TexasCHLforum.com

OldCannon wrote:

Jumping Frog wrote:Most gunbroker dealers charge 3% for credit card. In those cases, pay via USPS money order.

Interesting fact: In Texas, it is ILLEGAL to charge a higher amount for a product if you use a credit card. This sucks, because it can take a huge chunk of what amounts to a very small profit margin (contrary to popular perception, the gun business isn't a high profit biz). Seller's can avoid this by stating that their prices reflect a "cash sale" price, although that's a grey area. The reality is that sellers "mark up" _all_ their items to adjust for the merchant fees they get hit with, so, technically, you're paying more if you use cash - it's just all buried in the "operating margin" on prices (another reason why these "internet only" sellers can offer firearms at far lower prices).

Actually, offering a cash discount for paying cash is not a gray area. Perfectly legitimate and does not void the agreement with the credit card processors.

On another note... The fees merchants pay can vary greatly depending on the service used and the type of business. We pay just under two percent for swiped transactions and pay an extra quarter percent for manual entry. American excess charges us just over three percent. They are thieves! Discover is even worse and can burn for all I care. We don't take that card!

Yep... Perfectly legal. I have sold firearms on gunbroker and had people pay with two different cards from two different people. The FFL on my end and the other end never asked me how the person paid or how much they paid. They only wanted to know who the person was I was legally transferring my firearm to. The FFL on the receiving end has only the responsibility of doing the proper paperwork on the person having the weapon transferred into their name.

In a different situation, for instance standing at a gun store with a person and trying to buy a weapon in my name and then having the person I am standing with hand them a credit card, the merchant may perceive this as us trying to pull a quick one and refuse to sell. They are not required by law to do this. I get the impression they have a responsibility of refusing a sale if they suspect a straw purchase but there is a lot of room for interpretation here. P.S. don't try this at bullet trap in Plano. They will refuse to sell if you even smell like a straw purchase. They are overly zealous in their interpretation of the rules.