How do you ship your pistols for repair

T

TomNJVA

New member
I need to send one of my pistols back to the manufacturer for some minor repairs and upgrade. I understand that I can't ship a firearm through the US Postal Service and must use UPS or FedEx. To my knowledge there are no legal regulations on such a shipment (other than must be to a licensed manufacturer etc.) but that UPS and FedEx have their own policies and rules, including using overnight service at outrageous prices.

Is there some justification for using overnight service besides profit? The manufacturer implied that they receive many pistol shipments by regular ground service, so how would UPS or FedEx know what I am shipping? Are there penalties for mistakenly shipping by regular ground service. So what do you folks do?

Thanks!

Tom
 
The justification for UPS and FedEx to require overnight is that overnight service is more direct and passes through fewer hands, as well as being more closely tracked. In the past, both companies had problems with firearms "diappearing" while in transit. This is their way of trying to address that.

Federal law requires that when you ship a firearm by common carrier, you must inform the carrier that you are shipping a firearm. Here's the law:

18 USC 922 said:
(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.
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A strict reading of this tells us that if you are shipping to a licensed manufacturer, you do not have to inform the common carrier that you are shipping a firearm. That takes care of the federal law. It is still the shipper's policy that firearms must be shipped overnight. If you don't choose to inform them AND you don't abide by their regulation, I suppose if the gun arrives safely nobody will ever know. If the gun is lost or damaged -- good luck collecting if you failed to follow their rules.
 
Which manufacturer? When I dealt with Ruger, they sent me the mailing label by email and specified which carrier. All I had to do was pack it up and drop it off.
 
I have returned several guns to both Ruger and S&W and Doyle’s experience is a duplicate of mine.
You have a good amount of money invested and gun makers like those two will send you back a better product than what you sent them.
What is the price of overnight shipping compared to the price of the gun? I inform them and insure the gun. You need to follow the manufactures recommendation.
 
The manufacturer is SCCY and the gun only cost $265. It appears UPS and FedEx will charge some $55 for the one way shipment from VA to FL - SCCY pays the return shipping.

Tom
 
An FFL can send handguns through the postal service, and a small handgun will fit in a small Flat Rate box that goes for (IIRC) $5.95. If you have an on-going relationship with a local FFL, even if you pay him $25 for a transfer fee (it has to go through his bound book) it still might be cheaper than using UPS or FedEx.
 
Tom, I'll give you one more option. Call SCCY and see if they will let you use their FedEx/UPS account to create a shipping label but with you reimbursing them for the price. Big companies negotiate SERIOUSLY reduced shipping rates from the carriers. While it may cost you $55 or so dollars to ship with FedEx, it would cost them a small fraction of that.
 
Use shipmygun.com,,,

Use shipmygun.com,,,
The cost is only $39.95 for a handgun.

It's a service piggy-backed on Buds Gun Shop,,,
Go on-line to set up the shipment.

The only bad thing is you have to take it to a UPS hub,,,
Those little franchise UPS stores won't do this.

I recently purchased a handgun from a private individual,,,
He used shipmygun and it got to me the next day.

It really is next day delivery.

Aarond

.
 
Aarond, I'm pretty sure that shipmygun is doing the same thing that I had previously recommended. They are using a "large company" negotiated shipping rate to create the pre-printed labels - of course, making a profit while doing so. I wonder how much of that $39.95 you paid actually went to the carrier and how much was Bud's profit.
 
A 4473 is not required to receive a handgun sent/received to a FFL , the firearm is not changing ownership.

This is still under gunsmithing.
 
Hello Doyle,,,

You are probably correct,,,
I just mentioned shipmygun because it's a sure thing.

Over the years I've tried to get a few companies to do what you suggested,,,
All but one (Charter Arms) told me I had to go the private courier route.

For a while I had a local gun shop ship for me,,,
They charged a flat-rate of $35.00.

For some reason they decided it was too much trouble,,,
So from now on I'll just use shipmygun.

I have a UPS Hub right by my work,,,
For me it's the most hassle-free method.

Aarond

.
 
The only bad thing is you have to take it to a UPS hub,,,
Those little franchise UPS stores won't do this.
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Neither will the Fedex/Kinko ones.
Use a FFL and have it shipped back to you directly; saves money.
 
Let's say that the firearm is delivered from a Non-Licensed Owner to FFL "A" so that it can be mailed to FFL "B" for repair.

FFL "A" did NOT receive the firearm for "the sole purpose of repair". FFL "A" received it for the purpose of sending it to FFL "B". Thus, the exemption does not apply, and FFL "A" may not return it to the Non-Licensed Owner without executing a 4473

That example is not even close to correct. Ownership is not transfered.
The federal code does not say that the shop has to do the work. They can have a gunsmith that does the work as a sub -contractor. Or send it to a dozen different shops for work.

4473 / NICS are only done transfer of ownership as a sale.
Or if a agent of the original owner picks up the gun.
 
carguychris ....but the problem in this case is that SCCY will have to ship the handgun back to the FFL, and the OP will have to do a SECOND transfer and execute a Form 4473 to reclaim it.
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Nope. It doesn't matter who actually does the repair, but that it is delivered to the dealer for repair.


FITASC
Quote:
The only bad thing is you have to take it to a UPS hub,,,
Those little franchise UPS stores won't do this.
Click to expand...

Neither will the Fedex/Kinko ones.
Click to expand...
FedEx/Kinkos went out of business years ago, it's been FedEx Office since 2008.....and they DO allow firearm shipments. Unlike The UPS Store, FedEx Office locations are company owned, not franchises.

Any FedEx Office location that says they can't ship guns hasn't read their own policies.
 
carguychris said:
True, and I've often advocated this approach when selling a handgun out-of-state, but the problem in this case is that SCCY will have to ship the handgun back to the FFL,
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No, I don't believe they do.
 
dogtown tom said:
It doesn't matter who actually does the repair, but that it is delivered to the dealer for repair.
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This seems to contradict the wording of 27 CFR § 478.124 but I've been wrong before. :o [EDIT: Seems I was, in fact, wrong. :eek:]
guncrank said:
4473 / NICS are only done transfer of ownership as a sale.
Click to expand...
Not exactly. A 4473 is required to get a gun out of hock at a pawn shop, and also to retrieve a gun that's been on consignment at a dealer (one of my local dealers made me sign a form acknowledging this when I put a pistol on consignment). It's based on possession, not ownership.
guncrank said:
Or if a agent of the original owner picks up the gun.
Click to expand...
This is correct.
 
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I appreciate all of your comments! Seems like there is not a full consensus on the details of the transfers, so I'll just take my gun to a local FedEx Customer Service Center and ship it to SCCY. At least I know that's clean and legal, albeit expensive. Perhaps I'll stop at my LGS along the way to see what they can offer, but if I have to pay their normal transfer fee of $32 plus their postage, and do another 4473, I'll just proceed to FedEx.

Tom
 
Not exactly. A 4473 is required to get a gun out of hock at a pawn shop, and also to retrieve a gun that's been on consignment at a dealer (one of my local dealers made me sign a form acknowledging this when I put a pistol on consignment). It's based on possession, not ownership.


No wrong assumption
Pawn shop or consignment denotes change of ownership of the firearm as told to me by a IOI.
The FFL owns the gun with a pawn or consignment. Out of pawn or consignment require a 4473/NICS to regain the firearm.

A agent pick up the line , line 11a in not applicable so is not filled out as there is no transfer.

And the answer to your question is Yes , no 4473 needed.
 
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