How much do YOU think they should cost?

[Nightcrawler]

Handgun prices, from what I'm told, have gone up in recent years. In my area they seem to be especially high; you'll be looking at $500-$530 or so for a Springfield Mil-Spec, $549-$612 for a Glock (depending on model), $429 for a stainless Ruger (and that's at Gander Mountain, they're usually cheaper) and so on.

But what do you think, given your experience, would be a "fair" price for a given gun? Or, to put it another way, how much do you think it's worth for a major brand handgun?

 

[firestar]

It depends on the gun of course but I allways thought that a Mil-Spec .45 auto should be much cheaper than they are.

A lot of factors go into what a company charges for a gun and if they can get $600.00 for a plain Jane Mil-Spec then who am I to argue?

I just think that 1911 clones should be cheaper because they have zero R&D invested and even the machinery has been around forever.

 

[10-Ring]

Your pricing is about what I see here in SoCal. Every once in a while, something will go down in price, but for the most part, I'm guessing all the legislation, new internal safeties and liability insurance rates have something to do w/ the costs as well.

 

[MoNsTeR]

Most handguns seem to be fairly reasonably priced nowadays. I think new prices on most of the popular plastic guns, Rugers, CZs, and Beretta's are all within reason. On the other hand, $675+ for a SIG P226 is pushing it, and that's a bargain price ($750 is more typical). The H&K USP is similarly poorly priced. Colt's entire product line seems to be priced by the insane, $1000 for a new Python or $600 for a bare-bones 1991A1 is ridiculous.

However, I'd be more apt to put the blame on retailers. The typical price for a CZ-75B seems to be about $350, but one local shop sells them for much more, around $450. Another local shop has preposterous prices almost across the board, $850 for a new SIG classic, $900 for a USP, $700 for a Beretta 92. With a little shopping, you can find most guns for a "fair" price, with the exceptions I listed above.

But, being an economist, I have to agree with firestar and say that the "fair" price is what you'll pay, even if it makes the rest of us go

 

[JohnBT]

Well, as much as I like Browning HPs, the new one's at the store now run from $610 to $680. That's getting a tad high I think, even for an exceptionally well made metal gun.

I only paid $579 last year.

John

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I still don't get why a good handgun is more expensive than a good rifle (in general). The $700 you'd spend on a mid-range 1911 can get you a Remington Sendero or a nice AR15 with a lot more machining, barrel steel and overall materials put into their manufacture.

I guess handguns will keep going up in price as long as there are those who would target them first to take away from law-abiding citizens.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Also -- the Benelli Nova -- a semi-plastic shotgun -- was designed so that they would reduce costs with higher volumes. The plastic handguns seem to have gone UP in price quite substantially over the past few years.

 

[Jason Demond]

My local dealer has a NIB Glock 21 for $700.00 and a NIB Kimber Custom Classic II for $900.00.

 

[Sean Smith]

Wierd, prices where I'm at seem pretty good... $350 for a Ruger or CZ, $500 or so for a Glock and $570 for a new Colt in basic blue.

 

[Ewok_Guy]

Glocks and mil-spec 1911s should cost $300 NIB.
Everything could stand to be at least $100 cheaper.

 

[New_comer]

I an quite convinced that I'm enjoying all $550 I put into my USP two years ago.

Fact is, I can sell it for almost twice that amount, and be totally overjoyed!

 

[Handy]

Prices should be based, in part, on the difficulty of manufacture. A 1911 takes a bunch of machining steps that even modern steel guns avoid. An investment cast alloy frame can be cheaper, but still requires machining and finishing. A plastic frame can be produced for less than the cost of 4" GIJoe ($3-no painting required).

Given that, here is my pricelist:

Sig 210, Wilson 1911, etc. $1800
P7, P88 $1100
Nice 1911, Hi-Power, blued CZ97 $700
Sig classic, basic CZ75, S&W DA autos $550
USP, P99 $400
Glock, Sigma, Steyr M $250


If only you got what you paid for.

 

[hansolo]

Greedy Gundealers

Please, let's not rehash a recent thread on the reasons why small/medium Gunshops should be allowed to gouge us. Example: A friend has an FFL so he lets me see his "wholesale"
flyers....I know the dealer's cost, so, when I see a couple Rugers and S&W 9mm's going for about $100.00 more at two local Gunshops than about nine months ago...well, I'll go with my FFL friend and opt for the pre-owned over a new one to save $200.00-300.00. I'm not into haggling, so when I see an inflated price, I walk.

P.S. When I mentioned that one guy's $12.00/box price for 9mm Blazer about was double what they get at Wal-Mart, he says "You're full of it".....I doubt that he's been out of his store since the Trans Am was a big seller.

