Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
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Post by Snyd on Jul 17, 2012 22:40:36 GMT -5
Man.... what a fiasco... First off, I live in Alaska so shipping is spendy. I know a guy who has been jumping through the hoops to get his FFl and will probably have it any day now. He was going to mail my donor gun to Gallagher for me as a favor for the cost of USPS mail. Probably 30 bucks or so. I've had the gun/parts etc. boxed up and ready to go for a few weeks. Well, come to find out. If he (FFL) mails it, then Gallagher has to send it back to him and I have to get permission from the Feds to get my gun back from my FFL buddy.... 4473 blah blah blah.... FedEx overnight is 80 bucks so I figure it's worth the extra 50 to not get the Feds involved. I don't trust em. They had me screwed up in the system and it took me a year to get it squared away. No prob last time I did the NICS check but I don't trust em. So I go to FedEx, tell the gal I have a handgun to ship and she says she needs the FFL number of the gunsmith unless it's a well known company. She says she doesn't know anything about guns but those are the rules... huh?? That's news to me, I don't read that anywhere on FedEx's list of rules. So, they don't really need the FFL, they just need to think they know it's going to be shipped to one? I leave, PO'd. Go to work, email John and decide to call them back. I talk to the manager and she says ya, they need the FFL unless it's being sent to "you know, a nationally known gunsmith..." I say "well it is!" If you know anything about guns then you know John Gallagher is a well known (nationaly) gunsmith! I say how about you look him up online, check his website. She says no prob, come on back and they'll check it out and make sure the shipping address is the same as his website says. hmmmm, I thought the rules were they needed the FFL? So I go back, the same first gal pulls up John's website but he doesn't have his address on his site. She's all confused now and says she doesn't know anything about guns (again) but her husband does... what does THAT have to do with anything. I tell her to Google "Gallagher Firearms Alabama". Who knows what she does, she still can't find it. Finally she Googles what I told her to and she says... "oh, there it is...". She tells me to fill out the slip, has another guy finish up but never checks to see if the address I put on the slip was the one she found online...wow..... that's all I can say.... Anyway.... 80 bucks and an hour later it's off to Mr. Gallagher! Now the wait for the 500L begins!
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akray
.30 Stingray
"Alaska is what the Wild West was"
Posts: 388
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Post by akray on Jul 18, 2012 1:01:20 GMT -5
Snyd, what if you had just packed it all up and labeled the box "machine parts" or something like that? I don't think that would have broken any of their rules and it would have saved you some hassle. I bet your revolver will be very nice and well worth the wait.
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,392
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Post by Snyd on Jul 18, 2012 1:17:13 GMT -5
I don't know what they would do if you didn't tell them it was a firearm but here's what their rules are... And of course it has to be "overnight express most expensive".
"Upon presenting the package for shipment, the person tendering the shipment to FedEx Express is required to notify FedEx Express that the package contains a firearm. The outside of the package must not be marked, labeled or otherwise identify that the package contains a firearm."
It does also say they ship "from individuals to licensed importers, licensed manufacturers or licensed dealers" so maybe that's where the FFL thing came in.
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Post by buckheart on Jul 18, 2012 5:16:09 GMT -5
I think they make it up as they go along. I have sent handguns through fedex several times to the manufacturer for repair with no issues. But as you said that was to known companies. The one time I sent a gun to a custom gunsmith I told em it was gun parts. They didn't ask any thing else so I didn't have to explain that the parts were all put together. I figured I was being as clear as most of the gun laws I hear about.
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Post by buckheart on Jul 18, 2012 5:17:11 GMT -5
And good luck with the project. Can't wait to see the pictures of the finished gun!
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Post by squawberryman on Jul 18, 2012 5:28:16 GMT -5
I live at the opposite end of the country and Fedex is the same. They hate guns, will try anything to slow the delivery process either direction. At my FFL they don't attempt to deliver, then say they've been there three times and he has to go there to pick it up. Just my deal but I've sent COUNTLESS numbers of guns via priority mail, no problems (yet). Akray was right, if you MUST use Fedex label it machines parts
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Post by tek4260 on Jul 18, 2012 6:07:51 GMT -5
I have a trade in mind and was in the UPS store yesterday so I decided to check on shipping. The guy behind the counter said they don't ship handguns from an individual to an FFL. I am pretty sure they do. Oh well, depends on who you get I suppose. Funny thing is he claims to have had a license at one time. Seems like he would know the company policy. Of course he did tell me that if I didn't tell him what was in the box, he wouldn't ask. I didn't even ask how insurance would work if the package came up missing and I hadn't claimed it was firearms.
