I recently ordered a pistol from AIM Surplus. After they shipped it the package took seven days to arrive to my FFL via USPS. Is there a minimum FFL-to-FFL shipment time required by federal law? I've searched online but couldn't find any requirements.

I'm not upset at AIM, in fact they've always been great. I've just never had a firearm take seven calendar days to get from Ohio to Texas. Thanks in advance.

Individuals have to ship handguns overnight/next day, using a common carrier like UPS or FedEx.

FFLs can use the Postal Service, and there's no restrictions on the speed of service used.

Also keep on mind that this is the busiest shipping time of the year, so USPS shipments will take a bit longer than usual.

Not FFL, but there is no minimum time requirements by federal law. The only requirements are from FedEx and UPS, per their policies. And, it's overnight. Again, it's company policies, not federal law.

I suspect the delay has to with the holiday season. Everybody is shipping something, and the system sometimes get overloaded. Sometimes, it could be weather related, too. Or, sometimes, they simply dropped the ball.

I recently shipped a pistol overnight via FedEx. It arrived 3 days late. Since it was a guarantee service, I asked for my shipping fee back. They tried to give me the weather excuse, but there was no weather related incidence. In the end, I got my money back.

When a seller says something "shipped", it doesn't necessarily mean that it is on the way. Shipping lable generated, waiting for pickup, etc.

Yeah, AimSurplus is great but they aren't the fastest shippers in the world.

I knew about the next day requirement for individuals since I just sent off my PPS, but thought there might be separate requirements for FFLs as well. I guess I've just been lucky with AIM Surplus in the past.

Thanks for all the replies, gents.

ATF says that a non-FFL individual has to ship by carrier like United Parcel, FedEx, etc. ATF does not require you to use any specific class of service with these carriers.

However, UPS and FedEx have company policies that specify overnight service. This is company policy, not ATF regulation.

Any time I sell a handgun it's definitely worth my time to have my FFL run it through his bound book so it can be mailed rather than shipped. USPS Regional Flat Rate is the cheapest option by far.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Also keep on mind that this is the busiest shipping time of the year, so USPS shipments will take a bit longer than usual.

We used to get our first class mail distributed by 11AM. Now we're lucky to have it mid afternoon. Yesterday morning the back shelves of our little local post office looked like an Amazon warehouse. One clerk and a slow moving postmaster simply can't keep up.