This will most-likely be the last time I ever order a firearm online...

[GuyMontag]

Having bought lots of guns online over the past decade, and like others believe this is an FFL related issue. If had to buy guns based on local availability, my choices would be highly limited. Thankful that my FFL is on it, and gets things done expeditiously.

 

[Borderboss]

I agree 100% with the shipping through USPS. I always insist that the seller ship via UPS express. I'm willing to pay the cost. if the seller won't, then I don't place the order. Life is too short to have additional aggravations because of the idiots at USPS.

 

[StephenWhoDat]

I purchase probably a dozen or so firearms from online vendors each year, and have never had a problem at all. But, my FFL is great and provides a level of customer service that many FFLs refuse to provide. So perhaps there have been issues and he just resolved them without me ever knowing. I'm sorry to hear you have not had such good luck. I will agree with on the fact that the USPS is garbage in most cases, but as far as delivering my firearms, they have been decent. Slow, but decent.

 

[Absalom]

In summary, the law requires that online purchases go through an FFL, and you have to work with what you’ve got. No reason to make it a rant against online buying in general.

I have bought an estimated 50 to 60 guns online over the last 10-15 years. My area has just been very poor in opportunity for the older ones I was looking for.

My transfer FFL is a personal friend who has no store front at all, works semi-retired in law enforcement, emergency services, and as a gun dealer. He is often out of town, works odd hours, and it has sometimes taken a week for us to complete a transfer if his wife had to take delivery or the gun sat at the PO a few days until he could pick it up. We talk a lot via text and phone when I have a gun on the way.

Meh. I have enough guns, and I get excited about other things in life.

 

[Patrick L]

I'm sorry you have had difficulties, but it seems that it is more the people you are dealing with than the process itself.

Personally, I've only done it twice, and been happy both times, but I will admit it was like 15+ years ago. I'm sure things have changed a bit.

 

[Chino74]

Multiple on line purchases, one frustrating experience where in the seller shipped to a similar sounding FFL / different address & ended up in sitting in a shop in the Midwest instead of my own state...that took about 2 weeks to get figured out, I ended up making phone calls etc. the seller did pay for the FFL to FFL shipping once the problem was corrected.

 

[Boxer9]

Sounds like a dealer problem, not a shipper or carrier problem to me.
You said you've had issues three times, but you insist on using the same dealer.

If the dealer accepts transfers, and they have adjusted their hours of operation, then its up to them to make arrangements for delivery, or they can use those adjusted hours they made to open later to go get your parcel.
If they don't accept transfers right now then they should have stated that when (I assume) you called to make sure everything was normal before ordering. They are getting paid for the transfer right? Then that requires them to do their part.

Ive never had a problem with any carrier. I've only had one issue with an out of the way FFL that worked from home and he had it delivered next day.

As for internet sale companies/dustributors. They don't have time to babysit every order. They update you when your order status changes. You get a conformation of purchase usually within 24 hours, usually right away. Then when they pull your order they tell you ins in preshipment or shipment and when a label is created. Then its up to you to follow tracking information. Is its normal business days then usually the carrier will pick up the shipment by end of day or following day. Then it has to be "accepted" which generally means scanned in, either by the pickup carrier by scanning the manifest, or by scanners as the truck is unloaded at the main shipping facility for the area. That can take 24 hours before the package is departed/in transit. If its not the weekend it generally takes about two business days assuming theres no natural disasters/covid BS/riots/etc. I've never had one take but three business days (not including weekends or holidays).

Its easy to get in a hurry. These distributors ARENT Amazon. They get **** ton of orders and have to very carefully provess each one, because they aren't shipping you boxer shorts or Sunny Delight, they are shipping guns and ammo that can get them fines, loss of license, or jailtime.
Personally I'm thankful for their services. Its not perfect, they do overlook something sometimes like sending an email on time. But I have never called and asked about my order when they weren't able to reassure me what is going on.

Try a different FFL and see if your experience is better. Or buy locally and hope they can get it from distributors or give you a fair price.

