Using Apple Air Tags when Shipping Machine Guns

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

I wanted to make a post about this in the event that it is helpful to others..... Whenever we have customers ship us transferable Machine Guns, we always suggest that they stick an Apple Air Tag in the receiver prior to shipping it.... Obviously this gives you, the owner, the ability to see exactly where your very expensive investment is at all times..... 

   Currently we have 3 transferable M60s coming in for inspection and repair. Shipped USPS registered mail insured for 80,000 ... Despite the registered mail and high insurance, tracking for one of the guns has not been updated since the first scan last week. Tracking is showing that it is still in Washington State, despite that it is supposed to be delivered today. The owner who shipped it was able to check his air tag location to see that it is currently in Harrisburg, PA... Which is the last stop before it gets delivered here. 

   The Air Tag also gives you some leverage if your package is not delivered and a period of time passes, or it is declared lost. You are able to contact the postal service and tell them EXACTLY where the package is. As opposed to them contacting the last known scan origin and having them check there for it (it is never there in my experience).

 

   Again, just sharing this information in the event that it may be helpful to others. Photo of an Air Tag Below for reference. They are cheap and worth getting to keep track of your expensive guns. 

Aaron - Mohnton, Pa

Sales@BeltFeds.Com

 

 

example below from an old shipment:

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Aaron in Mohnton Pa

[Buddy H]

 

 

[SGT Fish]

Excellent post. I've heard of people putting then in cars too, sometimes 2 of them so that the first one is a sort of decoy. Apparently iPhone will let you know if an airtag is "following" you as a sort of anti-stalking device, so a car their may look for one in the glovebox or whatnot. I've also heard of people putting them in their AR15 grips and gun cases for when they travel. 

 

I best USPS drivers with iPhones get tons of "stalking" warnings lol. 

[gftiv]

USPS registered mail tracking. They do not publish that tracking info to make shipping more secure. From Postal employee a few years ago.

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

@gftiv 

   Registered mail tracking is exactly the same as other USPS services (like priority mail etc) …. Label gets scanned at each USPS facility and it is updated under the tracking number that is provided to the customer. The customer is the only one who gets the tracking number so I’m not sure how anyone else would get that info unless it was provided to them. 

[jbntex]

I actually recently had an FFL seller here on Sturm for the first time refuse to include a GPS location tracker in a high value firearm shipment.

When I asked why he wouldn't allow a GPS tracker in the package I was told it was a security risk as  I would be able to track the package location in detail and could then potentially steal it off the delivery truck before it got to my FFL.  

That was a first for me.... so just something to keep in mind that not all FFLs will allow a tracker to go with the gun.

 

[taylorwso]

1 hour ago, jbntex said:

I actually recently had an FFL seller here on Sturm for the first time refuse to include a GPS location tracker in a high value firearm shipment.

When I asked why he wouldn't allow a GPS tracker in the package I was told it was a security risk as  I would be able to track the package location in detail and could then potentially steal it off the delivery truck before it got to my FFL.  

That was a first for me.... so just something to keep in mind that not all FFLs will allow a tracker to go with the gun.

 

let me guess, boomer?

[rhouston8]

Airtags and Chipolo ( another similar device) are extremely useful. Great idea to use them on expensive shipments.

To date I've used them in all my airline travel bags, cars, backpack, and even one as a card resides in my wallet.

I haven't chipped or Airtag'd my wife ....yet.....

[jbntex]

43 minutes ago, taylorwso said:

let me guess, boomer?

No idea on the guys age.  

Its now just another eccentricity I have to be upfront about prior to actually committing to a high dollar purchase if I want a tracker in the package.  In this case I committed to purchase prior to asking to put a tracker in the package as I never expected somebody to say "no".  Now I know to ask future sellers prior to committing to purchase.

The good news is the gun actually arrived on time without any problems after being shipped Fedex ground (uggg).  The downside is the gun has all sorts of significant undisclosed mechanical issues that I am having to fix.....but that aspect isn't an uncommon issue in this market.

 

[Thumpy]

2 hours ago, jbntex said:

No idea on the guys age.  

Its now just another eccentricity I have to be upfront about prior to actually committing to a high dollar purchase if I want a tracker in the package.  In this case I committed to purchase prior to asking to put a tracker in the package as I never expected somebody to say "no".  Now I know to ask future sellers prior to committing to purchase.

The good news is the gun actually arrived on time without any problems after being shipped Fedex ground (uggg).  The downside is the gun has all sorts of significant undisclosed mechanical issues that I am having to fix.....but that aspect isn't an uncommon issue in this market.

