how do you price used stuff?

[Wisco]

Cheap gun Cheap scope... id hurt your feeling if I told you what Id give for it... Give it away, thats really about all its worth.

I don't presume to know everyone's finances, but it's worth more than a giveaway. $100-200 isn't pocket change.

 

[redneck2]

You can ask strangers on the internet, and as you can see your answers will be all over the map. If you really want to do the right thing (whatever that is), it will come to you without someone else involved.

I'm fortunate that I can afford whatever I want, so I tend to give things to others that are not in my situation. That may or may not be you depending upon where you are in life's cycle.

Hope things work out

 

[Tirod]

Look up the item on the internet. If you can find one or more for sale, note the asking price(s).

Simple research. An auction site like Gunbroker is a start, what do they sell for?

It has nothing - zip - zero - nada to do with what you paid. For the most part used guns can drop in price up to half, easily. A rare and overestimated few increase but only after production ceases and a new generation looks at them as "before their time." Which, some are. Tradition is the bulwark of gun buying and despite the claims of New! in marketing if it's too new then nobody likes them.

Polymer? Took twenty years to become mainstream, which explains all the Glock fan boys currently. They are that far behind. ; )

Once you settle on your asking price then you get to hear all the low ball bidders who catch wind of it and who will ask if you will take half for it. If they have a purpose in life it's to annoy gun show vendors who put MSRP on worn out junk that was thrown in the bed of a truck and left to rust all winter, then cleaned with Naval Jelly, buffed up with a scotchbrite pad, and put on their table with a tag that says "mint NIB."

I'm only kidding a little. Bottom line, guns sell for whatever you can get. It's the price you finally are willing to accept vs what somebody is willing to pull out of the recesses of their pocket vault. Too high and you see people smirking as they turn away, too low and you see people smirking as they turn away.

Good luck and keep a thick skin about it.

 

[Captcurt]

Look up the item on the internet. If you can find one or more for sale, note the asking price(s).

The asking price and the selling price are two different animals. I list a lot of guns online on consignment. One seller will price a gun in 50%condition at over NIB price. Some of them I am ashamed to be associated with, but I get paid to list them.

A better way to check price besides the Blue Book is GunBroker's advanced search. Go to Advanced and then completed sales for the gun in question. Click on Bids until the items with bids come up and it will show you what the guns sold for.

 

[jmorris]

It depends. When I buy I pay up to what I think it's worth, unless I really want it then I might pay more than its worth.

When I sell I price things at what I think other people think it's worth or maybe a tad over so people that like to bargain can think they did a good job, unless I really want to get rid of it then I will price it lower.

Why did you and your Brother have a falling out? I lost my Brother years ago and would still give anything to spend more time with him. When he was alive I gave him things that were more valuable than what your talking about. If someone did something so bad to me that I wouldn't even talk to them for eight months, I don't think I would sell them a firearm at any price. Then again I suppose if I did someone so wrong they wouldn't talk to me for eight months I wouldn't want to give them one either.

 

[John_R]

If the gun is "like new" I price it just enough below the lowest "new" price I can find to make a buyer consider it. Might be $50 less than new.

 

[Sav .250]

You can certainly ask for any amount you wish. A little home work on your part about such items should turn up
"going" pricing on the items you mentioned. Do a search.....you`d be surprised on what you may find.

 

[Legionnaire]

I'm with Walkalong. Were I in your situation and could afford it, I'd give it to my brother. Getting past the estrangement is more important than breaking even. If you feel you must sell it for what it's worth, I wouldn't bring my brother into it.

With regard to the general question of how to price used guns, I always check the closed auctions that actually sold on GB. That gives me a good idea of what the market actually is. Might be able to get a bit more than GB prices in a local sale since the buyer doesn't have to pay shipping and (depending on state) transfer fees. YMMV.

 

[Axis II]

I'm with Walkalong. Were I in your situation and could afford it, I'd give it to my brother. Getting past the estrangement is more important than breaking even. If you feel you must sell it for what it's worth, I wouldn't bring my brother into it.

With regard to the general question of how to price used guns, I always check the closed auctions that actually sold on GB. That gives me a good idea of what the market actually is. Might be able to get a bit more than GB prices in a local sale since the buyer doesn't have to pay shipping and (depending on state) transfer fees. YMMV.

if i could get half for it i would be happy. i wasn't going to charge him what i paid for it but he did offer about a year ago.

