Just shipped my handgun for $7.33

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choochboost

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I love shipping handguns. It's always an interesting experience. The Fedex boys let me ship it ground with package protection for only $7.33. That's beats the $35 I paid last time. This time the clerk didn't seem worried about a firearm being on the counter, he was more excited about seeing a real gun up close.

His supervisor came over to make conversation and mentioned he didn't even know they could ship guns. He assumed that since I had brought it in without asking questions that it was ok and that I knew what I was doing. Then he said, "Well I guess since we're sending it ground and not air it makes sense that its ok."

"Ok", I replied, with a smile on my face. "Thanks."

I gave them $7.33 and left.
 
I've never shipped a gun through FedEx. Do you have a receipt or anything showing that they know they are shipping a gun? The reason I ask this is because if the box gets lost and you try to get the insurance, FedEx might think you didn't tell them you were shipping a gun because it didn't go overnight. If they ask the supervisor, you can be 99% sure he isn't going to admit that he didn't know he was supposed to ship it overnight.
 
Not only can it now disappear and you get nothing, but it'll be in their system much longer and be more available to thieves. Shipping overnight is for your protection also and I don't really think you saved enough to justify it.
 
A couple months ago I shipped a pistol UPS for $7+.
They said no problem when I said it was a pistol. I think the standard insurance would have about covered it if it was lost. It was just an old Kel Tec P3AT.
 
Hmm... did the laws change? I thought it was mandatory to ship handguns overnight unless a dealer was shipping it to another dealer in which case they can use USPS Priority? According to this website http://www.thegunzone.com/ship-guns.html, those workers shipped your gun against policy.
 
GRIFFIN1 said:
Do you have a receipt or anything showing that they know they are shipping a gun?
Click to expand...
Yes.

Valkman said:
Not only can it now disappear and you get nothing, but it'll be in their system much longer and be more available to thieves. Shipping overnight is for your protection also
Click to expand...
I have package protection for the value of the gun. I understand that it will be in transport longer, theoretically making a theft more possible, but I have the package protection as I said and its not my "shooter" - its an inexpensive Bersa that I can easily replace. They didn't want to send it by air and I went with that. The way I figure it, its their problem, and I just saved a bunch on shipping.

symr00 said:
According to this website http://www.thegunzone.com/ship-guns.html, those workers shipped your gun against policy.
Click to expand...
I walked out knowing that...and pretty happy about it. Actually, I was counting on it.
 
Cool, I just would hate for it to be a bad deal for you if something happens. If you're protected then it's all good!
 
I agree with akodo, Fedex and UPS break most all their other policies on a regular basis anyway.
 
When shipping a handgun by any method make sure you pack it in a large box.
Less chance it will end up walking out under a shirt.
 
I am pretty sure it is a UPS rule to ship guns overnight not a federal one .I have shipped handguns thru fedex and ups using standard ground and insurance just don't tell them what is inside.And if you ship from the internet they don't ask.UPS can't trust their employees thats why they make you use overnight.
 
Fed Ex

The overnight rule is Fed Ex policy, not law. It IS a requirement that you tell them the package contains a firearm. It is ILLEGAL under federal law to mark the package as containing a firearm. Bigger box is better, more protection and as mentinoned above, harder to hide under a shirt.

Most of the Fed Ex and UPS firearms thefts have been by someone with inside knowledge that the box contains a firearm since it's illegal to mark it. The point of the overnight policy is that it has better tracking, not that it's faster.

Here locally, they have accepted my shipments at ground rates. Since I'm in a low crime area this is OK by me. And yes, the reciept shows that it was a firearm.
 
Yup, the carriers are letting you pay them for the priviledge of giving their employees having less opportunity to steal your gun.

I wonder what would happen if a shipping clerk went against company policy like this, your gun disappeared, and you made a claim on it with a receipt showing you declared it as BATF regulations state. Would they pay off and fire the clerk, you think?
 
claims

I'd like to know how readily they would pay off for a lost package if you did ship it overnight. The rumors I've heard have not been good ones, especially where it's UPS. I quit using UPS when they started leaving rifles in the bushes in my front yard.

