Ruger the new Hi-Point and other weird trade offers

Where are you buying used guns for 50% off of retail? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me that website!

I also really love the guys that post stuff like I have an XD .40 and am ONLY looking to trade it for a ruger 10/22 with blue stock in .22MAG.

I get alot of that stuff on the sale ads I visited. They really never took a marketing or statistics class. It is a VERY long shot that you are going to find someone looking for your specific gun who also has a specific gun... Or even worse when they want a specific gun for say a cellphone or used Xbox or something... That is a VERY VERY targeted audience.

I never understood why they were not smart enough to sell their junk on craigslist or ebay and then use tha t$ to buy the gun they want.

HRnightmare said:

Where are you buying used guns for 50% off of retail? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me that website!

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My LGS has used guns at 50% retail quite often. Most gun shops in my area will pay about 50% on a trade in and mark it up to 75%-80%, it will sit around for a while and someone will eventually buy it. Where I go he barely puts a markup on them and they sell instantly, then on to the next one. All depends on the gun too, you're not going to see that with a Gen4 Glock 19, but quite often with an S&W revolver, Mosin Nagant, Marlin 30-30, etc.

If a product sells instantly it's not priced high enough. Fifty percent of retail for a used gun is in no way reasonable.

If your friendly LGS is selling used guns at half of retail, how much do you suppose he's giving the sellers for them? 35% of new? Less? I'm shocked anyone could build up a significant used inventory offering that little.


Please, someone lead me to the magical fountain of $150 Rugers. I'll pay 10% commission.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone wants, say $400 for a handgun, then says "$550 trade". Why on earth do people want more for their stuff on a trade? The guns worth the same amount whether your trading or not.

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Actually that I can understand. The person in question obviously wants spendable cash, but a trade in their favor by so much is also acceptable.

Just inquired whether a private seller was interested in a trade for my like new SR9C, with 4 mags and ammo, for a like new Rock Island 1911.

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I traded my Ruger SR9 with 2 mags for a friend's Rock Island 1911 with 2 mags. Both guns in excellent condition, like new. We did an even trade, no $$$ dollars, we were both very happy, and still are!

huntsman said:

Seems close to even trade to me.

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Well, it's a free market. But I'll pass.

I had a sig p6 and an Astra for sale in two different ads. Had a guy email me offering me a 2002 elantra that didn't run Honestly, parts value was there, but why do I want a beat up used car.

I politely said no. He then stated I was trying to kill his family because he can't find a job without a gun and his family will starve....

What...

HRnightmare said:

Where are you buying used guns for 50% off of retail? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me that website!

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I'm not but that's about what Bud's is giving.

Was once offered elk teeth for a like-new 10/22. What?!

huntsman said:

I'm not but that's about what Bud's is giving.

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Buds is a GUN SHOP. This is a private deal. One is a business that is there to make money. They can't possibly give you what it's worth, they would go out of business doing that.

A private sale/trade is a whole other story.

If a product sells instantly it's not priced high enough. Fifty percent of retail for a used gun is in no way reasonable.

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YOU might not feel that way, the business is doing it nonetheless. And building up a large inventory of "overpriced" guns that don't move would be the reason they do it.

What good is it having $5-10,000 in guns in the gun case or rack for sale? They aren't generating a penny of profit until they sell, and every day they sit is a loss compared to having a CD in a bank account.

Business is about generating profit, and having that money turn over multiple times a year, rather than just once, can make more. If that dealer wants to dump his used guns and generate a bit less cash quickly, it's his call. What he will do is get a reputation of having bargain guns on hand that require frequent checking to see if there's one just for you. That generates a lot of traffic, and that atmosphere creates more sales, which means more profit.

Frankly, it's the overpriced guns cluttering up the gun cases which deflate interest in that shop. If you come in and see the same guns still in the case, still near retail pricing, with little else offered for sale, you quickly get the idea that the proprietor is conducting a museum, not a store. The only people who pay 25% over the going rate are the completely uninformed or desperate. The rest of us tend to value our hard earned cash more highly.

We visit the store with the less expensive guns, and a lot more often. And those who do sell to that proprietor already understand that's how it works. Otherwise, they'd list on an auction site with some ridiculous price only to see no bids when it expires.

Just like those overpriced guns sitting in the case for years at a time.

So your local gun shop has Glocks and M&P's for $300+/-?. I wont call BS because I do not know your shop BUT I do have to agree that I find it hard to believe people are selling him their guns priced low enough for him to turn a profit when a used Glock can easily catch $500 privately... Unless you are talking about $300 for a Gen 1 Glock with 1 magazines and well worn....That might catch $300.

