Transfer Fees

[Shootermick]

What are people’s experiences with transfer fees? When you buy a firearm through another dealer and have it sent to your closest or preferred dealer for transfer into your name with a PTA and pick up.
I know the end dealer has to make something out of it, they’re providing a service that you can’t get just anywhere. But what is a fair price, excluding the PTA, which seems to be a flat $15 wherever you go.??

[Sergeant Hartman]

Mate in vic shops charge $25 for transfer plus your pta if bought locally.

Then ad postage if not local, that's dependant on the other shop can be $40 to $100. If the other shop is located interstate they might charge disposal fee. To remove from that states register. These can be paid by the seller.

Finally unless you have good relations from your local shop, if buying from interstate, most melb shops will charge around $100 to transfer...

[Farmerpete]

My lgs has transfer fees listed behind the counter they charge 20 dollarbucks to transfer from another store/private sale but fill in the forms free if you purchase from them.

[No1Mk3]

G'day Shootermick,
The maximum allowable fee is $50 ($25 to receive and $25 to dispense), and most dealers will charge that. If it is a dealer you go to regularly you will usually get a discount, such as one dealer I buy stuff off regularly will process a transaction for $20 and another for $30. Another dealer who is a friend charges a stubbie of Crown Lager. Cheers.

[marksman]

its actually written into the Victorian firearms act that $25 is the most a dealer can charge for a firearm transfer
this is disregarded by a lot of dealers

my gunsmith refuses to charge any of his customers for 5 minutes of work while we have a chat and coffee, he's a top bloke and very good machinist

[No1Mk3]

G'day marksman,
That $25 is a 2 way fee, it is one fee to receive the paperwork and a 2nd fee to dispense, so a total of $50 allowed. many, but not all, will discount that, Cheers.

[Shootermick]

its actually written into the Victorian firearms act that $25 is the most a dealer can charge for a firearm transfer
this is disregarded by a lot of dealers

my gunsmith refuses to charge any of his customers for 5 minutes of work while we have a chat and coffee, he's a top bloke and very good machinist

I thought there was set price. My local shop that shall remain nameless, has on a couple of occasions now charged me $100 for the transfer and $15 for the PTA, that part is fine. But $100? I’ve spent that much there over recent years that they know me when I walk in. I even tried to buy the said gun through them and they couldn’t get one. And the postage is paid to the first shop, on top of the sale price, it was $50, from one side of the state to the other, don’t have a problem with that part either, just reckon the $100 is a bit rich.

[marksman]

G'day marksman,
That $25 is a 2 way fee, it is one fee to receive the paperwork and a 2nd fee to dispense, so a total of $50 allowed. many, but not all, will discount that, Cheers.

l can see how the dealers would be doing this but in reality it is and was never how it was intended and dealers doing it are double dipping, this was only ever meant to be a transaction for when you bought a firearm into the store with whomever you are buying the firearm off and did the transfer,
transfers for firearms bought directly from the store would always be free

when the internet trading started eg... used guns the dealers made up there own costs ect.. and still do, there has never been any change to the act to allow for in interstate transfer so legally they can only charge you once

as l said l pay nudda for transfers because my gunsmith wont charge for a little bit of paper work but other dealers closer to me have tried to charge me up to $200 until l pull out the act that they already know full and well, l even had one who does not have a shop front charge me $90 and l had to take it to the post office and pay to send it, he got aggravated that l did not insure it, the buyer wanted it in a hurry and was paying so would not wait for the weekend

if l were you shooter dont ever go back or maybe just once to let them know you will not be coming back and will be telling everyone

[No1Mk3]

G'day Shootermick,
Just understand that what they charged you was not the Transfer Fee as such, but a total price including the Fee, + handling charges to receive the package from another shop. I agree a $100 is a bit rich, but the Fee + $25 is not unreasonable UNLESS! you are a regular, which you say you are! They should value your return custom and just charge the $50 fee. If you are very regular, OK you're not going to get a stubbie charge like I can from one dealer but $25 and "thanks for your business" is what I should like to see. Do they offer you discounts on ammo or accessories you buy from them? Cheers.

[Shootermick]

G'day Shootermick,
Just understand that what they charged you was not the Transfer Fee as such, but a total price including the Fee, + handling charges to receive the package from another shop. I agree a $100 is a bit rich, but the Fee + $25 is not unreasonable UNLESS! you are a regular, which you say you are! They should value your return custom and just charge the $50 fee. If you are very regular, OK you're not going to get a stubbie charge like I can from one dealer but $25 and "thanks for your business" is what I should like to see. Do they offer you discounts on ammo or accessories you buy from them? Cheers.

I’ve had the odd ammo discount, but not much. I like all the blokes there, but the charges are obviously coming from the owner. He’s not too bad of a bloke, but has a reputation of being a bit tight. I don’t think I’ll say anything to them, but I’ll be sure to let others know,(not on a public forum mind you) if the subject comes up. There’s another similar sized shop in the same town and let’s just say that they’ve just scored another ammo customer.

[MJW380]

2 shops in town, one used to be $50, then went up to $80, so started going to the other shop, and even there I’ve been charged, $50, $60, $65 then back down to $50, it’s a lottery

[MontyShooter]

$100 transfer plus the PTA seems the norm in Vic.
Of course most interstate purchases are coming from a certain dealer up north, so it’s somewhat of a deterrent tax.