Suppressors - School Me!

[Diomed]

A 100.00 C3 transfer isn't unheard of and 50.00-75.00 is common but in reality it shouldn't be any more than a standard transfer.  My local shop only charges 25.00 for any transfer, which is very reasonable.  If your dealer is on the high end, ask them WTF the deal is.  If they do a song & dance and try to avoid the question instead of being honest and saying that they are being greedy, you might want to shop around as that fee just adds to the already high cost of getting into the C3 hobby. 

While I agree that $100 is a common rate and on the high side (there are some who want twice that!), there is a bit more to it than transferring a regular firearm. Fifty bucks is reasonable. Plus there are market considerations - in some areas, like northern Virginia, you just won't find anyone who'll do it for less than a hundred, for a variety of reasons.

Of course, you could try to talk your regular dealer into transferring it for twenty bucks, but you'd probably have to pick up the cost of the stamp to get it to him...

[Outbreak]

Like I said, in the past, and for regular guns, he's simply ordered it from his distributor, at his dealer price, and sold it to me for whatever his markup is, but well below MSRP. No special order fees, no transfer fees, etc.

Is it possible for a Class III FFL to do a similar thing with a can? I figured he would just call Silencerco and order the can, for the dealer price, mark it up a bit before he sells it to me, and then toss it in his safe till the paperwork comes back. Obviously, it doesn't take 4months and $200 to get it from the factory to the dealer, then another 4/$200 to get it to me.

[mattitude]

Dealers do NOT pay a transfer fee on NFA items.  It is a no-fee transaction (Form 3) from a manufacturer to a dealer or a dealer to dealer.  99% of C3 dealers also hold a regular FFL, so their income doesn't solely rely on C3 transfers so those 100.00 transfer fees is nothing more than greed.  Now dealers that do Form 3's know that it doesn't take more than 5 minutes to complete the form, FAX it to the ATF and such which isn't more than doing an entry into a bound book.  C3 is an expensive hobby in itself, but adding in a greedy dealer is pouring salt into the wound.

[Outbreak]

I know I'm posting a lot in this thread, mostly because I'm excited to have the ball rolling.

I talked to the attorney that's drawing up my trust today. I don't trust myself to use Word properly most of the time, so creating my own was a personal no-go. Worth the money to pay someone to do it. It took about 15 minutes, and that included some gun chat because the attorney is also a Class III dealer. Gave me a lot of confidence with both having him do the trust and with the can I'm getting. He's shot the .22 Sparrow, sold it, and gave me the thumbs up on it.

Then I went shooting at the above mentioned Favorite FFL tonight. It was the weekly IPSC shoot, and the shop is technically closed for it, so I told the owner I'd be in tomorrow to talk about a few things, including the can. I mentioned it to him last week, and he had never heard of it. I guess after I left, the guys looked it up, and they gave it the thumbs-up, too!

Damn, I'm excited about this!

[Harm]

Very cool man!  Thats outstanding!

[Outbreak]

Wrote the check tonight, handed it to the FFL. I have the "Paid in full" layaway stub in the safe! He charges straight MSRP, plus tax, for all Class III items. On one hand, he's not charging an exorbitant transfer fee, but he's gotta make money, so he charges retail. Fair by me. He's gonna order it tomorrow, so a couple weeks, and it'll be in the shop. I just got the draft of my Trust from the lawyer, so that should be done with plenty of time to do the Form 4.

ETA: It just occurred to me that it's total BS that I gotta pay Sales Tax AND the NFA Tax. It comes out to almost 53% tax on that can. I guess that means I gotta start buying more expensive cans to drop that percentage a bit, eh?

[mattitude]

Outbreak, you might want to shop around if you are planning on adding a centerfire can to your safe.  Even if your dealer charged 100.00 transfer on a can you could still make out NOT paying MSRP from him.  You could even save enough to cover the cost of the NFA tax...in other words you could pay the equivalant of MSRP but that would include the 200.00 tax and possibly some of your dealer's transfer fee.  Rimfire cans are very inexpensive and it would be hard to save more than 50.00-75.00 off of MSRP but when you get into the centerfire models it's a whole different ball game.  Be sure that you send a notarized copy of your trust and that you include your can on the Schedule A.

[Outbreak]

Revival: I went to my weekly IPSC night tonight, and intended to ask the dealer when my can would arrive. He beat me to it, just in casual conversation between stages: "Hey, your can should be here this week. Just got the call from the guy." He also mentioned that I can shoot it at his range as much as I want even before the stamp comes in and I can take it home! I'm gonna shoot the s___ out of this thing, even though it has to sleep at the shop for a while.

I'm freakin stoked!

I'm not usually a guy who takes a camera to the range, but I definitely will for this one. As soon as he calls me, I'm heading over with the trust, P22 and the Sig 522. I gotta order the Silencerco P22 Adapter, but I might just buy a regular P22 adapter the day-of (even though it's not ideal for this can) to shoot it that day. The 522 just needs the flash suppressor removed. I'll probably do that tomorrow, in nervous anticipation.

I'll start a new thread for the can when it gets here.

[Thernlund]

Sweet!


-T.

[mattitude]

If I read this right...the dealer is going to let you take the can home BEFORE your approved Form 4 comes in?  That is a very slippery slope with the concequences being much more than waiting about 2 months is worth.  Chances are very slim that anyone will ask to see the paperwork for the can, but if that does happen and the paperwork has a name on it other than yours...and they are no where around...I don't think you can explain your way out of that.  Luckily approval times have gotten much quicker.

even before the stamp comes in and I can take it home!

[Thernlund]

He meant that he can use it at the dealers range before the papers come in at which time he will be allowed to take it home.


-T.

[Outbreak]

Yeah, T got it right. The suppressor is living at the store, but the store has a range, and the dealer said since I've already paid for it, I can shoot it. It will never leave the shop until I get the stamp.

[mattitude]

Roger that, I am reading you correctly now.  Enjoy the luxury of being able to play with your NFA toy(s) before you can take possession of them.  I was only able to "demo" my can 1 time when my dealer got it...and that was when I had to sign the Form 4 when we met up.  That made it an even longer 40 days after getting a taste of one of my coolest accessories.  Rimfire cans are the s___ and you will use that more than any other NFA toy you will ever own.

[Outbreak]

I just called the friendly folks at ATF, and they said my Form 4 went pending on June 17th. So it took about a month to go pending, and another month for me to call about it. Luckily work is keeping me busy enough that I'm not dwelling on it. Unluckily, for that same reason, I probably won't actually get to pick it up the day the stamp arrives.

I'm just happy the paperwork didn't get kicked back.