A question about shipping under warranty

[1sailor]

If a pistol needs to be shipped back to S&W for warranty work do they return it to you or do you have to go through the whole send it to a local FFL thing.

 

[TAROMAN]

No.
Just phone customer service about the problem.
They will e-mail you a prepaid FEDEX shipping label and instructions.
The gun will (hopefully) be repaired and back to your home with FEDEX.
I have done this a few times without problem.

 

[CH4]

They send it to you

 

[S&WIowegan]

The company, S&W, is allowed to ship the repaired gun directly to your address. You may need to be there to sign for the package. Apparently our gun laws and the ATF have the common sense idea that this way to return repaired guns is not "dangerous".

 

[OldChief]

As far as signing for it, it must be an adult 21 or older.

 

[luangtom]

As far as signing for it, it must be an adult 21 or older.

Yup...someone over 21 signs. It is able to get back to you due to no change of ownership. Therefore, no 4473.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[1sailor]

Thanks guys, I don't have anything that needs to go back but I plan on guying a couple of new pistols within the next month or so and was just wondering. I own other Smiths but bought them all used and haven't had any issues that required going back.

 

[Nemo288]

S&W makes this about as easy as possible.
One of the best customer return services I have ever used.
You box the gun, put the FedEx label on it, and they pick it up at your house.
Then it shows back up at your place after it is fixed.
The only problem I have ever had is properly printing the label.
I recommend a laser printer.
We don't have one so I have my wife print them at work.

 

[ContinentalOp]

The one caveat is that if the gun has to be replaced, i.e. a new frame with a different serial number, it has to go through a FFL. When the hammer stud on my 642 broke, it wasn't repairable so they replaced it with a new one. I had to give them the info for the FFL I use and it got sent there. I had to do the 4473, NICS, and transfer fees. On the plus side, since it was covered under warranty I didn't have to pay for shipping either way, the gun was replaced free of charge, and S&W reimbursed me for the NICS and transfer fees.

 

[bearman49709]

The one caveat is that if the gun has to be replaced, i.e. a new frame with a different serial number, it has to go through a FFL. When the hammer stud on my 642 broke, it wasn't repairable so they replaced it with a new one. I had to give them the info for the FFL I use and it got sent there. I had to do the 4473, NICS, and transfer fees. On the plus side, since it was covered under warranty I didn't have to pay for shipping either way, the gun was replaced free of charge, and S&W reimbursed me for the NICS and transfer fees.

This is the way S&W does it but it is not federal law.
Replacement gun may be sent to your home.

 

[Pizza Bob]

This was probably an anomaly, but I returned a 624 for the recall and when they shipped back to my home, there was no signature required. I came home from work to find the package containing my 624 sitting on the front porch.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[zogger]

I just sent one back to SW. It was as easy as others have stated to send it back. Box it up, go to local Fedex place to get a Fast ship box (free). Put return label on it and give to FedEx. I opted not to have Fedex come and pick it up.

Once I find out if they are going to repair or replace, I can comment on the process. Since I live in NY and the serial number of the gun is on my permit, if they replace it, I will need paperwork to get the old gun off my permit and the new one on.

 

[CA Escapee]

This is the way S&W does it but it is not federal law.
Replacement gun may be sent to your home.

Not when you live in California.

To the original poster, you might want to check the state or local laws where you live rather than asking the entire World Wide Web.

Bill

 

[Nemo288]

I have actually had a frame replaced on my 1990 629-2 MR.
They partially ground off the serial and overstamped my original serial on it.
The model number is almost gone as a result.
The overstamp is pretty obvious being WAY deeper than any others I have seen.
I don't know if they do this any more.
This gun is now one of my faves being very tight after the rebuild.
I have always wondered what an overzealous game warden or other LEO would think after looking at this.
A check with S&W would clear it up but I would rather not go thru that.
I now carry a 696 loaded with a 240 @ 950 fps.

 

[zogger]

I just sent one back to SW. It was as easy as others have stated to send it back. Box it up, go to local Fedex place to get a Fast ship box (free). Put return label on it and give to FedEx. I opted not to have Fedex come and pick it up.

Once I find out if they are going to repair or replace, I can comment on the process. Since I live in NY and the serial number of the gun is on my permit, if they replace it, I will need paperwork to get the old gun off my permit and the new one on.

An update: SW was able to fix the issue and is sending the original fixed gun directly to my home.