Prices on SKS rifles

bigpower491 said:

People are giving crazy money for stuff, seriously.
I have a few pre ban Polytech spiker AKs....I nearly had to change me drawers after I seen what a few of those went for

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And those crazy prices aren’t getting you to sell, that’s a telling point as to whether values are justified or not.

I bet there are a lot of individuals that have SKS’s that won’t sell them for $800 even though they paid $69 when they were muzzle end in a 55gallon drum back in the day. Why’s this? Because they would rather have the SKS than $800 more money in their pocket, given the times we are in.

This could well be inflation with the $ being worth less so prices on commodities rise. Less buying power for your $. SKS's surely are not worth $800, the manufacturing cost is quite low and the fit/finish is substandard in comparison to American arms. But when the value of the $ drops then an $800 SKS is realized.

BillWM said:

This could well be inflation with the $ being worth less so prices on commodities rise. ....

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Ya, I'm afraid you ain't seen nothin' yet ... lest you were around in the late '70's to early '80's when inflation pushed 20% and Pres. Gerald Ford and his "WIN" for "Whip Inflation Now" did nothing. It took a couple years of Federal Reserve induced severe recession to fix it. We survived. Though this time around could well be worse since the inflation is a result of domestic government fiscal policy, not foreign OPEC blackmail. And the Fed is clueless and in denial, not just behind the curve, as usual.

Before all the current COVID stuff a Chinese SKS was going for in the $350 ~ $400 range. Around here being the Cleveland, Ohio suburbs. No clue what they would go for today as the few in my local gun shop are gone and they had a $400 price tag on them. During the early and mid 90s my wife and I built a business starting with a dozen SKS rifles and two cases of ammunition. Think we were paying about $50 each when buying 10 or more from Southern Ohio Gun. I kept one of that first dozen. The guns were packed in cosmoline. I was cleaning them rather then just selling them as is and we included two stripper clips plus a 20 round box of Norinco ammunition. It was fun till Clinton ended the fun. Would I sell mine today for $800? No but simply because I don't really have a need to. Maybe if we needed money, were destitute and urinating in gutters but we aren't that poor yet.

Anyway I assume the four or so in my local gun shop went for the $400 over the past year.

Ron

BillWM said:

This could well be inflation with the $ being worth less so prices on commodities rise. Less buying power for your $. SKS's surely are not worth $800, the manufacturing cost is quite low and the fit/finish is substandard in comparison to American arms. But when the value of the $ drops then an $800 SKS is realized.

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Wrong ...The ones I sold for 800-900 bucks were certainly "worth " what the buyer handed me . Cash means way more than opinions on the web.

I bought mine for $400 early/mid pandemic and I thought I was paying too much. It’s in pretty good shape too!

BreechFace said:

And those crazy prices aren’t getting you to sell, that’s a telling point as to whether values are justified or not.

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I put a ton of thought into it. But, in the end, the chances of getting replacements a very slim.
A gouger I'm not, and I've seen a bunch of stuff on the broker and others that have me scratching my head

I'm a regular visitor to the OVMS Show of Shows every Feb in Louisville KY(this yr, end of July, see you there!!!), and the last few yrs I've seen the prices creeping up there. Some guns make you say HOLY____.
Take for instance the SVT40 Tokarev...
I remember when they first came in. 199 bux with 2 mags.Wish I'd have bought 2 cases of em. I seen some big stickers on what I would consider the bottom of the barrel condition rifles, like over a grand. Some of the cream of the crop, a dude had 1 that was pristine, like it was stored in Kruschevs bunker, for $3200. Did he get it...dunno, but he had it all with it, bayo, extra mags. This was 2 shows ago.
Some of the Chi SKS were 4-500 last yr, Russians close to 750..Don't even get me started on what I seen an SVD going for...
I think it's more a supply and demand thing more than inflation

That’s a sign we have reached the saturation point on AR’s an magazines. Normally, during a panic they should be in the $1500-2000 range and magazines in the $80-100 range for the impatient. Guess everyone has more than they can bury by now...

I have seen several Marlin Glenfield mod 60's go for $275-350. I about choked when I saw those prices. In the 70's these sold brand new for $69, but if you look at an inflation calculator that $69 is $411.63 in today's money!!

Let's see... A milled receiver gun that will still be working in a hundred years, with a history of impeccable reliability, rugged, almost unbreakable (there's a video out there of a guy trying to blow one up by welding a plug in the barrel... The SKS spat the plug out and was ready for the next shot), in a widely available and cheap caliber... How much would that cost to make one?

Yes, they were basically given away a few decades ago, but the correct question would rather be "How comes they were so cheap then???".

I think for current owners, fear is also a factor. The trend now is to pass oppressive gun laws in the dead of night with no warning. NY and CT both did it.

If they grandfather them in, and preclude transfer, you may not be able to legally replace it at any cost.

Dale Alan said:

Wrong ...The ones I sold for 800-900 bucks were certainly "worth " what the buyer handed me . Cash means way more than opinions on the web.

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Depends what end of the transaction you are on. If you don't like others opinions why do you waste your time responding to them?

BillWM said:

This could well be inflation with the $ being worth less so prices on commodities rise. Less buying power for your $. SKS's surely are not worth $800, the manufacturing cost is quite low and the fit/finish is substandard in comparison to American arms. But when the value of the $ drops then an $800 SKS is realized.

