Shipping A Handgun?

[cbzdel]

I have a couple of handguns currently for sale and I have been contacted by several members regarding shipping to their FFL. That in itself I have no issues with, but clearly I want to do it correctly. Upon my own research...

You can not ship a handgun via USPS regardless of who you are.

May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service? | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another state. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of their own state or to a licensee in any state. The U.S. Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any...

www.atf.gov

According to FexEx their website states you must hold an FFL to ship any firearm:

FedEx | System Down

UPS is the only option that is left and for handguns they will deliver them however they will only accept them though overnight air shipping.

How To Ship Firearms | UPS - United States

Information from UPS about how to ship firearms, which are considered a special-care shipment and require some extra steps before packing them up and shipping.

www.ups.com

That being said, I have had several members reach out about shipping, and after looking into some of the cost estimates for UPS overnight air I realized I can not ship a handgun very far and still make the profit that I want to make. I then mention this to the members saying I can not ship it and take that kind of hit on the asking price. A couple of the members have then flat out told me I am wrong and they ship handguns all the time and it shouldn't cost more than $30ish and overnight air has never been required and so on. I realize I have the right to sell to anyone I want and don't need to sell if I am not comfortable. However, what am I missing here? If several members are telling me I am wrong, am I actually wrong here and completely misreading the posted guidelines?

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[PNW Pineapple]

should be about 20-30 bucks to ship a handgun. Whenever I ship a firearm I go to my local FFL and have them do the shipping for me.

 

[jbett98]

The buyer generally pays for the shipping to their FFL.

 

[cbzdel]

should be about 20-30 bucks to ship a handgun. Whenever I ship a firearm I go to my local FFL and have them do the shipping for me.

I never actually thought of that option, I just assumed I would be on my own to handle it. I will need to make some calls about this.

The buyer generally pays for the shipping to their FFL.

The offers I am getting are, I will give you $XXX for the gun if you ship it to my FFL, so I am assuming that means I would handle the shipping on my end. Is that not normal?

 

[jbett98]

If you don't have an FFL that wants to help you ship a firearm, look up Buds Guns shipping website.
It's called "Ship My Gun" and they have an online calculator that you can use to predetermine the exact freight costs.

Gun Shipping - Fast, Legal, Affordable

www.shipmygun.com

 

[solv3nt]

Make sure you get a secure payment that can't be reversed, postal money order is the best, and it might be cheaper to have an FFL ship it as FFL can ship USPS.

 

[Heyjoe]

Most FFL dealers prefer to receive private party guns dealer to dealer as opposed to individual-dealer.

I'd be surprised if you can find any shops to take shipment as a non FFL entity.

 

[BlindedByScience]

As far as I know, the devil is in the details.

As I said in another thread, I shipped a handgun back to Cylinder & Slide for 'the works', directly through UPS, and C&S shipped it directly back to me. How could that have been done..?? Because there was no change in ownership, and the target (C&S) is a registered firearm manufacturer. Since I'm the legal, registered owner, they could ship it directly back to me.

If there's going to be a change in ownership, my understanding is you have to have an FFL ship to another FFL who will address the paper requirements on their end.

At least, that's what I know and it makes sense to me. I don't particularly like the way things are, but it is what it is.

 

[jbett98]

A private individual can ship a firearm to an valid FFL, but some won't accept a shipment from a non FFL because of prior problems, one being a gun shipped with ammo loaded in it.

 

[cbzdel]

Thanks for all the help guys, appreciate it! I will reach out to my FFL and stop attempting to mail anything myself.

 

[L84Cabo]

Try shipmygun.com. You still use UPS but they're much cheaper. Also note that the buyer should pay all shipping costs. At least you can...and should...certainly make that a condition of the sale.

Also make sure you follow the rules with the shipper. It's a UPS requirement that handguns have to go overnight, and not a law. This makes it enticing to people to simply ship the gun two day and call it a "tool." You can certainly do this if you wish. But if the gun goes missing, you will then be filing a police report and UPS will likely find out what you really shipped...and then not pay off on the insurance. It's not worth the headache IMO. Make sure you ship it insured.

Also be aware of the potential problems when shipping. If you ship your gun and the buyer is unable to pass a background check, your gun is now sitting far from home. It's going to have to be shipped back to you and someone is going to have to pay for that. The buyer should pay for that but will he actually pony up the $$? Make sure you have this conversation with your buyer and make it a condition of the sale...that if he can't pass the background check, or doesn't like the look of the gun when it shows up, or anything else, he must pay for the return shipping. Of course, getting him to follow through with that is a whole other issue. And you had better be prepared to cover the shipping if something goes wrong.

Then there is the issue of payment. There are lots of people scamming with fake cashiers checks and other shenanigans. Make absolutely sure you have a fully cleared/cashed check before you let the gun go.

Good luck...and may the odds be ever in your favor!