Just curious, which do you prefer for high dollar rifles? I’m thinking in terms of minimizing risk/hassle in case something goes wrong. Any experiences going through the claims process with each?
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Preferred courier - UPS, FedEx, or USPS?
- Thread starter Aaron47pb
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FedEx doesn’t believe that you should have the right to own “Assault Wepons” they’ll take your money and move guns, ammo and gun parts from place to place, but they don’t want you to own icky black rifles.
Um. USPS registered mail. It's what you use to ship a $10-50k mg. it's good enough for a 3-5000 bolt gun.
USPS declared as sporting goods insured for the amount of the rifle plus 1K, signature required because of the insurance amount. UPS and FedEx have given me push back and run around. USPS everyday.
Not just insured. REGISTERED. it has to be signed for each person that takes possession and includes $30k insurance IIRC
Can you ship an unboxed, but locked/secured, pelican case registered mail? Or does it need to be in a box?
Not sure but don't see why not. I've had guns shipped to me in gun cases before.
I have a friend who ships very high dollar civil war antiquities, he says never use FedEX. Why? Simple look at what they pay their employees the average USPS employee is well paid, the average UPS worker the same.... Fedex the guy handling your box is making $10 an hour, who is going to take better care of your package.
First off, I'm a 38 year UPS worker, drove 35 years. Any one of the company's can and have damaged pkg''s
and will keep doing so. Having said that, 99% of the time a pkg is damaged it's the sender fault.
Come on, if your sending a $200 item or a $6000 item, pack it right. A couple extra dollars of packing
or tape is well worth the hassle you'll get filing a claim. And the people loading the semi's or sorting
don't care as much as the driver. I never liked to see a damaged pkg, cause I'm the face of the company
and I get the blame. Insurance is like 40 cents per hundred and getting a signature isn't that much more
Any pkg. insured for over $5000 get's loaded separately and tagged. The big items like a rifle case, won't fit down the
slides and chutes, so they get loaded on "bulk" trains and hand loaded to the belt were the truck is being loaded.
UPS is probably the most expensive, followed by Fed-Ex than the USPS.
How easy do you think it is to get your money back from the US government?
and will keep doing so. Having said that, 99% of the time a pkg is damaged it's the sender fault.
Come on, if your sending a $200 item or a $6000 item, pack it right. A couple extra dollars of packing
or tape is well worth the hassle you'll get filing a claim. And the people loading the semi's or sorting
don't care as much as the driver. I never liked to see a damaged pkg, cause I'm the face of the company
and I get the blame. Insurance is like 40 cents per hundred and getting a signature isn't that much more
Any pkg. insured for over $5000 get's loaded separately and tagged. The big items like a rifle case, won't fit down the
slides and chutes, so they get loaded on "bulk" trains and hand loaded to the belt were the truck is being loaded.
UPS is probably the most expensive, followed by Fed-Ex than the USPS.
How easy do you think it is to get your money back from the US government?
I have used UPS a lot shipping rifles and ammo. Never any real issues. Price wise they are good. Not a fan of Fed Ex just from their customer service and delivery in my area. Also USPS has worked but usually their insurance is more.
I've always used UPS and USPS. Rates are competitive, add the insurance, tracking, signature etc. Maybe it's just the few local FedEx drivers I've had, but all my experiences with them have been lack luster. We used to have a 350 foot driveway. Guess the one FedEx guy didn't like it and threw the white package into the yard halfway down in the snow. Didn't find it until a week later after the snow had cleared...
I have had issues with all 3, and have had good experiences with all 3. It is honestly a crap shoot...
I've had 'em all leave shit by the side of the road, vault cases of primers over the porch, leave rifles unattended on the porch (when it clearly said to get my signature) they've done it all.
Shipping out I guess UPS ground. But I don't know about pistols, I've only had to send those back on warranty and it always went Fedex next day air. I didn't have to pay for it.
Not familiar with USPS and shipping firearms, you can do that through them?
Shipping out I guess UPS ground. But I don't know about pistols, I've only had to send those back on warranty and it always went Fedex next day air. I didn't have to pay for it.
Not familiar with USPS and shipping firearms, you can do that through them?
You all are making this too difficult. If it is valuable ship it USPS REGISTERED.
I had UPS lose a T70 thermal for a week or 2 before I knew about usps registered. It is the most secure. .mil uses it to move machine guns
I have had FedEx leave a rifle at the door before while I was gone out of the house. Not a big fan.
usps will ship long guns. to ship a handgun via usps, you must have an ffl. and btw, if your dealer has reasonable transfer rates, it might be cheaper to ship a handgun thru them/usps than shipping it yourself via fedex or ups, because usps is cheaper with small pkgs.
