Is it worth it?

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wstoldt

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Is it worth it in today's market to try and sell once fired brass? If so where is the best market place to do it?

I have toiled with this question often and wondered if it would be worth it to deprime and tumble them to sell them.

If you answer yes what is the fastest way these days to do this task. A hand loader I realize would do the job but we are talking I have access to thousands of rounds and just want to make sure I have the fastest of options.

Thank you in advance for any help given.

Bill from Missouri
 
I've always been able to sell my extras at gun shows.

In todays market one can even make a little cash turning in spent .22 rimfire cases.

Turned in $1,000 worth last summer.
 
I think there is a market for used brass. In fact, I just started loading .45ACP

Since I didn't have but a few cases to begin with, I bought 2,000 so-called "once fired" brass cases from a guy on the 1911 Forum for $100 (5 cents a piece)

Still had the primers in them, and they had not been tumbled. (however, none of it was bent up though).
 
Out of curiosity...would you have paid more if they were de-primed and tumbled?
 
I would certainly like that better, but since I have a tumbler myself, and my sizing die also de-primes ... I doubt I would pay much more than what I originally paid.

Just my opinion.

I just wanted brass that all had the same size primer pockets, that did not include any steel cases, and was not bent-up (like some of it you find on the ranges).
 
Thanks for the info. I just wanted to get some info to get into this business. I thought ebay would be a good place but I do not see any brass on Ebay...and of course gun shows and the normal gun sites.
 
Oh and the fastest way to de prime a lot of rounds quickly? (if there is such a device) I have not been able to find anything online.
 
wstoldt said:
Is it worth it in today's market to try and sell once fired brass? If so where is the best market place to do it?

I have toiled with this question often and wondered if it would be worth it to deprime and tumble them to sell them.

If you answer yes what is the fastest way these days to do this task. A hand loader I realize would do the job but we are talking I have access to thousands of rounds and just want to make sure I have the fastest of options.

Thank you in advance for any help given.

Bill from Missouri
Click to expand...
Craigslist is not firearms-friendly, but some local administrators are more lax than others. There are other bulletin board type forums, too, on which you can post, including this forum which has a subforum dedicated to buying and selling. There are usually local firearms/sporting forums you can join, too.

There are local buy-and-sell forums that have a unique advantage over the bulletin board type forums: speed. Subscribers don't have to proactively go to the board to see your notice. The forum will forward your post to all subscribers (those who have not turned off the option) immediately or in a daily summary. This puts your offer in front of all those eyeballs much faster than the bulletin-board type forums, albeit a smaller number. They usually have smaller audiences/members. Yahoogroups hosts one in my area (and I think all over the country/world, too).

The tradeoff of speed vs population (the reposting forums like Yahoo! groups vs the more popular bulletin board type like Craigslist or your local firearms-related forums) is your choice. Or you can do both simultaneously.

Good luck.

Lost Sheep
 
dab102999 said:
Craigslist isnt firearm friendly but i can always find reloading stuff on it.
Click to expand...
Yeah it seems there is brass available here as well. That is a good option. Still looking for the fastest way to deprime the brass also. I use to work for MidwayUSA and I know of the universal die but wondering if there is a way to do multiple "rounds" at once.
 
I wouldnt deprime or tumble. Id buy a big rotating media separator. Get the dirt and rocks out. Thats it.
 
You'll get more money for your brass if you sort by head stamp.
Depriming is a waste of time. Tumbling doesn't really increase the value either.
 
Deprimed brass is actually less desirable to some folks. If you batch process cases, deprimed cases can get mixed up with sized cases. One of the commercial reloading outfits I know won't take cases that have been deprimed.
 
Thank you for your advice! I do not know if this will be a good business venture but I figured why not try.
 
I also probably wouldn't buy deprimed brass. The color of the primers is one of the first things to look at if trying to tell if brass has been reloaded. If the color of the primers is different than what it should be you obviously know it has been reloaded. I'd much rather deprime and resize them myself and plus then I know it is done how I like it to be done. Now, tumbled brass is nice IMO.