 

[faustulus]

whatever the market will bear. I can always shop around to find the best price and if enough people think a price is too high it will be lowered. Isn't the free market wonderful.

 

[Rupestris]

What I would like to see is a 20% drop in the price of mid range handguns. To me, that would be a fair price for most models.
I paid $730 in February 2002 for my Kimber Custom Target II. Since then, in this area, it seems the same model has gone UP 10% in less than a year. If this trend keeps up I'll make a profit on the gun

This subject came up a while ago on another forum. I went back and dug up my response from that thread.

...there is the 10% that manufacturers must add to their opperating expense.
"The 11% government excise tax on long guns and ammunition paid by manufacturers in 1998 generated $126,620,000 for the federal treasury. The 10% excise tax on handguns in 1998 generated another $35,528,000. [Source: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms 1998 Annual Manufacturers Excise Tax Report.] In 1998, the total sales on long guns, handguns, and ammunition amounted to approximately $2.1 billion, with rifles and shotguns accounting for $852,819,800, handguns $497,392,000 and ammunition $758,56,600."

Then you have the liability insurance premiums paid by the gun makers because, as we know, the gun manufacturer is entirely responsible for the misuse of their product.

Rupe

 

[El Tejon]

As high as possible.

 

[Tamara]

Imagine, folks trying to make a profit.

The horror!

 

[Handy]

From what I know about gunshops, and distributors, the profit is thin. But Glock especially must be making money hand over fist. They just don't cost anything to make or assemble.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

How much do YOU think they should cost?

My personal preference would be 25-75 cents for handguns and around $1.25 for long guns.


However, I think they should cost whatever the seller decides to sell them for. If no one buys them because they are too expensive, that's his problem.

 

[sturmruger]

SAVE SOME MONEY

I have shopped for guns all over the midwest(MN, WI, IA) I have only found three dealers that I am willing to spend my money with. IMHO all the other dealers are trying to make too much per gun. I have been buying allot through the mail. I found a FFL who is willing to do the transfer paperwork for only $10 !!!!!! I have been buying allot from CDNN Investments They have some of the best prices you will ever find!!! I bought a Steyr M40 for $299 and Steyr S40 for only $399!! My next purchase is going to be a Springfield Micro Compact, they want $549. They only charge $9.99 for the first gun and $5 for the second. They are good guys there.

Shop around, and don't be afraid to talk the dealer down. Gun buying is just like buying a car. You have to look out for yourself.

 

[BamBam]

I think your job pays too much. You should make $10/hr less. Come on, it costs you almost nothing to go to work.....really only the price of gas. The rest of your pay you greedily pocket!

 

[Ebbtide]

Relative to products that need the same type of manufacturing I think there should not be any handguns that costs over $300.00

Example:

Lawn mowers: Lots of steps taken to produce...a gasoline engine, blade, carb, deck, etc.

They only cost a hundred bucks.

Now, how can it be more expensive to make a glock?

But, we will pay what they ask as long as we want the product. As far as profits being thin on firearms, that may be true for the end retailer, but not the manufacture in most cases.

 

[Nightcrawler]

but not the manufacture in most cases.

Especially for Glocks, USPs, and other poly guns that are very inexpensive to make.

But, like others have said, as long as we're willing to pay that much, that much is what we'll pay.

The individual gun shops usually don't make much of a profit on guns, though.

 

[Edward429451]

1911's and Glocks should be about $250
700 BDL's about $350
M1A's about $500 to $600

Seen in a magazine where supressors used to be $5 bucks over the counter in hardware stores!

 

[MoNsTeR]

popular misconceptions about capitalism

1. The price of a good is dependent on it's cost of production.
This is false. The price of a good is determined by the interaction of the producer's willingness to sell and the consumer's willingness to buy, these being known as "supply" and "demand" respectively. Cost of production is a significant determining factor of supply, but certainly not the only one. It's also important to realize that "cost of production" and "cost of manufacture" are NOT the same thing. A compact disc costs about $1 to fabricate, but sells for about $17. A copy of Adobe Photoshop costs a similarly small sum to produce, maybe $10 accounting for the box and manual, but sells for $600. A fountain soda costs about $.10 for the cup and maybe $.05 for the soda, but sells for about $1.00. However, all these things are earning the retailer a profit of about 5%.

Before a good is manufactured it must be designed. Once a good is produced it must be packaged, distributed, promoted, warrantied, etc. Then the gov't takes their share (55% of gross profits in the US). When all is said and done the manufacturers aren't making all that much, even on guns that are inexpensive to make. If there is a manufacturer making an above average profit, others will notice and enter their market, bringing down profits and eliminating that supranormal profit. That so many manufacturers have begun using "plastic" frames indicates that Glock may have been making a killing, but with so many competitors now it's not likely that's the case today.

There are other misconceptions at work here but this is the big one.