My LGS has used guns at 50% retail quite often. Most gun shops in my area will pay about 50% on a trade in and mark it up to 75%-80%, it will sit around for a while and someone will eventually buy it. Where I go he barely puts a markup on them and they sell instantly, then on to the next one. All depends on the gun too, you're not going to see that with a Gen4 Glock 19, but quite often with an S&W revolver, Mosin Nagant, Marlin 30-30, etc.

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He is not saying price them way higher that they sit but I do agree that if they are flying off the shelf in a few hours and they can't keep them in stock it is priced very low (not TOO low, there is no such thing if a profit is being made and the owner is ok with the margin of profit...many shops have made a decent living undercutting the competition and turning guns at a very low profit margin because it has lead to very high volume...Buds and PSA come to mind!)

However a gun shop that always is out of stock can be a bad thing. People stop going to get dissapointed or they order elsewhere because they don't want to / can't wait. An online store isn't so bad because it takes 30 seconds to get there...but if you have to drive to a store, you waste a lot of time, gas, energy, etc...

Quote:
If a product sells instantly it's not priced high enough. Fifty percent of retail for a used gun is in no way reasonable.

YOU might not feel that way, the business is doing it nonetheless.

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ljnowell said:

Buds is a GUN SHOP. This is a private deal. One is a business that is there to make money. They can't possibly give you what it's worth, they would go out of business doing that.

A private sale/trade is a whole other story.

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And the guy he was dealing with works in the business or so he claimed.

he acted like I was trying to rip him off and said he worked in a gun shop so knew the retail price --

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I believe 50% as a starting point in the negotiations is fair on current production guns, I also understand that many newbies aren't comfortable haggling and so they end up over paying that's fine as it's the cost of an education.

50% is no where near where the haggling starts on a used gun in good condition. The negotiating would be over. I would walk away from a private sake like that.

huntsman said:

I believe 50% as a starting point in the negotiations is fair on current production guns

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You got anything for sale?


Let's take the Ruger SR1911. The best new retail price I've seen or heard of is something like $650. But much easier to find one around $700. The used ones I found sold on gunbroker for over $500. Are those people wrong?


Current production guns are already so cheap 50% of that is insulting.




Aren't we the same people who say guns are a good investment because you can always sell and not lose much?

I believe 50% as a starting point in the negotiations is fair on current production guns, I also understand that many newbies aren't comfortable haggling and so they end up over paying that's fine as it's the cost of an education.

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50% is a bit of an insult for a gun in good condition. Sure used is not going to be worth as much as NIB. That kind of depreciation really isn't seen outside of cars and electronics. Guns don't wear out as quickly as cars through routine use or become obsolete at anywhere near the same rate as electronics. If its used and you can't tell without being told at first glance expect to pay just a little less than the new price.

Back in the mid 90's I worked in a Pawn/Gun shop. It shocked me at what were allowed to offer to the customers even if they had made the purchase from my place of employment. But it was not my money and had to adhere to the company policy. I understood that anything that came in the store for sale was used and could and in some cases did sit on a shelf for a very long time. I have had a couple of guys offer next to nothing for what I had listed for a very fair price, you just have to take it with a grain of salt and press on.

Used guns sell for 75-80 percent of new retail price.

That kind of depreciation [50%] really isn't seen outside of cars and electronics.

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Ummm... yeah it is.

Furniture? Good luck getting 50% of furniture store retail. Tools? You can turn a $1000 table saw into a $350 saw by taking it home, and a $15 wrench may get $5 if you are a good salesperson. Books? $8 retail, most people will pay you $1 or less. Aquariums and the like? Tough to get more than 20%. Kitchenware? I had someone offer me a $350 VitaMix blender if I would give him $100. I can buy used tableware for pennies on the new value dollar all day long. A used $1500 Refrigerator? You probably won't see $400. Hobby gear like RC airplanes in "flown" condition? $500 worth of kit may net you $100. Musical instruments? I paid $1500 for a guitar that originally sold for $3800. Used clothes? Pennies on the dollar again, to the point where it is sometimes cheaper to throw away worn-once clothes over even donating (because the donation centers want you to wash them first, costing you money). Houses? Spend $100,000 fixing up your kitchen, add $60k value to your house.

I have a hard time with all of this because of course I want to think the resale value of my guns should be high for some reason...it is good for me...but it really is an anomaly. Even camera lenses (another area of very low depreciation) drop significantly in value after enough time passes.

Guns and jewelry hold their value pretty well----part of why they are stolen so much

If you want to make money--buy stocks and bonds--but even those take a hit from time to time

Most other material goods are disposable these days

Dryft said:

I don't know if he was serious, but a guy offered me a night with his wife for an AR I was selling a year or so ago.

I would have thought he was joking - if he hadn't included pictures.

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Thread winner.