Why I won't ship handguns via UPS...

[kalibear45]

UPS Sucks!

Anybody had a bad experience with them?

At one time, I was receiving a gun back from a custom shop and I wasn't home at the time. They delivered it to the friggin' neighbors! :banghead: Luckily, I knew my neighbors and I got my package - But who gives them the idea to leave your packages to complete strangers?!

I've also used their overnight delivery before and to no avail. Package eithers gets mis-sorted or re-routed or delayed somehow, holy s***! and now I got a gun to be repaired/customized floating around to God-knows-where! Luckily, they haven't lost anything yet *knock on wood*

I use FedEx exclusively now to ship all my guns/parts because in my opinion, they are more reliable.

 

[P95Carry]

Luckily, have so far not had a bad deal thru UPS .. but have heard a few times that FedEx a very reliable outfit.

 

[Gila Jorge]

Guns, legal documents, secrutiies, in short anything of considerable value....FedEx is the only way to go.
Darn shame that UPS used to be good and reliable...but I too have had guns left with neighbors or in the bushes by the house. Go figure.

 

[F4GIB]

You can affect the service you get from your UPS driver. They have routes and can be on the same one for years. Mine has been delivering here for 10 years. I've made it a point to say "hello" to him when he delivers, to wave at him when I meet or pass him on the road, and to give him a "fat" Christmas card every year. Funny, I've never had a bad delivery.

 

[El Tejon]

They sent a C&S customized 1911 of mine to Lafayette. Problem was it was Lafayette, Colorado. Just a few states away!

 

[Wildalaska]

UPS had our shipping locked up for many years...because their rates were cheaper andn they allowed us to use 2nd day for all guns..

Then came that Million Mommy March...on that day UPS decided to change their rules to make handguns go priority overnight...for securtiy reasons they said..

I wrote a letter to UPS complaining about this...no reply..evidently we were just too small for them to even acknowledge our existence.

So guess what...cut a deal with Fed Ex! Even though they require Prioitry Overnight, that has always been their rule, and not one just imposed to seem sensitive for the Mommys..

So now guess what...Fed Ex gets many thousands of dollars from us...and they do well...

WildgofedexAlaska

 

[CleverNickname]

I don't ship anything via UPS because the shipping office near me has a 30.06 sign on the door.

 

[cracked butt]

Then came that Million Mommy March...on that day UPS decided to change their rules to make handguns go priority overnight...for securtiy reasons they said

I wouldnd't give the million moron marchers credit for this, they aren't that influencial.

The problem was actually an internal problem with UPS. They were the carrier for Glock handguns out of their Atlanta hub. It was found that some of their employees were stealing boatloads of the packages from Glock and selling the handguns on the streets. UPS responded by making all handgun shipments be on their most expensive and sceure shipping schedule thereby handing the costs of their lack of security over to the customers.:banghead:

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

I was just thinking about starting a thread to ask about shipping guns. I plan to get my Berettas worked on by Langdon Tactical at some point and wanted to find out whether to ship it UPS or FEDEX to see who had the better rate. I guess the theme of this thread is ship your guns FEDEX every time.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The last time I tried to ship a package by U.P.S., the woman behind the counter demanded to know what was in it. I told her it was none of her @#$%^&! business, took it to Federal Express, and haven't gone back to U.P.S.

 

[BenW]

I've had both UPS AND FEDEX leave guns on my front porch when I wasn't home, even with an "adult signature required" on the label. I think most of it has to do with the driver versus the company.

 

[Shane]

I've had the same experience with UPS. They gave a package (which had a returned handgun inside) to my neighbor. I was lucky to get the gun back, because in the past this neighbor had previously stolen UPS packages that were addressed to me. UPS does not run a secure operation IMO.

 

[teknical]

I'm yet another FedEx devotee. Their rates are fair and their service is so far above UPS, I refuse to use UPS for deliveries.

I can't remember the number of kicked-in / ripped open packages I've recieved from UPS / USPS, but they were numerous.

BTW, if you register for a FedEx account, you can order units of shipping supplies for free, which are delivered overnight.

 

[Zundfolge]

Guns, legal documents, secrutiies, in short anything of considerable value....FedEx is the only way to go.

Yes, FedEx but FedEx air service NOT FedEx GROUND! they suck worse then UPS.

 

[Sven]

FedEx ground issue I had last week:

FedEx Ammo Delivery - 9/20 boxes arrived... grrrrrr...

 

[mdsteele]

I only use Fed ex. I had a 1000 dollars worth of Vintage LS-6 gauge cluster broken in half by those idiots. You could see the tire tracks on the box! It was insured but the clusters haven't been made since the early 70's. The supply is kind of fixed, if you know what I mean.

 

[Pointman]

Several years ago I shipped a L1A1 to be rebarreled via UPS. The box "came open" and the new bbl slid out. But the barreled receiver, bolt and carrier all arrived in tact.

3 months later.... they shelled out for a brand new Aussie barrel.

If anyone does ship via UPS I highly recommend shipping from an actual UPS branch and not a 3rd party like PakMail or Mail Boxes Etc.. UPS will only work with the shipper on claims so if a claim needs to be made you're at the mercy of the 3rd party shipper. This was the mistake I made when shipping the L1A1 and the shop owner was very slow to push the issue with UPS.

Of course, if it's a firearm or firearm part it doesn't matter as places like Mail Boxes Etc. have a corporate policy to not ship firearms because of problems they've had in the past (Insurance? They often use 3rd party insurance instead of UPS's insurance). Whether this is part of UPS's policy with 3rd party shippers, I do not know.