Shipping cost ridiculous

[Jonah]

Sold several air guns over the years, both rifles and pistols. Shipping cost for pistols still reasonable but for rifles it is ridiculous. About the only reasonable way to sell rifles is in person. Wish I hadn’t missed the last air gun show. Thought maybe I would buy a Crosman 1701 by selling two or three rifles but with the current shipping prices it is hard to price a rifle at a fair cost to both seller and buyer and then find good shipping container and ship the rifle. Don’t really need a 1701, just thought it would be fun to play with. Got too many air guns now to be adding more when I am 83 years old.

Just an old man venting.

[Roadworthy]

Given the high cost of shipping one should seriously consider investigating pirateship.com.  They take much of the pain out of shipping.  They do not actually ship anything, merely sell you the label and charge you for shipping.  You print the label and attach it to the package then drop the package off.  Your package will go UPS or USPS - I think you have options.  I was quite happy with the service.  I think they get special rates based on their huge volume then are able to pass the savings on to individuals.

[avator]

I PIF'd a plastic Fortitude stock to another member this morning. I couldn't find a box so the kind lady at our local PO helped me out. We rigged 2 boxes together to fit. After dimension and weight it cost $26 and change to send it from Al to Ms. That's just stupid.

[Ronno6]

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=208102.0

See my reply #9

I know that some other members have had less than great results using Pirateship.com
but that is because the ways to get around  UPS quirks takes some experience.....

I just shipped a Daisy 880 from Mississippi to Arizona for less than $15.00
I paid to ship a Benji 392PA from Arizona to me in Mississippi for $17.00
For some reason it costs less out of Mississippi than into........

[ranchibi]

Cost can definitely be high especially for a full size complete rifle! I recently sent my RAW in for service to Martin in TN, he told me I could just send the action in, remove bottle, stock and barrel, then it would be small, compact and cheap to ship. If you are able to disassemble it then shipping is much more reasonable, if not, it's definitely over a 100 bucks then insurance on top....😳...closer to 200.

[Blowpipe Sam]

The memsahib used to run the shipping department of a major medical university.  She knows the inner workings of UPS, FEDEX, and the USPS like no one else.  I showed her Pirateship a couple of months ago and after checking out their website she declared them THE way to go.
A roll of fiberglass reinforced strapping tape isn't expensive and I score all my shipping boxes and packing materials for free by dumpster diving.

[Jonah]

Avator is correct in that two boxes taped together will work. I could disassemble my Sheridans or Benjamin rifles but trying to pack rifles to safely ship to a buyer makes the package start to get on the heavy side so up goes the cost. Not fair to buyer.

To me, it just makes sense to only sell any rifle in person. Pistols not too bad. So the guns just stay in the safe doing no one any good.

[avator]

Yeah, the problem there is that the 2 boxes together increased the cost due to the size. If I had it to do over again I would have cut up a box at home and made a much smaller box. I just thought they world have some kinda box at the PO that would have fit. I expected the shipping to be closer to $15 for a light plastic stock.
Live and learn.

[JohnL57]

I've been selling and shipping ceramics online since the 2020 lockdown. USPS is best for packages under 5 lbs. and less than 12" in any dimension. Cost goes up in relation to distance. Definitely use Pirateship.com-they're easy to get set up with and will save you around 25-30% over retail costs.
For the larger heavier packages UPS has better pricing.
Hope that helps someone!

[lefteyeshot]

If I can find it on Amazon a lot on times it's free shipping and get it next day. I got a Sig Emperor Scorpion 1911 co2 bb from amazon and a spare mag from PA. Gun was same price both places. A gun and mag would have gotten free shipping from PA but Amazon got it here next day.