We have been over the topic many times of a non-FFL shipping a handgun by UPS/FedEx and their requirement to ship overnight. I have seen a lot of the creative ways people use to get around their policies and I choose not to. I have the benefit of an agreeable 01FFL so I am able to use USPS Priority Mail whenever I ship a firearm. However, I have been firm in my position of not shipping directly to a C&R license holder using the postal service. This is based on my following response to a poster in one of my "for sale" ads who said that he has a C&R license and he receives and ships USPS Priority Mail all of the time (in California, no less!) without any problems. Am I out of line with my way of thinking? I thought I would try this forum since we have so many knowledgeable members. I would love to be told that I am wrong and save $50 on shipping. Here is what I said:

Thank you for your interest. Here is where I get hung up on mailing C&R firearms (specifically handguns, not long guns) directly to a licensee by USPS (http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/601.htm).

UPSP Postal Regulation 11.1.5 Manufacturers and Dealers - Handguns may also be mailed between licensed manufacturers of firearms and licensed dealers of firearms in customary trade shipments, or for repairing or replacing parts.

UPSP Postal Regulation 11.1.f: “Licensed manufacturer and licensed dealer mean, respectively, a manufacturer of firearms or a bona fide dealer of firearms, duly licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of the Department of the Treasury”

When you refer to the ATF’s C&R Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.atf.gov/firearms/curios/faq.htm), they post:

Does a license as a collector of curio or relic firearms authorize the collector to engage in the business of dealing in curios or relics?
No. A collector's license only enables the collector to transport, ship, receive, and acquire curios and relics in interstate or foreign commerce, and to make disposition of curios and relics in interstate or foreign commerce, to any other licensee, for the period stated on the license. A collector's license does not authorize the collector to engage in a business required to be licensed under the Act. Therefore, if the acquisitions and dispositions of curios and relics by a collector bring the collector within the definition of a manufacturer, importer, or dealer, he shall qualify as such. A dealer's license must be obtained to engage in the business of dealing in any firearms, including curios or relics.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a) and 923(a)(1), 27 CFR 178.41(c)(d)]

So as I read it, you can only ship through the USPS to a dealer, and ATF regs are very specific in stating that a C&R license is not a dealer’s license. I am sure that it is very common practice to do otherwise, but until I see something definitive in writing from the Postal Service that this is legal than I am not going to put myself or the 01FFL at risk.

I appreciate that your postmaster is also fine with you shipping firearms. As I stated in a previous post, even my post office said to just put in a priority mail box and mark it “fragile”. However, a nod and a wink won’t take precedence in court over the postal regulation which states:

11.1.3 Authorized Persons - Subject to 11.1.4, handguns may be mailed by a licensed manufacturer of firearms, a licensed dealer of firearms, or an authorized agent of the federal government.

Again, the ATF is quite clear on the fact that a C&R license is not a dealer’s license, and shipping through the USPS would appear to be prohibited unless you fit into one of those catagories.

I’m sorry for such a lengthy response to a simple question, but I feel I need to clarify why my position is what it is. I would welcome any verifiable documentation to the contrary, other than that “people do it all the time”. I hate to keep losing pistol sales to what seems like such a tiny sticking point, but I’m pretty resolute about not wanting to be the test case that determines the answer to this situation.

Thoughts?