A Question For Gun Shop Employees

I’ve never been a gun shop employee but I would guess the answer is, as usual, the market. Or rather, what the person pricing the guns believes the market to be. Now, maybe they have an excellent sense of that locally or maybe they’re dreaming, but the motivation is the same.

It is also often due to simple store policy on markup and gross margin, without consideration to how it compares to new pricing.

i’ve noticed this especially at pawn shops near me-and it isn’t limited to guns either. Used tools are marked sky-high, as are generators and other similar items. Frequently they are so high that new equivalents can be found for less money.

Never been a Gun Clerk but have done lots of reselling. And, I have to say, it’s the market and whatever the owner want to charge. Don’t like price, don’t buy <<< (was not trying to be mean spirited, but a man has the right to ask what he wants)

Scout21 said:

Absolutely, I agree. I'm just trying to make sense of something that I don't understand.

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here the answer you want to hear. They Crazy! lol …. JK, probably putting some wiggle room for people who ask for discounts and people who think they got a good deal when the Clerk says ( Tell you what Bo, just because it you, I’m giving 50% off, I mean that 10/22 is Tactical Ready)

Sometimes, they are consignments from people like my Dad who think they'll make money on every gun they sell, even if it has to be priced higher than new.

What was the specific model? There are a lot of 10/22 models priced over $300.

Consignment guns are almost always priced up high; the seller wants maximum $$$ and the store wants its cut, too.

I have seen steals on occasion. My 7.5” .41 Mag Redhawk was languishing for several months at $700 bucks at a police-oriented gun store a couple of years ago. I offered $350. The manager called the seller, who was selling his guns due to a court order and had to pay attorney fees, and he took it.



After tax and DOJ fees it ran me about $410 otd.

Stay safe.

Some things just don't make sense. Like Mark said, man has a right to ask what he wants. Just like the gun show sellers that lug around the same overpriced guns and ammo show after show for years but never sell them.
If you keep looking though you find a deal every now and then like Rio did.
I found this .45 Colt, Ruger Blackhawk at a small hardware store gun counter. Like new condition With the box for $500

Scout21 said:

She stated that when the guns are put into the system a suggested list price is provided by the system that they use.

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Perhaps the system they use coughs up the MSRP, which is usually quite a bit more than the "street price".

As far as gun shops pricing near new, at least two factors come into play. First, the current scarcity of guns, and second, they're hoping for an uneducated buyer or an impulse buyer.

Their job is to make as much money as possible, ours is to save as much as possible, hopefully, there's a meeting in the middle.

Some shops try to make as much as possble. When i got my single six. One shop in the area wanted 350.00 in the cardbord box. Another had one for 250 with the hard shell box. Both had the 22 mag cyl too. Same thing on my Rossi gallery gun. 100.00 diff.

Scout21 said:

I often see used guns priced for more than the same model costs when brand new. Why?

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Because they have, to the best of their ability, determined that that's the maximally profitable approach.

Could be because their customers don't shop retail and don't know, or because their customers all expect a 25% haggle discount.

CoalCrackerAl said:

Some shops try to make as much as possble.

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No, not "some" ; "All," since that is the point.

That some businesses are stupid or short sighted in their attempts to maximize profits does not invalidate the foundational principle that maximizing profits is the definitional objective of a business. Any organization that has some other fundamental objective isn't a business.

I never consider the listed price on a used gun fixed. Unless it's already a very good price, I'd offer something lower; worst they can say is "No." I think we get conditioned to accept prices as given for most things. In other cultures, listed prices are just starting points for haggling. If you think the price on a used gun you are interested in is too high, make an offer.

I worked behind a gun counter for several years and used guns were never marked up to new prices in the stores I worked in. I think it’s a regional thing. In Mississippi, folks will let you know if you are pricing yourself out of business real quick. Southern hospitality is a real thing, but so is southern pride and when those two intersect, it comes across as, “Well, if y’all are gonna charge two prices for a used one, I’ll just go down the street and buy a new one.”

Also, social media and the internet have made it possible for people to sell their unwanted guns easily and for much more money than they would get by taking them to a pawn shop or gun store to trade them. This has made it tougher for stores to put used guns on the shelves. They’ve had to raise their trade values which cuts into what used to be the most profitable item in a gun store, used guns.

Pre pandemic I sold guns for 6 years. I can’t remember one time where we asked more for a used gun than an identical new model. Used guns have a much larger markup than new guns leaving a lot more room to negotiate.

When we bought used guns we rarely paid more than half of retail and quite often a lot less. We often used GB to get a sense of what retail is on guns we were not familiar with. We didn’t do consignment and typically put used guns up for sale at double what we paid for them. When someone asked "What's the best you can do?" the normal answer was "What do you want to pay". Anyone that offered 20% less got the deal. In many cases they could get them at 30-40% less.

NEVER be afraid to lowball on used guns. That goes double for consignment guns. I regularly offer half or less of the asking price. Dealers don't have any emotional attachment to guns and are trying to make sales. Letting $50 profit walk out the door in hopes of maybe making $60 tomorrow is not always a good way to do business.

Ive worked in a gun shop for the past three years. If a used gun is more than a new one it may be a collectable. A pre-64 Winchester 94 is worth more than a new one (not by much the way Winchester has raised their prices). We don't screw our customers. But I can't speak for other gun shops. Some of them are putting up used guns for more than new ones because they are greedy and it's easy to get away with the way the current market is acting. With the influx of first time buyers owners know these people aren't doing their homework and are over-charging because they can.

The area you live in is also a factor. We live in a retirement area full of baby birds (cheap, cheap, cheap) so we have to be competitive.

And then there is the offhand chance that I am actually screwing you over and if I am, I'm doing it for a reason. That reason is you're probably an entitled jerk and you're just not worth it as a customer. Therefore, I'm getting my money's worth for having to deal with you. If you start with "I can get it cheaper online.", my price just went up $50. If you don't like it, go online.

Scout21 said:

I totally get this. An unmolested waffle top Marlin will go for more than a $400 Remlin. There are tangible reasons for that.

I'm just trying to understand the pricing structure. A used Hi-Point C-9 should not be listed for $250 when Rural King sells them for $170 including BGC. I don't understand how they move those certain products.

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Easy...first time buyers. We sell used Hi-Point C9s for $50 and that's if we even entertain taking them on trade or to buy them. With all of these first time buyers it's not hard to take advantage of them if you're a dishonest seller. People are so self-absorbed and looking for that instant gratification they don't do their due dilligence when buying anything anymore.

Mark_Mark said:

here the answer you want to hear. They Crazy! lol …. JK, probably putting some wiggle room for people who ask for discounts and people who think they got a good deal when the Clerk says ( Tell you what Bo, just because it you, I’m giving 50% off, I mean that 10/22 is Tactical Ready)

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More the former than the latter but, yeah, basically. Negotiating room for trades, too. "I got this rare and unusual Iver Johnson - confidentially, it was his brother Howard's gun, which makes it practically priceless but, that's a family secret shhhh - and I'd like to do some trading on it for that dusty old used Glock 19 you've had sitting in the shelf for almost an hour. Tell you what, I'll give ya' $20 and my gun for it. Whaddya say, Sport?"

Yes, I have worked behind the counter and that type is more common than you'd like to think.

Stay safe.