Glockman1000 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hello all, I have been hearing from some of my club members that certain companies are restricting reloading components to our location. MidwayUSA has cited that this is a US Postal Service restriction. Here is a paste of the email that was received by one of our club members that was trying to order bullet heads from them: Dear XXXX, Thank you for your recent email letting us know why the order was not completed online and concerning shipping restrictions on our products. Feedback such as yours will be captured and aggregated for our team. We regularly review this information to help create continuing improvements. At MidwayUSA, we do our best to comply with all local, state and federal laws regarding restrictions on products that we sell. Please understand that the destination restriction boundaries are controlled by the United States Postal Service, and are not regulated by MidwayUSA. We are constantly reviewing these restrictions since it is in our customers' best interest to be able to receive our full line of products. I apologize for any inconvenience, but your City or State law prohibits us from shipping reloading components to your shipping address. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-243-3220. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT. You may also email us at customerservice@midwayusa.com. Thanks for Your Business! XXXX MidwayUSA Customer Service I believe that Midway will also not send reloading components to MA quoting the same email response. Another one of our club members submitted an order to Starline for brass. They reversed the order & credited his account because of a similar restriction. Has anything been recently added to the postal code? If anyone has any knowledge of what might be going on, I would surely appreciate info that could be passed along. Regards, Glockman1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3quartertime Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Moved from the 'Firearms Law/Announcements' forum area. Let's have some input to see if other members are getting similar replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Were these locations within the Continental U.S.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solvability Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 What is a bullet head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I've never had an issue with components of any kind, but certain kinds of ammo run afoul of some city ordinance's. I.E. shotgun slugs, .50 cal ammo of any kind, tracers. Personally it only affects me with shotgun slugs, I have to have them shipped to a buddy in another city. Midway generally seems to be pretty up restrictions. Maybe a phone call would help. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 If the OP's avatar info is correct he lives on Guam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 What is a bullet head? A bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I live in CA and have not had any issues with Midway. They are pretty good about knowing what can go where. Unlike some other place that sell things for Dirt Cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I don't think it's even legal for a postal employee to advise a customer on the mailability of something. I know that there is a specific provision in the DMM prohibiting them from advising a customer that a firearm is nonmailable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 In response to the Midway situation, a phone call & emails were sent to ask for further details as to what part of the USPS DMM that was being cited. They could not provide a specific answer. We were informed as is specified in the title post that this was a USPS restriction. I read up on the DMM & only found reference to loaded ammo & primed brass. I am attempting to schedule an appointment with the Postmaster here for clarification. I find it odd that Starline is also taking a similar stance on shipping unprimed brass to our location. I will be on the phone with them soon & hopefully they can provide me with more insight on why they cannot ship to Guam. For those who might not know, Guam is a US territory & is under Zone 8 of the postal coding system. I have a feeling that this may be due to the Hawaii Post Office that may have placed a policy or restriction as the Guam USPS falls under their jurisdiction & may not have informed the Guam stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Were these locations within the Continental U.S.? While I was trying to do some research, I found that Massachusetts is on the restricted list for MidwayUSA's reloading components. Here is a link to a post from another forum. http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=228230 Here is a response from Midway after a couple of follow up emails received yesterday. Dear XXXX, Thanks for your email about that restriction. We use the ATF website as our guide for product restrictions and recently completed an audit by our legal counsel to ensure we were in compliance with all Federal, State and local laws. The reference to Guam is here: http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5-2011/atf-p-5300-5-guam-2011.pdf Per this passage: 60115. Dealer: Registration. Dealers, etc., must register. Any person who is a dealer, manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer of firearms or ammunition within the territory of Guam who must register pursuant to §60104 shall do so by supplying the Department with information re-quired by it relative to the name of the business, name or names of the owners, whether the busi-ness is a corporation, sole proprietorship, part-nership or any other form, relative to the types of firearms sold, manufactured, bought or repaired by such business, to the security of the storage areas of the business wherein the firearms are stored and any other information deemed neces-sary by the Department. Upon receipt of the necessary information, the Department shall is-sue a registration card, which shall be promin-ently displayed at the place of business of the person or firm so registered and copies to be displayed at each location where firearms are sold. The following section 60116 has several stipulations on how the business must be operated to be in compliance with Guam law. MidwayUSA management is either not willing or unable to comply with those requirements. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-243-3220. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT. You may also email us at customerservice@midwayusa.com. Thanks for Your Business! XXXXX MidwayUSA Customer Service I found no reference to private citizens purchasing reloading components, only to dealers in firearms related businesses & specifically for loaded ammunition. A follow up call to Midway after this email stating that I am a private citizen reloading for recreation & sport shooting & not a commercial manufacturer or dealer of ammo resulted in frustration with them repeatedly citing the link provided in the email. Their legal counsel must be referencing the interpretation that a person who handloads for personal use is considered a manufacturer & that I must be properly licensed to do so. I find it discouraging that a company as well known as Midway is unwilling to deal with us out here. We have recommended that all our shooting enthusiasts here not do business with the Midway in the future. I hope that Starline has not taken a similar stance & will post my discussion with them shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Just got off the phone with someone from Starline. It seems that since Guam is outside of the US, Customs will not allow it. They relayed that they would be fined & the parcels returned to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Would that be something to do with ITAR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Possibly, that would be the next thing for me to research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Since the CBP webpage lists Agana as a US Port of Entry, there may be some misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up. ITAR should not apply since Guam is not "I". http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/Guam/3207.xml Buena suette, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpolans Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Considering the dire straits the USPS is in, you'd think they'd be willing to mail any package that wasn't ticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbird1976 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) It sounds as though you are living in an area that is restricted by state statute or local ordinance. Check with your local authorities and you'll likely find that it is the state not the post office that levys the restriction. Edited July 20, 2012 by redbird1976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 I have reviewed the ATF link I was given & cross referenced the local code & statutes here that I have on record from the Legislative Hall. Nothing has changed regarding firearms related law here in the last 17 years. They can be matched word for word with the ATF link. MidwayUSA's legal counsel made a conscious decision not to provide certain items for sale to locations that they had interpreted. TBH, I think all this is a result of pressure from the US Attorney General's office to regulate firearm related business'. I suspect that many shops are being approached & scrutinized for every little detail that would be of liability to such a business. After "Fast & Furious" who knows what might be going on. ITAR, seems worded that anything can be restricted by executive order, without the consent of representation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Out here in Hawaii the restrictions the USPS has on reloading components is on powder, primers, and loaded ammo. I've done bulk powder orders (thanks Powder Valley) shipped surface, primers shipped via UPS Air at a stupid insane high rate (the shipping companies have us by the balls in Hawaii ), and had loaded ammo shipped via FedEx or UPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glockman1000 Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) I'm assuming that you are paying the HazMat charges to ship the powder & primers? Practically anything shipped to Guam by UPS is ridiculous, once I placed an order for a projector lamp that cost $80.00. The cost for UPS came out to $240 by itself. I told them to cancel the order. Guam is in the gray area when it comes to shipping packages & the businesses that deal with specific carriers. If I remember it right, it is because of the Jones Act. My family is in WA state. I think I'll be shipping things to my brother to forward off to me. Thinking about it, I wonder if he would mind being a FedEx ground guy sending packages out of the Post Office. Edited July 23, 2012 by Glockman1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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