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Legalities: A private citizen may sell a firearm to any other citizen of the United States who the seller does not have reason to believe is legally disqualified from owning a firearm. The persons to whom a sale can be made are divided into two classes; residents of the same state as the seller, and residents of all other states and territories.
Sales to residents of the same state:A private individual may sell either a long gun (rifle or shotgun) or a short gun (revolver or pistol) to a resident of the same state who the seller does not have reason to believe is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. This standard affords considerable protection to the individual making the sale. The only cases where BATF has prosecuted someone for violating this provision is where the seller actually knew the purchaser was a convicted felon.
Delivery of a firearm sold to a resident of the same state: There is no requirement that any gun (long or short) that is sold to a resident of the same state as the seller have to be physically transferred in any manner. Specifically, the firearm does not have to be delivered to or transferred through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). The firearm may be transferred in a face to face transaction, or delivered to the purchaser by a third party, or delivered by a carrier. The seller has the option of delivering the firearm to an FFL, in which case the purchaser would have to fill out the appropriate forms and undergo a background check.
Required paperwork for a sale between private individuals: Simply put, there is no required paperwork for a sale between private individuals. However, either party to the transaction may require at least a bill of sale (BOS). The BOS is a simple document that identifies the seller and purchaser, and the item sold. A BOS has no specified legal format, and many are handwritten on a notepad. It may include additional information about the price, or other circumstances. The seller may wish to have a BOS to show the person to whom he actually sold the firearm, and the buyer may wish to have a BOS to prove from whom the firearm was purchased (and the fact that it was purchased).

Sales to residents of another state:Sales to residents of another state must be completed through a FFL. There are different options for the sale of a long gun and a short gun. Considerable confusion arises over this issue, and many people are of the impression that the seller has to deliver the firearm to a local FFL(local to the seller) for transfer to the FFL in the state where the purchaser resides. There is no legal requirement that the seller deliver the firearm to a local FFL for transfer. The seller can deliver the firearm to the transferring FFL by any means available. There is no legal way for a non-FFL to transfer a firearm to a resident of another state in a face to face transaction.

Sales of long guns to residents of another state: A seller of a long gun to a resident of another state has two options.

1.
The first is that the seller can deliver the firearm to a local FFL, and the purchaser can complete the transaction at that FFL's place of business. The FFL is required to meet the sale requirements for both the state in which it is located, and the state of residence of the purchaser. So as a matter of policy, the local FFL may decline to process the sale if the purchaser is from a state with requirements beyond those of the federal government. This is the closest that a sale to a non-resident can come to being a face to face transaction. The seller and purchaser can go to a local FFL, deliver the firearm to the FFL, and complete the transaction there.
2.
The second is that the seller can deliver the firearm to an FFL in the state where the purchaser lives, and that FFL will complete the transaction. A private individual is not required to have a copy of the actual FFL, but as a matter of good business the seller should verify through the BATF site that the FFL is in good standing, or obtain a copy of the actual FFL. The verification can be done on-line through the BATF site. An individual does not have to have a copy of the actual FFL before shipping to the FFL.

Sale of short guns to residents of another state: A short gun may only be transferred to a resident of another state through an FFL in that state. The firearm may be delivered to the FFL by an permissible means. As noted above, the seller should make some effort to verify the good standing of the FFL. The mechanics of the sale must be worked out to to the satisfaction of all three parties. For example, a three day inspection period is not uncommon. All of the parties should have a clear understanding of how the gun is going to be packaged and shipped, and who is going to pay for that shipping, before the firearm is sent to the FFL.

Shipping and delivery of firearms sold by private individuals: The shipment of firearms is governed by the regulations of the shipping agency. Federal firearms laws do not have any provisions on how any firearm may be shipped to any person. (However, federal law does make it a crime to knowingly ship something contrary to a shipping agency's regulations.)

So to determine what can be shipped, and who it can be shipped to, the seller has to be familiar with each shipping agency's rules and regulations. In the case of private companies such as UPS and Fed Ex. the rules are collectively known as “tariffs”, and are on their websites. In the case of the United States Postal Service, the regulations are in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) which is in every post office in the United States and on-line.

This is not a detailed discussion of any agency's policies. A seller/shipper should carefully read the respective tariffs or rules before shipping. Especially in the case of the commercial companies, the counter help is notoriously unreliable about the shipment of firearms.
Commercial shipping companies: Here are some general rules about using these companies.

1.
You cannot ship through their “stores”. If the “store” accepts the package, and there is loss or damage, you will not be paid for your loss.
2.
You must declare the value of your firearm, if it is over $100.00, and you must identify the package as a “firearm” on the shipping documents. Nothing on the package can identify the contents as a firearm. Common internet advice is to ship the package as “parts”. That's all well and good until you have a loss or damage and the company refuses to pay. Also you have violated federal law, and committed insurance fraud. It's your choice.
3.
Handguns are treated differently by different shippers. Most require the use of some premium service, such as “Next Day Air.” Your local FFL is not bound by these regulations and may be able to ship the gun for you for a fee that is still cheaper than “Next Day Air.” This is not a legal requirement to use a FFL, but a practical, financial one.
4.
As a general rule, a non-FFL cannot ship short guns through the post office. However, you can ship long guns. One major difference in the USPS and commercial services is that the intial increment of insurance is not included in the shipping costs. If you have a gun with substantial value, registered mail is absolutely the safest way to ship, and items can be insured up to $25,000.00.
5.
If you mail through the USPS some way other than registered, and purchase additional insurance (and you should), you do not have to identify the contents.


Other “non-legal” considerations: While there is no legal requirement that a firearm that is to be tranferred through a FFL be shipped to that FFL from another FFL, some FFL's have implemented this policy on their own. This is to protect the receiving FFL from unauthorized shipments, such as short barreled shotguns or Class III weapons. This is the FFL's business, and if it has that policy the seller will just have to deal with it. The seller and purchaser need to determine if this is the case before the transaction is closed, so that the additional costs of using the extra FFL can be addressed. (Although as noted above, in the case of a short gun, it might actually be cheaper to go through a FFL.)

Finally the seller should educate himself about the legal requirements for selling and shipping a firearm. The best resource for this is the BATF FAQ's shown above. Shipping company employees, gun store employees, and web sites are notorious for having erroneous information. Much of the mis-information is harmless (such as needing an extra FFL), but much of it can have serious consequences (shipping “machine parts”, or a face to face transaction with an out of state resident .)




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Addendum No. 1:

Shipping ammo through USPS;

This subject seems to come up a lot. Briefly, live ammo, primers, primed cases, or powder may not be shipped through the post office. A thorough listing of what can and cannot be shipped is set forth in the following USPS publication,
http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_016.htm

Commercial shippers (UPS, FedEx and so on) determine their own policies as to what hazardous materials each will or will not accept. Once the shipper determines that it will accept a certain hazardous material, then it (and you) are bound by DOT regulations as to packaging and labeling. The so-called "HAZ-MAT" fees are individually determined and assessed by the shipping company.