Fox needs to be stopped!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by finnbow

A person with an FFL (Federal Firearms License) charges a fee for somebody wanting to use him to facilitate an Internet purchase. The FFL holder may also be required by law to collect sales tax, background check fees, or other transfer-related fees (depending on the state).

A number of gun shops are unwilling or reluctant to do this as it, in effect, creates competition against themselves by allowing folks to shop the Internet for cheap pricing rather than buying retail. OTOH, an entire network of FFL's exists to facilitate such purchases. http://fflgundealers.net/. A few years back, a typically FFL fee for such a purchase was ~$40. I don't know what it is nowadays.

An internet sale, other than black powder or an air gun would require two FFL holders along with a NICS check. It's a pretty secure way to sell firearms, with the vast majority of transactions taking place from wholesalers, and sites like Gunbroker.com or Gunsamerica.com.

Personally, if I decide to sell my Python, Diamondback, original Marlin .410, or a few other collectibles I would use the internet. They will bring a far better price there than they would by selling them through the want ads.

In the good old days, Shotgun News was pretty much the bible for gun brokers, but you still had to work through FFL's. Have you ever seen a copy Finn, they sold everything from a BB gun to a Class III Browning .50. Everything by the book, of course, only a damn fool would take a chance on selling a firearm through the mail, they will put you in jail for that.

I've bought a few mail order guns, the fee was 10% or less, depending on how many favors I'd done for the FFL I was dealing with. But I still had to do the paperwork.

Now if I really want a gun without a paperwork trail, all I have to do is pull some green out of the safe, walk up to the beer joint, and the odds are I'll have something by the end of the day. Especially if I'm willing to pay too much.

Firearms, much like drugs, are highly regulated but easily accessible to anyone who desires them. Unfortunately, the insane aren't regulated until after the fact.

It's always been like that, and I'm not sure that there is any way to change it.

Chas