How long does it normally take for your FFL to inform you that your firearm has arrived?

[buddy.jenkins]

Do you mind letting me know where you’re going now to get decent service?

Sure most of my gun buying with shipping is thru gunbroker and I currently use adairsville gun and pawn now. $15 fee and I pick it up same day.
I also will use Calhoun gun and pawn if it's available without the need to call and get a copy of ffl sent. Adairsville gun is on gunbroker and have a ffl on file also has it on file for kygun club

 

[cmshoot]

At TruPrep, we receive 12-30 transfers PER DAY, probably because we charge $20 per transferred item.

We will get multiple shipments from various shipping companies per day.

Our policy is to log them in and notify the customer ASAP, which we always do. Of course, “as soon as possible” can vary greatly from day-to-day, depending on the number of employees working, number of customers in the shop, what those customers want, etc.

If I’m covered up at the gun counter, helping customer after customer, I’m not going to walk away from them to check and see what’s in receiving.

The computers that we use to acquire firearms into our bound book are the same computers that we use as cash registers, and to complete 4473’s. We can only use each one for one thing at a time. If I’m using my computer to write up a work order for Armorer or gunsmithing work, or to complete a 4473 to sell a customer a firearm, I can’t acquire guns into the system. One thing at a time.

What works at one FFL does not work at another FFL. At my brother’s shop in SE Ohio, he gets 1/10 the customers walking in that we do, and not 10% of the transfers. I would expect anything that shows up at his shop gets logged in, and the customer notified, in less than 30 minutes from the time it was delivered.

We have a lot of issues with transfers, when we’re receiving that many. Shippers that don’t supply the proper information for us to acquire the item; a copy of their FFL or driver’s license. Now we have to hunt them down so we can acquire the item. Customers that don’t complete our online FFL transfer form, so we don’t know who the firearm is going to/who to contact.

Most of the time, when a customer has complained about a lengthy FFL transfer process, the most common issue is that we can’t get in contact with them. Their phone number and/or email address is incorrect, or the email goes straight to their spam folder. Had a guy complain that we never contacted him. When I checked our records, I found that when we tried to contact him, his phone number was wrong, and the email we sent went to his spam folder. Instead of contacting me (the manager) about the issue, he posted here on ODT. I happened to see the post, and took care of it, but that wasn’t the way to handle the issue. It would have been quicker for him if he had contacted me directly.

 

[BHPSteel]

At TruPrep, we receive 12-30 transfers PER DAY, probably because we charge $20 per transferred item.

We will get multiple shipments from various shipping companies per day.

Our policy is to log them in and notify the customer ASAP, which we always do. Of course, “as soon as possible” can vary greatly from day-to-day, depending on the number of employees working, number of customers in the shop, what those customers want, etc.

If I’m covered up at the gun counter, helping customer after customer, I’m not going to walk away from them to check and see what’s in receiving.

The computers that we use to acquire firearms into our bound book are the same computers that we use as cash registers, and to complete 4473’s. We can only use each one for one thing at a time. If I’m using my computer to write up a work order for Armorer or gunsmithing work, or to complete a 4473 to sell a customer a firearm, I can’t acquire guns into the system. One thing at a time.

What works at one FFL does not work at another FFL. At my brother’s shop in SE Ohio, he gets 1/10 the customers walking in that we do, and not 10% of the transfers. I would expect anything that shows up at his shop gets logged in, and the customer notified, in less than 30 minutes from the time it was delivered.

We have a lot of issues with transfers, when we’re receiving that many. Shippers that don’t supply the proper information for us to acquire the item; a copy of their FFL or driver’s license. Now we have to hunt them down so we can acquire the item. Customers that don’t complete our online FFL transfer form, so we don’t know who the firearm is going to/who to contact.

Most of the time, when a customer has complained about a lengthy FFL transfer process, the most common issue is that we can’t get in contact with them. Their phone number and/or email address is incorrect, or the email goes straight to their spam folder. Had a guy complain that we never contacted him. When I checked our records, I found that when we tried to contact him, his phone number was wrong, and the email we sent went to his spam folder. Instead of contacting me (the manager) about the issue, he posted here on ODT. I happened to see the post, and took care of it, but that wasn’t the way to handle the issue. It would have been quicker for him if he had contacted me directly.

At the very least, sounds like you'd benefit from a dedicated PC/processing station and maybe a barcode scanner and a really simple tool that lets you associate a shipment with those online FFL transfer forms where they exist.

 

[kimberlover]

If this is old news, then just move along. I am a mushroom and I dine with dinosaurs, so my info might not be hot off the press. Otherwise, enjoy.

MSN

He runs my range I am a member at. Charges members 10 dollars for a transfer. So 400 dollars a year plus 10 dollars each transfer and he is less than 10 miles away.

well then, you are member of the range and a cheap $10 transfer fee and close to you. Best just to realize they take 5 days or so to process it and move on just as many of us have had to realize when dealing with, say PSA.

 

[cmshoot]

At the very least, sounds like you'd benefit from a dedicated PC/processing station and maybe a barcode scanner and a really simple tool that lets you associate a shipment with those online FFL transfer forms where they exist.

Bar code scanner would not help. I require that every firearm be removed from the box, and the make/model/serial number be confirmed off of the gun itself.

