Selling guns for dummies
- Thread starter Ramey
- Start date
Look at Armslist and/or Mewe.....I've had good experiences with Armslist. I've had a few friendly parking lot sales and I don't see any reason to not do it this way. If I ran into some rougher people or if they would not show idea, I would bail out and sell another day.
The only flakey story I've heard was about a rear sight, but I think it is true and it checked out.
Selling on sights like this one works too.
The only flakey story I've heard was about a rear sight, but I think it is true and it checked out.
Selling on sights like this one works too.
Check with your local laws first , list the firearm for sale on Forums , Gun auction sights and sales. Meet in a public place for transaction or take buddy along . Require Id be shown and listed on receipt. If the buyer doesn't sound legit or up to no good don't meet . Best thing to do to start with is not to make an impulse buy like me and waste money
"...a local shop and about lost my shirt..." Fairly common for commercial hunting rifles. They don't hold value well over a short term. And none of 'em are collector pieces.
Dealers base what they'll pay on the wholesale price and whether or not they think they can sell the thing quickly. The time of years matters too. As in scoped deer rifles don't sell well in January and varmint rifles don't sell well in September/October. Lot of commercial hunting rifles get traded after deer season too. Good time to buy, not so good for selling. Supply and demand rules.
Generally speaking, you'll do better selling privately. Be that on-line or via the local newspaper's want ads. Gun shows can (or used to be) good too. Usually costs to rent a table and everybody there is looking for a deal.
Like JB60 says, know your local laws(Federal, State and municipal). Where you are matters. Write a receipt with your and the buyer's name and contact info on it. With exactly what was sold including the serial number. Two copies.
U.S. Federal law(State/municipal might) does not require unlicensed “private” sellers(that's you) are not required to conduct background checks or maintain records of purchasers, but a little CYA goes a long way.
You need to decide on the lowest price you'll accept too. That doesn't include any customizing you may have done either. A used Savage Axis with a new Boyd's stock is still a used Savage Axis.
Dealers base what they'll pay on the wholesale price and whether or not they think they can sell the thing quickly. The time of years matters too. As in scoped deer rifles don't sell well in January and varmint rifles don't sell well in September/October. Lot of commercial hunting rifles get traded after deer season too. Good time to buy, not so good for selling. Supply and demand rules.
Generally speaking, you'll do better selling privately. Be that on-line or via the local newspaper's want ads. Gun shows can (or used to be) good too. Usually costs to rent a table and everybody there is looking for a deal.
Like JB60 says, know your local laws(Federal, State and municipal). Where you are matters. Write a receipt with your and the buyer's name and contact info on it. With exactly what was sold including the serial number. Two copies.
U.S. Federal law(State/municipal might) does not require unlicensed “private” sellers(that's you) are not required to conduct background checks or maintain records of purchasers, but a little CYA goes a long way.
You need to decide on the lowest price you'll accept too. That doesn't include any customizing you may have done either. A used Savage Axis with a new Boyd's stock is still a used Savage Axis.
I have three local shops and they each vary greatly on what price they'll give on a trade in. I use one of them almost exclusively as they really do give fair trade values. I always stay away from any of the chain stores. Private sells generally get you more but are also a bigger hassle to deal with.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
In the rare instance when I sell a firearm, I put it on consignment at a local shop and let them handle it. I set the asking price. If they get an offer that's for less, they contact me and ask if I'll take it.
In my case, I'm in a state where every purchase I make has been reported to the police, so I want a corresponding paper trail when a firearm leaves my possession.
In my case, I'm in a state where every purchase I make has been reported to the police, so I want a corresponding paper trail when a firearm leaves my possession.
For heaven sakes don't feel bad. You should figure that you avoided a ton of fiddle/faddle messing around and worry. You got your money quick and no question at all about legalities. (Disclaimer: This is one of many mind games I play with myself to make myself feel better--feel free to use it yourself.)
Way back when many years ago my local gun shops would REALLY lowball someone trying to out and out sell a gun. You got a much better deal if you were trading for another gun.
I belonged to a shooting league for a while and it was fairly common to sell guns amongst ourselves. It was a good system. IMhO fair prices, honest descriptions of why the gun was being sold and no legal problems. I would imagine that kind of thing still goes on today amongst shoot club members.
Now days I'm an ardent supporter of Cheapshooter's rule of firearms...don't sell any of them.
Good luck in the future.
Ha yea I remember thinking the same thing as I was leaving the store. I did get a call the next day from somebody asking if I still had it though. Guess that's just how it goes.
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Gun shows, mostly. Gun forums can be good for somewhat unusual or rare items if you are selling them for a fair price. Gunbroker is a great way to sell as well. I might consider Armslist for less rare/collectable firearms.
