holy shipping fee.

W

williev18

Guest
I just got home from the local FED-EX depot and im still feeling a little sore in the back side. I sent my rifle off for a little work but in the process found out that they will only ship fire arms next day air. So in the process i had to spend $148 to send my rifle out for a $130 dollar job. What the F%$#, why on earth would fed ex not be able to send a rifle via ground shipping. I think next time i will just get a plane ticket and fly the rifle out myself.:mad:
 
It isn't any better with UPS either" Try the post office it might be a tad less expensive, Just make sure you have the proper paper work.
 
Had the same experience with Fedex a while back. For air shipments, they'll only do next day air. It's in their company rule book. But Fedex also offers ground service priced comparably to or less than UPS, and it's usually quite good. I use it for firearms (long guns) frequently, and don't understand why they wouldn't ship your rifle ground.. Where I live, I prefer Fedex ground to UPS for all my outgoing shipping, and I DEFINITELY get treated better at the Fedex counter (very courteous and professional) than I do at UPS (generally ignorant and firearms paranoid... wouldn't buy a burger from them if they worked at Mickey Dee's.)
 
go back..ask to talk to management and ask for a refund......
the counter guy was one hundred percent wrong.....
usps will ship a rifle...alot cheaper..but think it has to go to an ffl dealer or yourself( in care of where you are going, as in hunting,competition).


ups and fedex rip us off because of thier own thieft problems......there is no law on overnight/nor next day air......its thier rules...to make them extra money.
sooooooo

bottom line is i ship a lot of "precision machined parts".......... alot less hassle.....just insured for full value

mike in co
 
USPS Registered or Priority is the ONLY way to ship a long gun. FedEx and UPS may be a little cheaper but it's not worth the risk. FedEx and UPS will mark the box as containing a firearm (it's the law) and the shipping invoice will also identify the contents. USPS, on the other hand, cannot mark the box as containing a firearm (it's the law), and you are not required to ID the contents to a clerk.

No matter who you use to ship, you have to have a signed copy of the FFL in your hand and the adress on the box has to be exactly the same as on the FFL. But, you are not required to show the USPS the FFL, whereas UPS and FedEx may ask to see it.

These rules may sound contradictory because they are. But, those are the rules as set out by the Feds and by the common carriers (UPS and FedEx).

Ray
 
When I received my rifles from the CMP they came Fed-X, I also sent one back using the same carrier (Ground)
 
twentytwoguy said:
Are you sure the Post Office will ship a firearm?
Click to expand...

Please re-read the above posts. Yes they can, and will. There are different rules for long guns and hand guns, but why would you think they won't do it??? Are you thinking of ammunition? USPS cannot ship loaded ammo, primers, or powder, but they will ship brass and bullets.

Ray
 
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i tried talking to the manager but she would not budge on the fire arm rule and didnt even try to differentiate between long gun and hand gun. I tried ups but thier response was even worse and wouldnt even ship with out a call tag from a FFL. My appointment with the gun smith was for next week so i couldnt afford to keep fooling around. I guess next time i will take the time to break the rifle down and ship it one or two parts at a time.
 
williev18 said:
. . .I guess next time i will take the time to break the rifle down and ship it one or two parts at a time.
Click to expand...

No difference between a rifle and the bare action. They are both firearms.

Many UPS, FedEx, and USPS clerks are not familiar with the laws, or their own rules. Arguements usually end with them winning. UPS and FedEx are private businesses and they can make any rule they want. We certainly don't want the Feds regulating them too, so if you don't like their service go somewhere else. USPS, on the other hand, is a public corporation and the Postmaster should be called if the clerk doesn't understand the rules. They (Postmaster) usually do.

Ray
 
when i had this rifle origonaly built i purchased the action and picked it up at a local gun shop. After i shipped it to my smith throught the exact same Fed Ex store desclosing that it was an action and insuring it as such with no such rules. Thats why tonight was such a shock. I had heard of the rules with hand guns but understood that long guns where not included. I should have tried the post office but wasnt sure if they would be better or worse beeing goverment operated. I suppose lesson learned next time i will try the post office first.
 
USPS is not govt operated. It is an independant agency. Some sort of public corporation, I think. They get no govt funding. that's why they are going broke.

USPS does not know the package contains a firearm (except handguns) so they do not keep it under lock and key. That's why I use Registered Mail. Every package IS kept under lock and key and each transfer is signed for.
 
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twentytwoguy said:
Are you sure the Post Office will ship a firearm?
Click to expand...
I do it all the time. I ship standard and insure them. The only time you ever have a problem is when you're dealing with some little despotic dictatorial postmaster that does not know the rules. Find a post office that does not give you a ration and use them.
 
hey am i baned from this thread..lol...did'ent we just have a shipping price thing that kind of went sour..

Holey cow where was you shipping it to?
I'm looking at reciept , I just shiped a 21.0 pound gun(package) a state away..insured for $2,500 -ups ground and it was $36.91 and $21.60 was the insurance.
 
That's one thing we are lucky about in Canada. I can mail (using our postal system) a rifle across Canada for about $25.
 
Here you go - copied direct from the USPS mailability site.

Rifles and Shotguns
Although unloaded rifles and shotguns not precluded by 12.1.1e and 12.1.2 are mailable, mailers must comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968, Public Law 90-618, 18 USC 921, et seq., and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, 27 CFR 178, as well as state and local laws. The mailer may be required by the USPS to establish, by opening the parcel or by written certification, that the gun is unloaded and not precluded by 12.1.1e.

I have to use the USPS to ship rifles, we only have a UPS contract counter and they will not accept firearm shipments, using the argument that they do have a secure area to store them.

I initally did have to take a copy of the Post Office reg and a copy of the BATF FAQ's to our postmaster so that he knew it was legal, after that there has never been a problem with shipping with them.

drover
 
A year ago last Aug. I shipped one of my 10.5 lb. rifles from Ky. to Ok. insured for 2800.00 useing UPS and the cost was 56.00 and some change.
 
Been through this battle a couple times with UPS and FedEx. I have talked to higher ups at both Fed Ex and UPS to make sure about their policies. Any privately owned shipping center (even if it states UPS Store or Fed Ex) can institute their own policies on what they will and will not ship that supersedes that of the actual shipping company. The only way to guarantee that you will get what you want is to go the UPS/Fed Ex owned sites, which are usually the distribution centers.

The easiest way to deal with this is have your gunsmith (or FFL holder) issue the call tag and you walk in with the box, put it on the counter and don't stay a word about the content. That has worked flawless for me on the last three shipments with UPS. Even my local owned UPS Store in which the owner proclaimed that he would never ship a fire-arm through "his" store, has shipped 3.

I have no problems with the good old USPS.

The flip site of this, I have a very good relationship with the actual UPS drivers in my area and know them but name. During the primer shortage a few years back, I gave a couple of boxes of Fed 210 primers to one the drivers so he could reload for his crew to go on a hunting trip. A little kindness has went a long ways. Never had another package get wet or left in a place that the dogs to get it... He stops by with every package and ask something about reloading or shooting. He has even when to order from some vendors like Grafs, Natchez, Sinclair, Widners, and Brunos just by seeing my packages show up.

Luck, Tim
 
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