Would you overpay for a rare weapon?

Regardless of rareity "fair market value" is determined by the willingness of the Buyer to plunk down a quantityof money and the willingness of the Seller to part with the item for that amount of cash. Overpaying happens with art and other collectables all the time. It was happening with real estate for a while. The founder of Papa John's pizza paid a crazy amount of money to re-purchase his boyhood Z-28 Camaro.

I would pay well above the average market value if I could buy back the heirloom Winchester Model 1890 .22 short only rifle that was stolen while being stored with a trusted friend during my divorce wrangling. On the flip side, I am not willing to pay current market value for a similar firearm, it just doesn't hold the same significance to me.

I guess it would depend on how bad I wanted it. I wanted a Colt Python for 30 years but could never seem to come up with the $$. Several years ago I found a like NIB 6" blue Snake for $750.00. This was a little over what I'd seen other Pythons for but ,since it was in such good shape,I bit the bullet and paid up. This gun has given me several years of great fun so, if I wanted something else, I'd probably buy it at a slightly inflated price.

Would you overpay for a rare weapon?
Say there is a rare gun you have wanted for a long time. (think years) You finally found one available at a steep price.

Do you just suck it up? Continue to search?
What would be your cut off point above "normal" when they do pop up? 100-500.00? 500-1000.00? 1000-2000.00? more? less?

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No such thing is overpay for a rarity!

obviously it would depend on what I wanted it for

I wouldn't pay more for something rare just to have it, I might pay more for it if I had a specific use in mind and had a need for it.

Have you been talking to my wife??

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not likely
mine decides she needs a new gun pretty often, and doesn't bother me about mine except to remind me that I don't want to be stocking any new calibers.

About six or eight years ago or so my uncle mentioned that he was looking for a plain old Remington Nylon 76. I found a very nice one on line and bid it up to $450 when $350 would have been closer to what they'd been going for. But I wanted a nice one to give him, and I wanted it right then.

Fwiw, now I see the nice ones listed with asking prices of $800 to $1250.

John

Not going to say where I would put the cutoff at, but (YES) if it is cool with the wife & I have the money...............

Only the top bidder knows the answer to that one.

Usually not an issue as I am not a serious collector seeking rare guns. But a couple of times I wanted something badly enough to pay more than I wanted. But only a couple of times. Generally I have no problem just walking away.

2002 I paid $500 for a Mauser Broomhandle with a worn-out bore, just because I always wanted one. I inspected the gun several times at the shop before buying it. The action proved to be sound. I bought a new Wolffsprings spring set (hammer and recoil springs) to remove concerns about battering the bolt stop and replaced the oil soaked stocks and rusted grip screw. Accuracy with factory 7.63mm Mauser ammo was abysmal. I used it as a single shot in the local black powder cartridge slow fire pistol match (only requirement that ammo be loaded with BP or BP substitute) with a load of Pyrodex P, over powder card, bore butter and 00 (.32") buckshot with reasonable accuracy. Then I tried .32 revolver bullets (JHP, 90gr, .312" 7.92mm) with Triple Se7en, which functioned semi-automaticly and got results at 25 yards offhand like this:

At the time, Chinese imported Mauser Broomhandles were advertised at $300 to $400, so did I knowingly overpay by $100-200? Maybe. In the past ten years have I had at least $150 of fun with an antique gun I otherwise may never have owned? Definite yes.

It's no different than anything else. If you are a collector of certain things and know item "X" is rare, you'll be willing to pay more for "X" than the next best thing. You'll also be even more willing to pay for an example in good condition.

For me, a car is merely transportation. To a collector, some cars are worth a premium. Same thing. To some people, a rifle is just a way to whack Bambi or puch holes in paper. My collection, though, proves that some are worth the money to certain buyers.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with either view. It either interests you enough or it doesn't.

There times where market price is a moot point and the desire of the buyer takes over. Want it bad enough and the "fair market price" has no real meaning. The strength of that desire is what dictates how far you go. Personally, never been in that situation yet (close but it wasn't what I thought). Have instead been fortunate to be on the other side of this and gotten VERY good deals on what I'd really wanted.

Define overpay? Several years ago I found a 5" Ruger that was selling for about $100 more than the more common 4" an 6" versions were selling for. I guess you could say I overpaid for a rarer version, but I later sold it for a profit so it could
Be argued that I underpaid or that my buyer also overpaid. N

Up to a point. I would, and have paid a little more than a gun was actually worth, but I'm not going to pay $2000 for a $500 gun just because I want it. I might pay $700 for a gun if I want it bad enough even though its true value might be closer to $500.

Yes. But it depends on what "overpay" means. $100 or $500.... or better yet, if I think in %; Yes to 10-20%; but I would have to really think about 50% and the answer would probably be 'No' for that unless there were only a few made and it completed my collection. I can think of one right now that I would pay a premium for.

