Just like the title says....do you think that I can legally ship airbags through UPS or USPS?

I don't know the answer, but that's a dang good question...

I have a couple I want to part with at some point. I wonder how the folks on ebay do it? Maybe one of their ads will show the shipping method?

Probably illegally!

I seriously doubt an air bag can be shipped legally by a non-professional shipper. You DO NOT want to get caught doing this with the extra security measures now in place after Sept. 11th. Just call UPS and USPS and ask, that is not illegal.

Both UPS and FedEx transferred me to their Hazmat department. They both said they could ship but my shipping center (which I don't have) has to certify it and put a red hazmat sticker on it. The sticker is an additional $30. They also said I could ship it as an individual but they advised not to due to risks involved and not being a trained hazmat shipper. I know it's stupid easy to ship and unlikely there would be a problem, but it's probably not worth the risk.

I wish I could just play dumb and say it is car parts in the box......but I know ignorance is just as bad.

You might want to find one of those static resistant plastic bags that computer parts come in. It should lessen the chance of a spark popping the bag. Assuming you could find one big enough.

At the dealership I worked at all airbags came UPS ground and were labelled as such.

I'd hate to risk it and have it be the package on the bottom of the plane and when it blows it takes out some critical wiring/hydraulic lines that brings a plane down into a neighborhood.

That would suck.

my .02

Costas
cars and such...

I was watching the mythbuster show on Discovery when they were experimenting with pressurizing a passenger jetliner (that was not being used anymore) to 8 psi, the same thing airlines do at 35,000 ft, and blowing different sized holes. A bullet hole was not something that would cause de-pressurization to move things around in the cabin much, but pretty much anything bigger than a bullet hole was a problem. When they took out two sections of window the roof peeled off the airplane! So no, potential explosives not a good idea!