 

[Chief Wiggums]

I'll name , names
Discount Guns for Sale - Buds Gun Shop

Ive purchase several firearms from these guys.
Not 1 single bellyache on my behalf...I love these guys....
Great order tracking system
great pricing (they will price match)

OP - I empathize ...... our $$ are hard to come by these days and when we spend them , we want a hassle free / smooth experince

 

[Echo40]

It's funny, you can tell when folks walk into a thread with preconceptions because they always go making a lot of assumptions and filling in the blanks with baseless conjecture.

Needless to say, I have not provided, nor will I be providing all of the details regarding everything that is going on behind the scenes for a number of reasons including but not limited to privacy, not to mention observation of the forums rules as well as simply not wanting to throw dirt on an online retailer or retailers over a single bad experience which has taken place during a global pandemic and thus isn't necessarily representative of what kind of service one might expect under ordinary circumstances.
Unfortunately, folks who are accustomed to knee-jerk reactions and running their mouths on a whim cannot read between the lines so I have to explain things which I would expect go without saying. For example, that this entire thread was made with the intent of venting my own personal frustrations with an experience.

That being said, congratulations to everyone in this thread who didn't impulsively jump down my throat, second-guessing me at every turn that I wasn't already doing my due diligence on the matter, as well as making baseless assumptions in regards to my FFL just because I haven't painstakingly transcribed every phone conversation I've had with them on the subject. Sincerely, it's folks such as you who display such virtues as common sense, empathy, and understanding which enable me to continue posting on these forums in spite of the few who make infuriating ignorant, condescending replies to practically everything I post and nonsensically rush to the defense of online retailers whom I haven't even named in the first place. God bless you.

 

[boykinlp]

The last gun I bought online could have turned out bad. I won it on Gunbroker. The seller can't make it easy. While Gunbroker has an easy checkout system, he doesn't use it. I had to jump through a few extra hoops, but knew it ahead of time. One hoop was that my FFL had to fax his license to the seller. He did that and also said that the gun needed to be sent "signature required". He was told I would pay the extra shipping costs.

My dealer's regular hours has been that he is closed on Wednesday's. The seller mailed the gun USPS. Of course, it arrived on Wednesday, which shouldn't have been a problem. But, the knucklehead seller sent it without the "signature required" option like the FFL asked for. Sorry for the name calling.

My dealer called me on Thursday and told me my gun was ready for pickup. When I got there, I asked how things went. He told me that when he got there that morning, my package was sitting on the ground, outside his door, and had been there since the day before. It started pouring down rain about an hour after he opened. His business is a stand alone building that sits on a very busy 4 lane divided highway. He called the seller to voice his displeasure and was curtly told that selling guns was just a sideline, and that he can't be expected to remember everything. The seller also stressed that everything did turn out fine. After hearing the story, I was glad to get my gun. BTW, my dealer wasn't even going to bring it up, but since I asked, he told me the story. He says he sees it all.
Larry

 

[Boxer9]

It's funny, you can tell when folks walk into a thread with preconceptions because they always go making a lot of assumptions and filling in the blanks with baseless conjecture.

Needless to say, I have not provided, nor will I be providing all of the details regarding everything that is going on behind the scenes for a number of reasons including but not limited to privacy, not to mention observation of the forums rules as well as simply not wanting to throw dirt on an online retailer or retailers over a single bad experience which has taken place during a global pandemic and thus isn't necessarily representative of what kind of service one might expect under ordinary circumstances.
Unfortunately, folks who are accustomed to knee-jerk reactions and running their mouths on a whim cannot read between the lines so I have to explain things which I would expect go without saying. For example, that this entire thread was made with the intent of venting my own personal frustrations with an experience.

That being said, congratulations to everyone in this thread who didn't impulsively jump down my throat, second-guessing me at every turn that I wasn't already doing my due diligence on the matter, as well as making baseless assumptions in regards to my FFL just because I haven't painstakingly transcribed every phone conversation I've had with them on the subject. Sincerely, it's folks such as you who display such virtues as common sense, empathy, and understanding which enable me to continue posting on these forums in spite of the few who make infuriating ignorant, condescending replies to practically everything I post and nonsensically rush to the defense of online retailers whom I haven't even named in the first place. God bless you.

