seems to good to be true ...

[Martowski]

I would love to support my local shop and do when it makes sense. But here's a good example. Local shop recently wanted $499 for a used Beretta 92fs in very good condition with 1 mag. With tax, that would have put me at $540 OTD. Went on Gunbroker and bought a LN condition Beretta 92fs police model with all factory papers, box, and 3-15 rnd mags for $405. Add in $15 shipping and $20 FFL fee and I'm OTD at $440... which is a $100 savings PLUS two more mags (and plus night sights, which the gun at my local shop didn't have).

I can't justify spending $100 more per gun just to buy local. Plus I use an FFL who does transfers as a small business so I'm helping a fellow gun guy as well. Again, I'm all about helping local shops but I'm also a free market society guy as well who is still buying firearms from another small business in the U.S. and enabling them to continue doing business both locally and online.

[C0untZer0]

I was in the market for a Glock 17L.

I relly couldn't find them in my area but one LGD was selling it for $699.00, plus tax ($48.93), plus $5.00 IL processing fee...

Instead I found a guy in Florida - he has an online store, who will sell me a 17L shipped - for $600. I found a local guy to do the FFL transfer for $20

What a huge savings !

[C0untZer0]

BTW - the LGD who wanted $699.00 for the G17 also charges $50.00 for transfer.

[ClydeFrog]

I use the great site; www.GunsAmerica.com often. They have a lot of free services & I bought 2 handguns from FFL holders/retail shops with the website.

I'd check your local-state laws re: firearms/purchases before you buy anything.
I would also contact both your local FFL holder & the online seller to be very clear on the sale terms(fees, sales tax, contact information, product details, etc).
For one of the GunsAmerica.com purchases, the seller in AL did not have a fax machine or his own #.
The local shop wanted to fax the ATF/FFL license documents to process the handgun sale.
It's little snags like that you may need to deal with. I only deal with FFL holders or retail sales(business owners), no private sellers. Some do it but I have more faith staying with a business that can be checked or have websites/locations/sales history verified before I lay out $400/$500/$600.00.

I avoid Auction Arms & I've had problems using Gunbroker.com(not with sellers, just the website features). GunsAmerica.com is honestly a simple, no games or BS sales website that is worth checking for firearm purchases.
ClydeFrog
ps; If you go into a gun shop or local FFL holder's location and they give you the runaround about firearm websites(like GunsAmerica.com or JGsales.com), just turn around & walk out. They are either posers & nitwits or they want to shill some marked-up BS on you.
Smart gun shops & outdoor stores wheel and deal or offer to match online sale prices.

[C0untZer0]

One thing I'm going to double-check ahead of time next time though - I am going to make sure both parties can send and recieve a digital copy of the FFL.

The guy I'm dealing with locally is asking for a fax number and the guy in Florida does everything electronically (no fax machine). That is a bit of a hassle...

[dajowi]

I was in the market for a PPK/S .22 caliber pistol. It became apparent rather quickly that I wasn't going to find one locally. After a simple search I located Simpson Ltd. Collector's Firearms. They had more of these pistols than anyone else I could find - and I found one, NIB. The process was simple and painless. I wouldn't hesitate purchasing a firearm on-line from a reputable vendor.

[Martowski]

And by purchasing from Simpson Ltd., you're supporting one of my local shops. It's a small privately owned place in Galesburg, IL, about 45 min down the road from me. And it's a smoke filled, dusty gun shop of the old order (even though smoking is technically illegal inside IL businesses... but I don't think they care and some of the guys who work there are police officers anyway). But they have the foremost collection of Lugers in the country and their pieces have been used in photo shoots for some of the large gun mags.

To someone's earlier point, by buying online you may not be supporting your local shop but in many cases you are supporting another small, privately owned gun shop in another person's backyard.

[Carry_24/7]

I buy alot of things online, but guns I never have, and I can't do.

I like to fondle them, take them apart, and really inspect before I buy. My gun-shops never complain. The price is a little higher, but I do bargain them down some.

I do buy ammo and accessories such as mags online though.

[Deja vu]

I bought my Coonan online. They shipped it to my Local FFL. They charge $25.00 for the transfer fee or if you buy at least $50.00 of "stuff" they will do it for free... I bought 3 boxes of ammo

[aarondhgraham]

Like when I bought my CZ's,,,
I looked up the price at buds gun shop,,,
Then I asked him if he could match their selling price.

When he said yes I had him order them in for me,,,
I actually paid a bit more that way because of the sales tax,,,
But I do want to support his business as he's the only pawn shop-gun store in town.

He does understand when I do order from Buds or gunbroker,,,
He looks at the FFL fee as if it were found money.

Most of the time when I order from an outside source,,,
It's not because of price but because his distributor doesn't have the gun I want.

Aarond

[lcpiper]

I think for a lot of folks who don't live near an old school collector's shop, if you are buying an older piece online is the only way to go. But if I were buying a new current production piece I'd go with my local gun shop.

[brickeyee]

1 - I thought selling/purchasing weapons online was illegal... Is it not?

Perfectly legal.

Taking possession is where things get harder and you must use an FFL.