Re: Background Check Fee?
Is this about using an FFL for a gun transfer or a simple purchase where you pay for the background check in order to buy the gun $5 true cost which gets inflated by some shops ?
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Just1more
Is this about using an FFL for a gun transfer or a simple purchase where you pay for the background check in order to buy the gun $5 true cost which gets inflated by some shops ?
IMO, from the title and the OP, the thread is about the price of the PICS check, although some are now talking about transfer charges.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
marinville
IMO, from the title and the OP, the thread is about the price of the PICS check, although some are now talking about transfer charges.
I’ve never heard of paying more than actual cost, $5, for the background check or any other store fees for that matter.
Now a fee for a shop to do a transfer from an online order, or from another person is another matter. But something they have on display in their shop for sale, never been to one with additional fees.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MartinBrody
I’ve never heard of paying more than actual cost, $5, for the background check or any other store fees for that matter.
Now a fee for a shop to do a transfer from an online order, or from another person is another matter. But something they have on display in their shop for sale, never been to one with additional fees.
I know several shops in my area that charge a $20 fee even if you buy the gun from them .
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MartinBrody
I’ve never heard of paying more than actual cost, $5, for the background check or any other store fees for that matter.
Now a fee for a shop to do a transfer from an online order, or from another person is another matter. But something they have on display in their shop for sale, never been to one with additional fees.
^^^this^^^
Up charging on an in house purchase is being dishonest IMO. I fully understand the reason for a fee of my a transfer, but the fee should just be part of the purchase price on a gun I buy in the shop.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Now that this has come up I've taken a little more notice...I saw a sign at one vendor at the gun show that the price was all inclusive out the door price.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fritz1255
Don't know where else to ask this question. Some dealers charge for a background check, some don't. How much does it cost them, if anything?
Here is the original post ^^^^
The background check fee is $2.00 per BGC. If the firearm is a taxable firearm (coming out of the dealers stock), there is an additional $3.00 PER FIREARM surcharge you have to pay the PSP. (No idea why, by PA law a dealer has to collect and submit the sales tax to the Dept of Revenue).
I don't have a lot of dealer stock firearms but of those I have (including consignment guns) the PICS fees AND the PA Sales Tax is in the prices I show. So anything I'm selling is an out the door price.
Now that said, I'm pretty small, my income is mainly from the gunsmithing business and the suppressors I sell and I understand that the big shops really can't do the OTD pricing as easy due to large inventories. But, they could build the PICS fees into their prices so they aren't seen as scalping the customer with adding different fees to their OTD prices.
For firearms coming in to the shop to be transferred, I do charge $20 per firearm for a transfer and if transferring more than one gun at the same time I will normally lower the transfer fee per gun to reflect my lower costs to the PSP.
I charge what I do because in most circumstances, the buyer contacts me about their purchase, I then have to contact the seller to arrange for the transfer to me (send them a copy of my FFL, explain why my street address does not show up in the USPS address locator (we don't get door to door mail delivery where I live so our address doesn't show up in the USPS database), then pick it up if it was sent to the PO (gas, wear and tear on the vehicle, time involved), then log it into my books as required by the BATFE, inform the buyer it is in (phone or email), then make sure the buyer fills out the forms correctly (1 or 2 depending on if long arm or handgun), do the background check, log it out of my books (again done the way the BATFE wants it done), file the forms, and then fill out the PSP forms for tracking the PICS and surcharge fees. This is done within my business which has costs associated with it (electricity, phone, heat, etc.) So I don't feel that $20 to $25 is an exorbitant amount to charge for doing a transfer on a firearm that I am not making any profit on. Again, if it is a gun I am making a profit on, I only charge the $5 that I have to pay to the PSP.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Xringshooter
Here is the original post ^^^^
The background check fee is $2.00 per BGC. If the firearm is a taxable firearm (coming out of the dealers stock), there is an additional $3.00 PER FIREARM surcharge you have to pay the PSP. (No idea why, by PA law a dealer has to collect and submit the sales tax to the Dept of Revenue).
I don't have a lot of dealer stock firearms but of those I have (including consignment guns) the PICS fees AND the PA Sales Tax is in the prices I show. So anything I'm selling is an out the door price.
Now that said, I'm pretty small, my income is mainly from the gunsmithing business and the suppressors I sell and I understand that the big shops really can't do the OTD pricing as easy due to large inventories. But, they could build the PICS fees into their prices so they aren't seen as scalping the customer with adding different fees to their OTD prices.
For firearms coming in to the shop to be transferred, I do charge $20 per firearm for a transfer and if transferring more than one gun at the same time I will normally lower the transfer fee per gun to reflect my lower costs to the PSP.
I charge what I do because in most circumstances, the buyer contacts me about their purchase, I then have to contact the seller to arrange for the transfer to me (send them a copy of my FFL, explain why my street address does not show up in the USPS address locator (we don't get door to door mail delivery where I live so our address doesn't show up in the USPS database), then pick it up if it was sent to the PO (gas, wear and tear on the vehicle, time involved), then log it into my books as required by the BATFE, inform the buyer it is in (phone or email), then make sure the buyer fills out the forms correctly (1 or 2 depending on if long arm or handgun), do the background check, log it out of my books (again done the way the BATFE wants it done), file the forms, and then fill out the PSP forms for tracking the PICS and surcharge fees. This is done within my business which has costs associated with it (electricity, phone, heat, etc.) So I don't feel that $20 to $25 is an exorbitant amount to charge for doing a transfer on a firearm that I am not making any profit on. Again, if it is a gun I am making a profit on, I only charge the $5 that I have to pay to the PSP.
And that all sounds fair to me. Which is why I've had guns shipped to you before. ;)
The other shop I frequently deal with I always ask for an otd price on anything I buy, from inventory or ordered. They'll generally figure it out with tax and everything included in the price. His listed prices are always +tax, but no fees. I assume it's built into the listed price already on new guns. Used guns he's fine with haggling and usually just gives me a round number for an out the door price.
This is one of the reasons I prefer to deal with a small shop and not one of the larger ones or a big box place.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
57springer
I know several shops in my area that charge a $20 fee even if you buy the gun from them .
Dishonest assholes IMO. Why not raise their gun prices $20? They are trying to make it seem like $20 is a fee imposed by the state.
Re: Background Check Fee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
marinville
IMO, from the title and the OP, the thread is about the price of the PICS check, although some are now talking about transfer charges.
You’re right- I usually try to focus on the OP but I got sidetracked myself. I’ve never heard of an LGS charging more than the PICS fee for their inventory, so if that’s the case you should evaluate your purchase decisions. But if it were clearly stated, I have no issue with it as long as the final purchase price made sense.
In general, the LGS business model seems ripe for innovation. While I’ve have had mostly positive experiences, I get that many people do not, particularly in more populated areas. From the owners’ perspective, I couldn’t imagine some of the yahoos they get that walk through the doors.