Valuations in Std Catalog of S&W

F

FLChinook

New member
I have come to rely on the latest revision of Supica & Nahas excellent book, Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, and recommend it without reservation to anyone with even a modest interest in Smith & Wesson revolvers.

However, the valuations given in this book seem woefully below what guns are going for on GunBroker.com. For example, SCSW gives the following values for a Model 17 (1957-89): ANIB $600, Exc $475, VG 350, ...

Of course, this covers a range of "dashes" and years and I would think older versions (dashes) in similar condition would have higher values than newer versions. Yet, any model 17 worth its salt on GB now is going for over $700.

Do I completely disregard SCSW valuations completely?
 
The latest edition is from 2006. Prices have changed allot in the last 7 years.
Click to expand...

Yes, I appreciate that. Since I've only had the book for a few months, I lost sight of those pesky "sands of time" that keep pouring from the top of the hour glass to the bottom :eek:

Is there another (reliable) source for values that gets updated more frequently?

Or is there a factor we an apply to the 2006 values, say x1.5 or x2 or times 3? My experience lately as been about x2... :confused:

Are GB selling prices a good measure of the overall market or are they higher or lower (excluding the occasional and very wistful finding of a mint-condition Registered Magnum lying in the back of a dust-filled gun shop with a price tag of $495)...?
 
I use gun broker to figure prices , If you are signed up with them you can use the advanced feature and veiw completed auctions and see what things are actually selling for . I often see guns on there for extended time periods because they are over priced so you can't judge by the asking price
 
Even the annual blue book values cannot up keep with the market. Different locals have higher or lower pricing. Guns in California, for example, generally run higher than elsewhere.
Recently completed auctions give the best indicator of market value IMO.

Jim
 
The blue book is just about worthless for gun prices. You have to know your actual market, and books are not the way, gun shows, auctions etc are the way. But if you sell online, everything is different. Gun values are pretty tricky.
 
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