shipping a gun from a private seller

[dauc43]

hey all i searched and could not seem to find this topic on the forum.. i am interested in buying a rifle from a private seller but he is located in florida and i am in louisiana. he is willing to ship but we are both unsure on the regulations of shipping a firearm. can someone please inform me if this is possible and what all will be involved in doing so?

thanks,
Dylan

 

[dragginaknee]

He can not ship it directly to you. He will have to ship it to a ffl dealer and then you pick it up from the dealer. Make sure the dealer will accept a gun from a private individual some will not.

 

[Guate_shooter]

He can not ship it directly to you. He will have to ship it to a ffl dealer and then you pick it up from the dealer. Make sure the dealer will accept a gun from a private individual some will not.

THIS

if they DO accept a gun from an individual they will require a clean easy to read copy of the sellers DL

You will then have to do a form 4473 before you can take it home

 

[manny76900]

When you ship it don't tell them what you are shiping.

 

[DAVE_M]

Easiest way is to keep it 3rd party. Tell him to bring it to a FFL and have them ship it to your FFL. Pay fees and pick it up.

 

[Isaac-1]

Also be aware the shipping companies have some strange regulations on shipping guns, and each company is different, for example UPS will only ship guns from customers with daily scheduled pick up, they will not accept them at commercial counters or call to pick up customers. The packaging generally must be as cryptic as possible to not imply the content is a gun, but the pick up driver must be told the contents, that sort of thing.

Ike

 

[22lr]

Just a few things ive learned from mail order deals in the past.

Use a postal money order, and send it via a method of delivery that offers delivery confirmation and signature required.
The rifle should be fully insured, and again sent via signature required.
Always use tracking, always use insurance, always require a signature.

Granted I usually am buying higher end rifles via these kind of trades, I think the same rule of thumb should apply to all deals over a few hundred bucks in value. Ive never lost a gun in the mail, but ive lost some motorcycle parts that I sold to a guy.

The guy can be the nicest guy in the world, but still protect yourself a bit from fraud. Ive had great luck buying from private parties out of state, just find a good local FFL who will work with you and answer all your questions.

 

[#1bambam]

When you ship it don't tell them what you are shiping.

Thats against the law and we dont do that here friend.

 

[Pale Horse]

UPS will only ship guns from customers with daily scheduled pick up, they will not accept them at commercial counters or call to pick up customers.

From the UPS website:

Firearms (including handguns) may be shipped only through a UPS Scheduled Pickup Account (specifically, Daily Pickup, Daily On-Route Pickup, UPS Smart Pickup®, and Day-Specific Pickup), or through a UPS Customer Center (counters at UPS operational facilities). Note: Firearms (including handguns) are not accepted for shipment via, UPS Drop Boxes, UPS On-Call PickupSM, or at locations of The UPS Store® or any third party retailer.

 

[Pale Horse]

I've shipped two rifles through the USPS here. Both times I told them what was in the package, and that I had a copy of the dealers license of the person it was addressed to if they needed to see it. One time the lady looked at it for about two seconds to verify that the addresses were the same; the other time the man behind the counter didn't even bother with looking once he knew I had it.

 

[JWG223]

hey all i searched and could not seem to find this topic on the forum.. i am interested in buying a rifle from a private seller but he is located in florida and i am in louisiana. he is willing to ship but we are both unsure on the regulations of shipping a firearm. can someone please inform me if this is possible and what all will be involved in doing so?

thanks,
Dylan

Pistol can be shipped dealer-dealer UPS 2nd day air.
Pistol can be shipped person-dealer UPS next day air.
Rifle can be shipped in-state person/person UPS ground.
Rifle can be shipped out of state person-dealer UPS ground.

All FIREARMS (this means receivers...not stocks/barrels/scopes/etc.) must be shipped from a main UPS HUB.

 

[Pale Horse]

The USPS website, you're looking for section 12 near the bottom.

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm