Blue Book - 2017

[BarryLee]

Ok, I realize the Blue Book of Gun values is probably not as valuable a resource as it once was because of the internet. However, I have always found it helpful and interesting to have a copy around. The one I have is several years old and with all the volitivity in gun prices over the last few years I held off on buying a new copy.

So, two Questions:

Do you still buy the Blue Book and find it a useful resource?

Do you believe most of the wild swings in price have smoothed out and that the 2017 versions should be accurate and somewhat stable for a few years?

 

[ShootistPRS]

Gun prices, like car prices, vary too much from location to location to have a realistic price fixed over a large area. There are places where one gun may not hold much value but someplace else it is harder to find and worth more.

The value of a gun is only what a buyer will pay.

 

[Sevens]

I believe there are three valuable points about a Blue Book.

1) it can definitely show you (instantly) if there happens to be a rare and more valuable variation on an otherwise common model. For that alone it certainly be a valuable resource for someone dealing or buying guns

2) you can sit around at home and do basically the same thing... look up some of your favorite models and see about odd, interesting and rare variations of your favorite models

3) visual clue at a gun show! If I see a dealer with a thumb-eared copy of the Blue Book and he's pricing his guns with it, I can almost bet that he is completely out of touch with anything that may be recently popular or "hot", market trends that are recent will never be represented in a printed book that comes out every year or every other year.

 

[10-96]

A downfall to having a Blue Book as a bathroom reader is when you look up listed values of firearms you owned years ago. Bad feelins. Muy bad feelins. Lol.