Don't sell that firearm unless you need the money

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daniel craig said:
Unless you really need the money, keep it or trade it but don't sell it.

That's my take. Yours?
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I guess it's mine as well. Of all the guns I've had, I've traded only 2, but the trades have also netted me two of my present finest, so there's no love lost there. I've threatened for years to sell off a few, my Ruger Redhawk and my H&K USPC, which I never use, for example, but another year passes with them still in the safe. Meh.

Edited to add: If I needed the money, I'm sure I wouldn't hesitate to sell any gun, especially the ones I don't shoot anymore.
 
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Hell, my *rule* is to sell from time to time because I simply refuse to buy yet another safe.

Storage has become my meter. I will NOT buy another safe and I will also NOT tolerate firearms beating one another up in the ones that I already have.

I *get over* a gun, learn my lesson about one, a pal or family member needs one or simply to justify table space at a gunshow I want to attend.....

Lots of reasons to sell literally any or every gun I have that is not on my inviolable; "never sell" list.

In point of fact, I kinda crack up when guys have an almost religious attitude about ALL of their guns like it's selling the family bible or legacied icons.

Todd.
 
I sold only one, my jam-o-matic RIA, after I did some frame work, and refinish, got it running at least through a box before failure, then I sold it to a guy who knew, and didn't care. Used the $275 toward a Mossburg, and don't regret it for a second. RIA owner still happy as well, so win/win. Given many away, don't regret, but do miss my P/R 19-3 target pistol occasionally.
 
I've been fortunate to have never needed to sell any firearms to raise funds in an emergency. But I've still sold a lot of firearms.

My take is that if I don't fall in love with the gun, it get's sold or traded. I've even bought guns I had little interest in just because they were priced good and I figured they'd be fun to shoot for a few months and I knew I wouldn't lose money when I unloaded them.
 
daniel craig said:
At the very least, trade it for something else. Today I reminisce about the 03a3 I sold for $800. It was a beautiful rifle. I used to the money to pay some bills and build savings, but the money was gone virtually in an instant, the rifle could have brought me joy for ages to come.
It's been this way with every gun I've ever sold (except for a Savage axis I got when they first came out. Good riddance to that pos). From wasars to kimbers.
Unless you really need the money, keep it or trade it but don't sell it.
That's my take. Yours?
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I take this tack with almost every customer who comes in and wants to sell something, not just a firearm. We, as a pawnshop, can loan money to get someone through a tight spot and then in a month or two they can get said item back. Even broken gold is still an asset, why give it up if you don't have to? Take care of that sudden unexpected bill and then reclaim it.

If I don't buy it, I don't have to clean it, photograph it, list it on the various gun sites online and put it out for sale and put it in the vault at the beginning and end of every business day.

I have lost two guns in my life due to burglaries, not sold, but still gone from my possession.
The first was my original handgun purchase from 1974, a Colt Python, the second was my Dad's .38 Colt Official Police he carried for 25 years on the PD. Both, for emotional reasons, are irreplaceable, even though I have gotten another Python, it's still not that very first gun.
 
badkarmamib said:
The problem is, selling a gun simply because you need money. You will almost always lose value, because you need the money now. Firearms can be an investment, but they should not be insurance, IMHO.
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I've sold plenty of my used firearms, and made a profit or broke about even from just about all of them. I've also sold some of them because I needed the money NOW. Whether one should do so all depends on what they need the money for. Not eating, having had money for work, paying rent or car note, credit card payments, etc is more important, and the late fees, hit to credit report, possible increased interest rates, etc will be more significant than any loss on the sale.

I reckon with people being out of work via the current "crisis" and the increased demand for firearms, there will be a few gun owners who will be selling off some of their collection.
 
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hso said:
My collection is funded by my collection. IOW, if I find something that upgrades the collection at a good price I'll find something to trade or sell to fund it. OTOH, if there was a need for money...they're just things.
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^^This. This is how I have been doing it for over 35 years (and counting). In '91 I sold every gun I had and my boat to pay for my kid. Still got the kid (still costing me money), and a pile of guns.
 
Waveski said:
A ridiculous statement built on a mountain of assumptions.
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Yep.
Waveski said:
Me , I aim to reduce some clutter in my safe , thank you.
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I've stated it before - my wife is as into guns and shooting as I am, she has as many guns (maybe more) as I do, we're out of room in our safes, and we're not about to buy a larger house so that we would have room for more safes. That would make absolutely no sense financially because we would probably have to sell off some guns in order to afford a larger house. Besides that, we like where we live - we can shoot off our rear deck!:D
All in all though, as buck460XVR said, most of my and my wife's guns are just "tools." We have sentimental attachments to a few, and those are the ones that will be (or already have been) passed on. But for the most part, I don't feel any more remorse about selling or trading off a gun than what I'll feel about selling the chain saw I no longer use.
 
