Do people really think you must Overnight UPS a gun to an FFL?

Went thru this BS last Thursday when I had to ship a gun back to a manufacturer for warranty repairs. Packed it up all nice and secure, took it to FEDEX Kinko with the manufacturers account #. The counter person asked how I wanted it shipped..."Overnight", I said. Insurance? "Yes, $1000", I said. Whats in the package? "A Handgun", I said. Sorry sir, it is illegal for a private citizen to ship a handgun across state lines. "It's going back to the manufacturer for repairs", I said. Sorry, it's illegal. I said, "listen I know the laws and it is not illegal for a private citizen to ship a handgun overnight to a manufacturer for repairs." Counter person went to confer with fellow employee. Fellow employee came over and informed me it was against Fedex policy. "Fine", I said. Picked up the box, got back in my car and drove two miles to another Fedex Kinko. Same scenario up until what's in the package? "Machined parts", I said. Thank you, Sir, he said.

Yesterday, 1 week to the day from when I shipped it I had my repaired handgun back.;)
 
If you saw how packages are handled at UPS, you wouldn't want to give up your insurance. Next day air packages are also handled with more care and a lot more priority than regular ground. That translates into less time to do damage to the package or steal it. The sooner its out of UPS hands the better.
Click to expand...
How do you suppose all the handguns that you see in EVERY gun store in America arrived at that gun store?

Do you think they were sent UPS Next Day Air?
Do you think they were carried on a velvet pillow by a butler in tails with white gloves?

They were shipped ground by a common carrier. They were delivered to that gun store and every other gun store by UPS, Fedex and USPS, and 99% of them were shipped at the basic commercial ground rate.

And you must also be aware that UPS Next Dar Air packages are also loaded in the trailer RIGHT NEXT TO all the ground packages for the destinations that are geographically close, right? As in, they aren't handled by upper class employees, carried around in foam-padded grocery carts and safely placed in a window or aisle seat on the plane... right?

FACT: If you walk in to the UPS facility (or even the UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc) anywhere near Columbus, Ohio with a package you want shipped Next Day Air to Charleston WV, it's going to be handled exactly, get that, EXACTLY the same as the box of Avon, the Home Shopping Network printer, the new bedspread from JC Penney or that soccer ball that Tom Hanks made love to while stuck on the deserted island. It's going to get sent down a network of conveyor belts and it's going to get placed in a trailer and driven there. It'll get unloaded in the middle of the night, placed on a brown truck and sent down the street to be handed off by the driver.

Your box could contain a Les Baer, a 3-carat diamond pendant or a bag of shaved armpit hair. No matter what's in it, the amount you paid to ship it, or the level of service you bought, it's going to get sent the way the company is set up to send it.

So you can go ahead and keep spreading nonsense about how much "danger" your handgun is in, just so long as everyone else gets a chance to understand that it's not true.

If you want to make sure it gets there, package it WELL, tape it up even better, and don't make it look like a handgun. Label it clearly and make sure the label is also taped on. Put the handgun box in a cube-shaped box. They charge by weight. Don't write "SMITH & WESSON IS AWESOME" on the box.
 
UPS 3 weeks ago: Sending my Kahr in for service, all packaged up, I tell the worker that it is a handgun I'm sending back for repair. The UPS counter person tells me it is illegal for me to ship a handgun. :barf: I tell him that I can indeed legally ship a handgun back to the manufacturer for repairs.

I then ask him if it is just against UPS policy for me to ship and if not, how should I ship it? He confers with another worker and says 3rd day shipping will save me money versus the overnight. So I ship it for $14-including $600 insurance.

I told them what it was and they advised me on how to ship it. Was this unscrupulous or illegal? Would they have honored my insurance?

I got my Kahr back in 2 weeks and it runs like a top.:D

Kar-el
 
Para Ord sent me a UPS return label as "metal parts" UPS ground. I understand they were trying to help me out but I sent it UPS overnight insured at my expense instead. UPS handles & tracks declared handguns as special items...so they tend to arrive undamaged. Plus it's easier to explain when I fill in the police report on the missing gun. Also, my firearms insurance company might get cranky if I claimed that a box of missing metal parts was really my $1000 Para .45 PDA. So legal or not, company policy or not, I'm going to apply common sense and fly my guns... :D

Milspec
 
I don't know how UPS could possibly treat packages with firearms in any differently as Federal law requires them NOT to place any indication on the package that it contains a firearm:

(e) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to deliver or cause to be delivered to any common or contract carrier for transportation or shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, to persons other than licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors, any package or other container in which there is any firearm or ammunition without written notice to the carrier that such firearm or ammunition is being transported or shipped; except that any passenger who owns or legally possesses a firearm or ammunition being transported aboard any common or contract carrier for movement with the passenger in interstate or foreign commerce may deliver said firearm or ammunition into the custody of the pilot, captain, conductor or operator of such common or contract carrier for the duration of the trip without violating any of the provisions of this chapter. No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm.
 
