I don't have the patience to price shop local FFLs for outgoing shipments (transfer fees, shipping rates, etc), and the hubs you have to use to ship yourself are far and inconvenient to use for me.

I remember looking into Ship My Gun a while back, it advertises being cheaper and easier - looks tempting.

Their website has you choose a local FFL and also mentions finding a FedEx center in their FAQ section. Which is it? Am I dropping my gun at a local FFL and still paying their transfer fee, is that included in my SMG price, do I have to take my gun to the FedEx location?

Cheaper and easier and not very clear on exactly what the steps are other than "we'll include instructions with your label" - and also verbiage about a prepaid shipping box showing up in 1-4 days. Am I getting a label to print, or a box to ship in?

I'm afraid I'll get the label and the place to drop the gun is across town with hours that match when I have to be at work. Which is why I don't want to go to FedEx myself.

Anyone care to shed some light on the situation?

Go to shipmygun.com Create a label and it will give you a price. If you wish to proceed you then pay and it will tell you where to drop off the firearm for shipment.The drop off is either a Fedex or UPS customer service. center You can also order a box for extra. With your own packaging they will email you a label to stick on your box.

They also have a number you can call for questions before you purchase,so you can get the drop off location. I have used them twice and the price was reasonable.

The third time I tried to use them they did not have the ffl I was shipping to on file.I eventually went to a local FFL to have that one shipped.

Thanks. They haven't responded to my email query yet, and they weren't available yesterday (Sunday).

I can't readily get to my "local" FedEx/UPS center.

We have had many customers use Shipmygun.com without any problems

If you are selling a gun make sure the FFL you are shipping it to accepts guns from individuals

quote:

Originally posted by Rustpot:
Their website has you choose a local FFL and also mentions finding a FedEx center in their FAQ section. Which is it?

The "select FFL" is referring to the DESTINATION. It's not one that is local to you, it's local to the receiver. You still have to drop it off at a fedex hub - which you stated you did not want to drive to. SMG just gives you their business discount price versus if you go to them directly and pay full price.

There's no method that will allow you to drop a firearm in the mailbox or with a ups/fedex driver, so it sounds like you'll need to go through a local (to you) FFL. Many websites have an inventory of FFLs and their transfer fees - though this is for inbound transfers. Find a cheap one or two, call them up and ask how much for outbound transfers. It's probably close to the same price as inbound, plus actual shipping costs, which should total up to slightly more than what SMG charges.

Here's one: http://www.gunbroker.com/ffl/searchforffl.aspx
but there are many others.

I just checked it out for a possible sale. It would save me $3 and change over using an ffl. I'd rather let my local ffl make the transfer fee for roughly the same out of pocket cost.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ceptor781,

It seems, just based on a number of local inquiries, that fewer store front FFLs are will to receive shipments from individuals. It seems they are reluctant to provide a copy of their FFL which is required.

For years, having dealt with this issue and the cost of shipping, I found a "kitchen table" FFL that had done the paper work to ship using USPS. He would also receive shipments from individuals.

He is a two hour round trip from my house, but it's not a bad drive and he is so easy to work with I don't mind. That's how I solved the problem. He charges $30 plus insurance and handles everything expeditiously and professionally. When he receives a firearm, he charges $25.

Because I've used it mostly for handguns, he ships Priority Mail and so it is a flat rate anywhere in the country. That's a plus.

How does shipmygun.com handle the FFL issue with the shipper. I've used FedEx in the past, taking the gun to a hub, and they require that I provide a copy of the FFL which they keep on file. Is all that the same. Basically the shipmygun.com service is just providing you with a shipping discount based on their account?