Have you ever shipped a firearm to sell?

The buyer sets up shipping with their FFL.
FFL will send you or FFL a copy of license.
Arrange payment, paypal etc.
Ship.

Can be a little time consuming, but not a big deal.

It may depend on the state, but I have shipped several firearms over the years (sold on Gunbroker). I only accepted postal money orders and if a long gun, I would ship it directly to the FFL of their choice (use FFLeZCheck 3.1.2 - Federal Firearms License Search (atf.gov) to verify the FFL is legit).
If a handgun, it has to be shipped from an FFL to an FFL... at least that's my understanding and that's how I did it.

Definitely take payment before shipping and I would advice against accepting personal checks (sorry folks, I've burned before). A cashier's check or postal money order are among the safest options available. You can ship a long gun via UPS or Fedex. You'll want to visit each website and look into their policies regarding shipping firearms (particularly long guns). Also, shipping long guns should not involve 3rd parties but only the terminal or depot directly. Provide the tracking number to the buyer once the rifle is in the possession of FedEx or UPS.

IIRC, I went through Fedex using the priority overnight service. There are likely a plethora of other shipping options though.

Overall, shipping long guns is still relatively easy.

Long guns can be mailed using USPS. Depending on your location that is often the easiest and least expensive option. It was for me by a lot. I've only sold one that had to be shipped and it was a lot more hassle than I liked. I'd take less for the gun to sell locally if I ever have to do it again.

A Savage in 243 isn't a high dollar gun in the 1st place and 243 is a pretty common cartridge. Seems like a lot of trouble for a gun not worth a lot of money. The only one I had to ship was a custom built rifle worth over $1000 and in a cartridge (338/06) that would have been hard to sell in Georgia. The rifle ended up going to a western state to an elk hunter.

I’ve sold multiple firearms that have been shipped. My LGS was extremely helpful. They provided a box, arranged shipping, did the appropriate contacts and paperwork. IMO their charges were extremely reasonable, maybe $35 total.

I carried the guns in along with a copy of the receiving FFL’s info. They did everything else. To me, the virtually zero hassle and the fact that they do this professionally and legally made it very worthwhile. This was maybe five years ago.

I have shipped on multiple occasions. You may ship directly to an FFL of the buyers choice. The FFL should fax his license to you , or scan & email for you to print. You do not need to ship FROM an FFL. You may not ship directly to the buyer. (Exception : Direct to buyer is legal if buyer holds and FFL or C&R.)

Avoid using a franchise outlet type shipper such as the FedEx "franchise" desk located in the back of an office supply store near me. The young transient staffers in such places tend to get jittery and are poorly informed.

It's easy.

Addendum - If you have reservations , inquire with a local gun ship as suggested above in #6. Avoid big box gun stores - again , transient staff members.

I shipped one pistol to a seller, used my LGS. He did all the packaging and shipping and only charged me $25. Was pretty simple and straightforward since he did all the legwork, I only had to provide him the buyers FFL shop info.

Ship long guns via USPS. UPS now uses dimensional weight, which means that packages are charged by size as well as weight. A long package gets very expensive. The post office will only accept long guns from mere mortals. There are two approaches to shipping handguns. Both UPS and FedEx require special (expensive) shipping for handguns. However FFLs can use USPS to mail a gun to another FFL. It is sometimes cheaper to have a local FFL mail a gun than to ship it yourself. Check first.

Guns can be shipped directly to an FFL. Guns that qualify as C&R can be shipped to C&R holders. However, some FFLs will not deal directly. This is a matter of their policy, not the law. Check first.

Be absolutely sure to get the shipping info to send to the buyer. There threads here where a buyer feels the seller was less than honest. Paperwork takes out the ambiguity

Sold a Garand to a member here a few years back.I'm in Kansass and he's in Texas.
He sent me the address of his FFL with the payment and I packed and mailed the rifle via USPS.
Easy...

I have a local FFL that works from his home and have received and shipped a number of guns through him. Prior to working with my FFL I had a somewhat loud conversation with a postal clerk and the post master where they were saying that I couldn't ship a long gun through USPS. The stupid post master shoved a post office memo in my face that said USPS did not allow it. I had to point out the paragraph to her that said USPS would ship it if it was to an FFL. No wonder the post office is all screwed up, the post masters don't know what they are doing.
Any way, my FFL is real easy to deal with. I bring him my firearm with a shipping box and he helps me seal the box after verifying the info on the firearm. He even has boxes if I don't have one. We then go together to the post office to mail the firearm and I reimburse him for the postage and his handling fee of $20.00. His fee is very reasonable and I don't have to get into a pi$$ing contest with an ignorant post master, plus the legal security of shipping through an FFL to another FFL.

Best to let a FFL take care of it if you can find one that doesn't need to make a truck payment. Fees run anywhere from $20-$60 plus the cost of shipping. Probably cost $50-$60 total to ship the Savage with insurance. Like jmr40 said, it sounds like a lot of trouble for a $500 rifle. I would use it for trading material.

