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Question. Just mailed a handgun to an FFL holder in another state. UPS cost was $108. I have an FFL so a friend of mine had  a handgun he bought shipped to me-cost by UPS was $12. Anyone with experience with handgun shipping costs that I could compare? I think the local UPS made a mistake.

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Your post is confusing.

 

You said you MAILED it. MAIL is Post Office. Then you said UPS cost. UPS is not mailing.

 

Then you said someone else shipped you a pistol by UPS and it only cost $18.00 to send. UPS is a bunch of money-grubbing bastages, and I can't conceive of them only charging $18 to ship a pistol.

 

If you have an FFL, and the guy you sent it to had an FFL, you should have done like you said - MAILED it. That would have cost you about 15 or 20 dollars.

 

Unless the FFL you have is not a "I'm a gun seller" FFL, but is a "I'm a C&R" FFL. In that case you can't mail it, and you have to go through the money-grabbing UPS.

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Lots of possibilities. First one that comes to mind is if it was shipped next day or 2nd day air. Was it calculated using the flat rate dimension or conventional. I believe Fed-ex and UPS require overnight shipment for all firearms. Overnight is rather costly any more. It is also based on the size of the package if it weighs less than 50 lbs. in a package no larger than 1728 cu in. In any case you can't ship a letter across town via UPS for $18.00

 

If you have an FFL the absolutely most cost effective method of shipment is USPS. You can use their flat rate boxes for almost any handgun and many long guns that can be broken down to an OAL of less than 22 inches.  Even when you have to use your own packaging USPS is usually cheaper as you only have to ship firearms priority mail and not overnight.

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Typically, a pistol fits in the $8 flat rate box, plus the $5 signature fee.  The box needs to be sealed before entering the post office.  

 

Fedex tries to charge over $100 for overnight service.  UPS is usually $90ish for overnight.  If you prepay online, it is a little cheaper.  Not all Fedex/UPS locations accept firearm shipments.  There are websites that will sell you a shipping label for less.  They use their purchasing power to negotiate better rates than we get as individuals.  

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Did he not insure it? That might be part of it...a small part. 

 

I shipped a Remington R51 to the factory 3 times via FedEx. They paid for it. All 3 times they paid a different amount between $26 and $47. The FedEx dude couldn’t tell me why. 

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5 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Did he not insure it? That might be part of it...a small part. 

 

I shipped a Remington R51 to the factory 3 times via FedEx. They paid for it. All 3 times they paid a different amount between $26 and $47. The FedEx dude couldn’t tell me why. 

Company contract rates vary by the magic logistics box in UPS, called a computer now.  We had a floating rate to take advantage of the lulls.  The contract rate fluctuated almost every week.  Even which day of the week could make a difference on a shipping quote.  Obviously rates went up before Christmas when UPS had to rent Uhaul trucks and hire extra drivers.

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UPS and FedEx require overnight shipping for handguns.  Ostensibly to thwart internal  theft by means of the more stringent controls on overnight.  That's in the $100 range, even for a $25 derringer.

FFL to FFL via USPS is the only reasonably priced way to ship a handgun.  I usually pay $25-$30 including $500 insurance.

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I was going to ship a derringer to an FFL dealer, actually a NAA .22 magnum through Fed Ex and they wanted $85.00, screw that crap! I brought it to my LGS and they shipped it for $20.00.:o

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Just as a side note I just had a small package posted from MN  using USPS to Australia for $ 20 US ..I thought that was pretty good considering what others would have charged..just my 2c.

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I can only assume he did not inform ups that a firearm was in the package. 

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