investing in firearms

Not a collector myself, wish I had that kind of cheddar lying around:)

But firearms are not typically a great investment - buddy has a few older Colts that have only gone up about $50-$100 bucks in the past 30 years or so, but that is only the case for NIB - well cared for or not, used is still used unless it is an antique and good, worthwhile deals on antique firearms are hard to come by.
 
I'll chime with the "guns are a bad investment medium" crowd. Unless you can find a grieving widow with her late husband's gun collection, and she doesn't know what she has, you'll make more money in traditional investments.

The internet has so completely educated the gun buying public re gun values that it's hard to make the kinds of deals you'd have to make in order to score a profit.
 
Something to be said for saving. I wish I had all that money I invested in whisky and condoms years ago...Well, maybe not.;)

Damn off topic again...
 
I agree with tulsamal/gregg, and I personally think certain guns are a worthwhile investment.

No, that 870 Express you bought for $269.00 isn't going to be worth much more 10 years from now, but I bet you could get close to getting your money back out of it unless it's all beat up. In my opinion, a nice Colt or Smith or Winchester is going to be worth more 10 years from now. Along those lines, the rarer a gun is, the more opportunity there is for it to increase in value.

Another way I look at it is it's a fun investment strategy. All my savings, retirement, 401k stuff is printed on a piece of paper. It may or may not be there for me when I want it or need it. With guns, I have something that I can hold, shoot, look at, research, and wonder about it's past. They are something that I can sell to make quick cash if need be, or use to trade up for a nicer model.

Another gun related area I've been thinking hard about is getting into Full Auto stuff. There are only so many Full Auto firearms availiable to the general public and I don't see that changing anytime soon, so an investment in one or two or more of those, in my opinion, would be worthwhile as well.
 
I know a couple of guys who have done well collecting, but they did this by becoming FFL's and frequently buying and selling guns - i.e. they didn't simply buy a bunch of guns and sit on them for 20 years. For example, one of them has a large collection of Garands and 1903's. He's been buying them up for years and has made a mint as they've become popular again.
 
If you are going the M/N route buy the odd or rare guns. I think it would be silly to invest in the run of the mill rifles. Or better yet, invest in odd M/N 91's.
 
I look at it this way: When the stock market crashed, I lost about 50% of my investment value. Still haven't recovered and probably never will.

When the value of a firearm goes down, or fails to go up, you still have the firearm and can enjoy it for what it is. On the upside, sometimes your investment can double, triple and even increase up to 4 times what you paid for it.

I purchased an FNC for $700 - it's worth about $2000, maybe more. AC556 bought for $2,400 - now worth about $6,000. I have several other examples like this.

On the other hand, I've purchased several guns specifically because I thought they would increase in value, and they really haven't. I could sell them for roughly what I have into them.

Example 1 - purchased a Model A UZI about 15 years ago - it's worth about what I paid for it. Several things happened to keep the price down: 1) there are better, lighter 9mm carbines available; 2) expiration of AW ban; UZI's no longer have the "cool" factor they did in the 1980's and early '90's.

Example 2 - I traded for / purchased a Colt Sp1 Carbine in the early-mid 90's. I think I had about $600 into the gun. Value spiked during the AW ban - could have sold it for over $1,500 at one time. AW ban expires and now people are building their own AR's using a large variety of high quality receivers and components. Value drops to $900 +/-.

As laws and people's tastes and desires change, your "investment guns" will go up or down in value. Even NFA machine guns have seen a dip in values, which no one believed was possible. Personally, I think folks aught to be snapping up Full-auto FNC's AC556's, and UZI's at their going prices right now if you are looking for investments. About the only risk you have of losing your investment is your government legalizing post-86 machineguns. Not likely to ever happen.
 
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For me I much prefer, at the present time, quality electric utilities with good dividends to guns for investment. Few guns really appreciate in value during a lifetime, and most never.
Jerry
 
Jerry

Of course you could alwys do the "typical" investing, retirement thing + get a few on the side as a hobby. If you get real lucky, you might have a gem someday.
 
