Investing in guns

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have noticed that the Russian capture German mauser ($149) and the Romanian SKS ($100) I bought over 5 years ago with my C&R license appear to have appreciated based on the prices I see people asking for the same now. I wish I had bought a Sig P6 and Walther P38 for the same reason.

That's the only experience I have with firearm appreciation, and since I haven't sold, it's really only speculation on my part.

The only real advice I can offer is that no matter what you invest in, make sure you fully understand it, and the risks, before you put forth any money.
 
compared to normal investments its not that good. i belive silver 20 years ago was only 3$ an ounce,now its 35$

now i dont know how good the return would be if you figured in inflation but here are prices i remember
mid-early 90's norinco sks's were 70$, now were i like the are 350-400.
about ~10 years ago you could buy enfields for 100$
~10 years ago m1 carbines were 400$
hell 20 years ago if you could find one, lee metfords were 200$. now it seems they are all 1,000-1,500
 
I make more money in one day in my profession than I would selling most guns that will take me weeks to sell and hope that I make a few dollars. Storing a gun for 20 years and selling it for a couple hundred more than you paid is not an investment. It's a hobby which is why the BATF "allows" private individuals to buy and sell on a small scale without being a FFL holder. You're much better off with other investments unless you believe the world going to end shortly... then who cares anyway? Or the "fan" hits and all of a sudden you are fighting for your survival. The reality is that most of us are fighting for our survival every day anyway; but guns aren't involved.
 
Firearms like Gold are not Investments; they are Commodities. Investments would be Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, ETF's, Hedge Funds etc. You should consider a basket of Mutual Funds to receive Professional Management and to a certain degree, Diversification. You may include U.S. Stocks, International Stocks, Emerging Growth Stocks, as well as, a nice mixture of Bonds. Reach out to a Reputable Mutual Fund family, and Dollar Cost Average the invested dollars. Good luck.
 
Leadcounsel, if guns are such a great investment, perhaps you'd care to post information about all of the people who've managed to retire comfortably by investing in guns.

Furthermore, if you've got a strategy for investing in guns that has a reasonable chance of working, please, do educate the rest of us. How do you do your "investing?"

Do you take physical possession of these guns? If so, where do you store them, and, on average, for how long, before selling them? After all, if you want to make enough money to be able to retire, you're going to have to move a lot of iron, and the logistics of doing that, especially if you don't have an FFL, are something I'd be interested in hearing about.

Thanks.
__________________
Click to expand...

How would one retire, since I would assume that is the end goal of most investors, on firearms as an "investment"?
 
I wouldn't buy guns as an investment unless they were historically valuable or some such. On the other hand guns I bought in the 60s and 70s have held their original value plus inflation so I wouldn't lose any money on the should I sell. I've done a lot better with stocks, bonds and mutual funds over the years, even over the past few years of recession I'm still in pretty good shape. But buying some guns to enjoy gives the profit of pleasure and if they hold their value you are ahead of the game. Just don't dump too much of your money into them. There's risk in any investment, one should be diversified. Not all the eggs in the same basket. A few grand in guns shouldn't be a serious risk but it also won't be a great profit either.
 
I find that many older folks (75+) that have guns they never use anymore or particularly want tend to think their guns are extremely valuable, or have very little value beyond the purchase price 40 years ago or whatever. Essentially two extremes. Like everything else, one needs to do their homework.
 
There is a saying out there, "I hope my wife doesn't sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them". When I buy a gun, I record the purchase date, price, and approximate replacement value (for insurance purposes) and I review my list whenever I add to it or remove one I have sold and update the values at that time. I don't do it to make money and never would. I have seen too many estate sales where guns sell for a fraction of what the owner probably thought they were "worth". I buy guns, trade, shoot, reload, and hunt because I love it. And, I know that my "collection" is worth some money, but my dollar for dollar investment return is in the minus column. BUT, the value to ME, over my lifetime is immeasurable.
 
People are having a hard time getting their head around alternative investments. Is a garden a bad investment? How about a fire extinguisher?

Sometimes, alternative investments do MUCH better than conventional thinking, aka investing in stocks. For example, almost every stock fund was DOWN during the period 01/20/2001 - 01/20/2009.
 
I invested in art. Values were climbing rapidly for a number of years. Then during the 2001 > 2009 time frame, the bottom fell out of the market and you couldn't sell them for what you paid for the pieces. Art is very speculative. Guns are too.
 
With savings accounts paying less than 1%, and the real estate and stock markets essentially flat, one has to consider alternative investments. Actually, the best return may be from simply paying down debt. Once you're debt-free, and have excess money to sock away, guns are as good a place as any to put it. But you really have to know what you're doing. Invest in gun books first in order to educate yourself.
 
Another thought. I would discourage collecting as investment unless you really know what you are doing. I have a friend who paid $700 for a wooden box, which made me almost choke, until he told me the story. Small cap and ball pistols, when new, were sold in these boxes. The box contained the pistol, a powder flask, caps and balls. As a set in good to very good condition, is worth around $7,000 to collectors. My friend's total investment, as he has toured auctions and gun shows and bought then restored each piece was around $3500. Each time he completes a set he either adds it to his collection, trades it for something else he wants, or sells it. Since he is quite skilled at restoring such items, he has a list of people who will buy from him. So....collecting guns can be a good investment IF you know what you are doing. And a hellava lot of fun.
 
It depends on what you buy, and how much you pay for it.

It has been correctly observed that in the long run some other investments may be better, but today we may be looking at next-to-zero interest rates combined with creeping inflation that can have a substantial affect on the returns that "other investments" provide, or are likely too.

