$60 to ship a handgun!!!

I believe UPS does not accept firearms for shipment and yes Fedex insists on overnight. I'm not certain as to the reason. It may just be policy or possibly a requirement by law.

UPS does allow shipment of most firearms, but handguns are required to go next day air. Shipping handguns has become very expensive as of late. Not all that long ago I sent a medium sized revolver via UPS and it was over $70.

I've never tried it myself but I've heard of some people having success with asking the receiving dealer/manufacturer send them a shipping label. Of course, you still pay for the shipping but it won't be the $60 overnight that UPS or Fedex requires of individuals. Ask Taurus. They may be able to help you.

michaelmcgo said:

It's not unheard of to send in a gun a couple or few times before they figure out the problem. If that's true then I could easily spend the value of the gun before it's fixed.

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It happened to me. I bought a brand new Marlin 1895 that simply would not cycle out of the box. Took two trips back to the factory to make it run right. Both times was on my dime.

$60 to ship a handgun!!!

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Next you're gonna say you feel your 2A right has been infringed?
Me too!

A local gunsmith might be able to resolve the pistol's issues for less than $60.

You can often find an FFL to ship it for less, as they have more shipping options.

You are not legally required to ship it this way, it is simply the carrier's policy.

An FFL can ship it via USPS, so paying them perhaps $30 would save you a bunch and still give support to the local FFL.

Captains1911 said:

You are not legally required to ship it this way, it is simply the carrier's policy.

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You are legally required to ship next day. As you are legally required to tell the shipper that there is a hand gun in the box … The shipper will then say it needs to be next day’ed. Have you asked if a FFL will ship it for you? FLLs may use USPS, where as non-FLLs can’t.

What bothers me is that at FEDEX and UPS want the shipments to go through quickly as so no one steals anything. Does that say that security is that bad that either employees (or others) can gain unsupervised access to shipments?

chuck

I've heard (can't verify it though) that you can request Next Day - PM Delivery and it's a bit cheaper.

Oh, and the UPS and FedEx policies were implemented after they caught employees stealing guns.

It is fedex/UPS policy to ship next day...NOT federal law. If the carrier doesn't know it's a firearm, you can ship it however you want. If something happens to the package and it is lost/damaged, you will not get your $ though.

If the carrier doesn't know it's a firearm, you can ship it however you want.

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As the law requires you to notify the carrier, how exactly does that work?

I'd call up Taurus first. I haven't dealt with returning a firearm to them, but other manufacturers have sent me prepaid (on their FedEx account) shipping labels to return firearms for warranty work, so there was no cash involved on my part.

Great business model. Require shipping by next day air, at substantial extra cost, to prevent a problem their own people cause. At least it does arrive the next day.

Jorg said:

As the law requires you to notify the carrier, how exactly does that work?

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In the numerous threads I've read about this subject, I don't read it that way, so long as the gun is going to a FFL or to the manufacturer for repair. The federal law and whether it is applicable is not the same as their internal policy. Did SIG-Sauer, when they shipped a handgun to me not once, but twice, break the law when they put "machine parts" on the label?

Jorg said:

As the law requires you to notify the carrier, how exactly does that work?

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Like i already said, The law does not require you to ship it any particular way.

steelerdude99 said:

You are legally required to ship next day. As you are legally required to tell the shipper that there is a hand gun in chuck

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Wrong

In the numerous threads I've read about this subject, I don't read it that way, so long as the gun is going to a FFL or to the manufacturer for repair.

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You may be right on that, although I've seen it mentioned both ways more times than I care to count. It seems according to 18 U.S.C. § 922 that the notification is only required when NOT going to an FFL.
I don't know if there are any other laws that apply to that.

Did SIG-Sauer, when they shipped a handgun to me not once, but twice, break the law when they put "machine parts" on the label?

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From what it says above, it seems that they did, if they didn't notify the carrier and you aren't licensed.

I think I mis-remembered or mis-stated that. Actually, it was on shipping labels that they e-mailed to me, for the purpose of shipping the gun to them.

If you push the manufacturere hard enough you can get a pre-paid shipping label from them, the only exception I have experienced is with Diamondback. If you bought from a local dealer give them a call they may work with you on this, if one of our customers had this experience we would ship the handgun back for them at actual costs with no FFL fee.

A friend of mine worked for one of the major carriers, once upon a time on a truck, and returned to work for corporate some years later after he got his degree. Talking about this with him, it's pretty clear that the carriers insist on express/next day delivery not for any legal requirement per se, but they do simply want to minimize the amount of time a firearm is in their possession.

The less time in their hands, the less time there is for a package to get mislaid or otherwise "disappear" or something else "bad" happen. It's an attempt to minimize their exposure/liability. And, sad to say, I heard many stories over a beer about the unintended fates of interesting looking packages.

This worked for me once: I went in late Friday afternoon past the next day deadline so they couldn't charge me for next day service that they couldn't offer. Cost ~$26 instead of ~$60. Worth a try!

But the best way is to have the manufacturer send you a return label. S&W is very good about this as was Kel-tec with my RFB. EAA wouldn'd consider it even when I offered to pay what it would cost them. I wasted $60 returning my Chiappa 1911-22 and they didn't fix it, so I feel your pain!