Another big hassle is the airlines. They WON't pay off if your firearm is worth anything. And last time I traveled with a firearm they made me hang a tag on it saying, "Steal me! I'm a firearm!". (Not that it wouldn't be somewhat obvious when it's a rifle in an aluminum rifle case.) It doesn't take much of a rifle to exceed their $600 liability limit. I had just paid $3000 for the rifle. When I arrived the rifle didn't. It showed up two days later.

Oddly enough, I once left half a ton (literally half a ton) of baggage in a closet in the Panama airport for a week. No problems!
 
I'm not a big Fed Ex fan.
When I received my CMP M1 Garand the box was WIDE OPEN. All the sealing tape had been cut. If the box was picked up unsupported the rifle could have fallen out on the ground.
Of course the driver didn't know anything about it.
 
The only problem about getting them to ship it ground against their policy is it voids your insurance coverage. They want pay out on a claim for a gun if it's not shipped according to their policies.
 
As long as you ship it honestly and mark on the form that it is a firearm, in some manner, the failure to ship it IAW Company Policy is the employees fault, not the sender. Hence I fail to see how they could penalize the sender in any way. When I send, in the contents box I do not say "Firearm" but rather the name of the gun eg. "Kimber Ultra Carry II."
 
I'm not a big Fed Ex fan.
When I received my CMP M1 Garand the box was WIDE OPEN. All the sealing tape had been cut. If the box was picked up unsupported the rifle could have fallen out on the ground.
Of course the driver didn't know anything about it.
Click to expand...

Three possibilites:

A. Someone at one of the FedEx sorting centers decided to steal your M1, then chickened out, probably beacuse it was too large to conceal it out of the facility.

B. Someone at one of the FedEx centers decided to check your rifle out, but did not intend to steal it.

C. See A & B.

Whenever I ship anything firearm related, I use a sharpie marker to put misleading stuff on the box, like "Gear Assy #125-09/X", or "Nature's Choice K-9 samples: Lamb&Rice", or I re-use boxes from non-firearm items. If the counter people you declare the iterms to are in on any scamming, or the drivers who know where they're going, you're still screwed, but that's less likely as compared to a lower wage sorter in the bowels of FedEx or UPS.

Also, when you address the package, instead of "Colt Manufacturing", "Glock Inc.", or "The Shooter's Shop", and the address, just put ATTN: Repair Dept, or RMA Recieving, then the address.

A smart package sorter could still recognize the address, but it's a lot less likely as they don't have lots of time to stare at stuff. Key words like "Colt", "Glock", "Smith & Wesson", combined with a certain size box is what they will most likely pick up on.
 
The only problem about getting them to ship it ground against their policy is it voids your insurance coverage. They want pay out on a claim for a gun if it's not shipped according to their policies.
Click to expand...
I did everything they asked me to including declaring it was a firearm. They even wanted me to take the gun out of the box and show them. They didn't want to send it by air. They thought it was "safer" to send by ground. :)

Also, when you address the package, instead of "Colt Manufacturing", "Glock Inc.", or "The Shooter's Shop", and the address, just put ATTN: Repair Dept, or RMA Recieving, then the address.
Click to expand...
When I sent my USP in to HK to get a match trigger I did just that..."Attn: Service Dept." This time with my Bersa I actually knew the gunsmith's name so I just put that on there instead of the business name.
 
So, do you have tracking numbers? You're going to let us know if/when it arrives at destination, right?
 
Well, got lots of folks venting on this. It would be nice to put the conversation to bed with a final, "Got there with no problems."
 
In my opinion firearms should be shipped just like any other package with optional insurance if you deem that necessary. Nothing like telling somebody "This is a gun!" To me, it seems like that would cause more problems than prevent them.
 
It IS a requirement that you tell them the package contains a firearm.
Click to expand...
Not if its going to a FFL. UPS would like for you to tell them its a firearm but if its going to a FFL you don't have to. Non license holders, yes.

If it gets lost, it was machine parts insured for $600....
 
The Fedex and UPS regs I've read require the shipper to tell the employee that the package contains a firearm. Same regs say nothing of a FFL exception.
 
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