Only ship FFL to FFL! Shipping a gun through pirateship or just making a label at your own risk

[cler1c]

I reckon you told them it was a gun? My friend used ups many times for gunsmith work and never had a problem. They don’t always asked but the time he was asked he just said “it’s tools”

 

[Jcwatchdog]

If they refuse to allow him to ship the item, why wouldn’t they just return to sender instead of destroying property?

 

[treelogger]

At this time I'm at the mercy of UPS if they can track it down before its destroyed,

Hope that works. You might get lucky.

But I think everyone (including you) need to learn a lesson: When dealing with gun law, you can't let your guard down. You can't play "fast and loose".

 

[treelogger]

I reckon you told them it was a gun? My friend used ups many times for gunsmith work and never had a problem. They don’t always asked but the time he was asked he just said “it’s tools”

Yes, people used to do that. I bet it works 90% of the time. The other 10%, it causes big trouble. There used to be reports of people who had DoJ and/or ATF show up at their door, to ask uncomfortable questions "why are you smuggling guns by pretending that they are machine tools? what other illegal acts are you committing?". And note that committing an illegal act (such as lying on a cargo manifest) gives probably cause for assuming other illegal acts are in the game. I remember discussions on Calguns about how this is a really bad idea.

 

[281express]

I didn't think to look up any of UPS' policies regarding shipping complete firearms. I've always used UPS to send out parts/frames/serialized stuff for custom work and always told them it's tools - never had a problem.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[cler1c]

Yes, people used to do that. I bet it works 90% of the time. The other 10%, it causes big trouble. There used to be reports of people who had DoJ and/or ATF show up at their door, to ask uncomfortable questions "why are you smuggling guns by pretending that they are machine tools? what other illegal acts are you committing?". And note that committing an illegal act (such as lying on a cargo manifest) gives probably cause for assuming other illegal acts are in the game. I remember discussions on Calguns about how this is a really bad idea.

I agree. I personally have only used FedEx. Staccato and Grayguns gave me a shipping label. No hassles.

 

[treelogger]

Staccato and Grayguns gave me a shipping label. No hassles.

This is the correct way; the shipping label has to be generated by the FFL.

 

[p--and--p]

I reckon you told them it was a gun? My friend used ups many times for gunsmith work and never had a problem. They don’t always asked but the time he was asked he just said “it’s tools”

As others said that is against federal law, it has to be declared. Yet everyone i spoke to says they do not when they ship.. The FFL told me to say it was a firearm so had I not said it - it would have probably been ok but I did because I wanted to follow the law. Just sucks he missed out the part I'm not supposed to do it with UPS, even though california law says I can- UPS says no.

The debacle is why do they think they can destroy the package rather than send back or something.. Give it to police and I have to get it, ANYTHING. If I had money I would do a lawsuit but theres no winning, even though their policy seems to be on the illegal side. Some 3rd party says yes give it to us and we just get rid of it.

Remember that story with the guy who saved the squirrel and lived with it for a year and then the feds came in and just killed it the same day they took it without taking time to investigate it? Just do it fast and its over, so I'm still hopeful even though UPS 1800 number people are telling me its gone. They dont have proof so I'm crossing fingers, but it hasn't moved in 9 days

 

[cler1c]

As others said that is against federal law, it has to be declared. Yet everyone i spoke to says they do not when they ship.. The FFL told me to say it was a firearm so had I not said it - it would have probably been ok but I did because I wanted to follow the law. Just sucks he missed out the part I'm not supposed to do it with UPS, even though california law says I can- UPS says no.

The debacle is why do they think they can destroy the package rather than send back or something.. Give it to police and I have to get it, ANYTHING. If I had money I would do a lawsuit but theres no winning, even though their policy seems to be on the illegal side. Some 3rd party says yes give it to us and we just get rid of it.

Remember that story with the guy who saved the squirrel and lived with it for a year and then the feds came in and just killed it the same day they took it without taking time to investigate it? Just do it fast and its over, so I'm still hopeful even though UPS 1800 number people are telling me its gone. They dont have proof so I'm crossing fingers, but it hasn't moved in 9 days

I agree with you. I’m sorry you’re going through that brother. Hoping for the best.

 

[Shanekeoro]

Sending u positive vibes brother!

 

[craps]

Sue them in small claims court.

Four outcomes:

1) UPS returns your gun to get rid of you and the lawsuit.

2) UPS does not show up to court, and you win by default.

3) UPS shows up and You get a sympathetic judge, and you win your case.

4) UPS shows up and you lose your case. You're out a few hours of your time and a few dollars to file the papers.

 

[ikeo1]

Wishing you good luck, that suuuuuucks…

 

[treelogger]

Sue them in small claims court.

Four outcomes:

5) UPS asks to move the case to superior court, and succeeds. They'd have to start a second case there first, but that's easy. Once in superior court, they can ask for costs and fees, and OP will end up paying for their lawyers.

And if you think I'm joking: we had a recent neighborhood dispute that led to a half dozen lawsuits, and one of the neighbors now owes the others legal fees (a six-digit amount, the first digit is not 1), and punitive damages (a 7-digit amount). Sucks being them. Don't be a jerk, don't bad-mouth people on social media, don't act unreasonably.

 

[john_marsten_1873]

I walked into FedEx store to ship a pistol, was getting ready to put it in the drop box and the store employee said "Whoops! Shouldn't have told me! Now you have to take it to the hub!"

FedEx has been absolutely terrible lately. Never delivering parts (signature required) within the window or waiting all day just to tell delivery has been rescheduled. Both UPS and USPS have been pretty reliable.

Either way, I'll be using services to ship firearms moving forward.

Sorry you had to go through this!

 

[treelogger]

I walked into FedEx store ... Now you have to take it to the hub!

FedEx has been absolutely terrible lately.

That has been the rule since at least 20 years ago. That's why I know the location of our FedEx and UPS hubs. Nothing new here.

But I agree: Both UPS and FedEx have fallen on tough times since losing the Amazon business. While they had to drop it (Amazon was bleeding them dry financially), they now have much lower volume, which make things just harder, less efficient, and less reliable. I'm really looking forward to the rule change that will allow shipping handguns through the postal service, since the USPS has been their usual flawless to us.

 

[JackRydden224]

Whenever I ship a firearm out I always use my local FFL or Shipmygun. Never cheap out.

If I'm shipping out an expensive firearm then you bet I'm willing to pay more for my local FFL to handle it and insure the package.

I hope OP finds a satisfactory resolution. Losing an Atlas in this way is horrific.

 

[boltstop]

How is it that UPS accepted a firearm from the OP (a private citizen - not an FFL holder) after he told them that it was a firearm? That is in direct contravention of their own policy.

 

[craps]

5) UPS asks to move the case to superior court, and succeeds. They'd have to start a second case there first, but that's easy. Once in superior court, they can ask for costs and fees, and OP will end up paying for their lawyers.

And if you think I'm joking: we had a recent neighborhood dispute that led to a half dozen lawsuits, and one of the neighbors now owes the others legal fees (a six-digit amount, the first digit is not 1), and punitive damages (a 7-digit amount). Sucks being them. Don't be a jerk, don't bad-mouth people on social media, don't act unreasonably.

It's a far stretch that the superior court is going to accept a 5K small claims lawsuit. And if they did, you can just drop your lawsuit and move on.

 

[Nowhereman89]

This is heart breaking.

 

[Nowhereman89]

How is it that UPS accepted a firearm from the OP (a private citizen - not an FFL holder) after he told them that it was a firearm? That is in direct contravention of their own policy.

Good point, why would they have accepted the gun in the first place..