Best advice I've heard is to order a rifle hard case online. It'll come in a cardboard box. Then the hard case with cardboard box around it can be used as a shipping container. It would probably be much better to remove the barrel and action from the stock and then place them side by side in the hard case. This will also allow you to use a shorter case. Closed cell foam in the case to supplement the open cell foam.

It'll be a little costly, as even the inexpensive hard cases are $30-$40 and then postage on top of that, but I think that if you explain the shipping charges up front then the buyer should have no problems paying, as they'll be getting a hard case as part of the deal.

 

Check your local FFL shops to see if they have shipping boxes/packing materials they don't want and check into pirate ship for quotes/pricing. Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship

Bill

 

Depends which UPS store you deal at. I guess UPS policy is no firearms unless shipped by FFL. Also not smart to use any gun box with labels, logo, etc. What I do is turn box inside out. Also avoid using Gun Shop in address. I make arrangements to use FFL owners name instead. These measures are to protect from theft. Don’t ask me how I know.
USPS is worst for theft. They got so many sub contractors it’s like playing Russia Roulette. Is item going to be stolen in transit, lost mail or in a dumpster behind a Taco Bell.

 

Best advice I've heard is to order a rifle hard case online. It'll come in a cardboard box. Then the hard case with cardboard box around it can be used as a shipping container. It would probably be much better to remove the barrel and action from the stock and then place them side by side in the hard case. This will also allow you to use a shorter case. Closed cell foam in the case to supplement the open cell foam.

It'll be a little costly, as even the inexpensive hard cases are $30-$40 and then postage on top of that, but I think that if you explain the shipping charges up front then the buyer should have no problems paying, as they'll be getting a hard case as part of the deal.

Honestly that makes a lot of sense as you are getting an appropriate sized container that is padded as well so adding a little extra strategically placed packing to make sure the gun does not move around inside the case during shipping although adding a bit of cost simplifies the shipping process immensely.

Check your local FFL shops to see if they have shipping boxes/packing materials they don't want and check into pirate ship for quotes/pricing. Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship

Bill

Another good option for lesser priced pieces that would be hard to justify the added cost of the hard case! I quickly did a search and glance on the Pirate Ship option and seems like it could hold promise.
But to be honest what little I have garnered it seems that there is no way to talk to a live person using that service and in the unfortunate need to file an insurance claim you are dealing with 3rd party insurance providers so I would love to hear more from multiple users of this service.
Saving money on shipping cost is great and I try to only charge the buyer the actual cost for the shipping and insurance but saving a few dollars would not be worth it if there was a problem and it complicated getting the issue resolved.
But its not like you will ever get any sort of realistic answers as to getting a resolution to a problem out of a postal employee when it comes to the same types of issues to be honest.

Depends which UPS store you deal at. I guess UPS policy is no firearms unless shipped by FFL. Also not smart to use any gun box with labels, logo, etc. What I do is turn box inside out. Also avoid using Gun Shop in address. I make arrangements to use FFL owners name instead. These measures are to protect from theft. Don’t ask me how I know.
USPS is worst for theft. They got so many sub contractors it’s like playing Russia Roulette. Is item going to be stolen in transit, lost mail or in a dumpster behind a Taco Bell.

I think as a private individual that USPS is really the only option for shipping a firearm to a ffl dealer without using a dedicated service to handle the shipment.
I cannot think of the service or what it takes to use it but there is I believe a way a non licensed person can actually ship through UPS but the rules for its use are pretty stringent I believe.

Using a local ffl dealer to ship of course is another option but again that will add to the shipping cost but to what extent I have not yet inquired to what my local dealer would charge for such a service or if they would even be willing to do it.

 

I received a lovely Martini .310/.32-20 Cadet that was actually wrapped in a light horse blanket. The rifle weighs nothing but the blanket weighed a ton. Of course the shipping was outrageous. Rifle arrived fine. I use the blanket on my piano bench. The only times I shipped a long gun was when I sent my barreled action to Marlin for a rebarrel and my 1873 to be worked on. Hard case in a cardboard box and plenty of tape.

