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9x18
Hillbilly Wannabe
posted
If I use shipmygun do I need to go to a special UPS center or hub to do it?

As I understand it I'll get a shipping label from them to a FFL on their list. What comes next?

I realize I'm one of those troglodytes who prefers FTF but I need to sell some handguns and shipping gives me more options. The last handgun I sent FEDEX overnight from a hub and cost me near $100, 20% of it's value.

Thanks for the help.
 
Posts: 2559 | Location: Georgia | Registered: July 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
tatortodd
Drill Here, Drill Now
Picture of tatortodd
posted Hide Post
You do everything online, pack it yourself, and then drop-off at UPS location that takes guns. I've used it a few times and always had to go to an actual UPS hub not the UPS store.

Last time I did it, SMG was about 67% cheaper.

Two tips:
  • FFL. It becomes pain in the ass if the person you're shipping to decides they want to use a FFL not on the list. Between Bud's Guns (i.e. the people behind SMG) and the FFL, it's many days of delay. IMO, FFLs are fungible so one of my sale terms is an FFL already on the list as it's not worth the many days of delay.
  • Don't forget to put a copy of SMG paperwork in box. There doesn't appear to be much communication between SMG and FFL.


    Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

    DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
    •  
    Posts: 23956 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Snake207
    War Damn Eagle!
    Picture of Snake207
    posted Hide Post
    From their FAQ:

    11. What locations can I ship my firearm from?

    Firearms, including handguns, may ONLY BE SHIPPED through a Ups Customer Center (counters at Ups operational facilities). You can find the Customer Center location closest to you using the Ups Drop-Off Find Locations tool.When utilizing this tool, please make sure you are only leaving the Ups Customer Center box checked. Firearms are not accepted for shipment via Ups Drop Boxes, Ups On-Call Pickup®, or at locations of The Ups Store® or any third party retailer.

    https://www.shipmygun.com/go/faq.php


    __________________________
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    Posts: 12556 | Location: Realville | Registered: June 27, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    9x18
    Hillbilly Wannabe
    posted Hide Post
    Thanks all.

    I missed that when I read the SMG faqs. D'oh
     
    Posts: 2559 | Location: Georgia | Registered: July 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    9x18
    Hillbilly Wannabe
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    one of my sale terms is an FFL already on the list as it's not worth the many days of delay

    This sounds like good advice.
     
    Posts: 2559 | Location: Georgia | Registered: July 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    1967Goat
    Shit don't
    mean shit
    posted Hide Post
    I live in a small town. The UPS store in my town allows you to drop off "Pre-Paid" packages. A "Pre-Paid" package simply means it already has a UPS shipping label attached to it. SMG sends you the shipping label via email that you print out and attach to your box. If you attach the label, walk in to a UPS store and tell them you have a "Pre-Paid" package, they will accept it from you just like any other package....Just sayin'....YMMV.
     
    Posts: 5835 | Location: 7400 feet in Conifer CO | Registered: November 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    9x18
    Hillbilly Wannabe
    posted Hide Post
    Yea, I wonder about that too. I'm often dropping off return packages at my local UPS store that are pre-paid and they just throw them on the pile,print a receipt, and send you on your way.

    Amazon returns and others do it this way and they do many pre-paid packages this way.
     
    Posts: 2559 | Location: Georgia | Registered: July 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    RogueJSK
    Fighting the good fight
    Picture of RogueJSK
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by 1967Goat:
    I live in a small town. The UPS store in my town allows you to drop off "Pre-Paid" packages. A "Pre-Paid" package simply means it already has a UPS shipping label attached to it. SMG sends you the shipping label via email that you print out and attach to your box. If you attach the label, walk in to a UPS store and tell them you have a "Pre-Paid" package, they will accept it from you just like any other package....Just sayin'....YMMV.


    But the price of that convenience is that you run the risk of UPS not covering the shipment if it gets lost/damaged, because you didn't follow UPS's firearms policy, which states that you cannot drop off a firearm at a UPS Store location, only at a UPS Customer Center hub.

    In addition, I've had pretty poor luck with Amazon returns with prepaid labels at the UPS Store. About 15-20% of the items I drop off at the UPS Store never make it back to Amazon. Amazon is always good about processing the refund anyway after a waiting period, but as a result I'd never trust shipping anything valuable through a UPS Store.

    (Granted, I don't return a whole bunch of Amazon items, so a few lost returns ends up being a comparatively large percentage overall. It has happened to me about 4 times in the last 10 years. Still fairly alarming.)
     
    Posts: 33464 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    12131
    Oriental Redneck
    Picture of 12131
    posted Hide Post
    ^^^ What RogueJSK said. And, I bet, if you go drop it off at your UPS store and tell them you're shipping a firearm, it's going to be rejected. Their policy is pretty clear.


