How should I sell these guns?

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NC-Mike

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I live in NC and never sold a firearm privately. I have a bunch of guns I'd like to get rid off. Nothing very valuable but they are good, functioning and matching firearms.

They are:

CZ-82
CZ-52
Beretta 96D
Marlin 336
Russian SKS
Yugo 59/66 SKS
German Mauser

I can bring them all into a nearby shop tomorrow so he can make me an offer. I bought the Mauser from him for 300 and I was told by someone else in the shop he will probably offer 225 to buy it back so I can expect about the same kind of pricing on the other guns.

Is it worth the hassle to put these type of gins up on Gun Broker or here the THR? What do you think?

I was going to sell him some 40 S&W and Mauser ammo. (I have 2,000 rounds) of it. Maybe its worth it to sell that privately?

Any advice would be appreciated
 
Depends on what your time is worth, and how much you want to end up with. Least amount of $ will come from selling to a dealer. Maximum will come from private sales.

A happy medium (if you are not in a rush for the cash) would be to put them on consignment. Most dealers in this area work on 10%. If your Mauser is worth $300, you can have him price it at $325 and see if it moves.

You get to have access to his customers and control the price point, and the dealer gets to make some money on a gun without tieing up his cash. Another possible benefit for the dealer is a larger selection of used guns. Shops with good/large selections of used guns tend to get more foot traffic.
 
Yeah, I thought of that but this guy doesn't do consignment.

I'm thinking it would be a pain to ship 7 guns...
 
Selling to an FFL is about the last option you should consider. Even in states where FTF transactions are difficult or impossible, I would still opt for consignment before I did a direct sale. You'll lose a lot of money in the process if you sell directly to a dealer.

First step is to be sure of what you have and figure out what it's really worth. Gunbroker complete auctions offer a rough estimate.

Then if your state law allows it I'd consider posting both here and on local swap n' sell forums. Interstate sales add to shipping complexities to some extent but I've never had any major problems with them. FTF sales are OK but be sure you get some basic documentation to CYOA (a simple "as is" UCC purchase agreement, whatever return terms you negotiate, and a statement signed by the buyer that he's legally able to own firearms in that state).
 
You'll get more money with a private sale, but more agrivation.

See what the deal offers, but relize he is low balling. Not because he is a jerk, but because he has to sell them at a profit & he can by new at whole sale.

FTF private sale is the most profitable, but has its risk. Shipping, less risk, but less profit.

wish I lived in our area I have been looking for a 336.
 
Don't sell your guns directly to the shop. They will only give you 50-60 percent of what they will turn around and sell it for. If you sell it on consignment through the shop they will likely charge a 15 percent fee. Consignment is the best way to go if you don't what to deal with strangers knowing you have guns or coming to your house, etc.
 
I have to check around but the two big biggest shops around here that I frequent don't do consignments.

If the guy who works at the shop is right and he offers me 225 on the rifle I bought from him 300, I could live with that.

Just reading this thread and thinking about people calling, emailing and coming to the house to look at a gun makes me dread selling them privately.

I will check out a few more shops in the area for that consignment option if the offer isn't good.
 
I'll post back here tomorrow as I will be taking the guns to the shop and see what he offers me.
 
Unless there are laws requiring FFL transfers within your state, why not come up with a price and post them here on THR? Face-to-face only in your area if you do not want to deal with shipping.

You will get more by selling them individually, but it will take more effort. You could put together a discounted all-or-nothing price to keep it easy on yourself. I think you'll end up getting more than selling to an FFL.

Write up a bill of sale for each of you, photocopy the buyer's driver's license and you're pretty well protected. Again - this may change if you have Draconian gun laws in N.C.
 
Personally, I'd put everything but the Berretta and
Marlin at least, on Gunbroker, as all the others are C&R, so there are a lot more people willing/able to get them, since they wont have to go thru a dealer if they have thier c&r.Definitely get mre money that way.Besides, if they dont sell, it only cost a few dollars to list, and you can still take them to the shop and get what you can.Just me though.
 
Do what I do. Find a dealer who will ship for you for a price. Then advertise the guns on all the gun forums available. Advertise a selling price + shipping. The buyer pays the shipping.
 
Those are all popular guns. Post them here with what you want for them, after finding out how much a local FFl will cahrge you to have them shipped. Send me a note when you post them for sale, would be interested in several of the items.
 
Well, they are gone and I did very well at the shop.

When I added up what I paid for these guns, it came to 1,560 and he offered me a little over 1,400 and I made money on the Mauser ammo I sold him.

I did buy the Marlin almost 20 years ago for 100, so that helped with my out of pocket expense so I'm very happy. I had a number of 1,400 in my head for everything to avoid the hassle of selling them individually and I walked out with 1,730.

Now I just have to decide whether to get that Springfield M1A or the Sig 556.

I am completely locked up on that decision. :)
 
Glad it worked out for you.

You may have made more by a private sale, but.......Cash in hand is good and no aggrivation is better.
 
I live in NC too. Post them here on the High Road and put them in the Iwanna. Make sure you only sell to those who bought a pistol purchase permit for the handguns and only sell the handguns to those here in NC. The rifles are ready to go. As far as I am aware, the rifles can be bought from out of staters.

You will get more money for your guns, but they might not all sell at once and right off the bat, which is fine if you are not in a big hurry.
 
I live in NC too. Next time, if you are not in a hurry and have guns to sell, post them here on the High Road and put them in the Iwanna!

Make sure you only sell to NC residents for pistols and those who bought a pistol purchase permit for the handguns.
 
Glad it worked out for you.

You may have made more by a private sale, but.......Cash in hand is good and no aggrivation is better.
Click to expand...

My feeling exactly...

Now I have a bigger problem. I asked him to just give me a store credit and now I have 1,730 dollars burning a freaking hole in my leg!

Honestly, the gentlemen did me OK because I am very friendly with them and have bought a lot of guns from them, including 4 of which he bought back today.

And yes I would have made more selling privately because the 336 that I paid 100.00 for 20 years was in beautiful shape. I stripped and refinished the Yugo stock and it looked fantastic and I went over that Mauser and Russian SKS with a fine tooth comb. They were in excellent shape, as they were the pick of the litter when I bought them and I made them each a little better.
 
I did my first safe clean-out last fall--and after thinking it over carefully, I decided to go with a local auction company who did an annual firearms auction, primarily on-line. (K-Bid).

After figuring the nominal 'retail' market value (optimistic, of course; I'm the owner) and talking to them, I figured the nominal 10-12 % cost was worth it. The hardest thing to accept was putting them up with no minimum pricing.

It worked out just fine; I got about 80 % overall of my original estimated value (which was at least 15% high, I think), and I had NO hassles to deal with--they did the shipping, etc., etc.

Maybe gunbroker, etc. are worth it--but this (local) auction sure worked for me.

I don't see how you could miss this year, what with the presumptive change to an antigun government coming up. Look at the demand for supplies already, and the talk going on about the FUD of a Democrat president.

Jim H.
 
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