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Just as the title reads, I'm looking to make a firearm sale, and the purchaser is located in another state. This happens to be the perfect place to ask, so what ways do you 1. Accept payment?
And 2. Ship it to them if they're an ffl. they sent me a copy of their ffl license, but how do I verify and such?
I'd really like to mitigate any possibility loss, so how do you verify that the person is doing everything on their end of the deal?
Thanks in advance for everyone's help!
 
This is all, as I understand it. Please verify with credible sources, as it's your felony if it is done incorrectly. You can do what you've described, legally so long as you declare it as a firearm to the carrier, and it is going to an FFL. It also has to be a legal to own firearm in the state it's going to. I think you can look up the FFL's thru the ATF's website. UPS and FEDEX will only accept firearms at main points, not a UPS store or contract type place. Additionally UPS and FEDEX will only ship overnight if you are not an FFL, so it can get expensive. It might be cheaper to get an FFL to send it to the receiving FFL, because I believe they can then ship it ground. This also provides you some piece of mind that it was done correctly. Again, I'm not an FFL or a firearms lawyer, so please verify. As far as preventing loss, I think it's reasonable to expect them to pay in advance and make sure you get shipping insurance. PayPal really protects the buyer so be careful with that. I was selling a car recently and was offered a paypal transaction, a quick search yielded many negative stories describing how this works in great favor of the buyer thief. Hope this helps at least a little!
 
This is all, as I understand it. Please verify with credible sources, as it's your felony if it is done incorrectly. You can do what you've described, legally so long as you declare it as a firearm to the carrier, and it is going to an FFL. It also has to be a legal to own firearm in the state it's going to. I think you can look up the FFL's thru the ATF's website. UPS and FEDEX will only accept firearms at main points, not a UPS store or contract type place. Additionally UPS and FEDEX will only ship overnight if you are not an FFL, so it can get expensive. It might be cheaper to get an FFL to send it to the receiving FFL, because I believe they can then ship it ground. This also provides you some piece of mind that it was done correctly. Again, I'm not an FFL or a firearms lawyer, so please verify. As far as preventing loss, I think it's reasonable to expect them to pay in advance and make sure you get shipping insurance. PayPal really protects the buyer so be careful with that. I was selling a car recently and was offered a paypal transaction, a quick search yielded many negative stories describing how this works in great favor of the buyer thief. Hope this helps at least a little!

I realize this is your first post, so I hate to be overcritical, but there is bad advice in your post. First of all, PAYPAL, will shut your account down if they find out it is for a gun purchase. I speak from experience here, as I once had a rifle listed and paypal automatically comes up as form of payment. I didn't notice it in my listing when I was selling the firearm. It was an honest mistake on my part. They saw it in my rifle listing and shut my account down. It's alright to sell parts, such as scopes and triggers and stocks etc, but NOT guns/firearms. That's a big no no with them. Now, unless things have changed, you can ship a long gun (rifle or shotgun) through the USPS and UPS and Fed EX. I use USPS priority with insurance, UPS ground with insurance, but have never used Fed Ex, as they are generally more expensive. You always want to verify the FFL with FFL EZ CHECK, before you send it off to said FFL. FFLeZCheck 3.1.2 - Federal Firearms License Search
It's very quick and easy to do. If you find it doesn't jive, do not ship the firearm, and contact the buyer ASAP. When I ship a long gun, I always ship it inside a hard case as well, and then that will be inside a cardboard box. You guys have all seen the videos of how UPS treats packages. You want the package sealed up like fort knox. You also want to put insurance on it. This protects YOU!! It's easy to ship long guns, but you have to always be aware of the ATF rules and laws. When shipping a pistol, that's a whole different ball game. It has to be overnighted by an FFL. They fill out a special form and ship it for you.... I also know laws and rules change all the time, so if ANY FFL finds fault in my post, please let me know. Thanks..
 
An FFL dealer can mail a handgun Priority Mail. If your local FFL dealer doesn't mind providing this service, for a fee, this is the easiest method for the seller to get it transported to the buyer's FFL.

Also ShipMyGun has an agreement with UPS to sell cheaper second day labels. If you buy a UPS label to ship a firearm without going through ShipMyGun you have to pay handsomely for an overnight label.

If you want to mail (USPS) a rifle or shotgun it is a good idea to take a printed copy of the USPS manual with you which states that unlicensed persons can mail rifles or shotguns. Many postal clerks will say that only manufacturers and dealers can mail firearms of any kind. Once I show them their own regulation they accept the package.
 
Sweet. I just used FFLEZCHECK and its all checks out. I asked for a picture of a license so I could prove who he was.
Also, he offered to send a certified cashiers check and to wait until it fully clears before shipping the firearm Does anyone have good or bad advice on accepting one of these, I get mixed results.
 
An FFL dealer can mail a handgun Priority Mail. If your local FFL dealer doesn't mind providing this service, for a fee, this is the easiest method for the seller to get it transported to the buyer's FFL.

