Shipping Long Guns

[Keb]

I have to know something. I buy & sell quite a few guns every year. I don't know how anyone else feels about the shipping or packaging but I think it's quite important. Maybe some people take it for granted that their purchase will be handled carefully by all the major shippers but I always expect the worst. I always over pack what I'm shipping in wood crates and plenty of material to keep the gun from rattling around in a wooden crate. It cost me around $30.00 for the crate and maybe a little more for the packaging materials and more for postage because of the added weight. I always insure for the price the new owner is paying. I've never had an issue with damage. I go through extra effort to do my best to give the purchaser what he bought as seen in pictures. However, the packaging is where I think people don't care to pay extra for. I never charge a deposit on the shipping crates. I always ask the buyer to return my crate before it is shipped & they always readily agree. Most people usually ship it back but a few don't. Here's my beef. Some people seem to think the "extra" cost of maybe $25-$45 isn't worth it and don't return the crate. They forget it's that crate that got their purchase to them in the same condition it shipped in.

[Boompa]

  You won't get an argument from me.  I've never had a gun damaged but I've had USPS destroy a longbow. With guns I usually break them down if it's practical to do so, then pack in several layers of bubble wrap then double box them. From what I hear UPS is especially hard on parcels but no matter what carrier I use I assume the worst and insure it for full value.

[Mike Brooks]

I always ask my customers to return my crate too. I'm not in the crate building business....

[conquerordie]

The longguns that I have sold I bring to the local UPS store. They bubble wrap it, create a cardboard sleeve the entire length, then make a larger sleeve and fill the void with peanuts. Never had one damaged. Shipping is always paid for by the customer. I always tell the buyer that's how I ship them. If they want less packaging, they take the responsibility for it. If I took the time to make a crate and didn't get it back I'd be a little ticked as well. This way I don't expect anything back.

[P.W.Berkuta]

I go the wood box method -- never had a issue. I add in the cost of the box to the total price and I tell the customer he or she will get the cost of the box back if he send me back the box.

[tallbear]

I ship my guns in a custom made shipping box.I get a $200 deposit on my box prior to shipping.Once my box is returned I refund the deposit less the cost of shipping to the customer(usually about $100+ ).I have'nt lost a box since I started this.

Mitch

[hudson]

A few years ago I purchased a New Ballard. It was shipped in a regular padded gun case, then slipped in a regular cardboard box. This worked well. Of cores I paid for the case and a nice case it is. Not expensive but good. Weather this is cheaper than other methods I don't know. A long case mite be a problem.

[Kermit]

Here's how I make them. Two 8' pine 1 x 6, a sheet 1/8" plywood or a doorskin, and one sheet of 1" rigid foam insulation. Rip the 1 x 6 to about 4 1/8" wide. Make a frame from the pine 12" wide and about 6-8" longer inside than the gun. Cut the ply/doorskin to 12" wide with a straightedge and a utility knife. Glue and staple to one side of the frame. Now I cut the foam to the inside length of the box and 10 3/8" wide--four strips. One piece goes into the bottom of the box. Two layers of the foam get stuck together with double-sided tape at the edges. I lay the gun on top and trace around it with a Sharpie and then cut on the line with a sabersaw. This goes in the box and holds the gun, LOCK REMOVED. I cut a recess to hold the lock, put the lock in a Ziplock bag and into the recess for it. Then a fourth full layer of foam. Top plywood goes on without glue and with 1" drywall screws every 3-4". Packing complete.

I got a hint from my rural postmistress the first time I took one into the PO. She said to take it home and cover all the corners and edges with duct tape. I've settled on 3-M Extreme Hold duct tape--the black stuff. She suggessted the tape as a kindness to the handlers, to prevent slivers and splinters. Whenever I've mailed a gun this way, I get comments that the box almost looks too nice to mail. Every one I've eever shipped like this, packed so nothing can move inside the box AT ALL has arrived unscathed. I used to ask for a photo of the box on arrival before opening, and they all arrived in great shape.

I also pay (charge) the extra to ship Priority Mail, because it reduces the handling and usually goes straight to the airport for expedited handling. BTW, long boxes like this usually get shipped on end, so packing to prevent longitudinal movement is critical.

Here's one before the black tape came to be.

[EC121]

I have used TOTW's 7in. high, spray foam double box a couple of times.  The only damage is a dent in the box where I closed a tailgate on it.  I think they sell the foam filled empty boxes.  The rifle is squeezed between two layers of spray foam, and the box is covered with a cardboard sleeve.  Nothing moves.  Fedex and UPS carry pacakges between POs.  So they get a shot at it however it is shipped.

[flehto]

I used to make wooden crates which were never returned...so, thought about alternative packaging.  I like to make guns, but dislike making crates.

