Shocking raise in the value of some guns
- Thread starter wdelack
- Start date
As so many have suggested, supply and demand are a large part of the reason. For many the economy is better than it has been in sometime, and they have money to spend on toys.What's more macho and cool than a big bore handgun? There are only two companies making quality D/A revolvers in the States Ruger and Smith and Wesson. Sadly S&W's quality control has been iffy of late, so folks who want a classic American made revolver are willing to spend the money for a classic out of production revolver.
The biggest price jumps I've seen are in the Tanfoglio line. Given the fact that these guns are produced in Italy and the euro-dollar exchange rate should be favorable to the US, these things have seen some pretty hefty price increases. I still think they are a decent value, but they seem to be going more high-end with the Witness line.
Limnophile
New member
The inflation rate is far greater than what the gubmint reports it to be: http://www.shadowstats.com/imgs/charts/alt-cpi-home2.gif?hl=ad&t=1432306147.
The "official" inflation rate is an outright fraud. Not only does it make the politicians look better to the uninformed but they base government benefits on it. They are saying that prices are flat or slightly declining. I don't find that true with anything I buy and my Social Security check stays the same or even drops a little as they increase the price I am forced to pay for Medicare.
Model12Win
Moderator
As soon as the 1955 P is released, I imagine the prices on Colt Pythons will drop, if not by too much.
Model12Win
Moderator
That would be the walking dead. 
Independent George
New member
If it's because of Walking Dead... then yeah, sell high now. They'll always be expensive because supply is finite, but people will eventually move on to the next fad.
kilimanjaro
New member
Try and find a nice S&W Model 36 with a 3" barrel, you'll see fifty snubbies before you find one. Yet the price is the same.
The demand part of the price curve is the issue. All it takes is fifty collectors to buy up every example of something they see for six months, creating the shortage at the leading edge of the bubble. By the time we get in, the price is fixed.
Look at the rimfire ammo bubble. Ten guys could buy up most of the ammo in your city or county, then it starts.
The demand part of the price curve is the issue. All it takes is fifty collectors to buy up every example of something they see for six months, creating the shortage at the leading edge of the bubble. By the time we get in, the price is fixed.
Look at the rimfire ammo bubble. Ten guys could buy up most of the ammo in your city or county, then it starts.
22-rimfire
New member
The 50 collector comment..... true on uncommon guns. But they were already uncommon. When collectors buy guns, they typically hold onto them for years. I have stuff I purchased 20 years ago that I am only now even considering the possibility of finding a suitable buyer and that is only because I am getting older and not really adding to my collection/accumulation to any significant degree. Still interested, but not totally into the "got to have that one" kind of mind set any more.
The gun market is finicky. A couple of years ago, a blued 2.5" Colt Diamondback 22 (as new) sold for about $4200. Now people claim they are only worth about $3000. They didn't make any more of them. But the price or value has gone down. Supply and availability are limited. In the case of this particular gun, I think it is a matter of knowledge on production which only a few have. If you know, you probably won't sell for 3K when you look at other DA Colt prices.
If 50 collectors bought them, the price would go up.... or would it? You don't really see 50 of these guns for sale in a year.
The gun market is finicky. A couple of years ago, a blued 2.5" Colt Diamondback 22 (as new) sold for about $4200. Now people claim they are only worth about $3000. They didn't make any more of them. But the price or value has gone down. Supply and availability are limited. In the case of this particular gun, I think it is a matter of knowledge on production which only a few have. If you know, you probably won't sell for 3K when you look at other DA Colt prices.
If 50 collectors bought them, the price would go up.... or would it? You don't really see 50 of these guns for sale in a year.
I think that should clear everything up for the case of those models, then.
Generally the word 'rare' and 'high value' go together, unless maybe you're talking about pork sausage.
In the context of driving the price of something, 'rare' might not be strictly limited to 'very few were manufactured', but extends to mean 'rarely seen offered for sale'. The practical meaning is the same: if finding one for sale is nearly impossible, then it doesn't matter if 5 were made or 5 million--it's still rare as far as practical impact on the transaction.
