thegoodfight
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I know with UPS you have to overnight it...does anyone else accept handguns for shipping? thanks
What's the cheapest way to ship a handgun?
- Thread starter thegoodfight
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AFAIK, only UPS and FedEx will ship a handgun, and both require that it be shipped overnight air. But you can ship it overnight air saver (for afternoon delivery) which is a little less expensive. And in any case, I recommend insuring it for its full value.
Who are you shipping it to? a dealer? a gunsmith? You may not mail it. Doing so would be a federal felony. But an FFL can mail it to another FFL (or manufacturer or distributor). Some FFLs will, as a service, handle that for individuals for a small fee (and some charge a large fee -- forget about those); and that could work out to be cheaper.
Who are you shipping it to? a dealer? a gunsmith? You may not mail it. Doing so would be a federal felony. But an FFL can mail it to another FFL (or manufacturer or distributor). Some FFLs will, as a service, handle that for individuals for a small fee (and some charge a large fee -- forget about those); and that could work out to be cheaper.
Ukraine Train
Member
Yeah, FFL's don't have to ship overnight so even with their fee it may end up cheaper for you.
CDignition
Member
a felony?? really?? I think it is mainly not following asinine rules put in place by a private company.
I use US Postal service.. much cheaper..
I use US Postal service.. much cheaper..
nalioth
Member
That is false.camacho said:
You only have to declare it's a firearm when you're NOT sending it to a licensee.
It is a federal law, not a "private companies rule".CDIgnition said:
Above from http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf
thegoodfight
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Ok, so I can take it to Fed Ex, tell them it's a handgun, and they can ship to a licensed FFL dealer, correct?
My dealer charges $24(transfer fee) PLUS shipping costs. Does anyone else get charged for a transfer fee when shipping a gun?? He's probably ripping me off.
My dealer charges $24(transfer fee) PLUS shipping costs. Does anyone else get charged for a transfer fee when shipping a gun?? He's probably ripping me off.
CDignition
Member
Im an o7 Manufacturer.. so I use the PO..
nalioth
Member
You only have to declare it's a firearm if you're NOT sending it to a licensed person.thegoodfight said:
The shipping laws are posted everywhere on this forum ( this is very commonly asked ).
My dealer charges me $100 + shipping costs.thegoodfight said:
I do my own shipping and don't deal with folks whose FFL holder only receives from other FFLs.
Gator
Member
Everybody gets charged a transfer fee, its part of doing business. The fee varies with the dealer, mine charges $44, so you'll get no sympathy from me!
shooterfromtexas
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There really isnt a cheap way to do it legally. I just give it to my FFL dealer and $20bucks. Problem solved and no worries.
As nalioth said, this is incorrect.
If you're shipping to a FFL you're under no legal obligation to notify UPS or Fedex what you're shipping. You do violate their company policies however so if your gun is lost or stolen you might find it to be a hassle to get an insurance payment. Of course if your box is lost or stolen I don't know how UPS would prove that a gun was inside it in volation of their company policies. The no hassle route is to just ship it next day air saver and spend the $45 or whatever. Would I spend $50 to ship a $200 keltec for repair? I'd probably risk UPS ground.
tomkatz
Member
If he'll ship usps priority for you get a flat rate box and this should make it come out pretty reasonable. My FFL charges $20.00 and with the flat rate box it comes out under $40.00 with insurance for $500.00 and delivery confirmation.
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waterhouse
Member
A flat rate box runs less than $10 via USPS. Add on insurance and delivery confirmation and you are usually somewhere in the $15-20 range for shipping cost (depending on the amount of insurance). If your dealer charges less than $20, this will usually end up being about $40 to ship the gun. I have not used fedex for overnight in many years, but I've had people tell me that it cost them $70 to send me a handgun using overnight, so the dealer route can be cheaper. Obviously if your dealer charges $100 for the service and you have to ad shipping cost on top of that it is cheaper to use Fedex or UPS.
Your dealer does not make any money from the shipping cost. Unless you expect him to do a service for free (filling out paperwork and dropping the box at the post office), you should expect to pay some sort of transfer fee for his service.
Your dealer does not make any money from the shipping cost. Unless you expect him to do a service for free (filling out paperwork and dropping the box at the post office), you should expect to pay some sort of transfer fee for his service.
indie
Member
my dealer charges $25 including packing and shipping
Ukraine Train
Member
What's involved and what are the costs of becoming an FFL dealer?
CDignition
Member
I dont charge anything to mail stuff for customers. I use Stamps.com and as long as they box it up, ill mail it for free(they pay Postage tho)..
waterhouse
Member
CD, do you have to go to the post office to mail stuff using stamps.com?
Zundfolge
Member
That's actually not too bad.
Keep in mind that UPS Next Day Air is going to run you about $50-$70 to ship a handgun (depending on weight, distance and whether you're shipping it to a larger city or podunk town). FedEx is about the same (I've always found them slightly more expensive but YMMV).
Since an FFL can send a handgun via priority mail for $10-$20, tacking on an extra $20-$30 is still going to save you money.
My problem has always been finding FFLs that are willing to hassle with it.
Your dealer is a thief.
Aguila Blanca
Member
Since multiple posters have stated it's not required to declare a firearm when shipping to a licensee, I won't quote any one of the posts. I'll just mention that the BATFE FAQ says otherwise:
I italicized the applicable statement for your convenience.
The entire FAQ may be found here:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faqindex.htm
Each answer is followed by a listing of the applicable Federal laws or regulations if you wish to follow up in detail.
I italicized the applicable statement for your convenience.
The entire FAQ may be found here:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faqindex.htm
Each answer is followed by a listing of the applicable Federal laws or regulations if you wish to follow up in detail.
blackcash88
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Just ship it regular ground on the cheap. As already mentioned, it is NOT a federal law that you have to tell the carrier that it's a hand gun/firearm. It's only a policy violation. Just put "machined parts" or something in the contents section of the label and insure it properly. On that note, what would they do if they found out it was a firearm? They can't confiscate it, right? Do they randomly x-ray packages?
You just need to be a very, very good customer. Having significantly helped put my FFL's kids through college, I find that he is happy to accommodate me on occasion.Zundfolge said:
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