I sent my wood and my receiver to be restocked months ago via USPS. It's been a while so I decided to call the stockmaker to get a progress check. Never got it! Money order has never been cashed. Went to the USPS facility that I shipped it from and they did a tracking report on it. Seems it was scanned in, but they have no other record of where it went from there, and they should have a record of every facility it went to on it's trip. "It just vanished", was what i was told. They gave me a bunch of forms to fill out but I got the feeling from them that they are not even going to try to find it, they are just going to pay the claim and insurance. Any idea as to how to get them to really look for this? It's a nice graded Dan lefever and now all I have is two sets of barrels. a forend iron and a trigger guard. Should BATF be involved at any point?

Bad!!!!!!!!!!! I sold a 20 sterlingworth and it took over two weeks to get to Washington state priority mail.I ship mostly registered mail now and they can track it better.I hope they find it. Bobby

DT & bb: Use Fed Ex and avoid that problem. I have shipped hundreds with 100% results.

Best Regards, George

I realize that here are better methods, but thanks for the info. What I really need to know is what are my options? Should BATF be involved at all. Can I do anything to make them look a little harder? I sell on evilbay all the time and use USPS all the time, have for years. This is the first time they have ever screwed up. I'm just surprised at their nonchalant attitude about finding it.

Never use the USPS! Use a continuous tracking carrier like UPS or Fedex. You can watch it move across the country with tracking updates. The Post Office can not give you tracking service until the item arrives, if it does. Besides, at that point, the receiver of the package can tell it you it arrived.

OK OK I GET IT. Don't use USPS. But I have, what do I do now?

Going to disagree here, as long as you use the USPS REGISTERED MAIL there's no safer way to ship as it must be signed for every step of the way and if it goes missing they know exactly on whose watch it went missing. Sounds like perhaps you didn't send it REGISTERED MAIL though if all they can tell you is they accepted it.

Sure, UPS and Fedex are better if you get your jollies from watching reports online about where your gun is, but try to get paid when it goes missing. The USPS will honor your claim. I had UPS break the stock on a $100 air rifle. It took about a dozen phone calls to the CEO's office and I had to threaten them with small claims court before they paid up. They figured it was cheaper to pay than send a lawyer.

I suppose you can report it to BATF but if it wasn't registered they might only be able to tell you what you already know.

Dubbletrubble, you might as well scratch that one up as lost. By some small miracle it may be sitting in some corner of a postal facility overlooked by all--and show up some day. Bet'cha it wasn't stolen in the PO. Very unusual to loose a parcel through the USPS. I normally ship plain old Priority Mail and have never had a problem. Oh, I always purchase the "signature requirement" so the postman has to personally hand it to the receiver rather than leave it on the doorstep.

Your gun is gone, especially after this long in the system. Possibly someone stole it, but that will never be proved. No way to make USPS DO anything.

BATF shouldn't be involved as it's not a BATF issue.

Sorry about your loss. I hope you had great insurance, although nothing will ever replace your loss.

Post the serial number of the gun. If it shows up somewhere maybe one of the watchdogs from the LACA will pick up on it. We are pretty diligent about collecting serial numbers.

I have had to sue UPS and FEDEX both to collect on damaged shipments. They wouldn't even talk to me until they received the small claims notices. Then, in a short period of time, a check appeared in my mail. USPS registered is the most secure way to ship (and often the cheapest). I have had one claim with USPS and it was settled fairly and relatively quickly. When I worked for a bank in Alaska, we regularly shipped bags of currency through the mail, registered.

Postal Service gets my vote! Only problem I ever had was shipping a guys Lefever back to him in Ohio and used Registered instead of Priority. The post office is very careful with registered.

When the gun arrived at its last destination, the clerk who signed for it was going on a week's vacation. Without telling anyone, she put it in a locker till she got back from her vacation rather than let anyone else touch it while she was responsible. The post office was sweating pretty hard till she got back!...Geo

I feel for you. If I buy something from the US I insist that USPS are not used...it's a nightmare..complete disconnect when anything comes into the UK. I always insist on a global carrier for consistent tracking...I know it's a different issue domestically...good luck..I hope it turns up.

T

USPS may be the most secure but they have the tracking technology of the Amish! They once lost track of a registered package for 10 days on a normal next day destination. Lots of polite phone calls but no real info. Package just showed up and was left with out a signature. Fedex has twice deliver to a house down the street and there tracking does not show the destination address. I use UPS, package it well and insure with a 3rd party.

I use USPS. Heres why,
1. they have (knock wood) bever lost a gun on me or anything else that matter.
2. I dont have to pay USPS for the right to give them business like you do as a regular daily pick up UPS account.
3. UPS and FEDEX do not pay over 1000 of value on any used gun. Dont believe me, ask them. It doesnt matter if they sold you 10 grand in insurance on your double when you shipped with them. if it get brolken or lost, they limit themsleves to 1000.00. I know, I have had that happen to me personally. I made all the calls. threatened lawsuit etc.

here is what it says on their website: http://fedex.com/cn_english/services/scc.html

Declared Value Limits

1) FedEx Letter / FedEx Envelope / FedEx Pak

The maximum declared value for customs and carriage for a shipment using a FedEx Letter, FedEx Envelope or a FedEx Pak is US$100.00. Regardless of whether you declare a value for carriage exceeding US$100.00 for a FedEx Letter, a FedEx Envelope or a FedEx Pak, FedEx's maximum liability for any claim is limited to US$100.00.

