Selling off collection-Best way to do it?

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boylen33

Inactive
Hi all,
My father (and I), as a hobby, used to collect guns in the late 1980's through very early 90's. During that time period, we acquired approximately 80 rifles and shotguns. (Only one pistol- a Colt 45 Golden Spike Commemorative revolver-new in box).

I was young at the time, so when I saw "we", I say it sentimentally-- of course he footed the bill. He has SEVERAL thousands of dollars invested in these guns. We have decided to start selling them off.

What is the best way to go about this? 85% of them are antique, ranging from the late 1800's to WW2, as well as about 15 or so 1980's Winchester commemorative models, new in box. We, of course, have a few late model ('80s) Winchester, Remington, and Browning rifles and shotguns that we still use and will keep and use for recreational/hunting purposes.

What is the best way to go about selling these? Are prominent, large shows the way to go? What are the requirements (as far as licenses and permits) needed to sell at shows?

Or should we simply try an auction site?

Thanks so much guys!
 
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IMO, you're more likely to get top dollar on an auction site.

If you go to a gun show, then depending on your state, you're liable only for those rules that would apply to any other private party sale. In MO, you'd be able to get your own table, set up shop, and the rules would be no different than if you sold them out of your garage. The thing is, you're depending on the show having people willing to pay what you'd like to get; I'm sure you could sell some of them, but depending on what exact guns you try to sell, you might end up taking some home because the right buyer didn't come. You also have to sit there and man the table.

With something like Gunbroker or Guns America, you just put them up there with pictures and let 'er rip. Then you only need to ship them.
 
For those that are truly antique, getting certified appraisals might be in order

There are also companies like James Julia

http://jamesdjulia.com/

They are auction houses that sell one or two to whole collections

You might see what they have to say
 
Maybe you are familiar with this already, but I just thought I'd mention that antiques, as defined in federal law (in other words pre-1899) , are not regulated the way other firearms are. You can sell send them directly to people by mail or courier, as long as state law allows it.

Have a look at the way this guy is doing it - he is selling off a private collection of Mosin Nagant rifles. I bought one of these and had him ship it directly to me.

Then, for most rifles that are not antiques but are more than 50 years old, you can send them directly to private persons who have a C & R license, if they send you a signed copy of the license.

So maybe setting up a website like the one above might prove worthwhile.

(But please check all the relevant laws and don't take my word for it as I may have got some details wrong)
 
Regarding a couple of divil's points, I think it's important for you to understand what a Curio & Relic (C&R) firearm is, and to realize that an "Antique", to an American collector, has a very specific legal meaning.

An antique is one of three things:
  • Any firearm made before January 1, 1899, or
  • A replica of a firearm made before January 1, 1899 that doesn't accept commonly available centerfire or rimfire cartridge ammunition, or
  • A black powder muzzleloader.
Antiques can be bought and sold across state lines by anybody, without any kind of special permit or license. Legally, they're treated just like a hammer, a camera, or an electric motor- ordinary non-restricted mechanical stuff. :)

A Curio & Relic is also one of three things:
  • Any firearm more than 50 years old as of today (the date is dynamic, unlike the "Antique" cutoff which is legally fixed at 1/1/1899 ), or
  • Any firearm specifically listed in the ATF C&R list, or
  • A firearm that has a specific historical association with a notable person or event.
The ATF C&R list includes most military firearms, although replicas and commercial lookalikes are generally excluded. The list also includes some, but not all, recently-manufactured special commemorative editions. The final C&R category is generally reserved for museum-class historical artifacts that most ordinary collectors will never deal with.

C&R licensees can legally buy C&R firearms from and sell C&R long guns (but not handguns!) to unlicensed individuals across state lines. The license is intended for ordinary private individuals rather than businesses, and it only costs $30 for 3 years, but it usually takes a month or two of processing time to obtain one. Given your goal, IMHO it would be a good idea for you to look into getting one.
 
An auction site will probably bring the best dollar. Having said that I would like to add the following....