 

[Legionnaire]

If he offered, then "Hey, are you still interested in the CVA?" might be a good opening to re-establish contact. My relationships with my brothers have not always been without rancor (heck, we're brothers), but we work at keeping communication open. Best of luck to you.

 

[Jason_W]

Unless I'm in dire straights, I'm never selling another gun. It's just too much hassle and few people browsing the used market are looking for a fair price, they're looking for a steal. I might trade, though.

I'm really not sure how anything gets sold on gunbroker when all the sellers are high balling and all the buyers are low balling.

 

[Captcurt]

Unless I'm in dire straights, I'm never selling another gun. It's just too much hassle and few people browsing the used market are looking for a fair price, they're looking for a steal. I might trade, though.

I'm really not sure how anything gets sold on gunbroker when all the sellers are high balling and all the buyers are low balling.

If used guns are priced right, they sell.

 

[Jason_W]

If used guns are priced right, they sell.

True, but priced right is pretty subjective. It's the most basic rule of economics: The value of any item is whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Typically, what people are willing to pay for a used gun (excluding collectibles and true rare finds) is way too little to make the hassle of a sale worthwhile.

For example, For a time I was considering selling my Marlin 1894 for something that's a little cheaper to shoot. New, after all the taxes, and california BS fees, I was over $600 in the hole for the gun. Then, I upgraded the trigger (another $100+) and upgraded the sight with a Skinner sight (approx. $80). Even though I have less than 200 rounds through it and it's never been in the woods, I know that I would be lucky to get even $400 for the setup. I'm not griping, It's just the way the market is right now.

It's actually worth more sitting in my safe. It's possible that some day, within my lifetime, the Marlin 1894 could be completely discontinued. After all, they can't be that profitable to manufacture in comparison to all the plastic fantastic stuff being churned out now. If that happens, the Marlin will probably end up being way more than $600.

I'm not actually going to relegate it to safe queen status. I'm just going to finish off my reloading setup and safe money on ammo that way. But the point stands: Unless you desperately need the cash or room in the safe, don't sell because you're going to ultimately take a bath on it.

 

[1KPerDay]

Give it to your brother after you take him to dinner. Life's too short for "estrangements".

 

[chicharrones]

Brothers and guns . . .

Years ago, my brother gave me a milsurp rifle for Christmas. A few years after that, I gave him a milsurp rifle for his birthday. A few more years after that, he gave me a milsurp pistol for some work I did for him. On his next birthday, I gave him the tools to do the job himself for the next time.

Right now we're about even, but I have a feeling it won't stay that way forever.

 

[RPZ]

You are dealing with someone who you have "fallen out with". So regardless of what you ask for, sell it to him for, if something goes wrong with it, or he talks to some other party who says he's been ripped off etc, you might get another headache. Sell it to someone else and let him buy a gun from someone else.

 

[Captcurt]

Unless you desperately need the cash or room in the safe, don't sell because you're going to ultimately take a bath on it.

True, I have a couple of AR's that I bought for speculation. I will be lucky if I only go in the hole a $100@ and I bought them wholesale.

 

[Pepa]

If its your brother give it to him as a gift. Why consider any other option?

 

[Rick McC.]

You can ask strangers on the internet, and as you can see your answers will be all over the map. If you really want to do the right thing (whatever that is), it will come to you without someone else involved.

I'm fortunate that I can afford whatever I want, so I tend to give things to others that are not in my situation. That may or may not be you depending upon where you are in life's cycle.

Hope things work out

I certainly can't "afford anything I want, " but am in a position to occasionally help out others in need. I've sometimes put off getting something I'd saved for when I saw a greater need.

I've never once regretted it, and I think I know where you're coming from.

 

[redneck2]

I certainly can't "afford anything I want,

Probably should re-phrase that. I couldn't go out and pay cash for a new Ferrari. Well, I guess actually I could but it would put a big hole in my retirement money. I simply have very few wants/needs at this point.

 

[TheBigFundamental]

Maybe it is because I have a brother, but to me, this post is not about how to price a firearm.

The time we spend with our loved ones is more valuable than any pile of cash and more important than any squabble. Unless what went down was totally unforgivable, it is worth extending the olive branch. You don't want to look back on this as a missed opportunity and lost time.