Private transfer question

[gold cup 26]

I am buying a pistol from a forum member tomorrow. Having never done a

private transfer before, could you suggest the process at the FFL?

Inspection (in the shop, in vehicles?)

Payment (before or after PICS?, in shop, privately?)

[sbmania]

It would seem to me that you would meet the seller in the parking lot of the FFL, inspect the hand gun to make sure it is acceptable to you, pay the seller in full, and then both of you would enter the store to do the transfer. Presumably, you would not be trying to purchase the hand gun if there was any doubt whatsoever of your passing PICS. However, if for any reason you would not pass, I would expect the seller would refund all of your money less the cost of PICS, depending on if he or you paid it.
All of this should be discussed in advance and mutually agreed upon by seller and buyer.
And this assumes you are dealing with a regular member of this forum, or someone otherwise known to you rather than some stranger in a back alley somewhere, who might be more likely to rob you or grab the cash and dash.

[mosseater]

I have done a few of these, but only with family members, so the inspection/money exchange was all done by the time we made it to the dealer for the transfer.

I doubt dealers are fond of being un-witting witnesses to private transactions in their place of business, but you may want to ask the dealer if it's ok to do before going inside to transact the purchase. If you want a qualified opinion on the firearm before you buy, then I would assume the dealer should get a cut for his time and expertise. If the dealer wants to take part in the purchase willingly, without compensation, that's up to him. But, to presume such (and I'm not saying you are) is a leap of presumption I wouldn't take. He might be happy just to have two potential customers in his shop. First axiom of retail: get'em in the store.

I'd go with the model described above. Transaction at pre-determined locale and transfer at dealer. Might not be a bad idea to do the transaction at a public place for both of your safety. Can't be too careful these days. No offense intended to the seller or you, but you really don't know who you're dealing with. (unless you do know the seller, don't know if you said)