Has Anyone Ever Offered You More Money Than You Could Pass Up For One Of Your Guns?

J

Joe_Pike

New member
I was talking to a regular customer in the store the other day and he is always looking for certain revolvers or lever guns or what have you and he told me he was looking for a Marlin 1894 .44 Mag. I told him that I would let him know if I ever got one in and mentioned in passing that I had a 1894 .357 Mag (pre-safety) that I picked up five or so years ago. Without missing a beat he said he would give me $900 for it (I paid $450).

Well, I didn't take the offer, but as I thought more about it I thought maybe it might not be such a bad idea. I don't shoot it, so, what good is it doing me. In fact, I've got a few guns that have increased in collector value that people keep wanting to buy from me.

It's made me wonder if it isn't time to simplify and put some money in the bank.
 
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That's never happened to me. I own guns I don't shoot much, in fact there is one I've never shot. Some have been shot less than five times. None are for sale. But that's me.
If you need the money or a nice profit would help you out, go for it. Personally, I'd keep it.
 
Take It

I would take the $900 and buy a new gun that I would shoot. Definitely, do not put it into savings. You can't take it with you.
 
I told him that I would let him know if I ever got one in and mentioned in passing that I had a 1894 .357 Mag (pre-safety) that I picked up five or so years ago.
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Deja vu! I had that exact situation about two years ago. I had the gun behind the counter at work, and a guy offered me $1000 for it.

"It's a personal gun, sir. It's not for sale."

"How much will you take for it? $1000? I can hit the ATM!"

"It's not for sale."

"C'mon, everybody's got a price."

"I call her Zelda and whisper sweet nothings to her at night. Our love cannot be split atwain."

At first, I didn't understand the guy's tenacity. Then I realized that,

  • Marlin hadn't made that configuration in a while
  • even if they did, the quality coming out of their factory was wretched
  • prices on the secondary market for pistol-caliber Marlins are insane

Still, I love that gun far too much to part with it.
 
"I call her Zelda and whisper sweet nothings to her at night. Our love cannot be split atwain."
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Well, I guess I should go ahead and name mine and maybe that would take away the urge to send her to a new home. Maybe I'll take Jennifer Aniston out of her case tonight and make sure she's doing okay.
 
No. I've sold a car like that though. I had never thought of selling and someone offered me a lot more money than I had invested in it.
 
more money for older marlins

makes an old man feel good have 4 older marlins 2 of them are pistol calibers. no they are not for sale. looked for 3 of them for over 2 years. i know one has to find that kind of buyer but i would triple my money at those proposed prices.:D
 
It would depend on the gun. Like Tom, there are a few that I would have a hard time parting with. Others, in a heartbeat.

Over the last 10 years of so I've been working on fewer, but better quality guns. I've sold, or given away to my kids, a bunch. I've bought a few and upgraded stocks and optics on others. As well as putting money in the bank.

I have 15 or so that while not officially for sale, would let go if offered the right price. About a dozen that I wouldn't let go.
 
Not yet and to date i never really "had to" sell a gun. Still waiting for someone to offer $5K+ for one of my Colt Diamondbacks. That day is likely not so far off in the future.
 
Never has happened to me. Most folks barely offer half what I asked even with the Blue Book in front of me.
:(
 
Yeah, a couple of times I've had somebody offer me crazy money for something I'd just bought or hadn't planned on selling at that particular moment. They were guns I wasn't particularly attached to and the profit margins were triple digit, tough to say no.
 
Sure. I once had a Ruger No. 1 in 375 H&H that came with a nice Leupold VXIII scope. I took it to the range, where it proceeded to beat the heck out of me. Just as I was thinking that while my 458 Mauser kicked more it was still less uncomfortable to shoot, a guy came up to me and offered as much for the gun alone as I'd paid for the entire package. So I removed my free Leupold scope, handed him the rifle and was glad to see it go.

I have a mint Colt Python that I'm afraid is eventually going to be worth more than I can stand to turn down.

Remember prices work both ways. If a gun is going for $X, you're missing out on $X in order to keep it.

OTOH, my dad's Winchester 71 is staying. I could get a nice price for my grandfather's 1926 Winchester 94, but it's not for sale either.
 
Some years ago I had some Yahoo from Tejas call and offer me four times what I'd paid for a SIG p210-5 7.65/9MM convertible pistol. It had belonged to gunwriter Hall Swiggett and having known Hal I bought it because I did not own a P210 of any varience and it had been his. HIS!!!
The yahoo was dumbfounded when I firmly said NO NOT EVER !!!
..." BUT THAT IS FOUR TIMES WHAT YOU HAVE IN IT..."
...' I count very well indeed and STILL am not a gunwhore because of it...something you will never EVER understand. '
Finally I just said goodbye an hung up the phone as he was still sputtering and would not go away.
NEVER EVER sell a good gun...NEVER !!
And so it goes...
 
I sold a Marlin 9mm Camp Carbine in 1995 after the Federal Assault Weapons Ban went into effect. The usual the sky is falling attitude had taken hold and semi-auto rifle prices started to climb.
Now this little carbine was one of the most fun and accurate rifles to shoot as well as cheap ammo.
I bought it from a dealer who bought it for someone who backed out of the deal. He did not want to carry it in his inventory and sold it for what he had in it.
Less than a year later I was offered $450.00 for it and that more than doubled my money. I just could not pass on the deal. There was a S&W model 29 I wanted and that would cover the cost.
That is the only gun I ever sold that I truly wish I had kept.
Now days if you find one they are well used and pricey for the condition they are in.
 
Something sort of similar happened to me last month....I was selling my 2 yr old but lightly used lone wolf tree stand locally on Craigslist. Had a guy contact me and want to do a trade for a LNIB glock Gen 4 19 but I would have to pay him 100$ as well..after ignoring his repeated bartering texts he finally caved and was willing to do an even trade..so I took it..best 150$ profit I ever made.
 
I let a guy shoot my Vector Uzi (right after the aw ban expired). He offered my $900 for it. SOLD - I bought it for $650 IIRC.

Now... not sure I could replace it for what I sold it to him for.
 
Yes, it happened to me once. I don't want to mention the type of gun for confidentiality reasons. I declined the first offer because I really did not want to sell, or intend on ever selling it. It was a very low serial number, excellent condition and I'd never seen one like it before or after selling it. This is not a gun that can be easily found. However, the second offer was just too good to pass up - we are talking about several thousand+ for a gun I paid about $800 for years ago.

I do not regret selling the gun. The price was a good price and it didn't fit in my collection, but fit handsomely in the buyer's collection. It truly is where it needs to be. I ended up using the funds to purchase two really nice Pythons, so it didn't go to waste. So, all in all, I am still happy that I sold the gun to the person I sold it to. It did make a difference to me that he needed it to help complete his collection. My only regret (and not a big one) is I would have liked to have gotten a picture(s) of the buyer's collection with the gun I sold him - should have made that a condition of sale!:D
 
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