Frustration with Silencer Shop...

[alamo5000]

I am posting this up pretty much out of frustration. I am just saying for the record unless something changes or I get a real legitimate reason for their bullshit I will not buy another product from Silencer Shop, not because of the products, but because of them and the way they are trying to force people to do things now. For some reason they are changing their business model. Maybe someone can shed some light on the subject for me before I lose confidence in them.

I personally have been considering buying a couple of other suppressors (I don't even have the one yet) but I've already been setting money aside for the other purchases. Some of that is because I already have the guns for them and others are because I am getting closer to making a decision on a new build. Long story short if I plan it out and mind my finances (barring that I get a pay raise) I could buy new stuff every 3 or 4 months. Realistically I have at least 3 more suppressors that are on the short list with a potential 4th candidate. I can't go crazy but it's doable over the next year or less.

That said I am pretty displeased with their new system they have in place (going forward on new purchases). Any silencer sold now will be form 3'd to your local guy first... and then they will do the form 4 afterwards. You have no choice in the matter anymore. I bought from them the first time precisely because they skipped the Form 3. I have heard the bullshit stories that 'form 3 only takes 2 weeks' stuff before. I don't like it at all, especially since I am more than willing to drive to Austin to get my silencer if need be.

Long story short, the whole plan pretty much sucks as far as I'm concerned and I really don't care what the reason is for doing it. I've sent them at least a dozen people that have already made purchases over the last few months, but no more. Those other folks saw me doing it, started asking questions, they've always wanted a suppressor, so basically I passed along information that I've learned (largely) from WEVO about how owning a silencer isn't impossible and next thing you know....

If I want to drive to Austin to get my silencer (a 2 hour trip) to avoid an additional 2 or 3 month wait, I will take the drive every time.

I don't know everything there is to know about silencers but if this crap keeps up I will find alternative buying methods from people willing to do business directly with me. If need be I will find people that have stuff that meets my needs in stock and buy them there.

My whole thing is if they have a vault full of silencers sitting in Austin and I am willing to pay and drive over there in person to get it, what's the problem? I want to know what in $%# is wrong with me being able to do that? But now for anything new, it's no longer an option. Every single purchase is now forced to have a form 3 attached to it when in my view this is completely unnecessary.

We have one of the biggest companies/dealers in the US right up the street and now they are taking to messing with people. It's very much not cool.

Sorry about the rant, but this has been bugging the crap out of me lately.

[Dstrbdmedic167]

Long and short... They've decided to become a distributor for other sellers. I've been seeing them talk about it for some time. I also think it also came about after some pressure from the ATF due to the sheer volume they were moving.

You are not the only one that is upset with the move and while a Pain for you, business wise for them I think it made the most sense. Not that I agree just stating things from the outside looking in. I'd be just as mad as you are.

Best way to avoid a form 3 is to find a dealer closer that is and will stock what you want. Having said that how long did you wait before your can was back in stock? I believe it was about the same amount of time or longer than a form 3 takes. They're not at bad as they seem....

[UWone77]

No suppressor is worth a 2-3 hour drive each way. Unless you have no other option, I'd just find a local stocking dealer and do business with them.

[alamo5000]

It was about a 3 month wait if I recall.

And to be honest if there is some regulatory reason for it then that's one thing. But overall, hell no.

The thing is for Texas residents it's actually a bit more expensive to deal with Silencer Shop... Texas sales tax etc etc... so if you buy it online and ship it in you avoid sales tax but have to have a form 3 and an FFL fee. Based on a local FFL that can do NFA transfers vs silencer shop's prices etc etc... I will be roughly 10% better off buying online and having it shipped in. If I am going to wait on a form 3 I am certainly not going to pay extra to do it. And then on top of that I can go to those guys and be at their office in about 20-25 minutes after I get off work vs 2+ hours each way to drive to Austin.

I will pay a premium to skip the bullshit and that's pretty much what I did the first time around. But in the past month or so or however long it's been they changed their stuff so all those future purchases are now no longer going to be done the same way.

I think you nailed it. I guess I will just go see what they have on the shelves and buy that stuff. I have 3 separate shelf stocked NFA dealers within 30 minutes of my house (that I know of) and there might be more.

