How much would you over pay?

I am very patient and at this point in my life nothing I would overpay for.
I proxy bid what I feel the fair market value is. Either I win or on to another. Sometimes I would just put in a ridiculously low bid and just like that I won. You never know.
 
This is a good question.

First of all, I don't "over pay", per se. I do my research and set my budget accordingly. My budget may be more than the average going rate, but when I hit the budget limit, I'm done. I'm not an "at all costs" kinda shopper for this.

Now, how much over the average going rate would I go? Hard to say. I haven't really gone after anything hard to get to the point where I would consider going big bucks over average.
 
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I have paid a bit over what a gun was "worth" before, but I wanted it, and by now the value has likely caught up with whatever I paid for it.

This Taurus .32 Mag for instance, over paid a bit, but I like it a lot, it shoots very well, and it's one of the guns I use with newbie shooters.
It's a nice step up from .22 LR I like to start some folks with, loaded light with WCs. If they like both of those, we progress to something
a bit bigger.

Anyway, yes, I over paid for it. Don't regret it after these 10+ years, still enjoy it.
I don't see myself getting rid of it. Shot it just the other day.
Taurus .32 Mag Pic 1.JPG IMG_7934.JPG
 
Average going prices are fine to judge what one might pay for common, or easily found firearms. The issue becomes tougher when it's older firearms, or collectible firearms where they're long out of production, and not enough sold to be able to judge the "going rate".
At some point you just have to decide how badly you want a particular gun, and whether you can afford to save the funds and maybe find one at all. When you do find one of those really unusual firearms, you likely aren't going to worry much about whether it fits into a price range as much as whether you have the funds and if you want it badly enough.
 
Sometimes paying too much doesn't involve money....only "value". Many years ago I traded my Ithaca Featherlite 12 ga pump and an M-1 Carbine for an Ithaca XL900 semi auto 20 ga with a small game and a deer slayer barrel. I should have just bought the Xl. I've regretted that trade ever since.
 
It is embarrassing to say how many fine gun deals I have passed up waiting for the "right" price. That said, making the decision to spend $$$ dollars on guns is tough when you have lived a life of necessary frugality. A few years ago I passed up a Browning High Power 9mm in excellent condition, from a friend, for $800. To add salt to my self-inflicted wound, I had the money in my pocket at the time. Two hours later, when I changed my mind, he had sold it to a much smarter guy. I could easily sell that gun today for $1500. Having learned some painful lessons, I try to be guided more by buying what I want. But, I'll never not be frugal.
 
tarosean said:
So the question is how much would you overpay for a gun that you truly wanted over its "worth"?
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I overpaid for my first (and only) Colt SAA. A new 3rd gen 7.5 in .45 Colt, and I'd been on a waiting list for about 3 years. I paid $1800 (IIRC) which was about $350 more than MSRP at the time and I was happy to do so. This was about 7 years ago. I considered it the price of doing business for a very sought-after revolver. There may have been those who were able to get their dealers to sell to them at MSRP but this was not the case for me. I don't regret it. However, I also rarely shoot it because it's starting to drop the bolt at the entrance of the notches and I'm too dumb to fix it. I don't want to beat it up.

youtu.be

Brand New Colt Single Action Army SAA .45 Unboxing and First Shoot jeff shoots stuff jeffshootsstuff

Youtube has de-funded most gun content. Please consider supporting me on Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/jeffshootsstuffafter a 2 year wait and much gnashing...
youtu.be youtu.be

Also... overpaying today might become a good deal in a few years. I balked a little paying .40/round for a bunch of Lake City M80 ball and HXP M2 ball about 12 years ago. Don't regret it now.
 
Rare items cost what they cost, and are worth whatever someone subjectively believes is "worth it" to them at the time. A rare item then can't be bought for "3 times what it is worth," because the fact it sold at that price means it was worth that much to the buyer.

I guy my guns and other toys with my "fun money," and my "fun money" has no obligation of frugality. If I want something and I have the cash to buy it, I buy it.
 
There is the other side of the coin. Buying something you weren't looking for because you got a great deal. I am a sucker for buy one, get one free at the grocery store.

I wanted to buy my first AR15. I'm getting near retirement and felt I "needed a home defense rifle". I ended up with a great deal on a bolt action tactical .308. That of course necessitated buying a nice a scope to go on it. Then there were the dies, bullets, and powder. At least now I have a viable 600+ yard home defense rifle. Everyone in a major metropolitan area needs one .....right?????

Hard to say what is worse.

And yes, I still need to get that AR15!
 
