Post Office Question

W

William Suter

Well-known member
A friend of mine bought a rifle from an out of state gunshop. Its a 22LR, maybe a 541, I really don't remember. But.....he mailed his money and the shop received it and mailed his rifle. But the rifle is a no show. He thinks it was either lost or stolen while in the mail. Whose responsibility is it to track it down? He went to the PO to file a claim but they said he had to wait 30 days before he can do anything. I haven't heard what the gunshop told him. Seems to me like the gunshop should refund his money and let them look for the rifle.


Rifle was a 513
 
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Was it insured?

Where was it shipped to? His local FFL dealer?

The SHIPPER should file the claim. USPS will do everything in their power to deny the claim. The "right" thing would be for the seller to refund the buyer's money pending resolution.

There was a long running thread on AR15.com recently about an UZI machine gun that was shipped REGISTERD mail came up missing. After a lot of back and forth and USPS denials, the seller was paid.
 
One of our club members is an FFL and that is more than likely where he had it sent. I don't know where the gunshop is located. I kinda feel like he should get a full refund. I can't see he did anything wrong on his end and the shop got their money. My friends out of town so I don't have a lot of answers. To bad, it was/is a nice rifle. He was looking forward to getting it. Maybe he will get lucky and it will show up.
 
How long has the rifle been MIA? What's tracking show? Sometimes things get scanned in, and then sits in some truck in the parking lot for days on end, but still shows "In Transit".

With USPS's current service record, it could still be on the way.
 
What does tracking show? Recently ive seen this sort of thing happen a lot. Things that should only take 4 days to arrive now take 10 business days. I require all buyers to cover additional insurance (or I cover it on higher value items). A phone call to USPS Customer service usually finds things quick when you explain its a serialized firearm and the ATF will be notified of a lost/stolen firearm should it not show up. Things magically happen when you say those words. Doesn't bode well for the holiday season if this level of service is the current standard.
 
I've only experienced this when purchasing items on eBay so I don't know if anything changes being a firearm, but the responsibility is always on the seller in this case. If the gun doesn't get delivered he should be refunded by the seller, and the seller would take up the claim with the post office. I will say that I've had items show up several weeks after they were supposed to. He will have to wait the 30 days. Did he get a tracking number? I had an item a month or 2 ago coming from a pretty good distance away (can't remember exactly where it originated from). It got to Grand Rapids MI which is typically the last or next to last place before it gets delivered. Next thing I know the tracking says its on it's way to California!! I eventually got the item, but that's the craziest route to MI I've ever seen. Hopefully his rifle shows up soon.
 
The USPS seems to be an excellent example of how the government can screw up anything it touches.
 
Only the shipper or the receiving address can submit a claim. But your buddy can check on the tracking number and call last known scanning office. My postmaster is pretty good, has located a couple packages stuck at hub locations by calling.
 
spotstalkshoot said:
The new hub at Indianapolis is a big problem as is California (still having train freight cars broken into by gangs).
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That Indy hub is a black hole lol. I sold a pretty rare IWI Tavor X95 in 300 Blackout a couple years ago and it was lost at that hub for a over a week. I called and had to explain the whole ATF thing to them for them to prioritize it. It was found and started moving again that day.
 
My friend went to the PO and told them it was lost or stolen. They didn't seem like it was a big deal. He said "lady, this is a firearm we're talking about, not a letter or package". He said they didn't seem to care. They had to wait 30days.
 
William Suter said:
My friend went to the PO and told them it was lost or stolen. They didn't seem like it was a big deal. He said "lady, this is a firearm we're talking about, not a letter or package". He said they didn't seem to care. They had to wait 30days.
Click to expand...

They honestly don't give a rat's-A** about missing or stolen packages.

The guy who had the missing Uzi even went to the local media who did a news story, you think that would have helped gain traction on an investigation... nope?

The kicker is he sent that Uzi REGISTERD MAIL which is supposed to be HAND TRANSFERRED and SIGNED FOR at each transfer of possession. When the last person to sign for it isn't in physical possession, the item is supposed to be kept under lock and key.

My brother works for the USPS and said people leave those lockers unlocked all the time for convenience as if that person is gone, out sick, or on vacation, it can create package shipping issues. Well... I bet that's probably what happened.

Very glad the rifle showed up.
 
Recently mailed a scope to the midwest and it sat in Olathe, KS postoffice for 7 weeks then started moving again. I had given up on it but it ultimately showed up. Sad to say, the service just sucks anymore so all of our expectations should be lower
 
I had a package sit in Olathe for about a week, then it was moved to Kansas City, where it sat for several days. KC sent the package back to Olathe, where it again sat for several days. Olathe then sent the package back to KC. This back-and-forth exchange happened FOUR TIMES! My package bounced back and forth between these two offices for three weeks. Olathe, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, are 23 miles apart.
 
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