My father passed on 25 years ago. As I grew up we did a lot of hunting and shooting together. I was able to acquire about half of his 15 to 20 firearms when he died. None were high dollar items. I also have my great-grandfather's Winchester 1892, because I specifically asked my dad for it before he died. I am now 51 years old. I wish I had every single one of the firearms that were my dad's, not for value, but for memories. Be very certain you really want to let go of your collection. Once it is gone, it is gone. His old firearms are really the only family heirlooms that I have. They have very strong and good memories tied to them.

I am not saying that you are doing the wrong thing by wanting to sell off your collection, because everyone is different, especially about what items are worth keeping. My suggestion is that if it is just a gun, let it go. If it is a memory, keep it.
 
If I was to sell a large collection I would first contact all family members and ask if anybody wanted to buy anything.

From there I would contact a auction company that has in the past, sold large gun collections, and knows how to advertise. See what that company charges as I would assume it's a percentage of the total sale gross.

Compare that with a site like Gunbroker which also charges a percentage of the gross sale price. With this option you also have to take the time to take pictures, write up descriptions, answer questions, handle the shipping or pay someone to handle it, and also handle all the forms of payment.

I have sold on Gunbroker and I like it a lot. At most I might have had 3-4 things on there at the same time. Even with that low number, it takes considerable time to manage those.

If I were to want to sell everything, I would have to decide how much time I wanted to invest in the process and how the costs associated with a one time auction or a Gunbroker type auction compare.
 
I would get that many bona fide antiques to a real auction house.
Gun shows would be very slow and you would have to have a lot of detailed knowledge about each and every gun to get a good price on it.
WWW auction sites will sell but are labor intensive. Can you take GOOD pictures, for example?

Don't expect a lot of money out of the commemoratives, though.
 
Thanks for all the helpful info guys.

As for wanting to sell them, my father and i have both discussed that, and at this point in time, they are more or less just taking up space. They've been in a gun safe for years and are rarely looked at or admired, other than regular maintenance. He is at the age where he really wants a beach house on the coast, and these guns would go a long way towards that.

As for taking good pictures, I have a 16 megapixel Canon that is just a step below a DSLR. In fact, my sister-in-law, who is in school for photography, often uses it as a backup camera to shoot weddings. It takes very good pictures.

As for the commemoratives, I know they don't bring too much. Just looking on Gunbroker, most of them are in the $500-$700 range, with a couple exceptions, such as the Boy Scouts of America commemorative we have. We have the matching sealed box of ammo that goes with it- in mint condition-, which I've seen goes on Gunbroker for $150-$200. The gun itself seems to have sold for $1,000 and up. The other commemoratives are ones such as John Wayne, Ducks Unlimited, etc, all circa 1985.

But most of these guns I know very little about, which is why I think getting them appraised by someone qualified is the first step.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
I might add that this is a bad time to be selling guns. The economy is tight, money is tight, and the holidays are coming up. Then there's income tax season.

If it were me and I wasn't in any real hurry, I'd at least wait till people get their tax returns back.
 
I might contend that it is a bad time to be selling collector guns, and/or antiques in general. Modern, "tactical" style guns seem to be selling just fine. But you are correct, it's a lack of disposable income.
 
Guns at reasonable prices last no more than a day or two on local for sale sites.

Just ensure that each person that buys is a lawful buyer with an ID check and maybe even a bill of sale to CYA.
 
Rock Island Auction. i'vr attended several auctions at RIA. they are very ethical and reputable, and their auctions bring top dollar fairly consistantly.
 
I might contend that it is a bad time to be selling collector guns, and/or antiques in general. Modern, "tactical" style guns seem to be selling just fine.
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I contend the opposite.

People are looking for things that will hold value. Collector guns and antiques will do that because they aren't being made any more.

My observation locally is that values of "tactical" guns are being depressed by the after-effects of the 2009 post-election buying craze. Several of my LGS's are still overstocked, and many private owners have realized that they need cash more than they need AR uppers in six different chamberings, several of which they never use and only purchased because they were anticipating another AWB. :rolleyes:
 
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