 

I recently received a Pattern 14 rifle from a C&R license holder. He wrapped it well in bubble wrap with the bolt wrapped separately and shipped it via UPS for $60 and it arrived early and in good shape. Since I have a C&R license also he mailed it to my home.

 

I currently have one that is probably "lost" VIA USPS. No more! UPS for me moving forward.

 

I am a no for USPS too many lost packages with insurance that they never paid, not guns.

 

I'm with you on the USPS shipping... just lost a Nikon binocular I was returning to the Nikon Service Center in LA. They were 4 years old.. and I could t locate my original receipt, so I asked for the $100 standard insurance for any of their shipments and they declined that.

 

F.M.Dave. , I have a letter i mailed June 30th hasn't reach the recipient yet, says still on track just taking longer.

 

Just yesterday, after the 'rate change' of the weekend, I sent a small box with a pair of grips, weight 4.3oz, cost $7.60! Asked how much now for their Small Flat Rate box, think she said $11.70 . Watching the travel adventures of such around the country (and sometimes even to foreign sites) is not encouraging...... I cant imagine what they want now to ship a rifle.

 

I've shipped a few long guns, just packed securely and dropped off at USPS. I included a copy of the receiving FFL's license and a photocopy of my Driver's license along with the invoice, no issues (in the box, nothing on the outside should indicate it's a firearm). Except California, that requires pre-approval of the shipment to the receiving FFL which isn't hard to obtain, just an extra step.

The simplest way to find a local FFL who'll ship it is to go to shipmygun.com and they'll give you a local FFL in their network close to you, as well as allowing you to get a rate and prepay before the FFL gets it. Not all FFLs are in their network, but I live in the middle of nowhere and two of the three closest to me are so they've certainly got a lot of them.

 

One thing that I recommend/advise is to remove the bolt on bolt action rifles. Just pack it nicely and place in the shipping container with the weapon in a manner that it has no chance of moving and damaging the weapon.

 

1st when you ship its best to ship a rifle with the stock and rifle separately and preferably wrapped but in the same container.
2nd as “vfourmax” said also ship in a hard case.

when you separat the rifle and stock you can use a much shorter container and that will save you on shipping and has a plus side that if the stock is wood you are greatly reducing the possibility of the stock getting broken in shipping.
You can also save money this way as it opens the possibilities of containers.

if there is a concern about cost of container have the buyer pay the extra 10-20 dollars for the cheap container.
cover the container with cut cardboard box and insure for an Insane amount.

this is how I request mine to be sent and how I ship also.

 

I like to ship the stock separately direct to the person receiving it. The barreled action is all that needs to go through the FFL.
gkn

 

I always want a rifle shipped in a hard case inside a box. If the seller doesn't have .....I ask him to buy one and add to the cost.

 

EVERYTHING THAT GOT DAMAGED WAS IN A PLASTIC HARD CASE. I buy boxes from Uline. Wrap with bubble wrap, pack TIGHT with peanuts, extra foam at muzzle and butt ends and your good to go, unless they run over it! Only time I've had any issue was when shipped in a hard case, not a fan of that. They will slide and move in the case.

 

Interesting thread. I'm learning some new things and ideas.

If I was in your shoes, needing to sell and ship a substantial collection, I'd do what I'm doing now with the sale (upcoming) of one gun: hire my local FFL to do the shipping for me. (He's also a friend and fairly close neighbor, but that's beside the point.) [Added by edit: there is no UPS or Fedex "store" anywhere near me as I'm car-less (not careless ); 4-wheeler only. I've got USPS nearby, but I'd still rather let his expertise do it 100% right.)

He's mainly a "higher end" dealer -- meaning that even though he keeps average priced guns in his cases, and will order what you want, his main stock is higher end guns with price tags in the upper hundreds to low thousands. (You should see some of the Colt revolvers he got in recently. ) And he has a brisk business.