Jack65.jpg
The only time I really overpay is when I build something. The last time was about 4 years ago, I wanted an AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor, it was basically a spare no expense project. JP Enterprise stainless fluted cryogenic treated barrel, muzzle device, handguard, bolt & carrier, LPK, captured recoil spring, Geissele Super Dynamic 2-stage trigger, Sharps matched upper & lower receivers, Magpul PRS stock, Atlas bipod and Leupold Mark 4 ER/T 8.5-25x50 M1 Extended Range Front Focal Scope.
I could have bought several commercial 6.5 Creedmoor rifles for a fraction of what it cost to build mine, but this is exactly what I wanted.
 
Even the most basic, common and plain-Jane Blackhawk or Vaquero costs about $850 new in my area before tax. Been that way for a year or two. And you couldn't even find them for about a year or so.


So you didn't overpay - it's just what they cost nowadays.
[EDIT: Forgot to say "Congrats and enjoy!", which I should have started with... 😐 ]
 
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I have bought many hard to find guns over the years. I have dicrectionary funds to pretty much buy whatever i want but, I always under pay or i pass on it. I want to make sure down the road i am able to get more than what i paid if i decide to sell it.
This has worked. Out of many i bought and sold over the decades, i always made money and sometimes really good money except for maybe one or 2 and i always made up for the loss and then some on another sale.. You also dont take a 500 dollar gun and put a grand into it with customizing ect. You'll never get you money out of it.
 
I’m a cheapskate by nature but will occasionally spend outside my reasonable limits if I have recently sold something for more cash that I expected ( sold truck for $xxx and even though I would never spend $xxx on this gun, I would have gladly traded the truck for it so… I’ll just consider it a trade and forget the price tag.
 
bluejeans said:
I’m a cheapskate by nature but will occasionally spend outside my reasonable limits if I have recently sold something for more cash that I expected ( sold truck for $xxx and even though I would never spend $xxx on this gun, I would have gladly traded the truck for it so… I’ll just consider it a trade and forget the price tag.
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Like you, I find it easier to spend more after I've sold some stuff, like spending $1600 for a Tikka T3X Super Varmint .223 and $700 for the Meopta scope that sits on it. I would usually avoid such expense. But, the pay off is killing a prairie dog at 350 yards during a recent dog hunt.
 
Just thought of another paying-too-much story. I went to a gun auction awhile back in Bern, KS, a tiny town in the middle of giant grain fields far from any bigger cities. So, I'm thinking maybe I can find an auction that would not be overrun by possessed buyers. WRONG! There was a NIB Winchester 9417 17HMR that I hoped to buy. At the time, they were selling on GB for around $!200 if I'm recalling correctly. I decided to bid up to $1,000, hoping for a bargain. I was really stunned when it sold for $2400. As an old friend on mine said, "Them auctions is nuts." Several guns at that auction sold well above retail.
 
Sniper66 said:
Just thought of another paying-too-much story. I went to a gun auction awhile back in Bern, KS, a tiny town in the middle of giant grain fields far from any bigger cities. So, I'm thinking maybe I can find an auction that would not be overrun by possessed buyers. WRONG! There was a NIB Winchester 9417 17HMR that I hoped to buy. At the time, they were selling on GB for around $!200 if I'm recalling correctly. I decided to bid up to $1,000, hoping for a bargain. I was really stunned when it sold for $2400. As an old friend on mine said, "Them auctions is nuts." Several guns at that auction sold well above retail.
Click to expand...
I’ve told the story about a friend of mine; he went to a fundraising dinner for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (or a similar group) several years ago. He hit the bar for a bit prior to dinner, and after eating he got into a whiskey-fueled bidding war with another big ego guy across the room over a Lazzeroni 8.59 Titan rifle with a Leupold scope.

IIRC, bringing that gun home cost him $6,500 bucks. (Not counting the tab for dinner tickets, a hotel room for the night and hooch.)

Live gun auctions are nuts!

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I’ve told the story about a friend of mine; he went to a fundraising dinner for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (or a similar group) several years ago. He hit the bar for a bit prior to dinner, and after eating he got into a whiskey-fueled bidding war with another big ego guy across the room over a Lazzeroni 8.59 Titan rifle with a Leupold scope.

IIRC, bringing that gun home cost him $6,500 bucks. (Not counting the tab for dinner tickets, a hotel room for the night and hooch.)

Live gun auctions are nuts!

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
Sounds like most of the Ducks Unlimited banquets I've been to in the past. It's funny watching drunk guys piss away a lot of money just to outdo some other drunk guy.
 
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