Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions about FirearmCart. Browse by category or use search to find what you need.

General

What is FirearmCart?

FirearmCart is an e-commerce platform built specifically for licensed firearm dealers. It provides all the tools you need to sell firearms, ammunition, and accessories online while maintaining ATF compliance.

Who can use FirearmCart?

FirearmCart is designed for:

Do I need an FFL to use FirearmCart?

Yes, you need a valid Federal Firearms License to sell firearms through FirearmCart. Non-firearm products (accessories, apparel, etc.) can be sold without an FFL.

How is FirearmCart different from other e-commerce platforms?

Is my data secure?

Yes, FirearmCart uses:

• SSL encryption for all data
• PCI-compliant payment processing
• Regular security audits
• Encrypted database storage
• Secure access controls

Account & Billing

How do I change my subscription plan?

1. Open the profile menu (your avatar, top right) and choose Billing
2. Click the Change Plan tab
3. Select the plan you want
4. Confirm the change

Upgrades are prorated and charged immediately. On a downgrade you aren’t charged anything at the time of the change and the lower price applies from your next invoice, but the lower plan’s limits apply right away.

Can I cancel my subscription?

Yes, you can cancel anytime:

1. Go to Billing
2. Click Cancel Subscription
3. Confirm cancellation

You’ll retain access until the end of your billing period.

What payment methods are accepted for my subscription?

How do I update my payment method?

1. Go to Billing
2. Click the Payment Methods tab
3. Click Add Payment Method to add a new card
4. Set the new card as default
5. Delete the old card if needed

You must always keep at least one card on file.

Can I add team members to my account?

Yes, you can add team members to help manage your store:

1. Open the profile menu and choose Users
2. Click Add User
3. Enter their email address
4. Select their role (Administrator or Member)
5. Save to send the invitation

See Team Members for details on roles and permissions.

Products

How do I add products to my store?

1. Navigate to Products
2. Click Add product
3. Fill in product details
4. Add images
5. Set pricing and inventory
6. Save and publish

See Creating Products for detailed instructions.

Can I import products from a spreadsheet?

Yes, FirearmCart supports CSV imports:

1. Navigate to Products
2. Click Import CSV
3. Click Download Template
4. Fill in your products
5. Upload the CSV (max 10MB)

The import runs in the background and you’ll get an email when it finishes.

How do I set up product variants?

Variants are for products with multiple options (caliber, finish, etc.):

1. Open product
2. Add option names (e.g., “Caliber”)
3. Add option values (e.g., “9mm”, “.45 ACP”)
4. Set pricing and inventory per variant

See Product Variants for details.

How do I sync products from Lipseys or RSR?

1. Navigate to Plugins and open the distributor (for example Lipseys or RSR Group)
2. Connect your distributor account
3. Enable product sync
4. Select products to import
5. Configure pricing rules

For print-on-demand merch, activate Printify instead — FirearmCart syncs the products already in your Printify shop.

See Integrations for setup guides.

How do I mark a firearm as serialized?

FirearmCart recognizes firearms from the product’s category and type, which is what drives the FFL requirement at checkout. Assign the product to a firearm category and the order will require the customer to select an FFL.

Orders

How do I fulfill an order?

1. Open the order
2. Click Fulfill items
3. Enter tracking number
4. Select carrier
5. Click Fulfill

Customer receives shipping notification automatically.

How do I process a refund?

1. Open the order
2. Start a refund on the transaction you want to refund
3. Enter the amount — the full remaining amount, or less for a partial refund
4. Choose whether to restock the items
5. Optionally add a reason, which is saved as an order note
6. Process the refund

Refunding the full remaining amount also cancels any pending fulfillments. Restocking applies only to stock you manage yourself, not to distributor-owned inventory.

See Refunds for detailed instructions.

Can I edit an order after it’s placed?

Some things, yes. From the order page you can edit:

• Customer information
• Shipping and billing addresses
• The selected FFL
• Order notes and the purchase order number

You can’t add items or change item prices on a placed order. To sell something extra, create a new order.

How do I handle an order with a failed background check?

1. Contact customer to explain
2. Return firearm to your inventory
3. Process full refund
4. Update order notes
5. Cancel the order

What do the order statuses mean?

An order has a payment status, which is derived from its transactions:

Shipping progress is tracked separately on each fulfillment:

Payments

Which payment processors does FirearmCart support?

FirearmCart integrates with firearm-friendly processors:

Sezzle and Credova send the customer to the provider’s hosted page to complete payment, then return them to your checkout.

Why can’t I use PayPal or Stripe?

PayPal and Stripe prohibit firearm sales in their terms of service. Using them for firearms can result in account termination and withheld funds.

How do I set up a payment processor?

1. Open account with supported processor
2. Navigate to Settings > Payments
3. Enter API credentials
4. Configure settings
5. Test the connection

Connection testing is available for Fortis, Authorize.net, and NMI.

See Payment Providers for detailed setup.

When do I receive my funds?

Check with your specific processor for details.

How are taxes calculated?

FirearmCart can integrate with tax services for automatic calculation, or you can set rates manually:

1. Navigate to Settings > Taxation
2. Connect a tax service (Avalara or TaxJar), or create manual tax zones with your own rates
3. Configure by region
4. Taxes apply automatically at checkout

Shipping

Which carriers does FirearmCart support?

FirearmCart enforces these rules when it requests rates, so services that aren’t permitted for an item simply won’t be offered at checkout.

Why can’t I ship ammunition via USPS?

USPS prohibits ammunition outright, so FirearmCart never returns a USPS rate for it. Firearms can go USPS Priority or Priority Express, because every firearm order routes to an FFL.

