Argh the post office did it again

[Hardcase]

I had a great chat with Anthony Imperato a few weeks ago about the horrendous shade tree gunsmithing that my nephew inflicted on his 22 rifle. Anthony asked me to send it in and Henry would fix it at no charge.

Fast forward to today. My wife stopped by the post office with the gun and an affidavit that I wrote stating that it was unloaded. The clerk insisted that she needed to send a form 1508 off to Henry for them to fill out so that it could be included. She called me and gave the phone to the clerk. He proceeded to tell me all about postal regulations about shipping firearms - that every one needed that form.

I guess that my mistake was telling him that he was wrong. He got mad! So I told him that I'd take it up with the postmaster later. Then he tossed the phone back to my wife and stomped off, saying something about stupid people who don't know the rules.

I gave the postmaster a call. He, too wanted me to use that form,but when I asked him to look up the rules on mailability, you could hear the aha moment. So he apologized profusely about the rudeness and said that he'd hold training that afternoon. My wife will give it another go tomorrow.

So hopefully this will have a happy ending.

 

[bigghoss]

a co-worker of mine wanted to mail a gun to his brother for an upcoming hunting trip and before he even finished asking what the process was to do so the clerk started shaking her head and said the post office does not ship firearms at all. he went to the next town over and they got it all taken care of right there no trouble at all. ridiculous.

 

[langenc]

We had a postmaster like that in this town.

For some reason he got into it with an accquaintance and told hiom to "get the f out"-of the postoffice.

He left right after that-(the PM).

 

[ndking1126]

Gotta give him credit for admitting his mistake.. as many (if not most?) people will not do that anymore.

Although I do understand your frustration. I've found ill-informed employees tend to plague most all big businesses or organizations. At times I've been the ill-informed employee, but we all have to learn as we go. Most all big businesses seem to deal with this problem.

 

[Hardcase]

The postmaster was definitely a stand-up guy and that was really refreshing. I dunno - maybe the clerk had a bad day or something.

 

[Don H]

In any large organization there's always someone who doesn't get the word. It's amazing how many people can sleep with their eyes wide open.

 

[Gelgoog]

I tend to avoid the post office for firearm shipments due to the attitude and increased expense. I find that UPS is not only significantly cheaper, but that I rarely get any flak from the employees. However when I first started shipping out firearms one clerk did have a problem once with me shipping a firearm and I had to explain to them that it was perfectly legal to do so stating that I had done it many times at that exact location. They insisted that they could not ship firearms and I had them retrieve a manager and explain it to her as well...rest assure I got my firearm shipped.

 

[DPris]

I've had to educate a couple postal clerks on their own regs, I just tell 'em to look it up.

The rest give me no problems whatever.
I mail all long guns through the PO, I've found it's actually less expensive than Fedex or UPS, since I have a choice & can ship them as slow (and cheap) as I want.

Denis

 

[Powderman]

a co-worker of mine wanted to mail a gun to his brother

Please say that the guys both lived in the same state. If not, then your co-worker was in violation of Federal law.

You may ship a long gun through USPS to a repair facility. You may NOT ship handguns under any circumstances, unless you are a Class 01 FFL, and you must be shipping to another FFL.

 

[Pilot]

You may NOT ship handguns under any circumstances, unless you are a Class 01 FFL, and you must be shipping to another FFL.

You mean you can't ship handguns via USPS? It is perfectly legal for a non-FFL holder to ship a handgun to an 01 FFL holder via overnight courier like Fedex and UPS.

 

[Adrian]

a co-worker of mine wanted to mail a gun to his brother for an upcoming hunting trip

Please say that the guys both lived in the same state. If not, then your co-worker was in violation of Federal law.

I read it that bighoss's coworker was mailing the gun to his brother to hold for him until they went on a hunting trip together, but that's just me.

It's 100% legal, even across state lines, to mail a long gun to yourself, "care of" another person, provided that the other person does not open the package on the other side. Registered mail is "encouraged".

 

[Aguila Blanca]

You mean you can't ship handguns via USPS? It is perfectly legal for a non-FFL holder to ship a handgun to an 01 FFL holder via overnight courier like Fedex and UPS.