Probably the best time for collecting and investing in firearms was around 1990.Iron curtain went down,USSR went belly up,and 40 year old warehoused weapons and ammunition were dumped on the market.Swed 96's $35,Hakims and FN49's $79,E.Germ Maks $79,SVT 40's $200,AG42's $200,Russian capture Lugers $200.That was the hey day of surplus,now it's dried up and since obama the prices are through the roof.
 
A friend of mine places an Ad weekly in the local paper that he will Buy Old used Handguns and Rifles for cash.

He makes out like a Bandit....Sometimes it's sinfull what he ends-up buying for dirt cheap.

He say's folk today are simply struggling financialy. They need to pay bills and buy food. And firearms are the least of their concerns.
He payed a women $100.00 cash for 2 Smith & Wesson's.... A Model 19 and 66 both 2.5" barrels. The model 66 was stainless steel.

I am seriously considering doing the same thing.
INVESTING? - Because a whole lot of folk just do not know what they have.
 
" But firearms are not typically a great investment - buddy has a few older Colts that have only gone up about $50-$100 bucks in the past 30 years or so, but that is only the case for NIB - "

And when inflation has been taken into consideration, he has lost money. $ 300 in 1980 has the same buying power as $ 825 today. Run some numbers through this.

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

Relying on others to sell their guns at low cost due to a bad economy then reselling them might not be a good strategy. Just who is going to buy them? Even holding them long term isn't a safe bet.

In order to make money in the market, one must buy low and sell high. Right now everything is on sale.
 
[He say's folk today are simply struggling financialy. They need to pay bills and buy food. And firearms are the least of their concerns.
He payed a women $100.00 cash for 2 Smith & Wesson's.... A Model 19 and 66 both 2.5" barrels. The model 66 was stainless steel.

I am seriously considering doing the same thing.
INVESTING? - Because a whole lot of folk just do not know what they have.]

One think I would never do is take advantage of those who are struggling. In my view that is not investing it is almost equivalent to stealing from the needy and hurting. Ever hear of the Golden Rule?

Where have our morals and compassion gone? I guess the way of greed.
Keep investments honest.

Jerry
 
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JerryM....That's what I mean when I say it is a SIN......And there are those that make out like BANDITS off those that just don't know what the have.

My 88 year old next door neighboor had a Walter PPK Pistol .380acp Made in Germany. It belonged to her deceased husband.
She had no clue about it. When she showed it to me and wanted to know the value of it. The pistol was in very good condition. I told her approx $600-700...I offered her $400.00 for it.
I come to find out she gave it as a gift, to her new 35 year old punk boyfriend.
 
At best most firearms will only hold their value. Some will out pace monetary inflation. The problem is, barring being able to see the future, just exactly which ones they are.

Never forget, that a large part, if not all, of the price increase of older firearms, is due to monetary inflation.

Example: If you bought a firearm in 1985 for $300 and today you can get $625 for it. All you would have done is keep pace with inflation. Why? because $625 has the same buying power in 2011, that $300 had in 1985.

Inflation Calculator
The Changing Value of a Dollar
 
A no brainer

I have a modest gun collection that I have aquired in my 65 years. A Rolex watch and several loose diamonds, left to me by a rich aunt.

If a potential buyer wants one of my guns, the watch or a diamond so be it. If not then you will have a hard time getting 30 cents on the dollar.

Irreguardless what you pay for any gun, it will bring about the same price down the road inside of 20 years. My flawless 1.25 carrat diamond was appraised at $2000 wholesale, not the $4500 paid in the boom times.

UNLESS YOU NEED MONEY FROM MARKET TO BY FOOD ETC. BUY STOCK DONT SELL

JIMSPD9
 
All those saying their collections of guns haven't gone up much in value have purchased the wrong guns from a collector's perspective. You just don't know how to do it right (so I guess it's just not possible :rolleyes:), or you weren't buying the guns for their potential collector value. I'm way ahead in just over 5 years of collecting. It's right that you can't tell what a new gun today will be worth in 5 or 10 years. But there are older guns (milsurp, C&R) that hold their value, and in my experience, double and tripple in value in only a few years.
 
Anything can be an investment. It just boils down to buying low and selling high. If you find a sweet deal on a gun you might clear a few dollars. However, that sweet deal might be some old widow selling her husbands stuff unknowingly.
 
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