2) Shipments of Extraordinary Value

Shipments containing any of the following items of extraordinary value are limited to a maximum declared value for carriage of US$1,000 per shipment or US$20 per kilogram, whichever is greater. Our maximum liability for any claim for such item is US$1,000 per shipment or 19 Special Drawing Rights ("SDR") per kg, whichever is greater. The conversion to local currency uses the exchange rate published by the International Monetary Fund.

Artwork
Antiques
Glassware
Jewelry including watches and gems
Precious metals Furs
Ostrich and emu eggs
Collector’s items
Film, photographic images Guitar and other Musical instruments that are more than 20 years old
Stocks, bonds, cash letters or cash equivalents Any commodity that by its inherent nature is particularly susceptible to damage, or the market value of which is particularly variable or difficult to ascertain


* Full description of the above Items of Extraordinary Value are set out in the Conditions of Carriage

FEDEX considers firearms as collectables and as commodities.
So, for all of you who ship FEDEX and think you are protected. Yo have been giving FEDEX lots of insurance rpemiums for insurance you will never collect on. And they will sell it you and not say a word.

Has nothing to do with the BATF. You should report it stolen to the nearest police and make sure they enter the information into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). You also need to report it stolen so you can get a case number for your taxes.

If the gun is run anywhere by a LEO it will pop up on NCIC. That's assuming on my part that it has a serial number.

Sorry you lost your gun and good luck recovering it.

The thing is Fed Ex is a "FOR PROFIT" business in competition with others of their like and not a federally controlled monopoly. Therefore, unlike the Post Office, they have to make a serious effort to please their customers. They, and UPS as well,
provide instant tracking for all deliveries and for an item costing over $1,000 I would want to be able to track it. If they started losing or damaging customers shipments and the word got out, like through this & other forums, they would begin to lose business, and that's a no-no. In the case of the PO they wouldn't care IMO.
Best Regards, George

Contact the Postal Inspectors Office for your area. Since this is a firearm they will be most interested in finding out what happened to your Lefever.

dubbletrubble, please keep us posted on how this ends up. I'm wondering what happens if your gun is found by USPS after they have paid you on the insurance claim. Do they still attempt to get it to you, or is it sold at some lost/recovered items auction, or what? I agree with Twicebarrel's advice to contact the Postal Inspector, and do try to speak with upper level people.

Sadly, I don't think it appears to be a condition of employment for USPS, or any other delivery service, that you must be able to read. I've had many items that required delivery confirmation merely left on my steps. I've had mail and packages that belonged to other people left at my place... often with an address that wasn't even close. I hope this has a happy ending. I'd hate to see another Lefever scattered to the four winds.

Wow!! Never saw so many guys who just got off of the boat at the same time. After being on this website very long you should have heard all of the horror stories and known that shipping guns through the mail will get them nothing but lost. Oh yes, you can use Fed Ex or UPS- then they will end up getting to their destination broken in half with towmotor tracks across the box. I have never shipped a gun through the mail after hearing all the stories I have heard on this (and other boards) over the years. If I want something done to a gun, or I want to buy or sell a gun, I do my business within driving distance. I would NEVER ship a gun anymore. You are only asking for trouble. Sorry. No offense. Just my opinion.

Now that's thank'n with yer dip stick jAmmy....

Just my experience, but UPS has beat up about everything that I've seen, including things I've had to file claims on. I have little experience with USPS, but have been satisfied with FedEx for my guns and other valuables.

UPS, it is almost impossible to get them to pay, FedEX.....only over night for shipping guns....way to costly. USPS has the best track record in my shop, nothing broken or lost. I carry my own insurance, core-vens, and have not had to use it for a claim yet.

Well...USPS refunded and cancelled the money order I send with the wood and action. I went to the main post office and was lucky enough to find the post master actually was a gun guy and knew exactly what it was that i/they lost. He even went as far as getting a blue book price/value on line while I was there to help me with my claims value. He submitted it to his bosses for further research. I don't think his boss will care as much, but this guy was truly apologetic for them losing it. I did report the loss to state police and gave them the serial number. I think it is gone forever, but you never know. I'm not going to sell off the remaining parts just yet.

Sorry for your loss. You should made sure the package got there months ago. When the trail goes cold there is no hope that a lost package can be located. Trust but verify. There are too few nice Lefevers to suffer the loss of another one. USPS is still the best shipper from my personal experiences. Not great, but still above the rest.

When my daughter spent a year in Italy we sent weekly care packages to her. Regular mail took about a month. Express World wide was guaranteed to get there in three to five days. USPS used Fedex to ship packages over seas. They all got there eventually. The USPS charged $75.00 for a very small, modest box. Funny thing is that it took ten to fifteen days. I found out that the hang up was the Italian customs which would delay a package for days on end for no reason.

Still USPS claimed that they could get the packages delivered in 3-5 days. When I complained to the USPS they said that they would just refund all the charges if it was not delivered on time. If we sent 40 packages they missed the deliver time in 38 of them. I may have filed claims in ten of so of them. By rights I could have filled claims on almost all of them. So some of the packages ended up being shipped over seas for free.

What a way to run a railroad. No wonder a First Class stamp has gone from a nickle to over forty cents in my life time. Trust but verify as they say. Use USPS but make them deliver and make them stand behind their services. To do less will encourage them to do worse the next time. Still we all knows that your perfect outcome is the return of your package.