 

100% boomer no doubt 

[Labanaktis]

If you paid for it then I wouldn’t give him a choice. It’s your property at that point. If not then his ass is on the line for the insurance. 

[mike0120]

I'm mostly curious as to the who and how there's a transferrable M60 in Washington State 

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

He is not from Washington State... It just showed scanned in at a facility there on Tracking. It didn't update for like 4 days. 

[jbntex]

1 hour ago, Labanaktis said:

If you paid for it then I wouldn’t give him a choice. It’s your property at that point. If not then his ass is on the line for the insurance. 

 It was my mistake on not asking about the tracker upfront before agreeing to buy and I was not going to welsh on a deal as I agreed to purchase before asking about including the tracker.   It honestly never even occurred to me somebody would say no.  My only point from recent experience is, don't assume all dealers will agree to a package tracker and if its important to you ask upfront before committing to purchase.

In my experience more often than not you are on your own if something goes wrong and very few sellers will take accountability for their mistakes/issues if something goes haywire with shipment/delivery so don't count on insurance purchased by the seller to make you whole.  Maybe I am unlucky but In my experience it seems to be about 1 in 5ish firearm shipment have problem with sellers not following agreed upon instructions and/or the carrier screwing up. (which is why I have gone to using package trackers)

My gold medal shipped screwup experience was one of the long time dealers here on this board a couple years back shipped a machinegun regular priority mail (vs registered), without proper insurance, packaged in a thin cardboard sleeve constructed from reused cardboard box pieces held together with masking tape after we agreed on registered mail, fully insured, in a hard case.  Once it showed delivered we realized the machinegun was shipped to the wrong address that didn't match the approved form, and then the cherry on top was once my dealer  tracked the gun down it also turned out the seller also shipped the wrong machinegun (serial # didn't match the approved form) that then be shipped back.....

If I was getting work done on my personal M60, I would lock it in a pelican with a tracker, get direct/non-stop flight to the closest airport to the receiving FFL and then personally drive/hand deliver it.  Once the work was done I would fly back pick it up and take a another direct/non-stop flight home.  I don't think there is a carrier I would trust with something like that and even if I shipped it to the gunsmith USPS registered mail the return shipment from the dealer would have to be Fedex since I am not an FFL.

[taylorwso]

2 hours ago, Labanaktis said:

If you paid for it then I wouldn’t give him a choice. It’s your property at that point. If not then his ass is on the line for the insurance. 

all of this

[taylorwso]

20 minutes ago, jbntex said:

My gold medal shipped screwup experience was one of the long time dealers here on this board a couple years back shipped a machinegun regular priority mail (vs registered), without proper insurance, packaged in a thin cardboard sleeve constructed from reused cardboard box pieces held together with masking tape after we agreed on registered mail, fully insured, in a hard case.  Once it showed delivered we realized the machinegun was shipped to the wrong address that didn't match the approved form, and then the cherry on top was once my dealer  tracked the gun down it also turned out the seller also shipped the wrong machinegun (serial # didn't match the approved form) that then be shipped back.....

 

I get things like that all the time.

I had nfa stuff show up in a damn empty usps flat rate box, with no ffl info.

 

or a giant box of packing peanuts, inside 4 other boxes with assorted trash the ffl is trying to get rid of

 

at least you got it

 

[Bwana]

How did you get $80k insurance with USPS Registered?  Everything that i previously sent insured via USPS Registered mail had insurance capped / maximum available at $25k.  Has this changed?  If so, that is a dramatic increase...

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

I am unsure. I did not ship it …. I thought the max was 50,000 … but the receipt indicates 80,000 as shown below.
 

[jbntex]

For USPS Registered mail the max insurance value is $50k.  However you can declare a value over this amount (like the shipper above did and declared $80k of value) but it won't mean the insured value is over the max USPS registered limit of $50k.  So in this case if the M60 gets lost the shipper is going to best case eat $30k unless he has private 3rd party insurance to cover it.

The unfortunate reality is if it gets lost USPS probably wont pay you the $50k insurance value either....not without a long drawn out fight anyway.

Fingers crossed I hope it shows up safe and sound in the next couple of days.

[chappy]

Great idea Aaron. Shipping 2 Thompson 1928s and they stayed in the same location for 4 days (100 miles away) I was concerned and the Air Tags would have helped eleviate my concerns.

