Shipped gun directly to me, not FFL

[silicosys4]

Hello,
I have an issue, Its pretty much resolved at this point, but I'm curious as to the legal implications of my situation.
So a few weeks ago I bid on and won a barreled receiver for a .22 rifle on an online auction. Just the barrel and receiver.
Well, there must have been some confusion, because I received shipping notification that Fedex was trying to deliver said barreled receiver directly to my house...at an address I haven't lived at in quiet some time.
I called the business who auctioned off and shipped the barreled receiver, and the guy told me they "have been having a problem with shipping a few barreled receivers off to people who aren't ffl's"
Now they are calling FedEx and having the barrel and receiver shipped back to them for reshipping to my FFL.
Now, my question is, at what point would I have committed a crime by taking into my possession a firearm that was illegally shipped across state lines, and not through an FFL? As soon as the package was on my doorstep?

If I had been expecting a couple of packages, that fedex shipping notification wouldn't have raised any red flags and I wouldn't have known about it until I was unwrapping the dang thing in my living room.

 

[o Unforgiven o]

The legal implications for the seller could be severe, especially if they hold an FFL. Reasonably I would think because it was an error by the seller, what you did after receiving it would determine any legal repercussions you may face. Obviously you did not keep quiet and informed the seller of their mistake which they confirmed. If you had taken delivery and not said anything...

 

[HRnightmare]

How did they even get your old address? Did yo udo online checkout and forget to update it from an old order? Or did they just select the wrong one in their system?


I once had a suppressor ship to an a hotel room on an Air force Base...that I was TDY to 2 years prior. I was there on assignment two years prior and ordered an end cap tool. They slected the wrong address in their system. It sat with the front desk for about a day. I was more worried about it getting declared unacounted for and opened and turned over to Security Forces (base police) and the bureaucratic nightmare I could have endured to get it back.

What upset me most is not that it happened, but how nonchalant they were about it.

 

[BSA1]

For me the window would be the time period between when I got the package to the time when I delivered it to my FFL observing all traffic laws along the way.

 

[dprice3844444]

his address will be sent to the seller by the auction site

 

[easy]

his address will be sent to the seller by the auction site

And that's why you should always contact the seller to make sure things are done correctly.

 

[burrhead]

I once had a business partner, who was also a gun dealer, that would do transfers for me for nothing. One time I won a pistol on an auction site and the seller sent the gun to my home instead of my partner’s shop. I just took it to his place and we did the paper work. No big deal.

 

[steelerdude99]

I once had a business partner, who was also a gun dealer, that would do transfers for me for nothing. One time I won a pistol on an auction site and the seller sent the gun to my home instead of my partner’s shop. I just took it to his place and we did the paper work. No big deal.

Just an opinion: Accepting the package is risky (especially if you signed for it). Even after the fact... government procedures don't have room for "wing'n it".

chuck

 

[smalls]

No big deal.

Yep, the consequences of disobeying federal firearms laws are no big deal

 

[General Geoff]

From my understanding, the onus is on the sender to ship to an FFL. The receiver of an erroneously delivered firearm can't always know it's a firearm before they open the package. I know there are laws in place that state any unsolicited merchandise delivered to you, is yours to keep, no strings attached.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0181-unordered-merchandise

Whomever sent it directly to you, however, is potentially in hot water.
If the receiver is a prohibited person, they could be in legal trouble if they get caught with an erroneously delivered firearm.


edit; pertinent section of 1968 GCA. Looks like it's illegal to receive it too, IF you purchased or otherwise obtained it out of state (which would appear to make a completely unsolicited firearm delivery legal to receive, though I understand this is not the case in the OP).

§ 178.29 Out-of-State acquisition of firearms by nonlicensees.

No person, other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, shall transport into or receive in the State where the person resides (or if a corporation or other business entity, where it maintains a place of business) any firearm purchased or otherwise obtained by such person outside that State: Provided, That the provisions of this section:

(a) Shall not preclude any person who lawfully acquires a firearm by bequest or intestate succession in a State other than his State of residence from transporting the firearm into or receiving it in that State, if it is lawful for such person to purchase or possess such firearm in that State;

(b) Shall not apply to the transportation or receipt of a rifle or shotgun obtained from a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector in a State other than the transferee's State of residence in an over-the-counter transaction at the licensee's premises obtained in conformity with the provisions of § 178.96(c); and

(c) Shall not apply to the transportation or receipt of a firearm obtained in conformity with the provisions of §§ 178.30 and 178.97.

 

[marv]

One day I came home from wherever I had been and my bride told me FedEx had left a package that looked like a gun. She signed for it. I hadn't ordered any gun and if I had it couldn't be delivered to me. In the box was a really nice new 20ga auto shotgun with chokes. Only one piece of paper with sender's name and addr and description of contents and a phone number. I called the number and was greeted with a hello. Not very businesslike. I asked who I was talking to and the guy replied with My Name. After my laughter subsided we had a good visit. He was an FFL in another state and was wondering where the heck his shotgun was. We both called the sender and FedEx picked up "my" gun the next day.