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Post by hammerdown77 on Jul 18, 2012 7:15:45 GMT -5
I have a trade in mind and was in the UPS store yesterday so I decided to check on shipping. The guy behind the counter said they don't ship handguns from an individual to an FFL. I am pretty sure they do. Oh well, depends on who you get I suppose. Funny thing is he claims to have had a license at one time. Seems like he would know the company policy. Of course he did tell me that if I didn't tell him what was in the box, he wouldn't ask. I didn't even ask how insurance would work if the package came up missing and I hadn't claimed it was firearms. If that's one of those UPS retail stores, then according to UPS policy they cannot receive a firearm for shipment. You have to take it to a distribution center. Buddy of mine tried taking some guns to a UPS store once and told them they contained firearms and the clerks just about took a poop on the floor. They FREAKED OUT. And yes, you can ship UPS/FedEx to an FFL. The FFL has to be willing to receive from an individual, though. Some will, some won't.
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Post by AxeHandle on Jul 18, 2012 7:15:57 GMT -5
Lots of shipping/receiving nightmares out there. We've had about everything happen here. For shipping seems that our best method has been to use a FFL and ship USPS priority mail in a flat rate box. Just make sure that whoever you use insure for full value and package well. Receiving? Now that can be a bucket of worms. Hard to dictate to a seller how he must ship. I've seen UPS, USPS, and FedEx leave a package valued at $3000+ on the front steps of a house in full view of the street with no idea if anyone is home or ever will be home. Make sure the shipper insures and requires an adult signature to deliver.
And... On the FFL to FFL thing. In a perfect world individuals shipping to a FFL is fine. However, my FFL makes the point that if something goes bad when an individual has shipped something to your FFL, if that individual doesn't want to work it out, you are dead in the water.
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Post by CraigC on Jul 18, 2012 9:30:05 GMT -5
You can tell them it's machine parts and you won't be breaking the law but you will be violating their policy. If you have to make an insurance claim, they'll deny it. We're really between a rock and a hard place with all this nonsense. At least my local FFL has no problem receiving from an individual. Which at least simplifies the interstate transfer process.
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Post by AxeHandle on Jul 18, 2012 9:41:18 GMT -5
Thanks for reminding me why I have a pair of NM FT 44 Mags in the safe... Gets me to thinking about that RP #5 NM conversion set...
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Post by eisenhower on Jul 18, 2012 10:00:51 GMT -5
God, I HATE this subject. UPS and FEDEX are royally screwing gunowners with their ridiculous policies and the employees they charge with enforcing said ridiculous policies more often than not manage to confuse the issue, making it not simply highway robbery but an exercise in absurdity.
DeWayne
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Post by Boge Quinn on Jul 18, 2012 13:44:49 GMT -5
I use FedEx all the time, and practice "don't ask, don't tell". Hasn't bit me YET.
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Post by nolongcolt on Jul 18, 2012 14:28:28 GMT -5
I refuse to deal further with FedEx! Nothing but trouble and more costly than UPS for guns. I prefer to just use USPS when possible, always for long guns. Last time I had to ship a hangun, I gave it to my dealer in a priority box and he mailed it for me for a small fee. I avoid both UPS and Fed whenever possible!
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Post by hughree on Jul 18, 2012 14:59:21 GMT -5
"Don't ask, don't tell" and "machine parts" days may be over. My last shipment to a gunsmith in June was going fine at FedEx with my packaged addressed to "L.H. Supplies". Then the agent typed in the address, looked me in the eyes and asked if the package contained a firearm. She explained that the address shows up on her screen as a gunshop and then advised me that firearms must be shipped overnight. $91.00, yee-ha. Machine parts" was not going to suffice when the package contained a frame with a serial number - a firearm, by definition. I retrieved my package and called around until I located a small licensee who accepted $20 over costs to send it USPS. After performing a sweet action job, the gunsmith/FFL shipped the firearm directly to me.
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