Selling and Shipping a handgun

[Chance]

Am going to be putting a .32 H&R Mag SSM4 in the classifieds soon and would like to know how to proceed should the gun sell.

As an individual, is it necessary for me to have a copy of the FFL the gun will be shipped to? What type of paperwork, if any, will I need to include for the FFL such as a Az DL or ?

I have made copies of both FEDEX and UPS regs governing shippment of firearms but would like to know who you guys who sell regularly use and any tips to make the process as simple as possible for a beginner. Are handguns shipped at a flat rate or will it vary depending where in the lower 47 (no ca.) it's going.
Thanks

 

[Aggie01]

I posted this on another forum recently.

An FFL has to be involved on the receiving end if the gun crosses a state line.
I can sell a gun to a Texas Resident and ship it to them using a contract carrier without involving an FFL.
Here in the same state, I use a little overnight outfit to ship things to Alan Harton for "repair or modification" (Cost $6 and its there in about 18 hours)

FedEx and UPS implemented the overnight policy because their own employees were stealing handguns.

For out of state:
My local FedEx outfit has told me its ok to ship a handgun ground as long as it's not a "working gun". I am in compliance with federal regulations, so I'm good to go.
D. C. told me that when my "machine parts" arrived at this place, both barrels of my "machine parts" were sticking through the package. The FedEX guy was "visibly relieved" when D.C. opened the package to inspect for any damage and showed him the frames without cylinders and grips.

Get to reading! There is a wealth of knowledge here:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faqindex.htm
These are the rules they can jail you for breaking.

 

[Chance]

Looks pretty straightforward, non-licensee must ship to licensed FFL. No paperwork required on my part. It's easy to try to make things as complicated as possible instead of simple. Very good info, THANKS

 

[Sugar River]

As a non-licensee, all you really need is the receiving licensees FFL number.
With that in hand you can satisfy yourself of his bona fides here.

https://www.atfonline.gov/fflezcheck/

 

[lfpiii]

If you are an individual and you ship the gun to an FFL holder you should include a copy of your driver's license (front and back). ATF requires FFL holders to have hard copy info on the sender.

Have the buyer double check with his FFL dealer as many dealers will not accept guns from individuals.

 

[Chance]

I will talk to my FFL and see what it will cost since that sounds like the simplest, cheapeast and safest way to go.

 

[CraigC]

I might add that the ATF FAQ is a little incomplete and misleading. As an individual, you are NOT actually required to notify the shipper that the package contains a firearm if it is going to an FFL. But the FFL is required to make such notification if the package is going to an individual. So, in effect, if you were to ship a handgun by UPS or FedEx Ground to an FFL, you would only be violating company policy, not federal law as I previously believed.

 

[flatgate]

CraigC, can you provide provenance reqarding notification?

I had one "UPS Store" person tell me that they'd ship firearms via ground if they were "broken down" and not able to actually fire a cartridge. I found that interesting....

flatgate

 

[CraigC]

I'll dig up a picture of the letter from the ATF.

 

[CraigC]

Here it is. This is from a thread on TFL where I was mightily humiliated because I believed the ATF FAQ.

 

[Aggie01]

I had one "UPS Store" person tell me that they'd ship firearms via ground if they were "broken down" and not able to actually fire a cartridge. I found that interesting....

flatgate

this is the same thing my FEDEX local tells me.

 

[Chance]

Is the ground shipping of a broken down gun flat rate or does it depend on where it is going?

 

[CraigC]

They'll all depend on where it's going, how large and how much the package weighs. Just remember that you cannot us the US Postal Service. Must be common carrier.