What the heck is up with used gun prices?

I guess person who bought that gun new (or even used) from their local dealer and got gouged wants close to what they paid for it when they sell it, not knowing the actual price they should have paid.

RobMoore said:

I guess person who bought that gun new (or even used) from their local dealer and got gouged wants close to what they paid for it when they sell it, not knowing the actual price they should have paid.

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i think this is it, idiots who walk into the rip off gun store in town and pay the $650 sticker price on a normal glock 17, never shoot it and then try to sell it for $550 6 months later. lol

It is probably a result of the panic and some people are trying to cash in (free market and all). As long as there are suckers out there paying the prices, we will continue seeing the prices. Just don't be a sucker!

I call it Haggle room. I figure these sellers KNOW if they are asking $360 for a handgun, you will offer them $300.

They can get $325 or so and make you feel like you got a deal. Like at a Gunshow.

Of course this can backfire too. I see an obviously overinflated price, I think the seller is a crook and don't even bother to inquire.

The gunbroker over inflated prices don't make much sense though. That's just gouging IMHO.

If they are selling for that price on GB then people are idiots. Make sure you see if they are bid on or not or go to the completed listings where you can see what the peeps acually paid. Just because someone is asking a price doesnt mean they are getting that money.

By the way when you refer to used guns I kind of think old out of production guns which are the only ones I ever look for anyway. Yes these are all selling for more than what they were new. They are hot items right now too becasue people are realizing that old generally is better anymore. No locks, no cheapening, hand fitting sometimes, nicer bluing, bluing period, nickel period, firing pins on hammers, better triggers, wood stocks, no MIM, or cast crap. On these guns the inflated prices may or may not be worth it to you but stuff that is no longer made will always be worth something to me.

I dont count Taurus 85s that have had 50 rounds through them to even be used guns.

Prices are all over the place in my area, which may be the same in your area. Yesterday I saw a brand-new Ruger Single Six for $299. Pretty good. Saw a very abused Single Six selling for $350. Huh?

At one Pawn Shop the other day, I saw a NIB jimenez 9mm for $350, a very worn Taurus 66 2.5" for $450 (cripes, it ain't a S&W 66), Mosin M44s for $399 each (should be $175 tops) and a Mosin 91/30 for $299 (normally under $100) . Then again, the same shop had a 4" stainless Ruger Security Six for $325. Who knows, guess that proves they don't smoke crack all day long , just most of of the time.

The worst I've seen was in January; a Russian SKS for $1,000!

On one hand it's a case of supply & demand. Also this, from a previous post makes a good point:

By the way when you refer to used guns I kind of think old out of production guns which are the only ones I ever look for anyway. Yes these are all selling for more than what they were new. They are hot items right now too becasue people are realizing that old generally is better anymore. No locks, no cheapening, hand fitting sometimes, nicer bluing, bluing period, nickel period, firing pins on hammers, better triggers, wood stocks, no MIM, or cast crap. On these guns the inflated prices may or may not be worth it to you but stuff that is no longer made will always be worth something to me.

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Older guns in mint condition often represent a better buy from a quality standpoint, then a new current one of the same or a similar model.

I agree with you, gun prices really are all over the darn place. The prices within one shop don't even make sense half the time, nevertheless over the entire market in a region. That just means, more than ever, that knowledge is power. One of the reasons I like forums like this one is the ability to gauge values, etc.
I think quite a bit of the time, when some civilian (and I mean a non-gun nut such as ourselves) buys a gun, it's just a knee jerk impulse buy. An overpriced Glock that will see the range twice a year the first year, and then never again.

Things are worth what someone will pay for them. The current panic has caused folks to pony up for guns the way they used to for houses. Now houses are losing 20% a year and guns have become exceedingly pricey. Depending on how the socialists act in the near-future the prices we now think are exhorbitant on guns may skyrocket.........especially on those sold "person to person" w/out STATE paperwork! If the right to exchange personal property w/out STATE control is suspended then all bets are off!
Hell, we may soon see houses traded "even up" for jennings handguns.

Prices are high, new gun prices are set mostly by the
Distributor, who charges way more now than before. One
MFG in paticular, is S&W.
When they put locks on their guns, the pre-locks value doubled,
and S&W then adopted that price for the NIB guns.

That caused a $150 NIB Taurus 85 to double, etc, etc.

I do agree some dealers really stick you deep, some try to stay
afloat making VERY little profit, hoping to make their way with
more volume, which, is hard because buyers think the dealer is still
too high.

Prices have gone up some. I usually order from a buddy who is a gunsmith and yes the prices have increased. But the biggest local shop in the area has marked their guns up about 200 bucks of suggested retail. Ammo along with it. Consequently, they have just about lost my business.

