How do you price and gut check a new gun purchase?

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Went in the LGS looking for another Benelli---wound up with a 40 year old NIB SKB 600 for less than $1000----the way I looked at it, is that it was cheaper than a Benelli(and I already have one) and half the price of a comparable new Beretta or Browning O/U.

Really don't know if I paid too much--but I don't think so.


I need to thin the herd and get rid of some of the "cheapies"---its starting to get unmanageable ---again.
 
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I just decided a long time ago, that I would never get sucked into the bidding wars that happen on GB and other auction sites. Except for a really rare one, another gun will come along in a few months, tops. I'm willing to get a gun that has honest wear on it, it doesn't have to be a beauty queen that looks like it just came out of the box and it's 35 years old.

I'm almost at the end of my gun buying. With my last purchase of an S&W 625, I've got only one revolver left to buy, a 686 no dash or -1. In semautos, I'm about 3 from the end. If the current insanity continues, It's going to be a while to get one of them, but I can get the first two for about $12-1400 total, right now. Only a "WHAT? There's a _______ on GB for $XXXX??"". would make me go off the above path.

I've said it before, but I think this time, the above is 100% accurate.
 
For many years I haunted all the LGS and watched what sold for what. Now with the interweb I can do it from home. I was in the gun of the month club for many years. I can accurately guess a selling price often enough to be confident of not getting taken to the cleaners. I do find that the older I get the more selective I get though.
 
If I am looking for a specific firearm,before I start looking in LGS, I search on line retailers to get an idea on pricing.

The used gun counter is a different animal. If I see something I want, I will buy it and hope I didn't pay too much.
 
I'm sure ive over paid on a few used guns I've bought. I probably could have talked the price down but Im new to haggling. I do have a WRA M1 Garand in layaway, CMP paperwork included. I've wanted a Garand for a long time. Im sure im still over paying. But I've across several other WRA in the same price range. But without knowing how to really identify what parts are what, serial numbers its a crap shoot unless you are an expert or snap some pics and go home and research first. Then you run into the possibility of it being sold when you go back.

Had that happen a few times, I came across a fairly newer, clean Beretta 85B. Didn't know the pricing, came here and checked. Decided to get it, next visit it was gone. Now I really want a 85B
 
Mars5l said:
Had that happen a few times, I came across a fairly newer, clean Beretta 85B. Didn't know the pricing, came here and checked. Decided to get it, next visit it was gone. Now I really want a 85B
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Precisely why I usually keep the most recent Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values in my vehicle. My LGS has seen me leave the counter, go out to my car or truck more'n a few times (under the guise of making a private call to the chief finance minister of the household) and do a quick price/sanity check.

And of course, the Beretta 85 is one of the only two .380s every autopistol aficionado needs (the other being a SIG 230/232, though the Bond fans will say it's the Walther PPK). If you can find a clean specimen these days, for sure, go for it.
 
Old Dog said:
Precisely why I usually keep the most recent Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values in my vehicle. My LGS has seen me leave the counter, go out to my car or truck more'n a few times (under the guise of making a private call to the chief finance minister of the household) and do a quick price/sanity check.

And of course, the Beretta 85 is one of the only two .380s every autopistol aficionado needs (the other being a SIG 230/232, though the Bond fans will say it's the Walther PPK). If you can find a clean specimen these days, for sure, go for it.
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Honestly I wish someone would make a basic App. Have drop down menus that you pick country of make, or maker and model. Something that gives you some basic info on what marks to look for, the serial number ranges, production numbers etc... Then maybe it has a complied search history from GB and armslist for what similar ones have gone for
 
I set a budget and don’t exceed it. If the gun is more expensive than my budget I don’t buy it because in reality it’s probably duplicating the purpose of something I already have. Collecting stopped being worth it to me very quickly in.
 
DukeConnor said:
The used gun counter is a different animal. If I see something I want, I will buy it and hope I didn't pay too much.
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That's what I was getting at. Auctions are the same.
I cant say I regret any gun that I bought. Even if I overpaid it was a trivial amount. But I can absolutely say that I was a fool for not buying quite a few when I hesitated. Im sure many here can agree when they see the current pricing. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say
 
crestoncowboy said:
That's what I was getting at. Auctions are the same.
I cant say I regret any gun that I bought. Even if I overpaid it was a trivial amount. But I can absolutely say that I was a fool for not buying quite a few when I hesitated. Im sure many here can agree when they see the current pricing. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say
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I have bought a few lemons for no other reason that the seemed neat when I placed a bid. Once I pay the auction price, shipping, tax, FFL transfer fee, State fee and wait the ten days here (for the children!)...I have on occasion wondered what I was thinking.

The last true “What the heck was that for” gun buy I did was an AMT backup .380. When I started my career they were all the rage around here, every salty old cop had one because sitting on one in your rear pocket all day was less wear on the leg nerves than a Smith .38 Bodyguard. I never could get one as no one sold them and then AMT folded so they went out of production.

I bought it in a wave of retro nostalgia a a few years back when I hit the 25 year mark. It’s in great shape, but I quickly found out that it is heavy for its size, it must have every edge honed to a razors sharpness, has a trigger pull measured in metric tons, is basically a magazine-fed single shot with anything other than round nose FMJ and thwacks my palm like a schoolmarms’ yardstick every time I fire it.

