The Full Transfer Guide
Everything You Should Know Before You Ship
An honest walkthrough of how FFL transfers work, what they cost, what can go wrong, and how to buy online without getting burned. Bookmark this page and send it to anyone in the Tygart Valley thinking about their first online firearm purchase.
01
What An FFL Transfer Actually Is — And Why You Need One
An FFL transfer is the regulated process by which a firearm purchased from one person, dealer or online retailer is legally delivered to a buyer through a Federal Firearms Licensee (an 'FFL'). Federal law — specifically the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the regulations the ATF has issued under it — prohibits the shipment of a firearm directly to an unlicensed individual across state lines, and prohibits the transfer of a firearm between two unlicensed individuals in different states without going through an FFL. In practice that means: if you buy a rifle on GunBroker from a seller in Texas, the rifle cannot ship to your house in Beverly, West Virginia. It has to ship from the Texas seller to a West Virginia FFL — Beverly Supply Company, in this case — who logs it into a federally mandated 'bound book' acquisitions register, holds it in a locked storage area until you arrive, runs you through an ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background check at the counter, and then transfers the firearm into your possession with a logged disposition entry. The $25 we charge for this service covers the labor of receiving and inspecting the firearm, the bound-book entry, the secure storage, the 4473 paperwork, the NICS phone call and the final disposition entry. It is not a 'tax' or a 'fee to the government' — it's the cost of doing the federally mandated paperwork that makes your purchase legal.
02
The Beverly Supply Co. Transfer Workflow, Step By Step
Here is exactly what happens when you ship a firearm to us. Before the firearm leaves the seller, call us at 304.904.7254 or email through our contact page to let us know it's coming, who's shipping it, and roughly when. We'll email a current copy of our FFL directly to the seller (most online retailers and dealers require an FFL from the dealer, not the buyer; private sellers will accept whatever form we send). Common destinations like GunBroker, Palmetto State Armory, Brownells and the major manufacturer-direct stores already have our FFL on file from prior transfers. When the package arrives at our shop on Files Creek Road, we open it the same day, inspect the firearm for shipping damage, verify the serial number against the shipper's invoice, log it into our bound book with a federally compliant acquisition entry, and immediately text or email you. From that point the firearm is in secure locked storage in our back room — not on the sales floor. When you come in to pick it up (any time during business hours, no appointment needed), you'll show a valid West Virginia driver's license or state ID with your current address printed on it, fill out an ATF Form 4473 (the 'firearms transaction record'), and we'll call NICS on your behalf to run the federal background check. Most NICS checks come back 'Proceed' within five to ten minutes; about one in twenty come back 'Delayed' (no fault of yours — it just means a name match needs manual review), in which case we hold the firearm until NICS issues a Proceed within three business days. Once cleared, we log the disposition, hand you the firearm, the original box and any accessories, and you're on your way.
03
Pricing, Add-On Services and What's Not Included
Our standard FFL transfer fee is a flat $25 for any conventional firearm: handgun, rifle, shotgun, pistol-caliber carbine, AR-15, AK pattern or muzzleloader requiring 4473 paperwork. There are no per-firearm upcharges based on price — a $200 used Mosin Nagant and a $4,000 custom 1911 transfer for the same fee. Multi-firearm transfers from the same seller in the same shipment transfer at $25 for the first firearm and $15 for each additional firearm in the same box. NFA-controlled items (suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, AOWs, machine guns) transfer for $35 plus the federal $200 ATF tax stamp, and require a separate ATF Form 4 submission with fingerprints and a passport photo (we handle the full eForm submission for you in the shop, no additional fee). Optional add-ons: zero-and-bore-sight a scope on a transferred rifle for $35; mount and torque a red dot on a new pistol for $30; deep-clean a transferred used firearm for $25; install a Magpul or aftermarket stock for $20. Things our fee does not include: the federal NICS background check is free; we do not charge state tax on transferred firearms (the tax was already paid by the seller); we do not charge a 'storage fee' if you don't pick the firearm up immediately (we'll hold it for up to 30 days at no additional charge, with a $5/day fee beyond that).