Also ShipMyGun has an agreement with UPS to sell cheaper second day labels. If you buy a UPS label to ship a firearm without going through ShipMyGun you have to pay handsomely for an overnight label.

If you want to mail (USPS) a rifle or shotgun it is a good idea to take a printed copy of the USPS manual with you which states that unlicensed persons can mail rifles or shotguns. Many postal clerks will say that only manufacturers and dealers can mail firearms of any kind. Once I show them their own regulation they accept the package.

Great post. I'll add the ship my gun link, since it's on my computer home page as well, for quick reference:

I've been wanting to try this service,as people say it's the cheapest way to ship.. I may be trying it here pretty soon, if and when my rifles sell on GB...
 
Sweet. I just used FFLEZCHECK and its all checks out. I asked for a picture of a license so I could prove who he was.
Also, he offered to send a certified cashiers check and to wait until it fully clears before shipping the firearm Does anyone have good or bad advice on accepting one of these, I get mixed results.
I've accepted certified cashiers checks and haven't had any problems. I've also used USPS money orders and they work well, but you may also need to verify those are legit. USPS has a number you can call or check it online if you use that method of payment...
 
Personally, I'd go the USPS money order route.

Have buyer pay for shipping & any extra handling on your end. ie if you take it to your local FFL & have them ship, whatever there fee might be.

That way there is no link to your bank account & possibilty of fraud later on.

Don't ship until you've the cash in hand.

Never shipped a firearm, so there's that.
 
I realize this is your first post, so I hate to be overcritical, but there is bad advice in your post. First of all, PAYPAL, will shut your account down if they find out it is for a gun purchase. I speak from experience here, as I once had a rifle listed and paypal automatically comes up as form of payment. I didn't notice it in my listing when I was selling the firearm. It was an honest mistake on my part. They saw it in my rifle listing and shut my account down. It's alright to sell parts, such as scopes and triggers and stocks etc, but NOT guns/firearms. That's a big no no with them. Now, unless things have changed, you can ship a long gun (rifle or shotgun) through the USPS and UPS and Fed EX. I use USPS priority with insurance, UPS ground with insurance, but have never used Fed Ex, as they are generally more expensive. You always want to verify the FFL with FFL EZ CHECK, before you send it off to said FFL. FFLeZCheck 3.1.2 - Federal Firearms License Search
It's very quick and easy to do. If you find it doesn't jive, do not ship the firearm, and contact the buyer ASAP. When I ship a long gun, I always ship it inside a hard case as well, and then that will be inside a cardboard box. You guys have all seen the videos of how UPS treats packages. You want the package sealed up like fort knox. You also want to put insurance on it. This protects YOU!! It's easy to ship long guns, but you have to always be aware of the ATF rules and laws. When shipping a pistol, that's a whole different ball game. It has to be overnighted by an FFL. They fill out a special form and ship it for you.... I also know laws and rules change all the time, so if ANY FFL finds fault in my post, please let me know. Thanks..
No worries about being over critical, good to help keep everyone out of trouble. Thank you.
Here are a couple links a quick search yielded. Different rules for handgun or longgun/shotgun. Wasn't mentioned in the question as to which type of firearm was being shipped. An important distinction, thanks again.


 
One more question!
It was said that I would wait for cash in hand before I ship a firearm. What if I'm making a trade deal? I would be trading a pistol of mine (from wa) for a pistol from another (from or).
The other party would be shipping from a pawn shop that I've seen mentioned on here many times, so it's a legit business and I'm comfortable having the ffl i choose ship it to them. Do they not release the firearm until I've received mine and give the go ahead or how do they give me security that I won't lose out by any circumstance?
The man gives no sign of alarm and seems to be stand up, however, I like to err on the side of caution, when possible.
Thanks again for all of the help. I appreciate it, as always!
And while we're on this subject, does anyone recommend a good ffl to ship from near the marysville area?
 
Note that I'm not a collector of rare guns where one might have to go outside the state to buy/sell. If this is the case, then I get that you might not have a choice here.

Otherwise, I don't sell or buy guns unless it's in person. There is just far too much that can go wrong shipping to other states. The problem is at the end of the day there is no way to fully verify that the other person has their act together. At some point it always becomes a leap of faith. And what happens if you ship the gun to their FFL and it turns out the dude can't pass a background check? Now you've got your gun stuck in another state and have to pay to ship it back to you. Or what happens if you get the gun and it's not as it was represented? Or the person gets your gun and doesn't feel it's as you represented it?

Good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor! :)
 
It's nothing rare or major, just a normal trade. And in the sub 1k price range, which is big, but it's not a kidney. Yes there's always risk somewhere, but I could head out for class tomorrow and get broken into pieces by a truck on the highway. i do my best to plan against that, but I don't stay home as my course of action.
 

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