Shipping a gun with FFL?

[Newbomb]

I've been reading/searching for hours on how to ship a gun in INDIANA. If someone out of state wants to buy a gun I (civilian) have, do I have to go to a FFL and have them ship it? Or do I just wait for his FFL to contact me with the paper work and go to UPS? I also read that USPS won't ship handguns but UPS will.

Thanks

 

[natman]

The FFL or the buyer should send / fax a copy of the FFL to you. Send the gun ONLY to the address on the FFL, nowhere else. You can confirm that the FFL is legit at this address:

https://www.atfonline.gov/fflezcheck

Unless YOU have an FFL, it's illegal to send pistols in the mail. You can ship them via UPS, but they require expensive Air shipping. The shipper may want to see a copy of the receiving FFL.

 

[nalioth]

An up to date primer on shipping and transferring firearms:

Shipping a gun - Who, what, where, how, why - Saiga-12.com

 

[Newbomb]

So I can ship person to person (both non-FFL) as long as it's UPS/FedEx and in the SAME state?

 

[nalioth]

So I can ship person to person (both non-FFL) as long as it's UPS/FedEx and in the SAME state?

If Indiana law doesn't say anything contradictory, yes, indeed.

 

[scottaschultz]

You may want to ship it from an FFL in your state even if you are not required to do so by law since many of them get much better rates from UPS and FedEx than us "civilians". It can cost up to $50 to ship a gun but they can do it for about half in some cases.

Scott

 

[jbkebert]

The last gun I shipped to a FFL cost me $13.00 insured at the post office. They do not accept handguns just long guns. I filled out a form with the FFL info on it for the PO to retain. Then it was just like shipping any other package.

 

[nalioth]

You may want to ship it from an FFL in your state even if you are not required to do so by law since many of them get much better rates from UPS and FedEx than us "civilians". It can cost up to $50 to ship a gun but they can do it for about half in some cases.

Scott

Sure. so another lump-o-money can be added to the total cost of shipping (FFL holders don't do anything for "free" and some charge excruciating rates for their "shipping services")

If it's a long gun, it can go in the regular US Mail.
Handguns can go via the cheaper "Next Day Air Saver" rate (delivers in the afternoon of the next day for about half the price of "first-thing-in-the-morning" overnight service) with UPS.

 

[NavyLCDR]

It's not dealers' faults that Federal regulations prohibit USPS mail for handguns. It's also not dealers' faults that UPS and FEDEX require next day service for handguns. If the dealer fee + shipping cost is less to let the dealer ship, then why not do it via the dealer? It saves the seller money.

 

[waterhouse]

Just to add, it isn't generally a law, but many dealers have a store policy that they will only accept shipments from other dealers/distributors. You'll need to check with the specific dealer and find out what their policy is.

Sure. so another lump-o-money can be added to the total cost of shipping (FFL holders don't do anything for "free" and some charge excruciating rates for their "shipping services")

And some don't. It pays to shop around, but I can regularly beat any sort of next day shipping through Fedex or UPS even with my fee thrown in, because I can ship handguns via 3 day priority mail in a flat rate box. If it needs to get their next day, it is cheaper to do it yourself. If it can get there in 3 days, it may be cheaper overall to get your dealer to do it.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Tip when shipping a long gun by U.S.P.S.,keep the box small. The larger the box the higher the rate.

 

[dogtown tom]

jimmyraythomason: Tip when shipping a long gun by U.S.P.S.,keep the box small. The larger the box the higher the rate.

Excellent point.

Long boxes are not as rigid as smaller boxes. Almost all shotguns and rifles can be broken down to stock/receiver and barrel. Wrap those in bubble wrap and tape them together. Fill the voids in the box with air pillows, foam peanuts or more bubble wrap- just don't use newspaper!

I get too many guns with the barrel sticking out the side of the box because the shipper used newspaper as packing material (worst stuff you can use) and it compressed leaving room for the gun to slide back and forth.

Last week I received a near mint three screw Ruger Blackhawk as a transfer. The shipper did use bubble wrap- but didn't tape it around the gun, he just folded a layer of bubble wrap around the gun before shoving it in the box. Then he took the spare 9mm cylinder and tossed it LOOSE into the box. The spare cylinder beat the backstrap of the Blackhawk pretty good. What would have been a nice collectable gun was turned into a shooter because the seller either didn't care or was completely ignorant of how to package a gun.


.