I don't know for sure, but the whole thing casts doubt on what I wanted to do. At this point I really don't know. Hopefully I can find what I want on the shelf somewhere within a 200 mile radius of me. I am sure that won't be that big of a problem (I hope).

[alamo5000]

No suppressor is worth a 2-3 hour drive each way. Unless you have no other option, I'd just find a local stocking dealer and do business with them.

In Texas that is pretty common to drive really far for pretty much everything. I drive about 80 miles each way to go watch a baseball game or to go get Korean food or get some decent Chinese food. There isn't much of anything that is close in Texas.

Honestly if I drive to Austin I make it a fun trip regardless of what I am going for because there honestly is a lot of stuff to do over there and I have friends there. Go spend the weekend, get my stuff, go have fun and do other stuff I would be doing anyway.

It's not so much going to Austin for me, but the extra layer of bullshit and wait time is certainly a turn off. If I am going to be waiting at least it should be convenient. Wait for my form 3 (skip the tax) and drive 20 min after work to have visit for my stuff in jail. Hell, the people even have a shooting range on site just in case I want to go shoot my own suppressor while it's in jail.

If I would have form 3'ed the one that I got from out of state it would have been about $60-$70 cheaper to be honest. That said I didn't want to get caught on some bullshit form 3 technicality so I waited.

The whole thing is frustrating to me, not about this one, but about the stuff I am planning to get.

[DutyUse]

Wow thanks for posting Alamo. I'd been planning on using Silencer Shop when i had some $ saved

[alamo5000]

Wow thanks for posting Alamo. I'd been planning on using Silencer Shop when i had some $ saved

If you are not in Texas it won't make any difference to you one way or another. It will be the same as it's always been.

[cjd3]

I used them for my first (still in jail) can, and it took 3 weeks for the form 3 to clear, then they sent in the 4. Back in May, it $70. Now it looks like it's free. For the out of Texas buyers, especially those from the biggest state, it's a great deal. Nice folks too.

[Farva]

Correct me if im wrong, but in Texas cant you have the suppressor shipped to your door step? I could be mistaken on this fact, but being that Im from Oklahoma I have always envied such a thing if its true.

[Former11B]

No suppressor is worth a 2-3 hour drive each way. Unless you have no other option, I'd just find a local stocking dealer and do business with them.

PSA is really the only local NFA dealer for me and their prices are a good $150+ higher on everything. I'm not buying an $800 5.56 Spec War when people are buying them on F3s for $399 and getting them shipped. Also, the closest Class 3 dealer I'll transfer stuff to is about 90 minutes one way, because their transfer fee is fair...$50 (but the guy who sold me my Recce 5 took that amount off the the total) because PSA charges a $200 NFA fee if you Form 3 something to them.

There are only a handful of NFA dealers in SC and they kinda control the price/inventory model so unless you want an overpriced Surefire, SiCo, or AAC can, there's really no option BUT to drive in my area.

Now that SS is going to be shipping cans only, they're going to be overwhelming the ATF with F3s...I bet the wait time on those will triple. I just had a Form 3 go through last month in 3 weeks. Not horrible, especially when the overall wait will still be <5 months.

[alamo5000]

Correct me if im wrong, but in Texas cant you have the suppressor shipped to your door step? I could be mistaken on this fact, but being that Im from Oklahoma I have always envied such a thing if its true.

You can, but it adds a couple of weeks and they have to send notification to the chief LEO in your area first, and I assume after a week or two (I assume if he doesn't object) they can mail them to you directly. I've never done it but it is true. How it works exactly I don't know.

Technically I think you are correct... so I really wouldn't have to drive to Austin if I didn't want to.

[alamo5000]

PSA is really the only local NFA dealer for me and their prices are a good $150+ higher on everything. I'm not buying an $800 5.56 Spec War when people are buying them on F3s for $399 and getting them shipped. Also, the closest Class 3 dealer I'll transfer stuff to is about 90 minutes one way, because their transfer fee is fair...$50 (but the guy who sold me my Recce 5 took that amount off the the total) because PSA charges a $200 NFA fee if you Form 3 something to them.

