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FFL Shipping


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Bought a pistol from this site and was going to ask when he does ship it how long do they stay in transit? I hurd its a 2 day air ship is this true? I very worried that i will not get my new pistol in time for our classifier this weekend. BLah the waiting is killing me for my NEW STI edge... :angry:

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It depends on the carrier (UPS, FedEx, USPS), service type (Next Day, Priority Mail), and distance between zip codes. Have you asked your seller these questions? Transit time can be anywhere from 1 to 3 days without delays or misroutes.

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I have bought and sold a few guns here on this site also,I am not an FFL-so every time I ship one it always has to go overnight,at least that's what they tell me,if he has an FFL dealer ship it,he may send it second day,and can come via USPS which takes a couple days---I saw the edge you bought --NICE

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Not necessarily overnight. An FFL to FFL transfer can be via USPS and done with Priority Mail which may take up to 3 days. My last 2 gun purchases went this way.

If the seller is not an FFL but shipping it directly to an FFL then, yes, it must be overnight via UPS or FedEx.

Edited by jimzim
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Not necessarily overnight. An FFL to FFL transfer can be via USPS and done with Priority Mail which may take up to 3 days. My last 2 gun purchases went this way.

If the seller is not an FFL but shipping it directly to an FFL then, yes, it must be overnight via UPS or FedEx.

this

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I just bought a shotgun recently and the non-FFL seller just shipped it UPS ground. Is a handgun different than long gun? Also, what about a pistol frame by itself? Need to 2day/overnight as well?

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Long guns can ship via USPS from a non FFL holder to an FFL or licensed repair facility. Regarding shipping handgun frames, I had the exact same question. Just shipped a 2011 frame to Metaloy for hard chrome. The USPS website says something to the effect that if the pistol parts can not be readily assembled into a handgun then its OK. But I'm not sure exactlty what that means. Does it mean that the contents of the box cannot be readily assembled into a gun (which in my case no way), or reassembled later (which it theoretically could).

I shipped a frame (minus the grip), small parts and barrel/comp. There is some question exactly what constitutes a firearm; the serial numbered part or the whole operating gun. To err on the side of caution and stay out of the sights (pun) of ATF and Postal Inspectors I would ship the frame UPS/FedEx. Or FFL to FFL can go USPS Priority. What I ended up doing is asking my FFL friend if I could transfer my frame back to him (who ordered it for me originally), ship it out Priority under his shops name to Metaloy, and pay the transfer fee to him when Metaloy sends it back. He stuck a copy of his FFL in the box and I paid the shipping. Return address was his shop. Shipping with $600 insurance was only like $14 or something, plus his transfer fee of $20 when the gun returns. UPS/FedEx overnight is around $100 (for us in Hawaii anyway) for private party shipments if you dont have an account with them. Bought a gun off of GB and shit my pants when the seller told how much the shipping was for UPS overnight. :angry2:

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Example: I had my friendly FFL ship a gun from eastern Ma to Gray Guns. Left USPS Priority mail Friday, arrived in OR Monday.

I find shipping through my FFL saves me a TON of cash these days. A dealer I was going to buy a CZ from wanted $80 to ship to me. They lost the sale because of that. Bought same gun from a Gun Broker seller who shipped for $25

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As an FFL, I ship either USPS priority or sometimes UPS 2 day. I've found that USPS priority is just as good and much less costly than either UPS or FedEx. 2-3 days should be the norm for most shipments by an FFL

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I was at my local UPS office today picking up a bulk order of primers today. The friendly clerk told me that frames have to ship via Air and can go via 2nd Day, and doesnt have to ship Next Day. 2nd Day service is alot cheaper than Next Day but still more than Priority. But then you factor in the transfer fee and the minor hassle of re-registering your own gun... Next time I ship a gun I'll strip the thing down to the frame, send the frame UPS 2nd Day and send the rest in a box via Priority.

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USPS suggests (insists at my post office) that handguns be sent registered mail. That can take a couple of weeks.

Your local post office is feeding you a line of total bullcrap. There is no reason to use registered mail. For shipments between FFL holders, insured priority mail is perfectly fine.

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I was at my local UPS office today picking up a bulk order of primers today. The friendly clerk told me that frames have to ship via Air and can go via 2nd Day, and doesnt have to ship Next Day. 2nd Day service is alot cheaper than Next Day but still more than Priority. But then you factor in the transfer fee and the minor hassle of re-registering your own gun... Next time I ship a gun I'll strip the thing down to the frame, send the frame UPS 2nd Day and send the rest in a box via Priority.

So you're relying on your local UPS employee's interpretation of UPS's shipping rules? Do you think that same friendly clerk will be making the decision on your insurance claim if the package containing the frame gets lost? <_<

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USPS suggests (insists at my post office) that handguns be sent registered mail. That can take a couple of weeks.

Your local post office is feeding you a line of total bullcrap. There is no reason to use registered mail. For shipments between FFL holders, insured priority mail is perfectly fine.

FFL to FFL can go flat-rate box or priority, they are misinformed.

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Thanks for all the info I like it.. Still no shipment on my new EDGE but as he says he is working on it today and will overnight it to me so hopefully i get it tomorrow some time. Very nerve racking this hole process :angry::angry2:

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I was at my local UPS office today picking up a bulk order of primers today. The friendly clerk told me that frames have to ship via Air and can go via 2nd Day, and doesnt have to ship Next Day. 2nd Day service is alot cheaper than Next Day but still more than Priority. But then you factor in the transfer fee and the minor hassle of re-registering your own gun... Next time I ship a gun I'll strip the thing down to the frame, send the frame UPS 2nd Day and send the rest in a box via Priority.

Is this because you live in Hawaii? Or if any FFL ships a gun he first has to enter it into his own inventory and the re-4473 it back to the original owner upon return?

My local UPS office is more than happy to send long guns ground, just shipped my SLP to Texas via ground for Around 30 bucks.

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Ordered my handgun from buds. They sent it 2-day to my ffl. I was told by gunsmith if a non-ffl sends it it must be overnite. ...?

Your gunsmith is correct: non-FFL must ship overnight thru UPS or FedEx.

USPS will not accept and ship a handgun from an individual even if it's destined for an FFL dealer.

Edited by doc540
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I was at my local UPS office today picking up a bulk order of primers today. The friendly clerk told me that frames have to ship via Air and can go via 2nd Day, and doesnt have to ship Next Day. 2nd Day service is alot cheaper than Next Day but still more than Priority. But then you factor in the transfer fee and the minor hassle of re-registering your own gun... Next time I ship a gun I'll strip the thing down to the frame, send the frame UPS 2nd Day and send the rest in a box via Priority.

Is this because you live in Hawaii? Or if any FFL ships a gun he first has to enter it into his own inventory and the re-4473 it back to the original owner upon return?

My local UPS office is more than happy to send long guns ground, just shipped my SLP to Texas via ground for Around 30 bucks.

I had my dealer register the frame back under his shop's name so I could use USPS Priority Mail instead of UPS. The frame was then sent Priority by my FFL friend and not me. I now have to re-acquire the firearm from his shop when the frame returns; gotta do another ATF 4473 and local Permit To Acquire Firearm.

UPS may have different regs with shipping long guns vs handguns. I read someplace that the requirements for UPS and FedEx to ship handguns only via Overnight was to prevent theft by their own employees. Dont know how true that is though. UPS Ground Service for Hawaii entails the shipment being sent via ground service in the CONUS to a hub, then shipment via aircraft across the ocean and vice versa. A private party can ship a long gun via USPS, but not handguns.

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