You can ship firearms with USPS, although expect to get some push back from some of the people who work there. I have had several USPS employees tell me that they cant ship a firearm, one even told me it was against the law to have a firearm in the Post Office and they were going to call the cops. I asked them if they wanted me to dial the number for them... This always seems to happen when there are a lot of people in line behind me, in which case my go to is to be as calm and polite as I can and usually tell the people behind me that I apologize for the delay but the attendant isn't aware of their own rules. Then I pull the USPS shipping regulations up on my phone so they can read them. Long story short is your dealing with people, most of whom have their heads so far up their ass they cant function in daily life.
You can ship a rifle or shotgun USPS but have to be an FFL to ship a pistol through them.
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonlicensee-ship-firearm-through-us-postal-service
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonlicensee-ship-firearm-through-us-postal-service
First off, I'm a 38 year UPS worker, drove 35 years. Any one of the company's can and have damaged pkg''sand will keep doing so. Having said that, 99% of the time a pkg is damaged it's the sender fault.Come on, if your sending a $200 item or a $6000 item, pack it right. A couple extra dollars of packingor tape is well worth the hassle you'll get filing a claim. And the people loading the semi's or sortingdon't care as much as the driver. I never liked to see a damaged pkg, cause I'm the face of the companyand I get the blame. Insurance is like 40 cents per hundred and getting a signature isn't that much moreAny pkg. insured for over $5000 get's loaded separately and tagged. The big items like a rifle case, won't fit down theslides and chutes, so they get loaded on "bulk" trains and hand loaded to the belt were the truck is being loaded.UPS is probably the most expensive, followed by Fed-Ex than the USPS.How easy do you think it is to get your money back from the US government?
Yeah I am also in the shipping industry and this post is 99 and 44/100 spot on.
The only thing wrong with it is getting your money from the government.
It's the same hassle with all three of the big shippers. You always get your money but it always takes longer than expected.
USPS won't allow you an individual to ship pistols because by law they have to be shipped overnight. USPS offers Express Mail but they don't gaurantee overnight to every location so pistols are out.
USPS is the cheapest from my limited experience.
Faulty packaging is 99%+ of any issue when shipping. Cardboard doesn't cut it for long slender boxes with HighGrade wood stocks but the general public just doesn't get it.
I am shipping some Spuhr mounts out to a couple members here and here is how I do it.
Wrap the box in a rag that is taped then put it inside a plastic bag.
I use spray foam in the shipping box then put the bag inside and spray the sides.
After it dries I will spray the top and close it up.
The contents are glued inside the box and can't fall out even if you cut off all the tape.
Seems to work.
Yeah I am also in the shipping industry and this post is 99 and 44/100 spot on.
The only thing wrong with it is getting your money from the government.
It's the same hassle with all three of the big shippers. You always get your money but it always takes longer than expected.
USPS won't allow you an individual to ship pistols because by law they have to be shipped overnight. USPS offers Express Mail but they don't gaurantee overnight to every location so pistols are out.
USPS is the cheapest from my limited experience.
Faulty packaging is 99%+ of any issue when shipping. Cardboard doesn't cut it for long slender boxes with HighGrade wood stocks but the general public just doesn't get it.
I am shipping some Spuhr mounts out to a couple members here and here is how I do it.
Wrap the box in a rag that is taped then put it inside a plastic bag.
I use spray foam in the shipping box then put the bag inside and spray the sides.
After it dries I will spray the top and close it up.
The contents are glued inside the box and can't fall out even if you cut off all the tape.
Seems to work.
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Fuck FedEx! My local distribution center is a pain in the ass. The last 3 guns I took in there I've had to take somewhere else. The first 2 I took in there, they wanted to charge me overnight express which would have been $150some for a long rifle. The third one I took in there about two or three weeks later, they told me they couldn't take it after making 15 calls (one to the Pres of the US I think) and having 10 policy manuals laid out on the counter. I go over to the UPS distribution center a few miles away and I never have any problem
I an unsure about USPS, but UPS and FedX have both used their "Catch 22" argument when I have asked for damages caused in shipment. In their terms and conditions they state that they are not responsibler for the contents of a package that was improperly packaged. Even one that has one of their trucks tire marks on it. If it got damaged for any reason you improperly packed it.
You will not get any releif from the vendor as threy will tell you that it was undamaged when they shipped it and they have shipped tens of thousands of similar items without a problem. You will not get any compensation from them even if you employ your attorney. They have corporate lawyers that do this everyday and how much can you spend relative to the damage or loss? They are not going to allow even one claim as valid as it will place them in a position of acknowledging they do damage products shipped thru them. You are SOL.
You will not get any releif from the vendor as threy will tell you that it was undamaged when they shipped it and they have shipped tens of thousands of similar items without a problem. You will not get any compensation from them even if you employ your attorney. They have corporate lawyers that do this everyday and how much can you spend relative to the damage or loss? They are not going to allow even one claim as valid as it will place them in a position of acknowledging they do damage products shipped thru them. You are SOL.
