Firearm Companies Say Packages Shipped With UPS Being Damaged, Disappearing: Reports

A United Parcel Service (UPS) truck delivers boxes in New York City, on April 26, 2022. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A number of firearm companies have seen their shipments with UPS become damaged or go missing while on route to customers, while others have allegedly had their corporate accounts canceled by the parcel service, according to a report by Bearing Arms, a pro-Second Amendment news site.

Patrick Collins, CEO of The Gun Food, an ammunition supply company, told the news outlet that many packages his business had shipped via UPS had mysteriously vanished in transit.

Specifically, Collins alleged that out of 18,000 rounds of ammunition that he’s shipped, only around a third—roughly 6,000—were actually delivered.

Collins said he was allegedly told by UPS that he was likely not packaging the shipments properly and that the company also noted an uptick in his recent claims regarding packages that are not being successfully delivered.

“They’re not even making it. And I don’t know what they are doing in the facilities if they are purposefully damaging them,” Collins said. “However, they are not making it to the customer.”

Collins added that every batch that his company ships are insured and typically needs to be signed by the customer.

“So it’s funny when they try to say, ‘well, you know, you put in too many claims.’ And it’s like, ‘well, no, I didn’t put in too many claims. Well, our customer never received their package that we had shipped,’” Collins said.

The Epoch Times did not receive a response from Collins when contacted for comment.

‘Updated Requirements For Firearms Shipments’

A UPS spokesperson told The Epoch Times: “As a common carrier, UPS transports ammunition that constitutes ‘cartridges, small arms,’ as defined in federal regulations. UPS has safety protocols to help ensure the safe transport of ammunition in our network.”

“We work with our customers to address their concerns, including those with packaging,” the spokesperson added while pointing to information on UPS’s website on how to ship ammunition, which includes packaging requirements.

“UPS has updated its requirements for firearms shipments to adhere to nationwide regulations recently issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that go into effect on Aug. 24, 2022, and to address existing laws in a number of states,” the spokesperson continued.

“UPS’s policy now clarifies that the company does not accept any firearms, frames or receivers, or partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frames or receivers (as defined by the new federal regulation) unless those items have been identified and given a serial number in compliance with federal requirements.”

‘Seized and Destroyed’

Bearing Arms also pointed to recent reports that a large number of firearm companies have claimed to have had their UPS accounts canceled by the company and that packages that were currently in the UPS system were potentially being “seized and destroyed.”

In a letter sent to one Florida gun dealer, Ghost Firearms, UPS allegedly said they were terminating the account because they “may be violating” laws concerning homemade firearm parts, or “ghost guns.”

The owner of Ghost Firearms, Joe Zatar, told the Second Amendment Foundation that UPS allegedly informed him in a letter that all scheduled pickups would be canceled and that he would not be allowed to reopen another UPS account or ship anything from a UPS store or website.

Zatar claimed that prior to receiving the letter, he had recently shipped out more than $30,000 worth of products and the company warned him that any packages that were found in the UPS system determined to have been tendered by his company may be seized and destroyed.

“We do not ship to states where they’re not allowed,” Zatar told the outlet. “We are in total compliance. We had ATF in here just two weeks ago, and they told us we were completely legal.”

A UPS spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company has “taken steps to address specific compliance risks” with a limited number of customers and that it “intends to deliver firearms that are legally in transit.”

“Our letters to customers stated that UPS may seize and destroy illegally tendered goods, and we reserve the right to do that,” the spokesperson continued, adding that UPS’s intent is to “drive compliance with the new regulation and UPS’s policy.”

“We will take incremental steps to do that with each customer and do not intend to seize or destroy goods unless a shipper intentionally or repeatedly violates UPS policy or federal regulations,” the statement continued. “UPS takes its compliance obligations seriously with regard to federal and state law.”

The reports come shortly after the Senate approved a bipartisan package of gun control measures aimed at preventing dangerous people from accessing firearms. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden shortly after.

Those measures came in the wake of multiple mass shootings across the country, including at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 21 people, 19 of whom were children.