S&W vs. Dealers

sigmund

New member
I'm still not clear on the details of the S&W agreement with the feds, but it is very clear that gun dealers are not happy.

I heard that S&W will not authorize dealers who sell at gun shows. Is that true? Every dealer I talked to at a gun show last weekend said that they are dropping S&W once they sell any current inventory. One sent back his inventory, and he is a large volume gunshow/mailorder/internet dealer. All said they would only sell used S&W from now on.

More importantly, I was told at a major retailer (that does not do gun shows) that they will not sell new S&W once current inventory is sold. This is due to restrictive policies that S&W wants to impose on retailers. The conversation got off on another topic and I didn't get the details on these restrictions. The retailer is Scheels, which has large stores in 6 midwestern states, and carries a huge inventory of firearms. It is the big frog in the medium to smaller size cities where it has stores. I saw more new guns going out of Scheels on Saturday than going out of the gun show. I'm guessing that S&W is starting to feel some hurt.
 

dZ

New member
c. Where available, carry insurance coverage against liability
for damage to property and for injury to or death of any
person as a result of the sale, lease, or transfer of a firearm
in amounts appropriate to its level of sales, but at a
minimum no less than $1 million for each incident of
damage, injury or death.

d. Make no sales at gun shows unless all sales by any seller at
the gun show are conducted only upon completion of a
background check.

e. Within 24 months of the date of execution of this
Agreement, maintain an inventory tracking plan for the
products of the manufacturer parties to this Agreement that
includes at a minimum the following elements:
(1) Electronic recording of the make, model, caliber or
gauge, and serial number of all firearms that are
acquired no later than one business day after their
acquisition and electronic recording of their disposition
no later than one business day after their disposition.
Monthly backups of these records shall be maintained
in a secure container designed to prevent loss by fire,
theft, or other mishap.
(2) All firearms acquired by not yet disposed of must be
accounted for through an electronic inventory check
prepared once each month and maintained in a secure
location.
(3) For authorized dealers and franchisees, all ATF Form
4473 firearm transaction records shall be retained on
the dealer’s business premises in a secure container
designed to prevent loss by fire, theft, or other mishap.
(4) If an audit of a distributor’s or dealer’s inventory
reveals any firearms not accounted for, the distributor
or dealer shall be subject to sanctions, including
termination as an authorized distributor or dealer.

f. Implement a security plan for securing firearms, including
firearms in shipment. The plan must satisfy at least the
following requirements:
(1) Display cases shall be locked at all times except when
removing a single firearm to show a customer, and
customers shall handle firearms only under the direct
supervision of an employee;
(2) All firearms shall be secured, other than during
business hours, in a locked fireproof safe or vault in the
licensee’s business premises or in another secure and
locked area; and

g. Require persons under 18 years of age to be accompanied
by a parent or guardian when they are in portions of the
premises where firearms are stocked or sold.

h. Not sell ammunition magazines that are able to accept more
than 10 rounds regardless of the date of manufacture, nor
sell any semi-automatic assault weapon as defined in 18
U.S.C. 921(a)(30) regardless of the date of manufacture,
provide safety locks and warnings with firearms, as
specified in Section 1 above, and sell only firearms that
comport with the design criteria of this Agreement.

n. Require all employees to pass a comprehensive written
exam, which shall be developed by the manufacturers in
consultation with ATF and approved by the Oversight
Commission, on the material covered in the training before
being allowed to sell or handle firearms. Any employee
who fails to pass the exam shall be prohibited from selling
or handling firearms on behalf of the distributor or dealer.
The annual certification discussed in II.A.1.m above, will
include certification that all employees have passed the
exam.

B. Authorized distributors – additional provision.
Authorized distributors must agree to sell the manufacturer’s products
only to other authorized distributors or authorized dealers or directly to
government purchasers.
C. Authorized dealers – additional provisions.
In addition to the requirements in section II(A)(1), authorized deale4rs
must agree:
1. Not to sell any of the manufacturers’ products to any federal
firearms licensee that is not an authorized distributor or authorized
dealer of that manufacturer.
2. Not to engage in sales that the dealer knows or has reason to know
are being made to straw purchasers.
3. To adhere to the following procedure for multiple handgun sales.
If a purchaser wants to purchase more than one handgun, the
purchaser may take from the dealer only one handgun on the day
of sale. The dealer at that point will file a Multiple Sales Report
with the ATF. The purchaser may take the additional handguns
from the dealer 14 days thereafter. This provision shall not apply
to sales to qualified private security companies licensed to do
business within the State where the transfer occurs for use by the
company in its security operations.

B. Within six (6) months of the effective date of this Agreement, if
technologically available, the manufacturer parties to the Agreement
shall fire each firearm before sale and enter the digital image of its
casing along with the weapon’s serial number into a system compatible
with the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network System.
The digital image shall be made available electronically to ATF’s
National Tracing Center.
http://www.isra.org/smithagree.pdf
 
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