Shipping....... Questions answered via ATF

[Guest Southern Christian Armed]

Q: May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier?

A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm.

[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5) and 922(e), 27 CFR 478.31 and 478.30]

 

(do have to use FFL to another state)

 

So, we can ship to each other and if FEDex or UPS refuses, we annotate code, follow procedure, then bust em when they don't comply because they don't train their employees.

 

We can trade and ship within the state to each other without an FFL. I double verified this with an ATF office. They pulled their code and quoted the same thing.

 

Any other thoughts?

[Oh Shoot]

UPS and FedEx will no longer ship between non-licensees period. Also, their TOS requires notification of firearm in shipment.

 

The BATF FAQ has never been precisely correct though about one thing: federal law only requires notification when shipping between non-licensees (which is only legal intrastate or to yourself interstate).

 

Point is though, assuming you obey carriers' Terms of Service and/or federal law, the only way you can ship a firearm to non-licensee is through USPS, and no handguns allowed. Also, depending on which clerk/stationmaster you get at some locations, YMMV even there.

 

In short, this means that if you adhere to carrier TOS and federal law, there is now actually no way to ship a handgun between non-licensees intrastate or to yourself interstate at all, even though it is legal to do so.

 

- OS

Edited January 22, 2014 by Oh Shoot

[Guest carter]

only thing I've ever been asked is if  they're any perishables... :shrug:

[Dolomite_supafly]

The ATF law have nothing to do with the policies of FEDEX and UPS. Just because the ATF says it is legal to ship does not mean the private entity is obligated to ship. They can refuse to ship just like Starbucks can refuse you a cup of coffee. As private entities they can refuse you any service they provide for no reason at all. 

 

USPS will ship but but only if you have a knowledgeable clerk. The first time I shipped I called the postmaster and she initially said no. I asked her to look up the laws regarding it while I drove down there with the gun to ship. By the time I got there she had reversed herself. My postmaster knows me well enough now that she could not care less that I was shipping long guns to fellow Tennesseans.

[deerslayer]

Also, the "machine parts" description some use to avoid the Next Day/Overnight requirement is not only illegal, but may also cause huge problems if UPS/FedEx loses or damages your gun.  If they sense you are not completely forthcoming about the contents, your claim will be voided at the drop of a hat, insurance or not. 

Edited January 23, 2014 by deerslayer

[Oh Shoot]

Also, the "machine parts" description some use to avoid the Next Day/Overnight requirement is not only illegal, but may also cause huge problems if UPS/FedEx loses or damages your gun.  If they sense you are not completely forthcoming about the contents, your claim will be voided at the drop of a hat, insurance or not. 

 

They will deny any claim for anything outside their TOS, period. Like a handgun sent from individuals by anything but overnight class. Lots of those "disappeared" when I was a FedEx Ground guy.

 

- OS

[Dolomite_supafly]

Also, even if you have insurance they will not pay the full amount. They will only pay the value and you MUST have a receipt to prove value. At least that is the case with USPS. I was shipping a kind of valuable and rare scope. I picked up the scope second hand and I sold it for $275. I asked for $250 insurance on the package. The postmaster said in order for me to collect I would have to prove value. I said that I had the receipt of what the buyer paid. She said that the receipt from the buyer was no good and that I needed a receipt from when I bought it new. I said it was impossible because it was older and bought by me used. She said they would not pay the claim if something happened.

When they were running the trigger kits through the sorting machines, even though I paid for hand sort, I was loosing about 1 in 5. I came in one day and told them I wanted $100 insurance on each one because they were loosing them. I siad if they were going to loose them then they would pay for them, my time and frustration. She asked what they were and I told her. Then she said they weren't worth $100. I said it doesn't matter because I had $100 insurance. She said it doesn't work that way. They only pay the value, according to the receipt when bought new, up to the insurance. If the item isn't worth the $100 then they will not pay.

Same thing with MO's too. You cannot send a $100 MO and put $1,000 insurance on it and expect $1,000 if thy loose it. What is even worse is if the MO is lost you have to pay to see if it has been cashed. If to hasn't then you have to pay for the investigation. I can't recall but I think they said you have to wait 6 months before they will investigate. They will not reissue even if it has expired without cashing unless the investigation has been completed. So if a MO gets lost you are looking at a lot longer than 6 months before you get a reissue.

That is why I use PayPal for 99% of my transactions unless it is for a firearm. Edited January 23, 2014 by Dolomite_supafly

[graycrait]

Very educational.  Thanks all for taking the time to post this useful information