Quick update. I tried to ship it registered mail but they require every seam be covered with this paper tape they can stamp with ink that you use a wet sponge to "activate" the glue on the back and to apply it.
Being as I was shipping a boxed up Pelican the size of a small coffin, I passed on that funtivity and shipped Priority with the appropriate amount of insurance.
It really depends on the place you're shipping to. I've never had issues receiving packages at my FFL from any shipping service and they all have worked as advertised.
At my home address, however, I have had the UPS driver on multiple occasions straight up decide he didn't feel like stepping out of the truck and either mark packages as delivered or undeliverable. The "delivered" packages were always found back in the distribution center that evening when they unloaded the truck, and the "undeliverable" packages are somehow always able to be delivered the next day when I mention that I have video footage of no attempt being made in the first place. For that reason I try to avoid using them for anything, even if it means paying a little bit extra.
At my home address, however, I have had the UPS driver on multiple occasions straight up decide he didn't feel like stepping out of the truck and either mark packages as delivered or undeliverable. The "delivered" packages were always found back in the distribution center that evening when they unloaded the truck, and the "undeliverable" packages are somehow always able to be delivered the next day when I mention that I have video footage of no attempt being made in the first place. For that reason I try to avoid using them for anything, even if it means paying a little bit extra.
You have to go to a UPS distribution center to ship firearms or firearm parts through UPS. Their carrier policies don't allow standard UPS stores to accept these types of items for shipments.
When I shipped empty brass through a UPS store I had to tell them I was shipping precision manufactured brass parts.
2 images for my impression of the USPS. I do my absolute hardest to go UPS or FedEx (FedEx preferred). I'll pay, just keep it out of the USPS' hands, PLEASE!
PLEASE!!!
PLEASE!!!
Funny enough, along these lines, I thought for the first 13 years of my life that the "new style" post office logo was just someone who tried and failed very badly to draw a mailbox (mailbox opening on left, the white that makes up the eagle's face was the flag that goes up and down). In reality it was a failure of me to actually see that it was a bird.
Unfortunately there are too few ways to ship valued items. Fragile or Handle with Care, apparently is not in the 'big three' vocabulary. Just yesterday a bbl'd action came in, having had the bbl shot thru the end of the box. Yes there was damage.
And here we have a perfect example of how not to package a barreled action.
If the barrel shot through the end of the box it WAS NOT packed correctly!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you hear the saying we are throwing the mail they aren't lying to you.
Packages get tossed into bins with your mail carriers route number on them. If your package can't be thrown 10 feet and land without damage it isn't packed right for any carrier!!!!!!!!!
At the end of the day the packages get put into a 6 foot tall cage so if your package can withstand 5-8 packages on top of it weighing up to 70 pounds it isn't packed right!!!!!
The pictures show how I just sent several Spuhr Mounts to fellow Snipershide members.
The box gets wrapped inside a towel then the towel goes inside a plastic ziplock bag.
Spray foam is used so the cojrner of someone elses box doesn't breakthrough the box with the mount in it during the handling process.
If you can't drop kick it you don't have it packaged correctly.
Barreled actions need to be put inside a guncase or a PVC tube and if they can slide you still don't have them packed correctly.
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Just wanted to add to how worthless the USPS is.
PVA shipped out a barrel I've been waiting for and now the fine people at the post office lost it. WTF
Shows the pkg was picked up and made to Pittsburgh and never left.
Been there since last Friday. It was Priority mail ( 2-3 days)
PVA shipped out a barrel I've been waiting for and now the fine people at the post office lost it. WTF
Shows the pkg was picked up and made to Pittsburgh and never left.
Been there since last Friday. It was Priority mail ( 2-3 days)
USPS seems to be struggling right now. I had a priority mail package stuck at the same facility for 4 days.
Like I said, those cautionary words are not part of their vocabulary.
Thanks for helping me make my point.
If you put a fragile handle with care sticker on your package it means absolutely nothing!!!!!!
If you pay an extra $10.35 the USPS will label your package and only then will it matter to anyone shipping that package. Pictured attached.
99 and 44/100 percent of all shipping problems are customer related screw ups. Poor packaging illegible writing wrong address insufficient address and using a used box with 5 old labels and barcodes still in place and no tape.
4 cages six feet tall get lifted into the air just like a garbage truck picking up cans and dumped onto conveyor belts.
The general public thinks the window clerk personally carries there package from California to Florida in her personal car were she then gives it to the route driver.
If you know how to ship you can send eggs live chickens ducks snakes glass the hope diamond or anything else without issue.
If you don't know what your doing a steel barrel gets damaged and you blame someone else.
The picture shows the only label that gets special handling.