Correct. For anyone other than an 01 FFL to ship handguns, they MUST, by law, use a common carrier such as FedEx or UPS. We "non-licensees" cannot ship handguns through the mail.

 

[twins]

Kudos to the PM that admitted the misunderstanding and is willing to make a change through proper training.

 

[Hardcase]

Kudos to the PM that admitted the misunderstanding and is willing to make a change through proper training.

Absolutely! I was really expecting some push-back from him, but the guy was very nice and it seemed like he really wanted to understand what the process should be and how to get the information out to his clerks.

I think that he gave an excellent example of how to correct a negative experience. And in the end, he took ownership of the problem by making sure that my wife asked for him if she had any problems.

Now I just have to keep my nephew away from screwdrivers and drill bits.

 

[oneoldsap]

I have a problem with the Post Office in my town with Postal Money Orders ! I do quite a bit of online commerce , and quite often get paid with Postal Money Orders . Every time I try to cash one at my P.O. , I'm told that they don't have enough cash ! One time I asked if I could present a M.O. for payment the following day ! The post Master told me that he couldn't hold that much cash overnight ( less than $400.00 ) . He said that I should take it to my bank . The Bank would rather not have anything to do with Postal Money Orders as they tell me they are the most counterfited Money insturment in the world ( who'd of thunk it ) . I can deposit them and wait ten days for it to clear ! I think that if the Postal Service is going to be in the banking business , they should at least be able to cash their own Money Orders . Has anyone else encountered this problem ?

 

[Art Eatman]

USPS folks certainly vary. Our postmaster lady would likely start a conversation about guns in general.

This seems like a usefully informative off-topic thread to let it run for a bit, but don't just add a repeat of previously posted information. New and helpful only, please.

 

[Hardcase]

All's well that ends well. The post office took the rifle, although the original clerk that my wife dealt with is still convinced that the USPS requires some sort of documentation that somebody on one end or the other has a license.

However, she worked with a different clerk this time, one who was happy to take the package with a statement that the gun was unloaded.

I didn't use UPS because the local contract outfits won't take guns and the depot is too far away. Besides, my wife enjoyed the challenge.

Anyway, my nephew's rifle is on its way to Bayonne for its repair.

 

[bigghoss]

Please say that the guys both lived in the same state. If not, then your co-worker was in violation of Federal law.

You may ship a long gun through USPS to a repair facility. You may NOT ship handguns under any circumstances, unless you are a Class 01 FFL, and you must be shipping to another FFL.

who said it was a handgun? and yeah it was to himself care of his brother probably. all I know was he was going visit his brother back east somewhere for a hunting trip and wanted to send his gun ahead do he wouldn't have to fly with it. it was a shotgun and the next post office did it for him no big deal.

 

[DPris]

There is no documentation required of an FFL at either end in postal regs.
Even UPS & Fedex don't require it.
Denis

 

[shootniron]

There is no documentation required of an FFL at either end in postal regs.

If it is a handgun, there certainly is a requirement. Your clerk may have allowed a shipment without, but it was a violation of policy if the proper form was not submitted at time of mailing.

Also, if you fail to make the disclosure when mailing a handgun and do not provide proof of FFL.....it is a FELONY.

This is from the Fed statute...

§1715. Firearms as nonmailable; regulations

Pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person are nonmailable and shall not be deposited in or carried by the mails or delivered by any officer or employee of the Postal Service. Such articles may be conveyed in the mails, under such regulations as the Postal Service shall prescribe, for use in connection with their official duty, to officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Organized Reserve Corps; to officers of the National Guard or Militia of a State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District; to officers of the United States or of a State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District whose official duty is to serve warrants of arrest or commitments; to employees of the Postal Service; to officers and employees of enforcement agencies of the United States; and to watchmen engaged in guarding the property of the United States, a State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District. Such articles also may be conveyed in the mails to manufacturers of firearms or bona fide dealers therein in customary trade shipments, including such articles for repairs or replacement of parts, from one to the other, under such regulations as the Postal Service shall prescribe.

Whoever knowingly deposits for mailing or delivery, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail according to the direction thereon, or at any place to which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any pistol, revolver, or firearm declared nonmailable by this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.