How do I ship ammunition?

Ammunition requires special handling. FirearmCart enforces two of these rules automatically:

1. Ground shipping only — enforced. Air services are never offered for ammunition
2. Ships on its own — enforced. Ammunition is packed and rated as its own shipment, separate from firearms
3. Requires ORM-D labeling
4. Proper packaging required
5. Signature may be required
6. Check state restrictions

Handguns are also isolated into their own shipment, because they must travel by air.

See Shipping Firearms for regulations.

Can I ship to all states?

Some states have restrictions on certain products:

Configure state restrictions in Settings > Shipping > Zones.

How do customers select their FFL?

1. Customer adds firearm to cart
2. At checkout, FFL selection appears
3. Customer searches by location
4. Selects from verified FFLs
5. Order routes to selected FFL

FFL Compliance

Where does the FFL directory come from?

FirearmCart maintains a directory built from the ATF’s published license file:

1. The ATF license list is imported into FirearmCart
2. Only transfer-capable license types are included
3. At checkout, customers see only dealers who can receive a consumer transfer
4. When a new ATF file is imported, renewals supersede the old record and licenses that have dropped off the list are retired

What if a customer’s FFL isn’t in the directory?

Contact support so the dealer can be reviewed and added. Merchants can’t add dealers to the directory themselves.

How do I handle an FFL transfer?

1. Ship firearm to customer’s selected FFL
2. Include copy of your FFL
3. FFL receives and logs firearm
4. Customer picks up from FFL
5. FFL conducts background check
6. FFL completes transfer

Do I need to verify FFL licenses myself?

FirearmCart doesn’t perform live license checks against the ATF, so you remain responsible for confirming a dealer is current before you ship:

1. Request a copy of their license
2. Check it against the ATF eZ Check service — FirearmCart shows the license number next to an eZ Check link so you can look it up
3. Check the expiration date
4. Keep the certificate copy on file

You can upload a copy of a receiving dealer’s FFL certificate directly from the order.

Themes & Customization

How do I customize my store’s appearance?

1. Navigate to Store > My Store
2. Open the theme in the visual editor
3. Use the editor to modify:
   • Colors and fonts
   • Header and footer
   • Page layouts
   • Sections and blocks
4. Preview changes
5. Save and publish

See Visual Editor for details.

Can I use custom code?

Yes. Go to Store > My Store and open the code editor for your theme, then edit the Liquid templates directly. Every save is versioned, so you can view a file’s history and restore an earlier version if a change goes wrong.

Separately, Developer Mode bypasses the storefront cache so your edits show up immediately instead of waiting for the cache to clear. You choose how long it stays on — 30 minutes, 2 hours, or 8 hours — and it switches itself off when the time is up. It does not undo your changes; only the cache bypass ends.

See Liquid Variables for available variables.

How do I add my logo?

Your store logo is set in Settings > General. Themes may also have their own logo setting in the visual editor’s header section.

Can I have different layouts for different pages?

Yes, FirearmCart supports multiple templates:

• Product templates
• Collection templates
• Page templates
• Blog templates

Assign templates to specific products or pages as needed.

Integrations

How do I connect to Lipseys?

1. Navigate to Plugins > Lipseys
2. Enter API credentials
3. Configure sync settings
4. Test connection

See Lipseys Integration for full setup.

How does inventory sync work?

Distributor catalog syncs run on a per-plan window: Starter every 12 hours, Growth every 6 hours, and Pro hourly. Upgrade your plan for a tighter window.

Can I use multiple distributors?

Yes, you can connect multiple distributors:

• Products from each sync separately
• Inventory tracked per source
• Pricing rules per distributor
• Automatic source selection for orders

How do I connect Printify?

1. Create a Personal Access Token in Printify → My Profile → Connections
2. Navigate to Plugins > Marketplace, find Printify, and click Activate
3. Paste the token and pick the shop to connect
4. Import products from Plugins > Printify

See Printify Integration for scopes, pricing, and hold production.

How do I connect ShipStation?

1. Navigate to Plugins > ShipStation
2. Authorize connection
3. Configure order sync
4. Set up automation rules

See ShipStation Integration for details.

Technical

What browsers are supported?

Is there a mobile app?

FirearmCart is fully responsive and works on mobile browsers. There is no separate mobile app at this time.

Can I use my own domain?

Yes. Setup is a single CNAME record at your registrar:

1. Navigate to Settings → Domains
2. Click Connect existing domain and enter your domain
3. Add the CNAME record shown (pointing to stores.firearmcart.com) at your DNS provider
4. SSL certificate is auto-provisioned — usually active within 5–30 minutes

You can connect multiple domains and choose one as primary. See Custom Domains for details.

How do I export my data?

You can export:

Navigate to Orders, Customers, or Fulfillments and click Export. The export is prepared in the background and emailed to you as a download link that stays valid for 24 hours.

Individual order invoices can also be downloaded as a PDF from the order page.

Is there an API?

Yes, FirearmCart provides a read-focused REST API covering:

• Products (read)
• Orders (read, plus post-purchase upsells)
• Customers (read) and lead capture
• Fulfillments (read)
• Subscriptions (read and manage)
• Shipping, taxation, and FFL dealer lookups
• Payment tokenization and charges

Create and manage your API tokens yourself from API Tokens in the profile menu. API access is included with the Pro plan, or available on any plan through the API & Webhooks Access addon.

Related Documentation

• Troubleshooting - Solutions to common issues
• Contact Us - Get in touch with support
• Getting Started - Setup guide