Decided to use TOW's cardboard shipping containers because if TOW uses them they must not have incurred  any gun damage...after all, they probably ship  many more guns than even the pro builders.

The TOW containers cost about $30  and include a heavy plastic sack, foam padding, an inner box and an outer sleeve...both made of heavy cardboard.  Packaging instructions are included.  So far have shipped 12 LRs thru USPS w/o damage and shipping charges are less because of less weight.

One precaution that should be taken w/ any shipping contain is to pad both ends of the gun so the gun can't shift....my understanding is that these long packages are mainly shipped on end, so shifting is possible if the gun is not padded on both ends......Fred

[Kermit]

Fred's right. It's critical that the gun not shift AT ALL lengthwise. Long boxes ARE shipped standing up, for the most part, and WILL take some vertical abuse. USPS Priority reduces the amount of handling, which is why I have used that option.

[JCKelly]

One of the warehouse guys I knew worked part time at UPS  Said they had contests, who could throw a package the furthest. Worked for a  stainless warehouse, we were a million dollar customer of UPS Not big enough to get their attention about problems. I would never, ever use UPS again. Still remember the Whitworth target rifle they left on the porch with a mark from some sharp object through the packing into the stock.

I use US Postal Service, Priority Mail. Less chance of damage in Priority Mail. Also if the thing should be stolen it is a Federal Crime. If UPS looses it, well, good luck.

The primary miniature arms dealer ships USPS Priority for maximum chance of survival.

Pack as best you can. Just do not use UPS

[Bob Roller]

One of the warehouse guys at Rolled Alloys worked part time at UPS  Said they had contests, who could throw a package the furthest. Worked for a  stainless warehouse, we were a million dollar customer of UPS Not big enough to get their attention about problems. I would never, ever use UPS again. Still remember the Whitworth target rifle they left on the porch with a mark from some sharp object through the packing into the stock.

I use US Postal Service, Priority Mail. Less chance of damage in Priority Mail. Also if the thing should be stolen it is a Federal Crime. If UPS looses it, well, good luck.

The primary miniature arms dealer ships USPS Priority for maximum chance of survival.

Pack as best you can. Just do not use UPS

I gave up on UPS years ago and will not honor any request to use them. Like Jim,I got a superb
Henry type match rifle from a customer in California but undamaged. The driver simply abandoned it
on an open front porch in a bright aluminum case for all to see. It was supposed to be signed for but
wasn't.I called the customer then and told him I got the gun in spite of UPS. I then filed a complaint
with UPS and he was terminated. His record for this sort of indifferent delivery helped him out of a
decent paying job.

Bob Roller

[Eric Krewson]

I quit using UPS after they delivered a large, expensive package to some other address in my subdivision. When I called and complained they told me they wouldn't retrieve the package and it was my job to track it down.

The package was left the porch of an old disabled man, his caretaker had drug it inside where it sat for weeks while I tracked it down.

No more UPS for me under any circumstances.

[t.caster]

No more UPS for me under any circumstances.
[/quote]
Same here! I had a pre-shaped stock broken in two at the wrist through obvious careless handling. It might have been the winner of the toss-a-box contest that day

[dogcatcher]

After you drop the package off at the shipper, most of the handling all the way to the recipient is done by machinery.  Conveyor belts guiding the package to the next destination in their system.  This is done with barcodes, these machines read barcodes, they do not read handle with care, fragile or anything else.

If you ship a package and it lands up first in a hamper, and the next package for that same destination is a 60 pound box of books, your package better be good enough to handle the box books falling on it. 

Between my wife and I we ship about 30 packages a week, and receive about 20, in the last 5 years I can remember one of our packages being mutilated by the post office and 2 by UPS.  On the other hand, we have gotten a lot that have been demolished by the shippers.  Almost everyone of those packages were poorly packaged.  Over all I figure the percentage of screwed up packages at  less than 1 percent, that record is better than what I could do.  I am far from perfect, as is the USPS and UPS, so I use them, pack it well and hope I am not in that less than 1 percent that self destructs because I failed to pack it good enough for the machines.

[Kermit]

I just recieved a return shipping label (wrong goods shipped to me) for UPS. For some reason I read the fine print, including:

"IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ANYONE HANDING OVER GOODS TO UPS
This document is receipt only and you are named on the attached label / document exclusively for identification purposes. The contract of carriage is between UPS and its customer. There is no contract between you and UPS. By handing over the goods to UPS, you agree that UPS collects the goods on behalf of its customer and accepts no liability whatsoever to you or anyone other than its customer for any loss or delay of or damage to the goods resulting from negligence or any other cause."

Emphasis mine. Says I don't collect if it goes missing or gets damaged, but...