I’ve seen too many instances of guns not matching the box they’re in. We had an FFL transfer last year where the invoice had one serial number, the box had a different serial number, and the firearm itself had a third, different serial number. If we had used a bar code to acquire it into our bound book, it would have been entered incorrectly. Not only that, we would have entered an actual existing firearm into our book that actually belongs to someone else, somewhere else.

Acquiring firearms into your bound book using a scanner on a box is a good way to get the ATF up your ass even more than they normally are.

The system already associates the firearm with the online form, IF everything is completed correctly on the other end. Folks do not enter guns correctly on a regular basis. For instance, they’ll enter a shotgun as being made by Charles Daly, when in fact the manufacturer is Akbar in Turkey, and the IMPORTER is Charles Daly. Another issue is that they will misspell the make or model, or put an incorrect model, etc.

Automating everything, without human eyes going over every single bit of it with ATF regulations in mind, is one way to lose your FFL.

 

[cmshoot]

Bar code scanner would not help. I require that every firearm be removed from the box, and the make/model/serial number be confirmed off of the gun itself.

I’ve seen too many instances of guns not matching the box they’re in. We had an FFL transfer last year where the invoice had one serial number, the box had a different serial number, and the firearm itself had a third, different serial number. If we had used a bar code to acquire it into our bound book, it would have been entered incorrectly. Not only that, we would have entered an actual existing firearm into our book that actually belongs to someone else, somewhere else.

Acquiring firearms into your bound book using a scanner on a box is a good way to get the ATF up your ass even more than they normally are.

The system already associates the firearm with the online form, IF everything is completed correctly on the other end. Folks do not enter guns correctly on a regular basis. For instance, they’ll enter a shotgun as being made by Charles Daly, when in fact the manufacturer is Akbar in Turkey, and the IMPORTER is Charles Daly. Another issue is that they will misspell the make or model, or put an incorrect model, etc.

Automating everything, without human eyes going over every single bit of it with ATF regulations in mind, is one way to lose your FFL.

So, since scanning won’t work, every firearm that comes in as a transfer usually has to be unboxed TWICE.

There’s the outer shipping box that has to be opened, then the inner factory box that actually contains the firearm.

After the firearm has been entered, it gets boxed back up into both the original boxes it came in, a label with information attached to the outer box, and moved to a secure storage room.

 

[Asbestos]

I don’t mind a little honesty even if it’s embarrassing…

But, until I read a very similar thread on here several years ago, I was one of those guys that called as soon as it showed ‘delivered’. Up until then, I found it odd that they loved me when I just stopped in but hated me when I went to receive an ffl item.

As some fellas in another group i frequent say: sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. That seems to sum up my learning curve.

 

[CTS Tactical]

So, since scanning won’t work, every firearm that comes in as a transfer usually has to be unboxed TWICE.

There’s the outer shipping box that has to be opened, then the inner factory box that actually contains the firearm.

After the firearm has been entered, it gets boxed back up into both the original boxes it came in, a label with information attached to the outer box, and moved to a secure storage room.

So with all that, considering only the ones with all the correct information, what is the average length of time it takes from receipt till the customer is notified?

 

[palmettomoon]

Bar code scanner would not help. I require that every firearm be removed from the box, and the make/model/serial number be confirmed off of the gun itself.

I’ve seen too many instances of guns not matching the box they’re in. We had an FFL transfer last year where the invoice had one serial number, the box had a different serial number, and the firearm itself had a third, different serial number. If we had used a bar code to acquire it into our bound book, it would have been entered incorrectly. Not only that, we would have entered an actual existing firearm into our book that actually belongs to someone else, somewhere else.

Acquiring firearms into your bound book using a scanner on a box is a good way to get the ATF up your ass even more than they normally are.

The system already associates the firearm with the online form, IF everything is completed correctly on the other end. Folks do not enter guns correctly on a regular basis. For instance, they’ll enter a shotgun as being made by Charles Daly, when in fact the manufacturer is Akbar in Turkey, and the IMPORTER is Charles Daly. Another issue is that they will misspell the make or model, or put an incorrect model, etc.

Automating everything, without human eyes going over every single bit of it with ATF regulations in mind, is the surest way to lose your FFL.

FTFY. Excellent post. You really should have two sets of eyes on EVERY document over which ATF has purview. Just to be safe. I always insist on a buyer's good contact info, phone, address and email, which I put onto a heavy paper tag WIRED to the trigger guard of ANY gun I ship so that the shop can call the eager beaver when they get it logged into their bound book. Include a billow sail and a packing list too so the shop KNOWS what's in the package.

 

[BHPSteel]

So, since scanning won’t work, every firearm that comes in as a transfer usually has to be unboxed TWICE.

There’s the outer shipping box that has to be opened, then the inner factory box that actually contains the firearm.

After the firearm has been entered, it gets boxed back up into both the original boxes it came in, a label with information attached to the outer box, and moved to a secure storage room.

Yeah, based on your far greater experience than mine, there's very little that is amenable to automation. Brings to mind a transfer my FFL received for me that easily took him 3 phone calls and about an hour of work to resolve because of the sloppy work of the guns.com partner I'd bought from. He earned his fee for that one, to be sure.