04
Picking The Right Online Seller — A Buyer's Field Guide
Most of the transfer headaches we see come from customers who bought from a seller they didn't vet. A few rules of thumb. GunBroker is the largest online firearms marketplace and the most reliable for new and used firearms — feedback ratings work the same way as eBay; never buy from a sub-95% seller, and read the recent negatives before committing. Palmetto State Armory, Primary Arms, Brownells, Optics Planet, Bud's Gun Shop, Sportsman's Guide and the manufacturer-direct shops (Glock, Sig Sauer, Springfield Armory, Daniel Defense, BCM) are all reputable and ship promptly. Avoid Facebook Marketplace, Armslist private sellers without verified feedback, and any seller asking for payment via Zelle, Venmo, Cash App or wire transfer without buyer protection — these are the channels scammers use. For private sales from out-of-state individuals, insist that they pay for shipping via FedEx Adult Signature Required and that they provide a tracking number; private sellers do not have access to USPS firearms shipping (only FFLs do), so a private seller offering to ship USPS is either lying or planning to ship illegally. When in doubt, call us before you buy — we've transferred firearms from hundreds of online sellers over the years and can tell you within thirty seconds whether a seller is legitimate.
05
NFA Transfers — Suppressors, SBRs and the Form 4 Process
NFA-controlled items are firearms or accessories regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 — suppressors (silencers), short-barreled rifles (SBR, any rifle with a barrel under 16 inches), short-barreled shotguns (SBS, any shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches), 'any other weapons' (AOW, including pen guns and certain disguised firearms), machine guns and destructive devices. NFA transfers are slower, more expensive and more paperwork-intensive than standard 4473 transfers, but they're not difficult — they just require patience. The process: you purchase the NFA item from an online seller or our shop, the seller ships it to us, we receive and log it into our bound book just like any other firearm. From there we initiate an ATF Form 4 (Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm) via the ATF's eForms portal. You fill out your personal information at our counter, we capture your fingerprints and passport-style photos in-shop (we have the equipment), and the application is submitted electronically to ATF along with your $200 federal tax stamp payment. ATF approval currently runs 30–90 days for eForms (down from 9–12 months in 2022). When ATF approves the Form 4, we get an email notification, you come back to pick up your NFA item, complete a final 4473 and the item is legally yours. Total cost for a suppressor transfer through us: $35 transfer fee + $200 ATF tax stamp + the cost of the suppressor itself. We handle every step of the paperwork.
06
West Virginia Law, Out-Of-State Buyers and Common Gotchas
West Virginia is a Constitutional Carry state with relatively permissive firearms laws, and most federal NFA items (suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs) are legal for civilian ownership here with proper ATF paperwork. There is no state-level waiting period, no state firearms registration, no 'safe storage' law and no magazine capacity limits. WV residents can purchase handguns from us starting at age 21 (federal minimum) and long guns starting at age 18, with a valid state ID showing current address. Out-of-state buyers can purchase long guns from us directly without an FFL transfer (federal law allows interstate long-gun purchases from a dealer if the sale complies with both states' laws), but cannot purchase a handgun in person — handguns must transfer through an FFL in the buyer's state of residence. Common gotchas we see: shipping address mismatch between the seller's invoice and our FFL (always have the seller use our exact business name and address); incomplete or expired buyer ID (WV driver's license must show current address — if you moved, update it at the DMV before coming in); buyer pays at our counter with a personal check (we accept cash, debit, credit and certified checks but not personal checks on transfers); buyer brings a friend or spouse to fill out the 4473 (a 'straw purchase' is a federal felony — the person whose name is on the 4473 must be the actual buyer of the firearm). When in doubt, call ahead.
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