SELLING AND SHIPPING

[Jack Damon]

I will soon be advertising a couple of my side-by-side shotguns for sale to our membership, and I have a couple questions before doing so.

1. Since I am not a businessman who makes a living selling guns for profit and only occasionally sell, do I need a Federal license to lawfully sell and ship to any of our members?
2. What is the safest preferred manner of shipping a shotgun: UPS, USPS, Fed-Ex.
FWIW: my guns will be shipped in hardside (Gun Guard type) gun cases, inside cardboard boxes designed to enclose the gun case.
Thanks for your advice.
(Jack Damon)

[CraigThompson]

Easiest thing for you to do IMHO is to take to a dealer you somewhat trust have them package it and ship it for you typically you can choose the carrier . We use mostly UPS just because they come by and pickup from us any day we print a label before 15:00 . Generally a dealer will charge you a fee plus the cost of shipping . I don’t think we charge more than $30 but I could be wrong . FWIW FedEx can be a PITA to deal with , they have a tendency to claim they tried to deliver before or after regular buisness hours and then the next thing you know we have to drive thirty miles to pick it up at the warehouse . They all bust stuff so insure the heck out of it , some folks have riders for that we don’t . Of the three I’ll take UPS I’m sure plenty will disagree more power to them .

[Alfred Houde]

Deleted.

[Brian Dudley]

I honestly do not like shipping guns in those sort or cases. Unless they are VERY well wrapped and blocked. You cannot rely on just the foam in the case. You would be amazed how much things can move around inside some of those cheaper cases.

I would use USPS. They are the only ones that do not have restrictions in their rules regarding shipping firearms (long guns). Except for that they are supposed to ship TO a licensed dealer or manufacturer if not an antique.

[Randy G Roberts]

Yeah these do cost a couple of extra bucks in shipping over a cardboard box but not much more and then there's the expense of having it returned. With the value of these guns and the goons that handle them during shipping I am quite alright with a few extra bucks spent on shipping. Not 100% sure but I believe Allan Swanson pioneered the idea which I copied when a member sent a gun to me in one of these. Less than $20 in material and easy to build.

[Dean Romig]

I always build “Allan Swanson” cases. They are practically indestructible!!





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[Harold Lee Pickens]

Have not had any problems using USPS

[David Noble]

Where do you get the "Check Contents" tape?

[Randy G Roberts]

Where do you get the "Check Contents" tape?

Ordered online. Not sure where but historical data would suggest eBay or Amazon.

[John Dallas]

"Have not had any problems using USPS".

AARG! Not gun related, but signed up to have our mail forwarded to FL for a month. So far, one delivery in 24 days, and that was by a helpful postal lady who shipped a box of stuff on USPS's dime. Set letters in the house mailbox here for pickup and they sat 2 days before I took them out and biked them to the post office.

Not a happy camper

[CraigThompson]

"Have not had any problems using USPS".

AARG! Not gun related, but signed up to have our mail forwarded to FL for a month. So far, one delivery in 24 days, and that was by a helpful postal lady who shipped a box of stuff on USPS's dime. Set letters in the house mailbox here for pickup and they sat 2 days before I took them out and biked them to the post office.

Not a happy camper

They’re supposed to be holding mine for thirty days , a nickel to a dollar I’ll not have all my mail when I get back .

[Jerry VanHorn]

Here's a heads-up on FEDEX..I shipped my 32" VHE 16 barrels to Breck..in a schedule 40 PVC pipe..bubble wrapped inside...both ends capped. He returned it to me the same. I unwrapped it to find a dent in the left barrel.. We insured it for $1000 and contacted FEDEX. They refused payment..Here was their answer..."the tube should have been in a cardboard box"...End of story...FWIW...jv............PS...We never did figure how it happened..and FEDEX said ZIP !

[Dean Romig]

I’ve never had a problem shipping by UPS.





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[Jim McKee]

Randy,
What material is the orange handle made of and how is it attached inside the lid?

Since UPS will not allow me to ship any item that includes (gun parts) without a UPS account to print out a mailing label, I have been using the USPS so far with total satisfaction.
Jim

[Phil Yearout]

I bubble pack well and ship in cardboard (usually a box inside a box) making sure there's no movement of anything inside the box. So far so good, but maybe I've just been lucky. I use USPS and have private insurance; I don't buy the carrier's insurance because in my experience they're not gonna pay anyway. I hear all the horror stories of the pains folks take to pack a gun and it gets damaged anyway; that said, I once received a gun loose in a leg o' mutton case that was loose inside a cardboard box and it was fine. Ya just never know.

[Jack Damon]

Thanks to everyone with answers and suggestions. The Swanson boxes look interesting and I wonder: are there plans or drawings with dimensions anywhere on the site?

[Randy G Roberts]

Randy,
What material is the orange handle made of and how is it attached inside the lid?

Jim

Jim, strap is nothing more that 1" nylon webbing pulled through the lid and then glued and stapled with several 1/2" staples.

[Jerry Harlow]

I would not pay a gun store or a FFL holder to pack and ship it for you and charge. This way you know how it went into the container without damage, and is a waste of money in my opinion. This only doubles the chances of it getting damaged. Ask the buyer where he wants it shipped, check the ATF site to make sure he has a current FFL, and ship it to him yourself. They do the paperwork on the receiving end.

[Arthur Shaffer]

1. Since I am not a businessman who makes a living selling guns for profit and only occasionally sell, do I need a Federal license to lawfully sell and ship to any of our members?

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No one seems to have answered this, but you can legally ship to a dealer (though many won't accept them from individuals) but you certainly cannot ship to just any member. Antiques are OK at the Federal level, but not C&R or modern guns. In addition to that, some localities have their own regulations that are extended to antiques. Be sure you know all the laws before shipping.