He's got accounts with UPS and FedEx, but ships a lot via USPS and knows how to do it best with all to minimize problems, to avoid perils and pitfalls. He buys a fair amount from Gunbroker. He understands how to pack guns for shipping (especially since he's a higher end guy). And given that he's an FFL, that takes care of the cases where that's a must.

I told him I'd offer him a "shipping commission". We haven't discussed an actual price, but he's a very fair person who mostly just wants to help his clients (being a gun dealer is not his day job; he's a well paid electrician) so I trust it'll be reasonable.

And for me, that's just one gun. If I had as many as you, I'd value taking the stress off.

Just a thought.

 

Walmart has some long gun hard cases for around $20.00 not the highest quality but will work for shipping.
I have a couple of them for toting guns to the range.

 

Thanks for the replies and viewpoints.
I have decided that any shipping will involve the utilization of a cheaper hard case.
I ordered a few of these online already as I do want the "outer" cardboard box the cases should come to me in.

I did talk to a local dealer that I have used for receiving firearms bought in the past on several occasions about shipping and cost and they told me its not something they do on a normal basis they would do it for me.

I was not real clear on whether the prices they were quoting was just for their services or whether that would include the actual cost of shipment as well.
I am guessing it was just their charges and if that were the case using the ffl after you figure in buying the cheaper hard cases could easily approach about $90-$100.
I know you are paying for a service but that hurts!

Am I correct that if they ship it they have to do the transfer and assume ownership hence triggering what would be a transfer fee to them as if I am right in the way I took what they were explaining then it would add quite a bit of expense overall to the shipping cost.
Still doing some investigating here.

Need to look more into these shipping services such as the Pirate Ship and Ship My Gun as other affordable options.
Any feedback on people that have actually used these services, what was involved and the actual cost involved with them would be great as well.

When yo are looking at selling the more expensive models it is not as difficult for perhaps both the seller and buyer sharing eating the higher shipping cost options but if you are looking at trying to ship a gun that may be worth $250 then it quickly gets to the point its not worth listing those online for sale if shipping is going to eat up a big percentage of the sale price.

Still up in the air on this, love the idea of just dropping them off at a ffl dealer and being done but usually you are already losing money on the sale to start with it hurts to see another big chunk of the sale price going into shipping cost and fees to sell!

 

I did talk to a local dealer that I have used for receiving firearms bought in the past on several occasions about shipping and cost and they told me its not something they do on a normal basis they would do it for me.

I was not real clear on whether the prices they were quoting was just for their services or whether that would include the actual cost of shipment as well.
I am guessing it was just their charges and if that were the case using the ffl after you figure in buying the cheaper hard cases could easily approach about $90-$100.
I know you are paying for a service but that hurts!

Yeah, I hear you. It's not really worth it at that point to use the FFL to do the actual shipping. But if you're not in a hurry and have the time to do it yourself, I can see just doing it yourself would be the best option.

In my case, it's just a revolver I'll be selling, an upgraded Super Wrangler that I bought from him. He's got it now to see if it moves in his shop while I work to sell it online. (Going to put up an ad in our marketplace this weekend.) He's taken several of my guns on trade during the last couple of years, and I always get very reasonable prices.

I'm sure it helps also that he's a friend and neighbor, and his (part time) business is more about doing something he loves (he's also a collector of fairly high end guns, which is what got him into it in the first place) and he likes to help people (I live in one of the poorest counties in Maine). He's already gotten me an estimate on shipping costs, and says it wouldn't be much more effort or cost for him to deal with the shipping process itself.

Anyway, good luck with your quest for the best way to do what you need to do. I'll be reading.

 

My $0.02 from shipping and receiving rifles for over 15 years, buy good boxes from Amazon or Wal-Mart online. Pack the box real tight, make sure the barrel end is tightly wrapped to protect it and lessen the chance it pokes through the box end (again, pack tight, rifle should not move within the box). I use Pirate Ship (free) to see which is cheaper, UPS or USPS.

Good Luck and let me know if you are selling anything broken or missing pieces.