Also I see the words, "long term," but no where is it written that one cannot turn over guns in the short term for a quicker profit, which is reinvested.

From an investment perspective there is a lot of luck involved in buying guns, and the best buys are often unexpected. Like any other kind of investing you absolutely have to know what you are doing, and what the market is doing. I have on occasion doubled my money in less then a week, and I have a friend that once did the same in 15 minutes. :what:

But obviously this was an exception to the rule.

Rather then take your present nestegg and convert it to guns, look for the exceptional buy that others have overlooked. Purchase it and then either keep it for the long run, or make a quick profit if you can. Whatever money you make, reinvest it, but not necessarily in guns. Keep in mind that desireable antiques (not just any old gun) are easier to buy and sell because they aren't considered to be firearms in the legal sense. With any firearm the highest value is usually related to condition, and the original box and accessories can be a big plus.

Speaking of accessories, I had another friend that bought a box of "take-off" revolver stocks that were in like-new condition for $50.00, and eventually sold them for something over $400.00. I consider that was a pretty good investment. ;)
 
guns are a poor yielding investment as a rule. there are far better investments. Maybe not as "fun" but higher yields and more liquid.
Click to expand...

Excellent advise I would suggest you heed it.

I wish I'd bought a truck load of Webleys, Smith/Colt 1917s, British Enfield rifles, etc. back in the 1960's when they were selling for under $20.
Click to expand...

Don't we all, but the golden days of cheap quality handguns sadly is over.

Collector grade handguns or anything else are generally not considered liquid assets. By this a mean they have a limited market appeal and are high dollar investments.

Save cash for a rainy day, but also keep the means to defend your family and self.
 
Why guns are a bad investment even if you're planning for a doomsday scenario:

"Nice rifle. You look hungry. I'll give you this chicken for it."
 
Another thought is the concept of "arbitrage" -- buying in one market and selling in another. You obviously maximize your returns if you buy low and sell high, but you're unlikely to "buy low" if you confine yourself to traditional gun venues such as gun shops, online gun auctions, etc. You need to cast a wider net, going to rural estate sales, flea markets, yard sales, military vehicle meets, etc. You may not necessarily find complete guns there, but these places are goldmines for parts and accessories. Some people have made a lot of money by trolling rural Pennsylvania estate sales and then selling their findings on GunBroker. (For some reason Pennsylvania is, or was, a very fertile ground for such hunting. Lots of WWI/WWII veterans that were passing away, and a younger generation that was showing little interest in their keepsakes.)
 
AT BEST, they will track with inflation, and that's assuming you keep them in the box and completely unfired. ~ Justin
Click to expand...

Not exactly ~ in the 1969 (Shooters Bible) the MSRP for a Colt SAA was $160. They will bring $1200+ easy today in less than mint condition.

All given, the S&W Model 60 listed for $100 in the same book, and you could probably say it has tracked with inflation.

Guns don't necessarily have to remain mint. And, shooting a gun does not necessarily de-value it that much. It's not like a car when you drive a new one off the lot. Care and actual wear are what counts on a gun.

Another more recent example happened to me in the 1990s. I was looking for a SS snub to carry. At that time, I compared a Model 60-9 S&W and a Colt SS DS (SF-VI). They were the same price at that time. I went with the S&W because I liked the feel of it. I didn't know the Colt would be out of production and go out the roof in price.

Would I invest as part of a my assets - NO. Too many variables on what will be desirable in future markets. Too much time to move them and get their worth. Most avenues available to liquidate a collection fast, will charge heavy commissions or low ball you on the price to the point - YOUR profit is in someone elses pocket.


Is it fun to collect a few and possibly pass on as heirlooms, if the interest is there - absolutely. Can you count on interest of kids or grand-kids - nope.

I have a friend right now that is struggling with his family farm. He does not want to farm, and the only heirs are some nephews in another state, who will definitely never live there or be farmers. He would be better off selling now and enjoying what is his, rather than leave it to someone else who will sell it off as soon as it becomes theirs... That's my opinion.
 
AlexanderA said:
Another thought is the concept of "arbitrage" -- buying in one market and selling in another. You obviously maximize your returns if you buy low and sell high, but you're unlikely to "buy low" if you confine yourself to traditional gun venues such as gun shops, online gun auctions, etc. You need to cast a wider net, going to rural estate sales, flea markets, yard sales, military vehicle meets, etc. You may not necessarily find complete guns there, but these places are goldmines for parts and accessories. Some people have made a lot of money by trolling rural Pennsylvania estate sales and then selling their findings on GunBroker. (For some reason Pennsylvania is, or was, a very fertile ground for such hunting. Lots of WWI/WWII veterans that were passing away, and a younger generation that was showing little interest in their keepsakes.)
Click to expand...
That's not arbitrage.
 
Citygroup was a great investment for me. I paid over $200 a share back in the 1990's and now it's worth $20 or $25.

I'd say go for the gun if that's what you want to do. It can't do worse than some of the stocks I own. :banghead:

Dave
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

V
  • Locked
Guns as investments
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Carl Levitian
C
N
  • Locked
Which guns are good as an investment?
2
Replies
47
Views
3K
Deamon
D
J
  • Locked
What gun or shooting products company to invest in?
Replies
10
Views
749
Billll
B
Z
  • Locked
Guns are an investment, right?
2 3
Replies
56
Views
2K
22-rimfire
2
C
  • Locked
Gun value as an "investment", and selling them
2 3
Replies
52
Views
3K
leadcounsel
L
Back
Top