Saint Barb’s Guide to Buying Firearms

Purchasing a firearm online is a relatively straightforward process, that requires a little bit of planning, especially if it’s your first time. The basic steps are:

Step 1

First, find a local FFL (we have a search option at checkout when you’re buying a firearm) that will take care of the background check process and confirm they are willing to process transfers for online purchases (not all FFL’s will do this for various reasons, so it’s best to confirm on their website or by calling them).

Confirming that the FFL will accept the transfer is EXTREMELY important, and often overlooked. If a firearm is shipped to an FFL that will not complete the transfer, you are responsible for any costs associated with either having the firearm shipped to a different FFL, or returned to us for a 20% restocking fee.

Step 2

Purchase your firearm, and we ship it to the FFL

The ATF’s rules for firearms transfers require that we receive a copy of the FFL’s license. We have a large number of licenses already on file, for FFL’s that we’ve successfully completed transfers with, and if we don’t have a copy of the license then we’ll reach out to the FFL on your behalf.

If we are unable to contact the FFL you’ll receive an email from us asking that you contact the FFL and have them send their license to [email protected], or choose a new FFL. We ask that you make contact as we generally find that if an FFL is not responding to our repeated attempts to obtain their license it’s because either they’re refusing to accept the transfer, or the transfer won’t go smoothly for any number of reasons.

Either way, we want to make sure our customers are happy with the FFL they’ve chosen and have spoken to them about the upcoming shipment.

Step 3

Once your firearm arrives, visit the FFL to complete any required paperwork and pay the transfer fee.

Also, carefully inspect your firearm, making sure it’s the correct product and that the serial number matches the paperwork you’re completing. Once the transfer is completed you CANNOT return the firearm. More information on returns is here.

You can then either take your firearm home, or;

Step 3.1

For states with a waiting period, wait until you’re given the all clear from the FFL, then return to collect your firearm and enjoy happy, and safe, shooting!

If you need to find an FFL you can try searching through https://www.gunbroker.com/ffl/index or https://fflgundealers.net/. Please note we are not affiliated with either site.

Please note that just because an FFL is listed in the search engine does NOT mean they are willing to process transfers for online purchases. It’s important that you confirm that they will process your transfer before purchasing your firearm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if the background check does not pass?

If for some reason there is an issue with the background check then we treat this as a Return. This may mean a 20% restocking fee for items that are open, and to recover the costs of shipping.

We cannot change the name of the purchaser of the firearm once an order is submitted, as this can be considered a straw purchase.

What is your firearm return policy?

More information is available here.

Can I order multiple items and have some go to the FFL, and some to my house?

Our systems are currently not setup to support this, so you will need to place two different orders, otherwise everything will ship to the FFL.