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I'd respectfully disagree with some of this. All other things remaining equal, the cost to manufacture an SKS is very likely not "quite low" as compared to similar firearms. They require similar machining time and materials as compared to other milled firearms and compared to something like an AK, with a stamped sheetmetal receiver, there is much more investment in machine time. I also think it's important to recognize that the cost to manufacture a new one isn't usually the most important factor as it comes to the cost of collectible firearms, which is really what an SKS is. When it comes to collectibles it's all about "market value." We all know it doesn't cost $10,000 to produce a Winchester 1873, we can buy a brand new one ~$1,000, but collectors buy originals for 10x that.

ColoradoMinuteMan said:

I'd respectfully disagree with some of this. All other things remaining equal, the cost to manufacture an SKS is very likely not "quite low" as compared to similar firearms. They require similar machining time and materials as compared to other milled firearms and compared to something like an AK, with a stamped sheetmetal receiver, there is much more investment in machine time. I also think it's important to recognize that the cost to manufacture a new one isn't usually the most important factor as it comes to the cost of collectible firearms, which is really what an SKS is. When it comes to collectibles it's all about "market value." We all know it doesn't cost $10,000 to produce a Winchester 1873, we can buy a brand new one ~$1,000, but collectors buy originals for 10x that.

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Low production price taking into account made in Russia or China in volume. Their wages are much lower if not slave labor. You can't compare their machining costs to American made arms. Sure if they were made in the US they would cost over $1k easily.

BillWM said:

Depends what end of the transaction you are on. If you don't like others opinions why do you waste your time responding to them?

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I can respond to anything I choose , You chose to quote me, seems you are responding to me because you disagree with my opinion . Why bother ?

BillWM said:

Low production price taking into account made in Russia or China in volume. Their wages are much lower if not slave labor. You can't compare their machining costs to American made arms. Sure if they were made in the US they would cost over $1k easily.

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And your point is what ? Please see above post, I can't dumb it down any more .

I think the only way to have a relevant comparison of production costs would be to compare apples to apples. So, all other things remaining equal, there is nothing inherently inexpensive about manufacturing an SKS that I can find. If you were to build in China next to a Chinese Type 56 or M305 I wouldn't expect the SKS to be drastically cheaper to manufacture. If the SKS was manufactured in SC by Palmetto State Armory next to their AK47s or manufactured by Ruger next to the Mini 14 line I wouldn't expect the SKS to be inherently less expensive to manufacture.

BillWM said:

Low production price taking into account made in Russia or China in volume. Their wages are much lower if not slave labor. You can't compare their machining costs to American made arms. Sure if they were made in the US they would cost over $1k easily.

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I figure it this way on guns and pricing. Any gun on any given day is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no more and no less. I see a gun I like and want I do a little due diligence and get an idea of what that gun is going for. Then if I am good with the price I buy the gun. When the buyer and seller both come away content that is all that matters. I really can't see where much else matters.

Ron

The “would you sell it for that price?” argument about whether a gun is fairly valued in the market doesn’t work for me because in general I do not buy a gun, ever, with the idea of selling it. I have only sold guns that disappointed me -in which case I sell them for a bargain price usually. But I like my SKS so it would have to be an absurdly high amount of money to sell. Basically, I’d have to be able to sell, buy a new one, and still have to have a nice profit left. I might consider it if I found out that mine was some “rare variant” and I could replace it with a “normal” one. But since mine is as normal as they come this scenario is unlikely.

I believe when people realize AR's won't be banned that a price adjustment for SKS's will happen. They were the very cheapest semi auto one could buy.
That someone will pay over $1k for my Russian SKS with all matching numbers is great, I paid $175 for it. Tons of SKS's were made over the years, more than anyone knows. People are hoarding them by the crate loads. I think these SKS high prices are a bubble. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

BillWM said:

I believe when people realize AR's won't be banned that a price adjustment for SKS's will happen. They were the very cheapest semi auto one could buy.
That someone will pay over $1k for my Russian SKS with all matching numbers is great, I paid $175 for it. Tons of SKS's were made over the years, more than anyone knows. People are hoarding them by the crate loads. I think these SKS high prices are a bubble. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

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Pretty much all semi-automatic rifles are inflated at the moment, including ARs. The same thing has happened in the past and it will happen again. It's not just SKSs that are in a bubble. The difference though is that the aren't importing any more SKSs so there will never be an inventory glut again so while they will retract in price, my gut tells me they will likely never be the $275-$350 gun they were 4 years ago.

My Vz 52/57 is much more accurate than my SKS's and I'm surprised in their price increase. Paid $500 a few years ago for it. It's a like new specimen and not those stained well used ones. Yes 4x what I paid is good profit, hindsight should have bought crates full.

Even the Carcano is rising in price.

Some others that will gain value.
MAS-49/56

vz. 52 (Samonabiject Puska Vzor 52.)

Hakim Rifle

Rasheed is a semi-automatic carbine

Rex in OTZ said:

Even the Carcano is rising in price.

Some others that will gain value.
MAS-49/56

vz. 52 (Samonabiject Puska Vzor 52.)

Hakim Rifle

Rasheed is a semi-automatic carbine

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Everything has gone up and it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, given who' controls the country at the moment.
Any kind of ban isn't likely in the near future, but the rhetoric certainly has had an effect on the values.
Some may kick themselves for not taking the $11.5k for that SVD they've had nearly since Jesus was a kid, or ditching their collection of FALs
Myself.....there will be no armored car following the meat wagon when they take me to the incinerator....but i do know when I'm gone, there will be a couple of extremely upset people watching it all go to auction, proceeds going to the dog and cat shelter.......