I simply put "Kimber Part #234776" or "Sig Model 226" on the box. Not my problem if they do not know what that is.


Oops- I meant on the FORM, not the box. My mistake.
 
Last edited:
UPS handles & tracks declared handguns as special items...so they tend to arrive undamaged.
Click to expand...

Complete bulls**t. Did you even bother to read Sevens' post?

Plus, as NavyLT pointed out, it's illegal for UPS to indicate that there's a gun in your box. You're not getting the red-carpet treatment that you think you're getting.
 
I simply put "Sig Model 226" on the box. Not my problem if they do not know what that is.
Click to expand...

??????????

UPS will ask you what is in the box. You have to give them an answer.

Writing "SIG P226" on the friggin' box is about the dumbest thing you could do.
 
I finally got around to looking it up and NavyLT is correct. UPS defines a handgun the same way the goventment does. From their T&C for package shipments:

J. Firearms and Ammunition
UPS accepts packages containing firearms, as defined by Title 18, Chapter 44, and Title 26, Chapter 53 of the United States Code, from and between licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers and licensed collectors, as defined in Title 18, Chapter 44 of the United States Code, law enforcement agencies, from and between persons not otherwise prohibited from shipping firearms by federal, state or local law, and when such shipment complies with all federal, state and local laws applicable to the shipper, recipient and package. The shipper must use Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service for each package containing a firearm, including handguns. UPS, in its sole discretion, may require the shipper to select a UPS Next Day Air Service for any package containing a firearm. Handguns, as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 921, will be accepted for transportation only via UPS Next Day Air Services. Firearms, including handguns, will not be accepted for transportation via UPS Drop Boxes, UPS Internet Shipping, in response to a request for UPS On-Call Pickup® service, or when presented for shipment at locations of The UPS Store or any Third Party Retailer. Small arms ammunition, as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 173.59, will be transported only when packaged and labeled in compliance with 49 C.F.R. § 172. Firearm parts, which do not constitute firearms as defined under federal law, including without limitation Title 18, Chapter 44, and Title 26, Chapter 53 of the United States Code, and which otherwise comply with federal, state, and local law, will be accepted for transportation. UPS Returns Services are not available for packages containing firearms. Firearms, including handguns, and firearm parts are not accepted for shipment internationally. For more information, access http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/guidelines/firearms.html, or contact UPS.
Click to expand...
 
UPS will ask you what is in the box. You have to give them an answer.
Click to expand...

Uh, I sure do. The answer I give is correct. How can the truth be the worst thing I can say? You don't write it on the box. When you ship via UPS, you fill out a shipping form. One of the questions on the form asks what is in the package, so I write down "Sig model 226." I don't write it on the box. My fault for typing in a hurry.

BTW- Even IF you subscribe to the theory that you must notify the carrier, TELLING the carrier is not sufficient. You must make the notification IN WRITING.
 
The link from my post above takes you to the UPS special procedures for shipping firearms page which includes:

Getting Your Firearm Shipment to UPS
-You can only ship your package that contains a handgun from UPS daily pickup accounts or through UPS Customer Centers (counters at UPS operational facilities). Note: Handguns are not accepted for shipment through UPS Internet Shipping, UPS Drop Boxes, or UPS On-Call PickupSM, or at The UPS Store® or any third party retailer.

-When you are shipping a package that contains a handgun, you must verbally notify the UPS driver or UPS Customer Center clerk.

-You can ship a firearm (excluding handguns), from a UPS daily pickup account, UPS On-Call Pickup, One-Time Pickup, or a UPS Customer Center. Note: Firearms are not accepted for shipment through UPS Internet Shipping, UPS Drop Boxes, or at The UPS Store or any third party retailer.

-See the terms and conditions in the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service for information regarding firearm shipments.
Click to expand...
(Emphasis added by me)

It looks like verbal notification is acceptable.
 
Sport45,

What divemedic was referring to is 18 USC 922, Federal law, that states that a private party must notify a common or contract carrier IN WRITING of a shipment that contains a firearm ONLY IF the shipment is interstate AND not going to a licensee. Because of an error in a BATFE FAQ on their website, many people falsely believe that you must notify a carrier of ANY shipment of a firearm by law.

Divemedic is speaking to those folks that falsely believe that when he states that they are so insistent that every shipment by law has to be declared to the carrier, and yet they will say that verbal notification is enough, which, by Federal law, is not enough - but only when notification is actually required by law.
 
Exactly. Federal Law trumps UPS policy. 18 USC 922(e) says:

(e) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to deliver or cause to be delivered to any common or contract carrier for transportation or shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, to persons other than licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors, any package or other container in which there is any firearm or ammunition without written notice to the carrier that such firearm or ammunition is being transported or shipped; except that any passenger who owns or legally possesses a firearm or ammunition being transported aboard any common or contract carrier for movement with the passenger in interstate or foreign commerce may deliver said firearm or ammunition into the custody of the pilot, captain, conductor or operator of such common or contract carrier for the duration of the trip without violating any of the provisions of this chapter. No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top