What Is The Problem With Some FFL's Today?

I recently had a firearm up for auction on an Internet gun auction site. Someone placed a winning bid, then promptly sent me the payment, a copy of his state issued ID, a a statement saying he can legally possess the shotgun (something I ask) and a copy of his local FFL licensee's dealer's license. Someone, probably the FFL holder by my guess, obliterated all of the numbers after the first three and before the last five license numbers, in other words essentially all of the numbers in the middle. At the bottom of the FFL, there is a place for the dealers signature who certifies by his, or her, signature that the FFL copy provided, for the transfer, is a true copy of his or her FFL.

Now, one would think, if you ran a business, in which you are required to have an FFL, and if you took the time and made the effort then paid the price to obtain a dealer's FFL, that you would have at least half of a brain. So why in the world would you send out a copy of an FFL, with your original signature, certifying that it is a "true copy" of your FFL when in fact it has had a good part of the license number obliterated by what appears to have been both black magic marker and black ball point pen!

I am probably going to refuse to transfer the gun until I receive a completely legible copy of the FFL license and if I do not receive it by next week, I will return the payment and paperwork. I have tried contacting the buyer to no avail so far. I sent out two emails to him but have not received any back from him. So, tonight, I sent him an email through the online auction house instead of going through my personal email account. I'll see if that works.

I just don't understand why an FFL holder, if it was the FFL holder who did it, would obliterate part of the license number when it has to be there. I certainly do not think the buyer did that and do not fault him at all at this point. The point is that I just don't understand why someone in the firearms business would make things more difficult than they already are when it comes to transferring firearms. Heck, I live in Newistan Yorkifornia - a very firearms unfriendly state - and certainly do not need anyone banging on my door at 0430 in the morning to serve a warrant and seize my guns because they think I did something wrong by accepting a copy of a FFL license that had the number partially wiped out.

Rant and rave comlete. Thank you.

All the best,
GB