Mark

 

First off when my health forced me to downsize my living arrangements one of the victims of that downsizing was not being able to keep all the boxes the firearms came in new.
As I sort of delve into best way to ship both from acquiring suitable sized boxes and shipping rates when you start figuring in oversize or length boxes am I wrong to think the process and finding suitable sized boxes would be much easier if the rifles were taken out of the stock/chassis and well packed and shipped more as a barreled action and stock in a much shorter overall package size?

This is all up to you. Alot of info is on the web. It's just a matter of doing your due diligence. It take some digging but look up the USPS site and see what they say.

Ive been selling off my long guns first since they take up more space. But if you want to use any of the alphabet carries, thats up to you. But i will say you may find that the USPS is cheaper, but i will let you figure this out. If you can or will ship ground, then it may depend on the distance. Since i live on the West Coast and most of the buyers have been on the East Coast, it costs more than if someone was in an adjacent state. Again, look up the prices and zone...ect. The info is there.

FWIW, there is a 18? USD fee/charge for a box over 30 inches. But check and verify this.

Boxes are noting new. If you want there are a couple ways to do this. Its all up to you and how much work/money/sweat you want to put into this.

If you have some valuable rifle how much are you willing to protect it for the next person? Dont forget if you are selling it to someone, will they be happy with some parts of the rifle sticking outside the box upon receipt? So if you want you can buy a new cheap rifle case and hopefully it comes with a box. If you have some sporting goods store you can go there to see how much they cost. Some may have "shotgun" cases where they breakdown too. But you may want to head out and look for any that may suit any future needs. But some places may get their cheap cases in bulk. As in multiple cases in a big box. So you may not get a "box" to ship that gun. But again go out and ask.

If you are buds with a LGS, ask how much they can get a cheap hard cases for. See what they come back with.

You can buy premade shipping boxes too. If you want, check out Uline.com Ive been using these since they are nice and i can cut them down if i need. They do make 2 different sizes, so choose wisely. Hint. its not easy to stretch one but you can cut one down.

If you want, you can make some boxes out of cardboard. Look at UHAUL and some of their wardrobe boxes. if you can figure out a decent shape/size you can get 2 out of a box. Some of the cardboard is single layer and some not.

If you have anyplace that sells cardboard you can make them out of that. Some arts and crafts store may have them or you may find them at a box mfg or cardboard supplier.

My LGS got me some cheap padded rifle cases. I got with and without scope versions. I think they were about 10 bucks per. So, what i do is to ship the rifle in that case as padding in a box. Some of my rifles do have soft cases and i will just use those. The ones with boxes, i will just put the whole thing in a bigger box if possible. But i will add more padding at the butt stock and muzzle end. If there is a bolt, i may remove and wrap. I dont know how many BAs I've received with the bolt head sticking out of the box.

I am going to make some calls and see if I can find out what if need be my local ffl dealer would charge to ship out a weapon in the event the receiving buyers ffl dealer will not accept a package from an individual and only from another ffl.

Also my research is dictating that USPS is the way that an individual needs to go when shipping a firearm to an FFL.

Anyone with experience in this area care to chime in with tips and suggestions and point out pitfalls to watch out for this will be greatly appreciated.
As soon as I get the particulars sorted on the shipping and associated procedure and cost I will start posting up some for sale in the classifieds.
Thanks in advance for any insight given!

There is a place called..."shipmygun.com" or something like that. If you want google and see if they have a shop/place that will do that for you. It wont hurt to get another quote and from what I've read, they were cheaper.

You have to understand the laws regarding shipping firearms. Sometimes its how the other party feels too.

But if you want to ship via USPS, you will need an FFL or have access to an FFL. My LGS allows me to use his FFL. I can buy/ship. My local USPS knows me on sight and knows what im shipping. It's not a big deal to me.

If you use your local LGS, they may have some or alot of boxes for them to use too. My LGS begs me to take and use their boxes so they dont have to dispose of them. Same for any packing material. Again, talk to your LGS about this and see what they say.

