I'd like to share my personal experience with buying guns as an investment. People on gun boards tend to be of the opinion that guns will only appreciate in value. This is likely true for many guns, but for most I'd argue it is not. After you consider the time investment taken to sell the gun, accessories, leftover ammo (provided you don't have other guns to shoot it), and everything else, I'd argue it's a substantial net-loss.
I am not saying "do not buy a gun as an investment" I'm saying it's probably not going to work out to your financial benefit. (Though, it might be worth it now to sell guns you bought years ago - they ARE going up in price. I'd still not think it's a good idea, personally.)
The first gun I bought was a USP in .40S&W. I bought it for $510. I didn't care for it and sold it a couple years later at a $100 or so loss.
I tried recently to sell my Tika T3 Hunter in .270 Winchester. This is a popular cartridge for around here, as many people own them. It's a good gun, shoots straight (quarter inch group @ 100 yards with "whatever" 130 and 150gr 'cheap' ammo), and is in almost-new condition (no rust or wear and only one small field mar on the finish. I got a good price for it 3 years ago - $480. New, they're going for $620 or so now. I got a couple offers, all less than I paid for it - and that was with the scope (granted, a $120 model) I had on it.
I've recently sold/traded two other guns for an 'upgrade' - a Yugoslavian SKS I bought when they were going for $89/ea and a Taurus PT111 Pro (stainless) which I got for $320 shortly after the stainless model was made available (about 4-5 years ago). I got $225 for the SKS (which was a win, but from $89, the price could only go up) and $240 for the Taurus. Both went towards a Mossberg 590a, and I came out exactly "even" after putting the 'leftover' $20 from those two guns towards some 12ga shells.
All told in three gun sales, I lost over 25% of my investment, twice, but got a 100% return once on a markedly less valuable gun. Maybe it'd have worked out better for me if I'd gotten a couple M1 Carbines back in the day, or some such thing, or a custom 1911 as a steal. And I'm sure some people do make a 'profit' off of gun sales. But are gun sales really any more than a "money sink" or holder? Seems to me their investment value, except with exotic or collectors items, is pretty much related to the cost of commodities and the current manufacturing cost of arms.
What say you?
I am not saying "do not buy a gun as an investment" I'm saying it's probably not going to work out to your financial benefit. (Though, it might be worth it now to sell guns you bought years ago - they ARE going up in price. I'd still not think it's a good idea, personally.)
The first gun I bought was a USP in .40S&W. I bought it for $510. I didn't care for it and sold it a couple years later at a $100 or so loss.
I tried recently to sell my Tika T3 Hunter in .270 Winchester. This is a popular cartridge for around here, as many people own them. It's a good gun, shoots straight (quarter inch group @ 100 yards with "whatever" 130 and 150gr 'cheap' ammo), and is in almost-new condition (no rust or wear and only one small field mar on the finish. I got a good price for it 3 years ago - $480. New, they're going for $620 or so now. I got a couple offers, all less than I paid for it - and that was with the scope (granted, a $120 model) I had on it.
I've recently sold/traded two other guns for an 'upgrade' - a Yugoslavian SKS I bought when they were going for $89/ea and a Taurus PT111 Pro (stainless) which I got for $320 shortly after the stainless model was made available (about 4-5 years ago). I got $225 for the SKS (which was a win, but from $89, the price could only go up) and $240 for the Taurus. Both went towards a Mossberg 590a, and I came out exactly "even" after putting the 'leftover' $20 from those two guns towards some 12ga shells.
All told in three gun sales, I lost over 25% of my investment, twice, but got a 100% return once on a markedly less valuable gun. Maybe it'd have worked out better for me if I'd gotten a couple M1 Carbines back in the day, or some such thing, or a custom 1911 as a steal. And I'm sure some people do make a 'profit' off of gun sales. But are gun sales really any more than a "money sink" or holder? Seems to me their investment value, except with exotic or collectors items, is pretty much related to the cost of commodities and the current manufacturing cost of arms.
What say you?