There are only a handful of NFA dealers in SC and they kinda control the price/inventory model so unless you want an overpriced Surefire, SiCo, or AAC can, there's really no option BUT to drive in my area.

Now that SS is going to be shipping cans only, they're going to be overwhelming the ATF with F3s...I bet the wait time on those will triple. I just had a Form 3 go through last month in 3 weeks. Not horrible, especially when the overall wait will still be <5 months.

If it only adds a week then fine, so be it. I want to say for the record that I am HOPING (Really I am) that I am wrong about all this stuff. I don't want to be throwing anyone under the bus but I don't really like what I see from SS.

Like I said earlier though, I have at least 3 NFA dealers within 30 minutes of me. At least two of those maintain stock, of what exactly, I don't know. The one place is notorious for being over priced on absolutely everything though.

All that said (at least around me) there are several options that could be very reasonable. If I want something special though that isn't in stock though I would still be left doing a form 3.

[Cotton68spc]

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[Vel]

As Alamo knows, I've been dealing with an equally inconvenient transaction with Silencershop as of late. I'll share my story to at least give people an insight to form their own opinions. I've never been one to bash a company or wish them ill fate but sometimes people need to know the details. I'm from Ohio first off so the form 3 was a given, figured a couple weeks at most and 3-4 month wait til I had the Saker in hand.

4/20/15 I purchased a Saker 7.62 through their direct program, which is no longer in use therefore I can't request my fee be refunded (how convenient). Bought the trust, tax stamp fee and suppressor through them so everything was in line, within 30 minutes I had my trust and local dealer picked out. 4/20 the form 3 was submitted and the next day I had my trust filled out, notarized and sent back in.

6/12/15 I send an email to see if there was any update as I would have thought I'd receive one by now from the form 3 approval and form 4 sent in along with the check being cashed. Response I got back was minimal at best, "No update yet when you're from 3 approves we will notify you and send you an email. Kind regards, Jarrott" Now read that a couple times and I'm not one to be a grammar nazi but c'mon, do they have a 1st grader as an intern replying to emails??

7/28/15 Quick update to let me know that the Saker is being shipped to my local dealer. Call them and this is the first they were aware of the transfer, 3 months AFTER the initial purchase. Track the package and it arrives as planned. Cool, couple stumbles but no big deal, should be a couple more weeks until I have my stamp and suppressor.

8/24/15 Get an email update saying the check was cashed and the application was received by the ATF. Well WTF, you mean it took 4 months for a form 3 to come back?? Here's the email I sent and the reply I got back.

"I guess being this is my first NFA purchase I don't completely understand the timeline well enough yet. So my Form 3 approval took roughly 4 months, the Form 4 that was dated 4/21 was submitted I'm guessing around 8/17, then the check cashed 8/24 and now I have to wait 3-4 more months to get the approval on that and my tax stamp?"

"Good Afternoon,

You are correct on the timeline. For this order.

Your original form 3 was lost and had to be resubmitted to the ATF. We should have communicated this to you sooner. I’m sorry for the lack of an update. If you do decide to order from us in the future your form 3 wait time should not take that long.

Thanks,
Chase Smith"

That's it, nothing about refunding my $70 direct fee that they charge, just a dry we f'd up and have a nice day email. Now I can't say they lost it in house or it was lost en-route but when I pay your extra fee for you to do all the paperwork, I expect there to be more accountability.

Now will I go to them for my next purchase? I don't know yet. Like I said at the beginning though, I don't wish them ill fate or to go out of business or anything like that. I think there were miscommunications that shouldn't have happened and unfortunately I got the short end of the stick. With that said, make your own conclusions and choices when buying a suppressor. Would I recommend them as a place to go for a one stop shop, yes. Do I think there are better alternatives be it more initial leg work, yes. Do I understand that you probably want to punch me in the throat for making you read all that, hell yes!

[Slippers]

Did SS lose the form 3 or the ATF?

Also, form 3 times vary. Last summer SS submitted my form 3 in July and it wasn't approved until the very end of October. Not their fault, though.