Alot of New gun models are difficult to get right now.
It's getting better but Supply and demand apply's.

What the heck is up with used gun prices?

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You can thank all the great Americans who voted for Obama because they didn't bother to listed to what he said during the campaign.

When I research a price for a firearm in Gunbroker I ignore the current asking prices and check prices on ended auctions for the last 30, 60, and 90 days. It seems that the actual selling prices on a lot of firearms are going down from 90 days ago or they are not drawing bids for the high starting bids. I had thought of selling a couple firearms but when I saw the decreasing prices they were bringing changed my mind. A local dealer who runs some of his consignment guns on Gunbroker told me he saw the same trend. With the economy continueing to slow I think there will be a lot of guns coming back for sale and if you paid too much in a GOT TO HAVE IT moment, as I have sometimes done, you might be in for a loss if you need to sell.

Guns will hold there value if maintained, I have sold a few handguns and a few rifles for 25 - 50 dollars less than what what I paid for them, I don't think the folks that bought my handguns felt like they were getting ripped off, otherwise they wouldn't bought them.

Guns don't depreciate like everything else does right now....my key words being right now...I keep all my firearms in perfect condition and when it comes time to sell them sell for at least 90% or new street sell prices. But let me ask a question, if the market dictated that a 1999 Chevy truck is selling for, Ill just throw a number out there for discussion, $15,000.00, why would one sell it for less say 10K if the market dictated it sell for 15K in the showroom cndition it is in? It doesn't. That is also why one can sell an AR for more than thry bought it for if they bought it 5 years ago.....and if they bought it 2 years ago it'll sell for more than it cost them then. Same with pretty much any used firearm bought a couple years ago in a cal like 9mm, .45acp, or .40....

You can thank all the great Americans who voted for Obama

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I'm not a fan of his, but how does this relate to the used gun market?

The used gun pricing was overinflated prior to Obama ever being in politics.

There is a great deal of fear that the present administration will force gun "control" measures and ammo taxes upon us. Thus the tremendous shortage of primers, powder, and some firearms. While the firearm shortage seems to have eased a bit the primer shortage does not appear to have subsided as supplies come into stock and are immediately sold out in a matter of hours at many large dealers. This fear in the market place is largely due to the public perception that the current administration is anti 2nd ammendment IMHO. Take it for what it's worth......YMMV.

Saw the same thing at my buddy's Dad's pawnshop. I dropped in, hadn't for a couple months, to drop off some business cards for my NRA pistol courses(certified pistol instructor)(I give the father $10 for every customer he sends my way which is about ten to fifteen each month). The father has always had good prices, at least he used to. He's had stuff I wish I picked up but didn't because I usually got a different gun cheaper than I could ordinarily get it for. I wanted a GP100 6" he had at one point for $300 but I got a Ruger Redhawk 4" .44 Magnum for $300 off a personal friend(he also tossed in a couple hundred rounds) etc. etc..

I went in and I burst out laughing. Colt 1911s going for $599, a Colt 1908 .25 ACP for $450, 1st gen Glock 17 for 459.99 and so on and so on.

I'm not a fan of his, but how does this relate to the used gun market?

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Are you serious? I'm not going to argue the point because these threads always turn out bad. I will say that every gun shop I visit has been out of guns for many months now and it all started when Obama was elected. When anything, including guns are is short supply the prices go up.

Starting last October/November gun sales went through the roof, people bought guns at 1 1/2, 2x, sometimes even more, of their regular value. They Paid $1200 for a $700 gun. Now they might not want it anymore, and are selling it for $1000. Prices are on their way down, give it another 6 months.

Things are worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for them. Not one dime less..not one dime more. It doesn't matter what Gunbroker, or the blue book, or your buddy at the gun club says. They're just guidelines.

If someone puts a $1000.00 price tag on an SKS, it means that person thinks THAT SKS is worth that much. Rather you agree or not is up to you.

I just picked up a M57 no dash on GB for $450. Considering the prices today, a steal. Included was a SD Myers holster. The pistol is hardly fired but a lot of holster wear blueing worn off. Carried quite a bit but fired very little.

I was shocked when I won that thing for that price. I had been watching the same guns selling in the $600-$700 range.

There are a lot of good points in this thread but one angle that has not been addressed are the people who don't want any "paper" on their guns, especially with the current administration.

I am not talking about criminals, I'm talking about honest, hard working people that do not want to buy a gun today and next year have someone from ACORN knock on their door looking for it.

I know people who do not want to buy a gun from a dealer for this reason. They will pay a bit of a premium to for this... there's also no sales tax on a private transaction.