If was going to sell it, I would sell it still primed, but possibly offer an option to pay slightly extra if you want it deprimed before sent out. That way if someone wants to pay more for that they can, but you wouldn't eliminate other customers.
 
slowr1der said:
I also probably wouldn't buy deprimed brass. The color of the primers is one of the first things to look at if trying to tell if brass has been reloaded. If the color of the primers is different than what it should be you obviously know it has been reloaded. I'd much rather deprime and resize them myself and plus then I know it is done how I like it to be done. Now, tumbled brass is nice IMO.

If was going to sell it, I would sell it still primed, but possibly offer an option to pay slightly extra if you want it deprimed before sent out. That way if someone wants to pay more for that they can, but you wouldn't eliminate other customers.
Click to expand...
great advice....Thanks again for all the help guys! I have always wanted to get into the firearms business...and this is the cheap alternative for someone who doesn't have TONS of revenue.
 
The main thing is ... Don't sell a mixture of small and large primer brass.

Some people like myself want small primer brass ... others want large.

But nobody wants to pick though all that brass and separate the two. (boring job, and will make your eyes start seeing double after awhile) :eek:

Sure I will sort through free brass I get from the range, but if I am paying for it, I don't want to have to sort through all of it separating the small from the large primer.
 
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Ok so separate head stamps, Separate primer size, and tumble only with the option of depriming if the customer wants it....got it.

You guys are a big help! Hopefully I will be bringing back some great brass at a very reasonable price. All my stuff is once fired off a police range, so no problem there!

Thanks again for the help!

Bill
 
A friend of mine sells his on a gunforum that caters to the state he lives in. It sells no problem. Do doesn't do anything after he shoots it. I forgot what he was getting but it was decent enough for me to start collection my once fired 30-06 and 30-30 and 45-70.
 
you can, and here is an outfit that does it. (to give you an idea of pricing and availability) http://store.brassmanbrass.com/servlet/StoreFront

however, unless you have lots of oddball calibers or stuff that is not generally found on the ground at the range (257 rob, 44mag for example) I don't think i'ts worth it if you have to ship. I mean, I wouldn't give more than a a penny or so a round of the common stuff (9mm/556/40sw/38) and I don't think that's even scrap value. You certainly can't ship it for that. I just threw away 250 cases of 556 range brass that weren't worth taking to the scrap yard or selling and shipping.
 
I do know that the guy I bought my cases from shipped them in one of those USPS "Priority Mail Flat Rate" boxes that the post office sells ...

Features:
Priority Mail service offers 2-3 day service to most domestic destinations. Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes are available at many Post Offices and can be ordered online at usps.com. You can print Priority Mail labels and postage with Click-N-Ship at usps.com and receive a price discount.

Domestic Prices:
Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes (11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2") are one low price ($11.35) to all U.S. destinations, regardless of the actual weight of the piece. Discounts are available through Click-N-Ship at usps.com

He was able to put a bag of 2,000 .45ACP cases in that box.

https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-flat.htm
 
One Small Correction: When you use the USPS "flat rate" shipping system, the PO gives you the specially marked boxes for FREE.
 
Well, I was meaning to say that the box don't cost $11.35

The box is free, and the cost to ship it anywhere in the US is $11.35 regardless of the weight.
 
And the brass is worth scrap value if it is not reloadable (damaged or rimfire). So save that until there is enough for a trip to the recyclers. FWIW if you want to deprime it for a price might as well set up a press and get the sizing die for each caliber (Lee is the cheapest and will sell individual dies) and offer it sized and deprimed while you are at it. That would more likely be worth it to me rather than just deprimed. If you are going to put an effort into a pull of the handle on a press you should add more value to it.:) Just MHO

The trading post here will be a good place to sell some brass so don't forget us on this forum if you decide to ship your brass.:D
 
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