My advice is don't try to get top dollar for any gun you are selling - price it to sell. Once in a while, if you have something rare that someone else just has to have, you can get top dollar, but that doesn't come along often. If I decide to sell one of my guns, I update my research then price it to sell and end up getting a price I'm perfectly happy with.
I don't subscribe to this. YOU are the best one to sell your own firearms. WHEN you die, and IF you still own valuable guns (not average run-of-the-mill guns), your wife, son or daughter are very likely to get ripped off BIG TIME! That old Luger, ugly 1st Gen SAA, Python, and old T-Series Hi-Power - "just a bunch of junky old guns that are hard to sell - I'll give you $500 for the lot of them" is what your heirs will hear from the gun shop they take them to. Yes, even if you keep an updated firearms log that's not going to much matter. So, before you get too old, reduce your own firearms collection to something manageable by an ordinary non-gun-nut person, if you care about getting your value out of them. Or, make lots of babies who will love your future gun collection!
My advice is don't try to get top dollar for any gun you are selling - price it to sell. Once in a while, if you have something rare that someone else just has to have, you can get top dollar, but that doesn't come along often. If I decide to sell one of my guns, I update my research then price it to sell and end up getting a price I'm perfectly happy with.
I don't subscribe to this. YOU are the best one to sell your own firearms. WHEN you die, and IF you still own valuable guns (not average run-of-the-mill guns), your wife, son or daughter are very likely to get ripped off BIG TIME! That old Luger, ugly 1st Gen SAA, Python, and old T-Series Hi-Power - "just a bunch of junky old guns that are hard to sell - I'll give you $500 for the lot of them" is what your heirs will hear from the gun shop they take them to. Yes, even if you keep an updated firearms log that's not going to much matter. So, before you get too old, reduce your own firearms collection to something manageable by an ordinary non-gun-nut person, if you care about getting your value out of them. Or, make lots of babies who will love your future gun collection!
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Ramey, have you considered using an auction site like Gun Broker or similar next time? I admit that I have lost my shirt more than once when dealing with a gun shop. High consignment fees, low ball trade value ( 30% - 50% of retail value), long waits to sell, or never sell,etc. It is convenient to deal with a LGS, but I started running out of shirts to lose. I finally decided to try this,new to me, thing called GunBroker. I have occasionally sold on GB and have always been satisfied with the result. Some things, that I was sure I would lose yet another shirt on, sold for enough to buy a few new shirts
The problem with a trade at a local shop is they have to sell for a profit with minimal effort, no marketing and quickly to be profitable.
For example, you buy a gun new on sale for $500. Normal price is $550.
You shoot it 100 times and bail on it because momma's bday is coming. Now they are $550 at the local shop. The local shop will guess they can sell for $480. They will offer you $275 - $330.
My experience says listing with a bad pic and no effort will sell it in 3-7 days for $450. Honestly, I take decent pics, clean up nice and list for $500. ...willing to take $450-$500 depending on timing. IME, it usually sells for $500 in 1-2 weeks. If you list below $350, expect some struggle. I would guess a gun discounted that much was damaged or stole and might not even call.
For example, you buy a gun new on sale for $500. Normal price is $550.
You shoot it 100 times and bail on it because momma's bday is coming. Now they are $550 at the local shop. The local shop will guess they can sell for $480. They will offer you $275 - $330.
My experience says listing with a bad pic and no effort will sell it in 3-7 days for $450. Honestly, I take decent pics, clean up nice and list for $500. ...willing to take $450-$500 depending on timing. IME, it usually sells for $500 in 1-2 weeks. If you list below $350, expect some struggle. I would guess a gun discounted that much was damaged or stole and might not even call.
g.willikers
New member
One of the guns shows I used to attend, operated by a gun rights group, had an optional consignment table for sellers.
For a 10% fee plus whatever donation the seller wanted to contribute, they would do a background check on the buyers and also a search on the stolen property data base on the gun.
Protection all around at very low cost.
Anyone not wanting this service were free to sell in the usual gun show manner.
For a 10% fee plus whatever donation the seller wanted to contribute, they would do a background check on the buyers and also a search on the stolen property data base on the gun.
Protection all around at very low cost.
Anyone not wanting this service were free to sell in the usual gun show manner.
If you list via an ad, be responsive if contacted. If asked a question, answer it the best you can. Tell the truth and when you sell the firearm, do it legally.
Case in point, this past week, I responded to a classified ad for a 50 year old rifle. More than fair price and seller did have pictures texted to me. Where seller fell short was answering questions about off center holes drilled & tapped on the barrel and the history of ownership. I passed on the purchase.
Case in point, this past week, I responded to a classified ad for a 50 year old rifle. More than fair price and seller did have pictures texted to me. Where seller fell short was answering questions about off center holes drilled & tapped on the barrel and the history of ownership. I passed on the purchase.