    Q





     
    Posts: 28224 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: September 04, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    9x18
    Hillbilly Wannabe
    posted Hide Post
    Yea, It is only about 20 minutes to the service center for me anyway.

    Doesn't SMG allow for you to buy insurance for your shipment?
     
    Posts: 2559 | Location: Georgia | Registered: July 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    tatortodd
    Drill Here, Drill Now
    Picture of tatortodd
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by 9x18:
    Doesn't SMG allow for you to buy insurance for your shipment?
    Yes. There is of course an acre of fine print including following their shipping policies.


    Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

    DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
     
    Posts: 23956 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Rick Lee
    Member
    Picture of Rick Lee
    posted Hide Post
    If SMG doesn't offer ironclad insurance coverage, you're better off just shipping your "machined metal parts" UPS or FedEx Ground. Breaking their rules is not illegal and, if you're not covered by insurance with SMG, then it's probably cheaper to use your own label for ground shipping.
     
    Posts: 3821 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    lyman
    Hop head
    Picture of lyman
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by RogueJSK:
    quote:
    Originally posted by 1967Goat:
    I live in a small town. The UPS store in my town allows you to drop off "Pre-Paid" packages. A "Pre-Paid" package simply means it already has a UPS shipping label attached to it. SMG sends you the shipping label via email that you print out and attach to your box. If you attach the label, walk in to a UPS store and tell them you have a "Pre-Paid" package, they will accept it from you just like any other package....Just sayin'....YMMV.


    But the price of that convenience is that you run the risk of UPS not covering the shipment if it gets lost/damaged, because you didn't follow UPS's firearms policy, which states that you cannot drop off a firearm at a UPS Store location, only at a UPS Customer Center hub.

    In addition, I've had pretty poor luck with Amazon returns with prepaid labels at the UPS Store. About 15-20% of the items I drop off at the UPS Store never make it back to Amazon. Amazon is always good about processing the refund anyway after a waiting period, but as a result I'd never trust shipping anything valuable through a UPS Store.

    (Granted, I don't return a whole bunch of Amazon items, so a few lost returns ends up being a comparatively large percentage overall. It has happened to me about 4 times in the last 10 years. Still fairly alarming.)


    keep in mind also, if you do (and you should) insure the firearm being shipped, if it is over $1000, UPS will require it being handed over to a UPS driver or UPS hub, not store, (I think that applies to anything, not just firearms, since UPS online never requires me to input what it is),


    hubs may or may not be close to you,
    drivers, you have to catch them, unless you cough up the $4 or so it costs to have them stop and pick it up,


    https://chandlersfirearms.com/chesterfield-armament/
     
    Posts: 10672 | Location: Beach VA,not VA Beach | Registered: July 17, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Copefree
    Stop Talking, Start Doing
    posted Hide Post
    This thread is timely, as I just got an $80 quote to ship a handgun FFL —> FFL today … ridiculous.


    _______________
    Mind. Over. Matter.
     
    Posts: 5090 | Location: The (R)ight side of Washington State | Registered: August 31, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    tatortodd
    Drill Here, Drill Now
    Picture of tatortodd
    posted Hide Post
    My Dad lives about 1200 miles from me. Just for grins, I priced shipping to a FFL near him a handgun w/ $900 insurance on SMG and it was $19.99.


    Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

    DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
     
    Posts: 23956 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    darkest2000
    Military Arms Collector
    Picture of darkest2000
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by 1967Goat:
    I live in a small town. The UPS store in my town allows you to drop off "Pre-Paid" packages. A "Pre-Paid" package simply means it already has a UPS shipping label attached to it. SMG sends you the shipping label via email that you print out and attach to your box. If you attach the label, walk in to a UPS store and tell them you have a "Pre-Paid" package, they will accept it from you just like any other package....Just sayin'....YMMV.


    99.99% of the time you will get away with doing that, it's just that one time when you need to file a claim which is when it'll come back to bite you.

    I operate a small business that ship lots of pre-paid packages, which are simply dropped off at any of the service locations, be it USPO, UPS CC, UPS Store, etc.

    However, whenever a shipment does involve a firearm, I would still print a prepaid label but I let my local FFL ship it for me. I know them well enough that they don't usually charge me any additional fees if I bring it in with everything ready to go. IMO that's probably the cheapest method still with a peace of mind you can go with. Shipping through an FFL also lets you use the postal service for handguns which is generally much cheaper (and usually faster) than commercial carriers.
     
    Posts: 10853 | Location: Orange County, CA, USA | Registered: March 18, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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