Gun Prices - Are They Justified?

Orion8472

Orion8472

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I know this will be very subjective, but I was thinking lately about gun prices and wanted to throw this out there for discussion.

1. Is there a gun/rifle that you think the price isn't/wasn't justified?
2. Is there a gun/rifle that you think the price is/was quite justified, and you would have given more money for?

For example, for #1, I wonder if the price of the Browning 1911-22 is higher than what this pistol, with the materials used, should go for.
 
If you are talking about used guns, I've always thought it was funny that a Liberator is over $1k nowadays.
Literally the cheapest POS disposable gun possible..

If you are talking about new guns, labor prices have a lot to do with things, but its true there are a lot of companies that import guns made in places where labor rates are low and try to get away remarketing it under their own umbrella. Yea I'm talking to you, Springfield.

In the end the market sets the value of an object, regardless if you feel the total production costs are fairly represented in the price.
 
silicosys4 said:
In the end the market sets the value of an object, regardless if you feel the total production costs are fairly represented in the price.
Click to expand...
That's my thinking. Any gun on any given day is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no more and no less. If a manufacturer wants to price a gun at $1,000 cool with me but it does not mean I'll buy it for the asking price.

Ron
 
1. With the exception of fancy woods, the value of the raw materials used in a firearm is a small portion of the total cost to manufacture. Machining time and precision are the cost drivers.
2. Polymer frames have kept pistol costs down, since they can be molded in their final shape. Steel guns have gone up in price quite considerably. Welcome to the Second Great Inflation. (For younger readers, the Great Inflation of the 1970s saw the value of a dollar drop by 70%)
 
There are lots of guns priced too high. Pretty much all of the ones I want to buy!

I will say that I actually consider the prices on some of the most popular guns quite reasonable. I normally pay a thousand plus dollars for good DA revolvers, so plunking down less than half of that on a recent Glock purchase made me smile.

And this is not directed at anyone here, but I will say that a pet peeve is people complaining about the cost of .22 rimfires. There really isn't any reason why a .22 should be less expensive than a centerfire of similar quality. Yes, you can buy a cheap .22 - but you can also buy a cheap centerfire. The difference seems to be that no one is surprised when their cheap centerfire ends up being low quality.
 
It's not as simple as all that.

For one, any given dollar does not have a fixed value over time. And, it's also a rate of exchange as well as a direct exchange. So, a given dollar, nn years ago would purchase xx amount of bread; or of gasoline; or of shelter. That dollar today buys a differing amount; tomorrow, it will be yet another.

So, if I assert that I found the $149.95 price for a Mini-14 in the Montgomery-Wards catalog too high, it really does not tell you that much. It could suggest I'm unlikely to pay the current MSRP. Doesn't mean the current price is inflated (other than by the current effects of inflation overall), nor that any sort of "excess profit" can be deduced from the MSRP.

People buy things because they find the price quoted is satisfactory (with a huge pile of caveats) versus their available funds to make such a purchase.
 
Justification:
It depends on the number of trips planned by my wife within a specific time span.

Otherwise the free market is far better than a govt. agency deciding.

Should our selling prices be determined by the current market?
 
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Orion8472 said:
I know this will be very subjective, but I was thinking lately about gun prices and wanted to throw this out there for discussion.

1. Is there a gun/rifle that you think the price isn't/wasn't justified?
2. Is there a gun/rifle that you think the price is/was quite justified, and you would have given more money for?

For example, for #1, I wonder if the price of the Browning 1911-22 is higher than what this pistol, with the materials used, should go for.
Click to expand...

It's the old law of "supply vs. demand" and (currently), demand is up as people are starting to realize that the police are NOT there to protect them and they have to be more "pro-active". This does not include the rises in the costs of materials, labor, and transportation.
 
CapnMac said:
It's not as simple as all that.
Click to expand...
It's sure not. :)
CapnMac said:
People buy things because they find the price quoted is satisfactory (with a huge pile of caveats) versus their available funds to make such a purchase.
Click to expand...
Yep. I've said before here on THR that my $3,000+ custom-built .308 Norma Magnum rifle was my retirement gift to myself when I turned 62 (13 years ago), and I paid for it with my first 2 Social Security checks. It was and still is "worth it" to me.
I've also mentioned on THR about how my wife bought a Shilou-Sharps .45-110 rifle for me for our 25th wedding anniversary. And I know full well she paid about $2,500 for that rifle. But seeing as how we'll be celebrating our 52nd wedding anniversary next month, I guess I'm "worth it" to her. :D
 
Orion8472 said:
I wonder if the price of the Browning 1911-22 is higher than what this pistol, with the materials used, should go for.
Click to expand...
There have been many a gun out there the opposite is true.

The manufacturer could not sell them at a price that would cover the cost of materials and labor, and the makers went broke.

The Whitney Wolverine .22 is a classic example, both the 1956 and 2002 versions . . . .
 
CapnMac said:
. . . if I assert that I found the $149.95 price for a Mini-14 in the Montgomery-Wards catalog too high, it really does not tell you that much. . . .
Click to expand...
If you know the approximate year of that price you can adjust the price with the average amount of inflation, and see if the manufacturer has either found a way to make it cheaper, or found a reason to make it more expensive.

Doing this for a number of common guns that have seen little change, and constant production over the last 20 to 30 years, the cost in constant dollars remains the same.
 
I'll go along with the conventional wisdom here. Supply and demand along with what one wants and what one is willing to pay. I think demand might be a bit more evident these days due to political machinations and the realization that LE is really not able to protect everyone at all times. The realization that LE usually comes along after a thing, not before among other realities is becoming more evident..
I always wanted a .357 magnum revolver, but I was not willing to pay the price I was seeing for one. Then one came along from a friend here at THR and he didn't want a market driven price, so I satisfied my want due due to a friend getting a bit of contentment knowing the revolver was going to a good home.
 
The gun market is unique in that:
1. Legislation, and the perception of coming legislation, plays a huge role in what people are willing to pay. (Hence the periodic buying panics.)
2. Guns have an emotional pull on people. The purchase is often not a rational decision. (In this sense, the gun market is like the drug market.)

So, the classic definition of fair market value, which is the price that can be agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller, both having knowledge of all relevant facts and neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell, often doesn't apply in regard to guns.
 
Actually, gun prices are probably too low.
Not many things that we buy can last the rest of our lives.

We live in an time where our phones, computers, appliances only last a few years and all cost more then your average gun.
 
I wonder if the way guns are distributed adds to the cost. My impression is that it's generally manufacturer to distributor and then to FFL. Middle man getting his cut.
 
tarosean said:
Not many things that we buy can last the rest of our lives.
Click to expand...
Not only do guns physically last a long time, but they don't become functionally obsolete either. A 10 year old computer may be on the edge of being unusable, but a 10 year old gun is just getting started.

This is a problem for gun manufacturers. The replacement market just isn't there. So they have to constantly be looking for new customers, first-time gun owners. People like those on this board, who own many guns and buy many more, are not enough to keep the gun industry afloat. Recirculating the same guns among ourselves doesn't count.
 
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