Suggestions on Downsizing Collection

Waveski said:

Your timing is pretty good.

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True.

It’s very much a seller's market.

I sold two guns recently for more than what I paid.

That’s never happened to me before.

Join a local gun forum, participate a while and get to know some of the members, or at least get to know “their character” from their posts.
I’ve sold quite a few that way.
Rent a table at a local gun show.
I’m not a youngster any more and my wife keeps telling me to not leave all those guns for her to dispose of. Gonna be tough to get rid of them plus there’s the question “what if the gun supply becomes very limited or nearly impossible to buy”? (I’m talking lots worse than the current situation)

Well , that’s pretty simple , either
A) predetermine what you need to feel adequately armed and designate those items as”not for sale”
B) Don’t sell anything you feel you might want to replace later.

“B” really goes without saying.
You sound like someone who is not comfortable with parting with your stuff.

welldoya said:

Gonna be tough to get rid of them plus there’s the question “what if the gun supply becomes very limited or nearly impossible to buy”? (I’m talking lots worse than the current situation)

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I guess the question is, “how many guns do you really need?” I have a friend that has two safes full. Some probably haven’t seen daylight in fifteen years.

I cut back to one .22, one big game rifle, couple varmint rifles. One shotgun. Some hand guns. They’ll do anything I’ll ever do again.

A lot of guys simply won’t face reality and let go. Time marches forward, not backward

I have a bunch of reloading stuff I haven’t used in five years. Keep thinking I’m going to get set up again some day, but never have. Might just give it all to my son’s friend. Already gave away probably $5,000 of fishing gear. Probably 1/3rd of the lures were in the original packaging, which shows how much they got used

Less stuff to move, store, or stumble over

32 Scadoo said:

I probably don't "need" any of them. I rarely shoot any of them. I just like "having" them. I like to look at them, hold them, and read about the history of the various models and calibers. I like the precision and intricacy of the actions. When I hold a handgun in my hand that someone used in a war or in police work a hundred years ago, it is somehow gratifying. When someone asks me why I would want guns if I rarely shoot them, to me it's like asking a stamp collector why he doesn't use his stamp collection to mail letters.

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I think the same way, and have used the stamp collector analogy myself at times when I hear people talking about "guns are just tools." For some of us, there are more to guns (or retired race cars, or machinery and equipment of other types) than the "just a tool" aspect. For others, there isn't more than that. Hopefully, those people find the same type of enjoyment and satisfaction in their lives some other way.

There are those of us who use the proceeds from gun sales to purchase new guns – the number in the overall collection remains about the same.

jdc1244 said:

There are those of us who use the proceeds from gun sales to purchase new guns – the number in the overall collection remains about the same.

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I subscribe to the never sell only buy logic with a carve out for this.

arsterling180 said:

I subscribe to the never sell only buy logic.

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Same here. I sold a few about 20 years ago and the regret still hurts, so I swore, never again. I try to be selective enough in my purchases that I'll never have the slightest desire to part with it later.

I'm almost at the same point as the OP; both my kids are daughters, and while I have taken them to the range and they know gun safety and actually shot amazingly well, they have no real interest in my collection. What I have done, is to put my collection in trust, with a much younger first cousin as trustee. He is definitely a "gun guy", highly ranked IDPA shooter and long range shooter, and knows the value of my guns. As trustee, he will receive the collection when I pass, with the condition that he can shoot any of them he wants with only a couple of exceptions, and treat them as his own. If at any time my daughters decide they want one or multiple guns from the collection, they get them, no questions. If he ever sells one, they have to be notified first and have the last word on the sale. They also get the proceeds from any sale. That was the best I could come up with to make sure my collection (or more accurately, 'accumulation') was properly cared for after my demise.

My next best plan was to have the whole lot dumped in the casket with me. I might need them where I was going.

Expounding on ones' personal "Never Sell" philosophy is not helpful to a person who started a thread to solicit information and advice on good , practical ways to market his firearms.

32 Scadoo said:

I am approaching the age when I need to think about disposing of guns I don't plan to pass on to family members, etc.

I have a collection consisting of approximately 60% handguns and 40% rifles, ranging from pre-WWI to modern, and calibers from .22 to 460 Weatherby and 500 S&W.

Any suggestions as to how I might downsize with minimal financial loss and minimal red tape would be very much appreciated. I live in Maryland.

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About 3 years ago I began downsizing.
Step one was to begin giving guns to heirs so they can enjoy them now.
Step two was identifying where I had duplicates and determine which were to be deleted.
Step three was to identify who would get what after I pass.
Now that I've been downsizing I can tell you about a few regrets but that's "spilt milk"! This list will make your head explode!

In the mean time, I've also retired from competitive shooting due to arthritis in my neck. Some are purpose built customs and are also being sold. Don't expect to make money on customs!

I've also changed direction in my shooting and I'm building AR's! And enjoying some some bench rest long range hole punching.

Smiles,

jdc1244 said:

There are those of us who use the proceeds from gun sales to purchase new guns – the number in the overall collection remains about the same.

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Or the number goes down but the overall quality goes up.