Edited December 6, 2023 by chappy

[WashingtonCountyGuns]

Great suggestion, thanks for the info.   FYI Aaron, the MG60 that you repaired for us is working great with no issues.

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

@WashingtonCountyGuns I saw some videos of her running. Really great to hear she’s going strong still. 

Aaron 

[Ryo]

On 12/5/2023 at 11:47 AM, mike0120 said:

I'm mostly curious as to the who and how there's a transferrable M60 in Washington State 

WA FFLs with SOTs can have MGs. Sadly civilians can't have it.

 

Definitely going to do the AirTag. I'd probably place it into the firearm itself, or in the case with the case locked. 

[Christof Stehpinkler]

I did this when I had Andrew Kaliopolitis work on my Uzi SMG. I was flying back to New Hampshire on other business, so I took the gun with me in my checked baggage. I put the Air Tag between layers of foam in my hard case. The lack of any cellular capability didn't seem to be a problem, as there were always enough people around with Apple devices to give me close to real-time tracking of its location. I was able to identify the specific baggage cart it was on when I looked out the window of the airplane, and to watch my suitcase get stowed in the hold. After landing at Manchester I was able to watch its progress to the baggage service desk. Very reassuring.

Andrew shipped it back via insured registered mail, with my hard case packed inside a padded cardboard box. Again, the Air Tag gave me nearly constant updates on its location. In fact I was able to watch it moving as it was driven from the Los Angeles airport to a shipper's warehouse to a post office in Pasadena and then another 350 miles along I-10 to the post office down the road from my house in Scottsdale. It looked like every car with an iPhone that passed by the semi carrying my package would update its position. All of this information was received in near real time, DAYS before the on-line registered mail tracking log was updated. It was a pretty slow shipment, taking nine or ten days to get to me, so it was good for my mental health to see not just the post office where it was stashed, but the specific corner of the building.

https://imgur.com/a/MeSD24P

I'll be putting these things in all my luggage from now on. I am a little creeped out by the privacy implications but it's worth it.

[chappy]

I just purchased some Chipolo card and chips. Could have used it last week as I shipped off an MP5. Great idea and much appreciated.

[Ryo]

Oh nice.. I didn't realize airtags are one time payment. I thought it had a subscription. I'll be picking some out just to put in my range bags just in case. 

[sasrestorations]

great idea!

[Ryo]

Just watching some YouTube and saw a video to remove the beeper in case they try to find it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSRc1DScOY8

[Ryo]

Questionabout airtags.. Do the Apple ones play nice with Androids for looking up tracking or do I juat have to use a computer to log into icloud? 

[Aaron in Mohnton Pa]

I’m not sure on that. I know they are apple specific 

[Uncle Zeek]

Huh, now I'm wishing that I'd asked my selling dealer to put one of these in the box.   Got shipped on 1/19, and Fedex shows that it's been sitting in the same city now for three days - "delivery exception" one day, "delay" another day.

Would really suck to have my first MG purchase turn into "Fedex lost my package".

[J Greene]

I think they are great for tracking your stuff. However if your stuff is stolen though don’t be surprised if law enforcement refuses to go get it. Be prepared to kick that door yourself.

[Ryo]

14 hours ago, Uncle Zeek said:

Huh, now I'm wishing that I'd asked my selling dealer to put one of these in the box.   Got shipped on 1/19, and Fedex shows that it's been sitting in the same city now for three days - "delivery exception" one day, "delay" another day.

Would really suck to have my first MG purchase turn into "Fedex lost my package".

Its always possible they didn't scan it before throwing it on the truck. Hope that's the case for you. 

[Uncle Zeek]

9 hours ago, Ryo said:

Its always possible they didn't scan it before throwing it on the truck. Hope that's the case for you. 

Well, it finally got moving again.  It was sitting in one city for three days (snow/ice delay maybe?), finally showed up about halfway here the fourth day, then into Texas this morning.

Hopefully I'll get to meet it tomorrow evening at my local range!

[MP5]

On 12/5/2023 at 6:10 AM, jbntex said:

I actually recently had an FFL seller here on Sturm for the first time refuse to include a GPS location tracker in a high value firearm shipment.

 

Are GPS trackers suitable to be put in with a firearm(s) shipment commercially available?  What are they called?  (Brand name and model?)

[Buddy H]

10 minutes ago, MP5 said:

Are GPS trackers suitable to be put in with a firearm(s) shipment commercially available?  What are they called?  (Brand name and model?)

Discussed in post …..    https://trak-4.com/ 

[NFA Arms Dealer]

Great Idea guy's

Thank you