It also depends on what you are going to do with the gun. If I were a museum who needed on very specific gun for display purposes, I would pay a serious premium just to end the search.

Sure...
A few years back I "overpaid" for a 1956 FN Browning High Power. I have "overpaid" for a 1919 Colt 1911, a 1977 Colt SP1, and a 1918 Remington M1917 in beautiful condition with a great bore.

They weren't rare, but hard to find in excellent condition. I've gotten a huge amount of enjoyment out of owning and shooting them, and though I will never sell them, they are now worth more than I overpaid for them.

Life is good.

Tinpig

I cannot add anything to this answer....it sums things up nicely.

It's no different than anything else. If you are a collector of certain things and know item "X" is rare, you'll be willing to pay more for "X" than the next best thing. You'll also be even more willing to pay for an example in good condition.

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Would you overpay for a rare weapon?

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Not necessarily a "weapon," but I have on occasion paid over market to obtain a "firearm," and as it's value increased (as I thought it would) I have made out fine. Over-paying is not a sin as long as it's done following quick but careful consideration.

If you willingly pay the asking price, you did not over-pay, nor were you gouged

I recently fought this exact decision, and "overpaid" for a BRP manufactured German MG-42.

They retailed originally at a stiff $4,000 - I made my purchase on an auction at $4,600.

I did the same with the Polish PKM I acquired; paid $8,600 when they originally cost $5,895. The more rare Russian ones are selling for 2x what they cost.

Whether this is "overpaying", as with most rare, out of production things, is debatable.

Many would argue that paying anything over $70 for an SKS is overpaying, but I have one in my cabinet that I paid $270 for, and another (Russian) that I am considering at an even higher price point. The same holds true for ALL surplus arms which have gone up in value, including our very own M1 Garands, 1903's, and M1 Carbines.

If a firearm is no longer in production, or there is no longer a supply, it becomes a sellers market.

This is especially true if you only find ONE up for sale, and then, only rarely.

The seller is in the advantageous position of naming a price. It is up to the buyer to decide if he's willing to pay it. If there are not many potential buyers, it is up to the seller to decide how badly he wants to sell it. The buyer can make a lower offer but the seller has the final decision on whether to accept it, or to hold out to find a "better" buyer.

Look at it this way; when a firearm was widely available for sale, there was a supply of "X" - be that 250 units, 1,000 units, or 3,000,000 units.

Once a firearm is no longer available for general purchase, NOW the supply is how many people are selling them at any given time. The sellers have to compete against each other for buyers. If there is a limited pool of buyers, the sellers are at a further disadvantage. The most desperate seller "wins" the early sale, but loses potential value. As sellers drop off, and circulation settles in on long term owners, there are fewer sellers, less competition, and prices gradually rise.

If you only find ONE for sale, you're in a different market entirely.

Now you are 100% at the mercy of the seller, and you are competing with any other buyers. This drives the price REMARKABLY higher, and it happens very FAST.

This is how I am qualifying what guns to purchase for the "investment grade" part of my collection. You need to buy in when they are in ready supply, or before they reach the point of "single seller" market.

(Or be prepared to make the decision to pay a premium)

IMO we over pay for everything we buy in todays market regardless of what it is from gasoline to groceries and everything in between.
so nturally a rare fire arm will demand a premium price.
Just dont try to sell a rare firearm to a pawn broker if you don't want to get rooked.
little story that happened a few years ago...
I listed a few rifles in excellent condition with the original box a while back on craigs list for lower than fair market value and guess who shows up A pawn broker trying to talk me down by making counter offers of my original asking price and explaining why he cannot buy for what I am asking because he needs to be able to make a profit bla bla. I Kind of went off on the guy by laughing in his face over his offer then saying something to the effect of i felt a bit insulted due to what the kind of rifles i had for sale and what I am asking is already a very good deal and his dictating to me what he is willing to pay for them was a bit of a slap in the face, I then told him the price was non negotiable just as the ad read and he would pay my asking price or he can walk for I did not come to his pawn shop trying to sell my guns to him he came to me. I also informed the pawn broker I am selling the guns for the same reason he wants to buy them for To Make A profit.
Needless to say i did not sell them to the pawn shop dealer but I did sell them a couple of days later to a guy for my asking price with no squabbling about price and no questions asked, he knew what I had was well worth what I was asking and he wanted them and had the cash to pay for them.
As he was dealing out the cash i mentioned that i appreciated him not trying to talk me down to a lower price he replied something to the effect you have three very nice rifles there and your asking price is better than fair so i thought it would be an insult to try to talk you down to a lower price.
moral to the story...
the value of any item is only worth what someone is willing to pay and what the seller is willing to depart with the item for.
i think my experience is a perfect example of that comment.