Variety is the spice of life. Ive probably been through 300 guitars, amps, and basses. Ive probably owned every single model of fuzz pedal pre year 2000 known to man. "Oh there was only 2 ever made? Sweet, that doubles my chance to own one."

Guns are no different. I have a few ill never sell due to sentimental value, but a ton that im just the current caregiver of.
 
I buy specific guns just for resale. Like the Ruger AR I got paid $600.00 sold it for $800.00 during the panic. All the others belong to my kids. I'm just taking care of them until they are of age. And prove they are responsible to have them. And in the off chance they both turn to turds. Then my wife can sell them after my passing.
 
460Shooter said:
After my grandparents passed, I watched my dad drive himself crazy trying to figure out what to keep, what to sell, and what to throw away. He also had to do it as quickly as possible because when he inherited their home and all possessions in it, he was paying property tax on it. It drove him crazy, and he was always worried someone would break in. I had to take very decisive action and a tough love stance with him when I spent a week and a half helping him with the final heavy lifting and cleanout of the house to get it on the market. It wasn't fun, but we got it done, and afterward he thanked me.
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OMG, my brother and I are going to face that with all of dad's obsolete computer junk.
 
Trashyshoots said:
Whats illegal about it? Genuinely curious. I know if you make under a specific amount in a year you dont need an ffl license.
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He's probably reacting to your post in the view of "unlicensed dealer" which actually has quite narrow applications even though it is broadly applied and interpreted.

Todd.
 
I generally agree with the OP. The only exception I suppose would be is when your needs change. For example, some one who has never hunted and needs to sell a tactical to fund a hunting rifle. Or someone who for whatever reason has to downsize calibers to keep shooting - maybe protect the old shoulder.
 
Gee daniel craig, wish I would have known that when I had two guns in my possession, one of which was my Dad's WIn. 94, and they shut the water off on me when I had a 2 month old kid. I would love to have kept the 2.5" Python I had to sell to get the water back on.....

You live and learn. I eventually got more guns, and gave my Dad his 94 back. I am more likely to give guns to my sons than sell them.
 
Im getting to be a believer that “stockpiles” are more of a hinderance than a help as well.

People keep a ton of ammo on hand because they think they’ll need it one day. It seems like most disasters manmade or natural typically force migrations and relocations. I dont want to worry about $10k in ammo when my basement is flooding or fires rage.
 
I have no idea how many guns I've owned over the years, but I know exactly how many I've never considered parting with. The rest are for my enjoyment, and I own them because there's nothing I need worse at this time. To me, they're simply money in the bank. At one time, years ago I went to an annual flea market/swap meet known for having tons of guns. I took 4 that I was looking to trade or sell. Came home with 2 of them and 9 other guns. Also had about $80 more in my pocket than when I got there. My cousin tried and said his best guess was that I'd owned roughly 20 other guns throughout the day. Trading around toward getting something I wanted was what I enjoyed most. Not having any of my money in it was better. Then if I decide to sell (or have to) it's no big deal.
 
It's so much easier to use Cash from a gun sale to finance another gun, versus hoping to make a 'dream trade' which includes gun types (and condition) of desired by both people.

When finally trying out some Mausers and not liking the sights at all, or simply--finally-- being quite honest with oneself that "typical benchrest shooting" offers little reward (just for sighting in), then selling or trading a few rifles makes sense.

It can be much more enjoyable to use a "sport utility rifle" with normal iron sights, for hitting plastic coke bottles at 25-50 yards. A nice conventional milsurp rifle isn't required.
My centerfire rifles use .25/rd. ammo, which was stored over the years for times like This------
 
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Sadly in 2004 I lost a really good job. It took a long while to find a job, actually had to move to anther state and stay with family.

Many guns that I thought would be easy to replace had to go to survive. Even after finding a job, which came with a much smaller paycheck, I had to sell a few guns that I had wanted to keep. One, a Ruger Old Vaquero in 45 Colt with the Birds head grip I may never find again. Another, a S&W 340PD I'll probably never be able to afford to replace. I sold the 3rd, a Marlin 1894 in 357 mag, right before Marlin suspended production. I got basically nothing. If I could have waited they were going for over $1000. Luckily I was able to replace the 1894 last year.

A few years ago I came real close to selling the handful of guns that remained, but luckily I survived
 
I value the security that my guns offer me. I have no hesitation to sell most any of my guns that I am not counting on to meet a specific need. However, some handguns that I might sell might only bring me a small amount of money that I am not in desperate need of right now, and where I just like to keep the gun in question. I wish I had any of my Dad's old guns, but my Mom hated all guns, and after Dad died 40 years ago she got rid of his guns without giving my brother or myself the opportunity to take or buy them from her. My one "sentimental" gun is my S&W Model 19-5, 4 inch, nickel that is just, in some ways, my idea of a perfect handgun. I don't shoot it very often, but enjoy it when I do. If I ever had to sell my guns for the cash that they would bring, that 19 would be the last to go.
 
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