Mail order guns. A tale of woe.

[The Famous Grouse]

Some weeks ago, I decided to make my first foray into the AR dark side, and I ordered up a nifty AR from a well-known mail order gun dealer. The price was good, the reputation was that they tended to be slow, but very reliable, etc.

Finally, on Monday I got notice that after more than a week of my order being in "processing" status, the AR had finally shipped. Great! I'll be shooting it this weekend.

Sadly, there could be but one outcome...

Yesterday, I saw on the tracking status page of the shipper that they tried to deliver the gun to my designated FFL, but he was closed for the day. OK, tomorrow's the day... No problem.

Today, I went to the tracking status page and was greeted by this message: Status: Damage reported. Merchandise is missing. We will notify the sender with additional details. / All merchandise missing, empty carton was discarded. We will notify the sender with details of the damage.

Missing? Missing? As in gone? How could this happen? I called the shipping company to confirm that this wasn't some kind of mistake and for clarification. The agent on the phone confirmed that the package was found, but "the item" inside was missing and, in fact, was not "damaged at all, but was simply gone".

I then pointed out rather tersely that I would suggest that they quit calling it "the item" and refer to it as exactly what it is: A freaking AR15 that they has just lost or had stolen right from under their noses! Which, on the relative scale of badness, 1 being not so bad and 10 being very bad, is actually a 27. Loosing ANY firearm while, much less an AR15 rifle while in transit is very, very bad.

I'm so freaking pi55ed off I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that this has been allowed to occur and obviously the security around an item like this was woefully lacking such that it could just disappear. Certainly a firearm in transit would be identified as an item that had to be kept secured?

Sorry for the rant, I just can't believe that this has happened. I've called the online dealer and they are, of course, investigating.

Anyone want to take any bets on how long this takes to sort out and for me to get my AR Mark II? Maybe a forum pool?

I'm betting 3 weeks.

Grouse

[Grayskies]

Sorry about the bad news.

Wonder if they reported this to the ATF or police?

[BigBlue]

Apparently the promise of a free gun was too much for some temp seasonal shipping employee. Really sucks for you, but at least this will be taken care of between the seller and shipper and you should eventually get your gun. Unless it was a rare or one-off item.

BB

[The Famous Grouse]

Wonder if they reported this to the ATF or police?

That's a really great question.

I just got off the phone with the gun shop that sold me the item. They have assured me that the gun is not registered to me or my name. They just talked to the shipper and asked for a more detailed explanation for what happened and how an firearm could be allowed to go missing. Needless to say, the shipper was vague as to the exact nature of what happened, but they did confirm that the gun was actually gone. "Damage" has nothing to do with it, the shipper has allowed an AR15 to be left unsecured and it is now gone.

I find it HIGHLY unlikely that this thing just fell out of its box and is laying on the floor somewhere unnoticed. I think we can all draw our own conclusions here.

So yes, I wonder if this just gets swept under the rug by the shipper and they just conduct an "internal investigation"? Or does it get reported to someone? I have to say, I'm guessing NOT as having things like this get reported would be HIGHLY embarrassing to the shipper. Losing any package is pretty slipshod, but losing a regulated item while in transit...

Grouse

[Grayskies]

I would guess you could call the ATF (wonder who has jurisdiction?) and ask maybe?

Not sure how the shipping company would react...

[JJ]

Wonder if they reported this to the ATF or police?

That's a really great question.

I just got off the phone with the gun shop that sold me the item. They have assured me that the gun is not registered to me or my name. They just talked to the shipper and asked for a more detailed explanation for what happened and how an firearm could be allowed to go missing. Needless to say, the shipper was vague as to the exact nature of what happened, but they did confirm that the gun was actually gone. "Damage" has nothing to do with it, the shipper has allowed an AR15 to be left unsecured and it is now gone.

I find it HIGHLY unlikely that this thing just fell out of its box and is laying on the floor somewhere unnoticed. I think we can all draw our own conclusions here.

So yes, I wonder if this just gets swept under the rug by the shipper and they just conduct an "internal investigation"? Or does it get reported to someone? I have to say, I'm guessing NOT as having things like this get reported would be HIGHLY embarrassing to the shipper. Losing any package is pretty slipshod, but losing a regulated item while in transit...

Grouse

Since you have no ATF attachment to the gun, it's not your problem. It's the vendor and the shippers issue to handle.

https://www.atf.gov/content/firearms/fi ... theft-loss

[The Famous Grouse]

At this point, it's probably better for me to let sleeping dogs lie. Hitting the hornet's next only has the potential to make it so I'm the one who gets stung again.

The selling gun shop just called me again and they CAN send me a replacement. However--and there's ALWAYS gotta be a "however", doesn't there?--guess what? They don't have another one in stock. They'll have to try to get one from their distributor's stock.

Stand by for an ETA.

Place your bets, ladies and gents. How long will it be until Grouse gets the gun he should be holding right now?

I'm sticking with 3 weeks.

Grouse

[igofast]

I'm not going to say this happens 'all the time', but it happens. That's why UPS mandates 2nd day air at minimum on pistols and why you can no longer ship firearms at all with some carriers. There is a process for reporting any firearm theft and the ATF is notified. You aren't the first and unfortunately you won't be the last.

I have had a gun I ordered stolen as well. Unfortunately for me it was a rare item and could not be re-ordered. Apparently the shippers warehouse has had a number of firearms missing thru it. All the felons do is look for the shippers label and take whatever's inside. Be happy that a replacement can be found fairly easy.

[JustinPo]

Sorry for your headache!

Stories like this make me glad I did insured shipping on the 2 guns I bought on Monday from the wild wild internet to hopefully avoid issues like this (or minimize my exposure.)

[cobb]

I would assume the selling/shipping FFL would report it stolen to cover all bases.

[armedwalleye]

If you're looking for picks, I get 30 days from the date reported to you as MIA, Monday, Jan 5

[Vashjir]

Agree with the weaponized fish, you ain't shooting that thing until after the new year.

[Lumpy]

Yeh, a heavy package with a great big shipping label saying "FROM: So-And-So Firearms LLC" is pretty obvious. I would hope they try to be more discreet than that.

[minnesotatv]

Wonder if they reported this to the ATF or police?

That's a really great question.

I just got off the phone with the gun shop that sold me the item. They have assured me that the gun is not registered to me or my name. They just talked to the shipper and asked for a more detailed explanation for what happened and how an firearm could be allowed to go missing. Needless to say, the shipper was vague as to the exact nature of what happened, but they did confirm that the gun was actually gone. "Damage" has nothing to do with it, the shipper has allowed an AR15 to be left unsecured and it is now gone.

I find it HIGHLY unlikely that this thing just fell out of its box and is laying on the floor somewhere unnoticed. I think we can all draw our own conclusions here.

So yes, I wonder if this just gets swept under the rug by the shipper and they just conduct an "internal investigation"? Or does it get reported to someone? I have to say, I'm guessing NOT as having things like this get reported would be HIGHLY embarrassing to the shipper. Losing any package is pretty slipshod, but losing a regulated item while in transit...

Grouse

Sounds like the US Postal Service. Is it??

[LarryP]

Soon they'll be laws prohibiting the shipping of any firearms. I can see it coming.
A lost gun!! OMG, The children!! Why are we allowing firearms to be shipped to the public!! Ban that practice now!!