Rifles, as stated, aren’t that hard. Get a copy of the buyers FFL license. Check to see if the license is current on the ATF website and that address matches. Rifles can ship via USPS. Contact FFL to confirm prior to mailing. Put a copy of the FFL along with buyers name as the buyer and contact information along with a copy of your identification and contact information identified as the seller in the parcel with the gun. Keep copies of the above.

I get payment and cash it before shipping. Email buyer at each step and tracking info keeps everyone informed and happy. Seems like a lot of steps, but really not that hard.

Payment first!
Postal money order is my preferred
Pay Pal was good, now I avoid them
Western Union money orders work great.

Agreed, USPS money orders. Haven’t dealt with electronic pay methods like paypal so this advice isn’t based on personal experience,but as I understand, those services don’t like firearms, and if they catch wind, will close your account. Not sure if they can do a payment reversal, but why risk it? As the seller, it’s easy to specify your payment options.

I have shipped long guns trough USPS. Just pack it well, label it, and take it to the Post Office.

I shipped one handgun via USPS from a USPS store.

No problem with either......

Hokkmike said:

I shipped one handgun via USPS from a USPS store.

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I hope you meant to say UPS store as shipping handguns via USPS is not allowed:

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonlicensee-ship-firearm-through-us-postal-service

From the link:
Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

sabbfan writes:

I shipped one pistol to a seller, used my LGS. He did all the packaging and shipping and only charged me $25.

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redneck2 writes:

My LGS was extremely helpful. They provided a box, arranged shipping, did the appropriate contacts and paperwork. IMO their charges were extremely reasonable, maybe $35 total.

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In addition to the actual shipping cost, right?

Multiple long guns through USPS over the years. Used to ship handguns via UPS before they started requiring next day air service; now the cost is prohibitive. At least where I live now, I've not found an FFL whose fees to ship via USPS are reasonable.

Hokkmike said:

I have shipped long guns trough USPS. Just pack it well, label it, and take it to the Post Office.

I shipped one handgun via USPS from a USPS store.

No problem with either......

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overthere said:

I hope you meant to say UPS store as shipping handguns via USPS is not allowed:

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonlicensee-ship-firearm-through-us-postal-service

From the link:
Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

Click to expand...

Non-FFLs are not allowed to MAIL handguns. No firearms can legally be shipped via 3rd party services such as the UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc or similar. They are independent businesses and are neither FFLs nor common carriers. The gun must be shipped at a UPS / FedEx hub that is actually owned by UPS / FedEx.

I beg to differ with the above statement. I have shipped from a shipping store on multiple occasions, full disclosure of contents on the record.
I am quite sure they know the regulations.

Seedy Character said:

Payment first!
Postal money order is my preferred
Pay Pal was good, now I avoid them
Western Union money orders work great.

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PayPal expressly forbids using their service to pay for firearms. If they somehow find out that’s what a payment is for you may find your account locked and yourself unable to withdraw your funds without a great deal of hassle.

As someone else said, I wonder about the practicality of someone buying a garden variety Savage rifle in a common caliber and then paying shipping plus a FFL transfer fee. You must be selling it dirt cheap or you’ve tapped into a gold mine of uninformed buyers.

Since it’s a long gun the easiest option might just be the post office, depending on where the closest UPS or FedEx hub is. If I were shipping a rifle I would absolutely take it to the local PO rather than drive an hour one way.

natman said:

Non-FFLs are not allowed to MAIL handguns. No firearms can legally be shipped via 3rd party services such as the UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc or similar. They are independent businesses and are neither FFLs nor common carriers. The gun must be shipped at a UPS / FedEx hub that is actually owned by UPS / FedEx.

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I did mean UPS store - NOT USPS. At that time, the UPS location, which was also a Farm Store, accepted my package and did send the item. It was also returned to me by UPS.

Elkins45 said:

PayPal expressly forbids using their service to pay for firearms. If they somehow find out that’s what a payment is for you may find your account locked and yourself unable to withdraw your funds without a great deal of hassle.

As someone else said, I wonder about the practicality of someone buying a garden variety Savage rifle in a common caliber and then paying shipping plus a FFL transfer fee. You must be selling it dirt cheap or you’ve tapped into a gold mine of uninformed buyers.

Since it’s a long gun the easiest option might just be the post office, depending on where the closest UPS or FedEx hub is. If I were shipping a rifle I would absolutely take it to the local PO rather than drive an hour one way.

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Hence, I REFUSE to use PayPal for anything.
They were good. I hope they now burn in hell.

FedEx is fast approaching the only game in town.

UPS satellite store, you may get a knowledgeable person, may not.

Going directly to the UPS or FedEx shipping center, can get you through quicker, but there is always that ONE anti-gun person that will hassle you, regardless of legality. (I know there is ONE, for sure)