I still have it... but I rarely, if ever, shoot it.

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Stay safe.
 
The internet is a wonderful source of information if one knows how to use it properly. What once was information known to only a privileged few, now is available to anyone with a phone and internet access. This applies not only to new/used gun prices, but cars, trucks and almost anything else that folks buy. If one buys a new/new to them firearm without checking out the going prices, there's no legitmate reason for them to pay substantially too much. That said, one must also know what the gun market is in their area. Here on this forum I see folks stating what is reasonable for a good used revolver, while around here, I see them gong for substantially less. In today's volatile gun market of high demand and low supply, prices are much higher than a year ago. Six months from now they may or may not be less. Starting to see prices on both guns and ammo starting to drop around here and more and more on the shelves. Like anything in life, research goes a long way. It does little to curb impulse tho.......
 
Start with being clear about what you want...OK you want a revolver so ask your self these questions. Caliber? Brand? Purpose? You said used, but why not buy new if you can answer all the questions, then and only then, start looking for price. I know this from painful experience. If you are looking for bargains, it becomes too easy to end up buying cheap junk. Just go look for what you want.
 
just a few questions, do I really want this gun(not the model, this one - the one I'm holding or bidding on)? does this gun - the model do something for me that something else does not do that I already have. Is the price reasonable and does the seller seem like they are up front and not playing games or scamming me.
 
I have some NIB pocket knives that have been in the safe for a few years. They are relatively rare, discontinued or limited editions. I've decided I would rather have cash than unused knives so I'm getting ready to sell them. I had no idea how much I paid for them and searching 10 years of emails only answered the question for one of them. So my point is that I don't remember how much I paid, just like I don't remember for most of my guns. If I sell them at a loss it will only be a loss in the theoretical sense, because the money I paid is long gone and selling them means I will have money I don't have now.

I buy something if I think I like it and the price seems fair, even if it's really not fair from an objective standpoint. Price will be forgotten, but if it's something you really want/need the object will remain.
 
Hangingrock said:
I'm old in my 7th decade, thus I have more self-control, AKA experience. I went thru I got to have it phase decades in the past. There are items that set in the safe that haven't seen the light of day in a long-long time. Finances no problem. The last vehicle acquired a Toyota Highlander SE-AWD, we paid cash for it. No mortgage payments either. What I've written is no brag nor is it intended to be, its just how it is at this point in my life. If someone were to ask me what I could get by with now, the reply would be (2) handguns, (1) rifle and (1) Shotgun.
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7th decade isn't old. I just hit that mark recently. 60 isn't bad.
 
I usually only consider 2 things. Do I want it? Do I have the money for it AND whatever I've got to buy mama to "even things out"? Fortunately she's ok with just a new outfit, phone upgrade, pair of running shoes, etc...
 
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I compulsively research before buying, reviews, pricing, shooting vids, the works, usually rent one of I can as well.

By the time I'm actually looking to buy I've got a solid handle on what I want to pay and what I will pay.

For me, an impulse buy is only obsessign and researching for a week instead of a few months.

Unless it's something that I already have, then I might impulse buy/trade more rapidly.
 
First I get the serial number, then I start my research by checking the serial numbers of all of the guns I already own. If I don't already have one with that serial number, I buy the new gun. That method has never disappointed me. :D
 
Like many of the others, if I'm looking for something specific I'll look on GunBroker for the ones being bid on. And like I do when looking at bids on construction, car repair ect, I usually discard the extreme high and low ones.

Back in my younger years when I hit 20 or so gun shows a year I just knew prices. I can't explain how, I just knew.
 
Blue Book of Gun Values; internet on Auction Arms, Gun Broker, etc. and talk to the guys at the gun club. Its interesting how many people will subscribe to Car Fax or Consumer Report to value a car, but won't buy an old gun value book for $25. Better yet just go to the library and look 'em up,
 
Ru4real said:
What do you do to make sure you really want the gun to own, more than the superficial dopamine rush of buying?
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I've been a gun dork long enough that there is a running list in my head, of guns that interest me. I usually have some idea of what they cost and how much I'd be willing to spend to spend to get one. There's a slush fund in my personal account that ebbs and flows with the tide of my life, but if the opportunity to buy a gun I've always wanted, coincides with the financial means, then the purchase happens. I don't agonize over a +/- 10% cost envelope and I don't agonize over the purchase afterwards.
 
New Gun:
I first look at MSRP from the manufacturer.
I search this forum. :cool:
Then I look at pricing on various websites by doing a search. I always include Bud’s Gun Shop in that search.
I then look at a couple of gun stores in my area.
My favorite LGS usually can’t meet Bud’s prices but they can beat Rifle Gear, which has a store near me. I usually always by my new guns from my LGS here in SoCal for the past couple of years.

Used Guns:
I do a search online and also look at auction sites.
I search this forum. ;)
I look at my gun values book, which is almost comical because the prices listed and the prices people claim they pay online is usually not my reality...

What usually happens is I say ‘screw all that‘ and buy it because I want it and then listen to people tell me how “I got one for way less” or “Oh, you should have looked at Blah, Blah, Blah...you could have gotten it for fairy dust and unicorn farts....”
I usually smile and call them whimsical bad names in my mind as I ready my new treasure for a range trip. :D
 
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