I wouldn't say Colt Pythons are 'everywhere', either. On gunbroker, last time I searched, there were something like 150 Smith & Wesson revolvers that met my criteria, and about 6 Pythons total. When I searched gunsamerica, I think there was a single Python available there. This is within the past 3 months or so.
I checked out gun brokers. Com and a fellow was asking 2200$ for a 2012 Remington 700 5r Mil Spec 308 10th Anniversary edition!!! I bought mine new in 2012 for 1200 Canadian dollars!!!! IF he gets what he wants I'll be happy!!! last year I bought a coonan 357 automatic pistol for 1300 canadian turns out this year same store the aluminum grip model is 2800 Canadian!!!! 2010 I bought a Ruger Mark lll hunter stainless 4.5 inch dealer exclusive for 600 Canadian this year I was offered 800 for it after 10s of thousands of rounds went through it!!! Not bad I didn't know about the price increases at the time but I'm starting to get it and look for deals!!! Right now I got a Ruger 10/22 limited edition dealer exclusive only 500 in existence turkish walnut stock 50th anniversary talo unfired in my safe I'm curious if there are any serious ruger collectors who's collection couldn't be complete without it!!
Magnum Wheel Man
New member
I'll tell you exactly...
just like classic cars... they are at premium value, when those that apprciate them the most ( guys drove "those" in high school, or their friend had one & they were always jelous ) are at retirement age... as those guys die off, there are always younger guys that find them cool, so the value never totally goes away... but you can watch the price wave rise, peak, then fall & gradulaly level off... look at cars in decades, it makes it easier to see what I'm talking about...
I'm sure pretty much all guns will do the same... in cases with artifical interest... like Walking Dead guns things will taper off after the shows interest fades, but there will still be a few that find them cool, so the price will level off somewhere...
just like classic cars... they are at premium value, when those that apprciate them the most ( guys drove "those" in high school, or their friend had one & they were always jelous ) are at retirement age... as those guys die off, there are always younger guys that find them cool, so the value never totally goes away... but you can watch the price wave rise, peak, then fall & gradulaly level off... look at cars in decades, it makes it easier to see what I'm talking about...
I'm sure pretty much all guns will do the same... in cases with artifical interest... like Walking Dead guns
things will taper off after the shows interest fades, but there will still be a few that find them cool, so the price will level off somewhere...Look what happened to the price (different in my eyes from value) of milsurp guns from WWII.
It started with the 50th anniversary, and got a big boost from "Saving Private Ryan", and "Band of Brothers", etc.
A GI 1911A1 that was a $30 gun in the late 50s was a $300 gun in the 80s but became an $800 gun 20 years later, and today they are what, $1100? $1500??
Dirty Harry turned the M29 & .44 Mag into a mainstream demand, and at one time the price for a gun "in hand" was near double the MSRP.
its about demand. Popular movies and TV shows DO have an impact on the demand. When the next big cinema hero uses a unique gun (something other than a "BLock") particularly a rare gun, demand soars, and prices jump.
The Auto Mag was out of production, and had crept up to about $1000 before Dirty Harry used one in Sudden Impact (and that gun was custom built for the movie). Almost overnight (meaning within a few weeks/months) after that movie, the price jumped from $1000 to $1500, for the few guns you could find for sale. No change to anything except the demand, and the price.
Its all about what the buying public wants, today. Tomorrow, could be much different.
It started with the 50th anniversary, and got a big boost from "Saving Private Ryan", and "Band of Brothers", etc.
A GI 1911A1 that was a $30 gun in the late 50s was a $300 gun in the 80s but became an $800 gun 20 years later, and today they are what, $1100? $1500??
Dirty Harry turned the M29 & .44 Mag into a mainstream demand, and at one time the price for a gun "in hand" was near double the MSRP.
its about demand. Popular movies and TV shows DO have an impact on the demand. When the next big cinema hero uses a unique gun (something other than a "BLock") particularly a rare gun, demand soars, and prices jump.
The Auto Mag was out of production, and had crept up to about $1000 before Dirty Harry used one in Sudden Impact (and that gun was custom built for the movie). Almost overnight (meaning within a few weeks/months) after that movie, the price jumped from $1000 to $1500, for the few guns you could find for sale. No change to anything except the demand, and the price.
Its all about what the buying public wants, today. Tomorrow, could be much different.