It’s not that I NEED all those guns, I just LIKE them. I’ve been pretty selective over the years and most are guns you don’t see for sale very often.
My son was really into guns and they were all going to him but he passed away 6 years ago.
My son-in-law shoots with me occasionally but he’s not really a gun guy.
I have a couple of nephews that like guns but they don’t take very good care of their things.
I imagine as time goes on, I’ll hand out a couple, give my son-in-law 8 or 10 of the ones that mean the most to me, that I’ve had forever ,and sell the rest.

bangswitch said:

so I swore, never again.

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And I tend to agree with this – but there are some circumstances that warrant a sale.

My most recent sale was a gun I bought partially on impulse, partially out of curiosity.

A classic and iconic firearm, I knew it would retain its value; I made myself familiar with the firearm, put less than 50 rounds through it, and my curiosity satisfied, put it away.

As a result of the current nonsense, the firearm became unavailable at any price; taking advantage of this seller’s market, I sold it for a respectable profit.

The sale prior to that was the result of a change in my state’s law that rendered the gun useless to me; unable to use the gun for its intended purpose – and being unavailable at any price – I likewise sole it for a respectable profit.

I would use local gun classifieds and Armslist. Never meet at your home. I usually meet at a local gun shop for transactions even though in my state it's not needed. You can figure out how much they are roughly worth on gunbroker.

I chose to use a local auction company that I have dealt with before. The owner has a good reputation and regularly holds estate and firearms auctions. The advantage of an auction, I will get the money in one lump sum shortly after the sale. The auction guy will do ammunition, primers, accessories, holsters, etc. With consignment at an LGS, sales could string out for months as I have some unique items with a limited customer base. I could list locally but don't want people coming to the house or dealing with a meetup elsewhere. Also don't want to deal with shipping if I sell here or on Gunbroker.

These threads seem to appear fairly frequently, and they have convinced me to keep my firearms limited to a pretty small amount.

To the OP, consignment is the easiest method if not the one that's going to yield the most money. Then again, you may find that the time you save is well worth whatever extra money you would have gotten selling them one by one over Armslist or something.

I have bought guns in Gun broker, Armslist, even Fascist Book and Craigslist (back in the day)
I have bought it Estate sale and Estate Auctions.
I have bought consignments.

They all work. At is a decision of what you want. Max money? Shortest time? Least involvement / work?

Mine? All are listed in a book, make model description, accessories, what I paid for it, what it is worth (updated yearly, between Christmas and New Year) and which grandkids it is to go to.
This is based on my time spent shooting with them. A particular one they stated they wanted, at is theirs.
I got OLDER, they get older, I will pass them on, so I can see their excitement. IF, my demise happens suddenly, the list is the final word.

Wife knows of the book and my wishes.

I am not interested in the monetary worth. They are not sale. I have sold or traded very few.
Each model was bought because it was wanted by for a specific purpose. They are now heirlooms. Exactly as I meant them to be.

At least 1 dove hunt, each year, is made with Papa's gun. Hopefully, they will do the same.

The easiest to dump and at the best price, at least in my experience, was Gunbroker. For all it's warts and wrinkles, it does work well enough to move items.

Local shops are another option, but here, they are many degrees worse than worthless, and staffed by mouth-breathers. Your area, however, may be completely different and it is worth looking into.

Good luck!

It depends on which you value more: money or peace-of-mind. If it's the first one, list them yourself on Gunbroker. If it's the second, go though an auction house. I had a friend who liquidated his small but overstocked gun shop that way when he decided to get out of the retail gun business. That was in a buyer's market and he about broke even on his investment. It's a seller's market now, so you should come out happy, and as others have said, it's all over quickly.

Another way to go about it would be to advertise your firearms on forums and make arrangements to meet at a scheduled gun show to complete the sale.
Be sure to state in the ad that you are willing to attend the gun show so that a potential buyer may inspect the item before purchasing.
Many people wisely want to look at a used firearm before spending the money. The option of inspection before spending eases a lot of worries.
The last time I sold firearms in this manner I sold a couple of S&W revolvers the same morning. Both buyers were extremely happy with what they bought, and I had a wad of cash (to buy more firearms with)

. Edit to add, if you live in a free state where person to person gun sales do not require FFL you're good to go.. in any state where that is not permitted FFLs will be available at the show

I would never sell my guns at a local auction. I’ve been to half a dozen in the last 5 years and none of the guns brought what they should have.
The son of the deceased was at one auction and he stopped it after 30 minutes because the bids were so low.
Kinda rubbed me the wrong way because I had driven 45 minutes but I did buy a small cardboard box full of ammo for about $8 before the auction was ended.

Firearm value note!
When you are selling a firearm the hardest thing to do is placing a value on your own guns. Most people over value their firearms. If you are looking to buy a gun it is human nature to look for the cheapest price for what they want.
You can win on collectable unique firearms but that market is small.
An example is DU firearms - they are only worth what the model of firearm is worth. DU collectors may pay a little bit more for a DU gun.

I think that for some fills DU or some other graphic decoration of that nature would actually be a detriment to value.
I have absolutely nothing against conservation groups , but to me the cosmetic clutter is unattractive.

You can either minimize financial loss or minimize red tape. Not both.

Go on GunBroker, check completed auctions for the same item in similar condition. This will give you an idea of the value. If you consign, expect the dealer will give you no more than 80% of that. Provided it sells. It sounds like the OP has some items that won't be of interest to the LGS clientele...I'd put those on GunBroker unless the value of an item was expected to top $10K. Really high-dollar guns would go to a high-end firearms auction house.