Are you "crybabying"? I wasn't "walk into a thread with preconceptions because they always go making a lot of assumptions and filling in the blanks with baseless conjecture."

I was having conversation and telling you my experience, and what I thought might help. Did you just want people to agree and nod?

 

[Chief Wiggums]

That being said, congratulations to everyone in this thread who didn't impulsively jump down my throat, second-guessing me at ....... making baseless assumptions ...... in spite of the few who make infuriating ignorant, condescending replies ..... God bless you.

woa ther' partner...
I replied w my own experience(s) and read all other replies..
Not for 1 second.....did I read anything that was judgmental or aggressive...

 

[ColbyBruce]

Based on the location of the post office and the FFL, I find that unlikely.

FYI, not every route is one large loop. “Dead heading” is when a portion of a route is in one area and the remaining portion may be several miles away; thus the return trip to the office is not the same path driven to begin the route. If the regular delivery schedule doesn’t coincide with the business operating hours then the business should get a PO Box or Drawer; or a Caller Service.

 

[Echo40]

So I just received notification from USPS that they had attempted to deliver the package but couldn't reach the delivery location (no further information was provided) so they'll try again tomorrow.

Despite my initial frustration with USPS, I must say that I appreciate them keeping me informed of the situation. Hopefully they'll be able to deliver it successfully tomorrow.

Sorry for being short-tempered, I'm just all worked up over all the drama going on IRL right now, not to mention the way that folks are responding to it, so that coupled with all that I'm going through regarding the delivery has me seriously bent out of shape. I'm going to try to take it easy for awhile, mellow out a bit.
Also, I noticed that some folks whom I wasn't even referring to took my comments personally. I genuinely appreciate anyone who has been legitimately trying to provide me with helpful advice or explanations of what might be going on.

 

[Goldstar225]

I think you're absolutely right. You should stop doing purchases from online dealers and place all your orders with your preferred storefront dealer.

 

[Erocksmash]

I absolutely deal with this every time I get a firearm in, USPS is nothing but a headache... my FFL is a one man show and I have a great reputation with him and he send me security footage of the time stamp said firearm was "undeliverable" at the time,and guess what? Nobody in sight.... They are a joke with no integrity and don't give a flying F about your property...

I understand your troubles...

Never have a problem with UPS or FEDEX...

As for the FFL you or I deal with... I conduct my with integrity and in a Respectful Business like fashion... so I expect the same in return.... if I don't get it in return I seek it out. I use the famous Roadhouse movie saying from Swazys character Dalton, "Be nice until its time to be not nice"... interpersonal skills I could say... ill find a phone number or an email and call and send and call and send, I have even Google mapped address before and called neighboring businesses before....

In dealing with guns and money both are very valuable so I agree with you sir COMMUNICATEION IS IMPORTANT.

 

[Echo40]

I think you're absolutely right. You should stop doing purchases from online dealers and place all your orders with your preferred storefront dealer.

At the very least, I won't be ordering anymore firearms online until after COVID-19 and only if there's an option to have it shipped via UPS or Fed-Ex.
Also, I would be more likely to roll the dice with a new online retailer than return to one of the ones I've recently dealt with.

 

[Toddlars1]

At the very least, I won't be ordering anymore firearms online until after COVID-19 and only if there's an option to have it shipped via UPS or Fed-Ex.
Also, I would be more likely to roll the dice with a new online retailer than return to one of the ones I've recently dealt with.

Or maybe look for another FFL....the USPS person isn't stopping twice at the same location, worked there, not happening.

 

[Golphin]

That is to bad. I have bought a few and never had a problem. My FFL gets the delivery to their door and does it the way it should be done. The name of the place Lawful defense Guns and Transfers so they should know how it is done. Of course the seller has to do their job as well so I guess I have been lucky.

 

[Echo40]

Or maybe look for another FFL....the USPS person isn't stopping twice at the same location, worked there, not happening.

Um, the USPS already have attempted to ship it to my FFL twice and have informed me that they'll be trying again tomorrow.

Evidently things have changed since you worked there.