USPS/UPS/FEDEX/DHL, it's all the same to me. you will find fan boys of this or that and everyone will have their own SOB story using one or the other. To me, its small violins playing in the background.

USPS Priority Mail. If you compare the rates, you may note that the USPS Prority Mail is about ~ 20 USD more than ground. Or something like that. Same for UPS Ground ...ect or even look at the 2?3 day rates. DO the work/research yourself to verify too. Think about it. Ground vs 2 or 3 day. (not during the holidays tho) So again, think of that expensive gun bouncing for 1 ? week or maybe only 2 or 3 days?.

You can have the buyer pay for shipping/insurance too. It all depends on what and how you want to do it.

Take photos of the toy before you ship it. take as many as you want/can since it's all digital.

You can get a rough estimate on shipping too. But i use Priority Mail. Again, since i live on the W coast, i do an estimate shipping to WDC, AK, HI. Those are the "worse case scenarios" from where i live. You may find that AK/HI are the same price from where you live...up to a point.

Also, this shouldn't have to be stated, but some people just dont get it.

COMMUNICATION is important. No one reads minds, at least i dont. So COMMUNICATE what, where and how. I had people (Florida retirees) wait until the last moment to send the funds. They were just giving me the finger and didnt say anything. All i ask for is some respect just as they would want too. I understand that money isnt always readily available and they may need to scrape up the funds but again, just keep me in the loop.

I had some shop, just toss everything into the OEM box and ship. Things were damaged and the old OEM paper instructions were frail and torn. I wasn't a happy camper. But hey, they got their money and thats all that matters right? Screw the buyer.

If you are going to sell online, take alot of GOOD Photos. Not the blurry ones. If you can and or have a Point-n-shoot camera and a tripod use that. Same with any strobes/fill in lights. PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS !!!!!!! If you have any accessories or things that came with the gun and or is part of the gun, make sure you include and photo. If you shot or havent shot the gun, state so. same with WHY you are selling.

If there are any problems/issues state so.

BTW, i had bought a few rifles with bulged bores. one i forgot to add to my notes when i bought and after i sold it the buyer let me know. i felt bad, since i didnt have it in my note, but my LGS noted it. I was willing to buy it back on my dime but the buyer was knowledgeable and knew from experience the position wouldnt affect the accuracy. I let him know the offer to buy back was good even after he shot it. But i guess he was happy.

If you or someone else modded the toy, say so.

figure out what form of payment you will accept. I ask for USPS MO but note, due to their cutbacks on some stations, i understand it may not be convenient to get to one. I ask for USPS MO since it's not so easy to cheat. So if you are willing to accept personal checks or other MO, just say so. If you want, go to your bank and ask them about MO and personal checks. How long it may take for them to clear and their policy. My credit union will "honor" a check and i can pull/cash if i want. but i just deposit and move onto next. I think the policy on personal checks is that by law they are suppose to clear in 5 business days.

Dont be afraid to do the OTJ training/learning. If you forget/miss/screwup on your first add/sell, make corrections on the 2nd and so forth. Everyone will do things different and some wont learn from past mistakes.

If you want, open up a Word document and create a template to use for selling your stuff. you can have headers to use as a guide too.

If you have access to a printer or hopefully your LGS does, print out the address labels. Handwritten can be so varied and let's say, some suck. Its one less issue to deal with.

Also, what i do is to enclose an envelope with the sales and have a lable for the new owner and also a separate envelope with FFL. That way if the box loses the label, they will hopefully find the envelopes and figure out where it's suppose to go. And those labels have phone numbers of the shops too.

good luck

 

2nd on the include a copy of all shipping docs inside the box. A lost in shipment box just might get opened one day and someone can get it back on the way; maybe. And on insurance,
if you receive something busted up the sender is the one to file the claim. It will perhaps be an issue to get your money back once the firearm has no or reduced value after damage.

 

Oh, on another note, the one that was lost showed up on my porch 3 weeks after shipping with a postage due. Apparently their label came off. Re-boxed and sent UPS. I am currently trying to get my original postage back!