Large Collection Liquidation

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Gunbroker, piece by piece, and be in no hurry...list 3-5 at a time. I watched a woman near where I live do that (her stepfather left them to her mother), and she probably sold an estate collection of firearms for $500-$700K over a 2-3 year period. There were over 400 guns originally, and I only saw the last 40 or so. I purchased 3-4 guns from her, and I got there very late. I saw only the "leftovers". She had everything, and even sold the holsters, accessories, ammo , knives, etc, to buyers of the guns OFF gunbroker outside the auctions. What a cache of fine guns.
 
Well as of today the owner is still alive and some are telling you to hurry and sell the things.:banghead: The family is in no big hurry to sell so wait until things change, in the meantime do an inventory as best you can. Use GB as a starting point for the values and anything that looks old/odd get some more info or appraisal before setting a price. then decide what the best route for sale is. Auction or internet auction or private sale-----whatever. Taking time to research the prices is going to pay off in higher prices when sold. Do strike a deal for a fair amount of the firearms or cash percentage if you do this work as it will be onerous at best. Do not commit to any deals for you until the whole thing is at least looked at or you may short change yourself before you start. If you use GB or whatever a 5 firearm limit per period would be a good amount but expect it to be a one day a week job for a while.:) Good luck with the heirs all being agreeable to your input:scrutiny::).
 
Step one: Inventory everything

Step two: Pick out what you like, see if family will let you keep it :evil:

Step three: Gunbroker it all, one piece at a time (or three or four at a time).

Step five: Let the good people on THR know what you have to sell, and list some of it on this forum.

Step four: BE PATIENT! It will all sell, and you will get good prices for it.

Just my suggestions, do with them (the suggestions) what you want.
 
It's been recommended already:

Get organized, see if there is a detailed inventory. If not, you know what the first step is.

Once you get that, PDF/spreadsheet it and post a link here... you might get some help/offers.

Second though, wait 'til the go ahead from family or the dread "event".

Best on this project.
 
Gunbroker.... The time is in setting up the description....which isnt that long

An auction house would want a % of the sale

GB would be much less and be in front of more people
 
Yes---- I did read all the posts and all of them after after I posted also as I always do.;) I was echoing a lot of others and thought adding helpful info. As far as hurrying there is time and there is frog time. Frog time is measured in hours per mile not the other way around.:D
As I stated the OP must take his time and research each item and that alone will really help to maximize cash intake IMHO.
 
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I agree with a few posts above. I would try to pick over some of the guns you like and see if the family would let you have (them) for a reasonable price, if you are interested in any of them of course.

Also depending on which state you are in, you might want to check out the buy/sell section of this forum. It's very useful and I've sold a gun on here very successfully. If you don't want the hassle of FFL/shipping, limit the sale to in-state/face-to-face.

As a last option which might be the best way to "liquidate" the collection, gun broker might be the best way to do this.
 
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^^^ That's only true for long arms and not so for all of them. I don't know the laws but you'd better read and learn federal and state laws before shipping a firearm even intrastate.
 
Chedderbob said:
I need opinions on how to liquidate a large collection of firearms. Here's the back story.

My sister's father-in-law has been having serious health complications as of late. This gentleman has the largest private firearms collection I have ever personally seen. It takes up a full room of the house to the point where you can walk about 3 feet into the door, and cant move anymore. Just picking through it for about 10 minutes I have found everything from a Hi-Point 995 to a Nighthawk custom. I'm pretty sure I have found at least 2 of every pistol Kel-Tec has ever made.

The point is this gentleman may not last too much longer, and I am about 95% sure that my Brother-in-law's family is going to ask me to help liquidate the collection, as I am the only person with any sort of firearms knowledge.

They have expressed that they have no real interest in keeping any firearms except for maybe the old Winchester he killed his first deer with, and the gun that taught my Brother-in-law how to shoot. This leaves 250+ guns for me to try and turn into inheritance money.

The family has indicated that they aren't really pressed for time or money, so they would like to get as close to fair market value as possible.

My choices as I see them:
1) Rent a table at a gun-show. This is probably the least desirable option in my opinion because people always wanna trade at gun shows, and I'm not 100% sure of the full legalities in my state of gun-show laws.
2) Gunbroker every last piece individually. This is looking like the best option to me. Although it will be time consuming, it will essentially legally transfer every firearm, and I have never gotten anything less than fair market value on Gunbroker.
3) Find a consignment shop. The only gun consignment shop in my area isn't even close to being able to handle this kind of volume, so I would need to find a shop that is, but it seems like the pain-free option.
4) Auction. I haven't really looked into this much, but I'm told that auctioneer fees can be quite outrageous, and it seems that it would be "hit-or-miss" as far as netting the full potential value of the guns.
5) Any of your suggestions. Anything you might like to add would be greatly appreciated!
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Check around there should be an auction near that does a lot of guns. We have one here in south western IN that has a large auction every spring. He get good money at his auctions he advertise on the INTERNET and a lots new paper he takes sealed bids and phone bids. He does this about when you get your tax return. He also has one in the fall. I have told my wife to have him to sale all of my guns and loading equipment He does all the paper work So no one gets in trouble GOOD LUCK
 
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All the replies are appreciated!
I had mulled over inventorying everything, but not to the extent of which you guys are talking about. I definitely see the use off detailed records. (Cover both me and the family.)

I guess I will inventory, then gunbroker them all 2 or three at a time. I really don't mind taking the time because this particular sister and brother-in-law have been unrelentingly helpful. As in, letting me live with them for 4 years when my parents passed away when I was 14. I kinda owe them a few HUGE favors lol.

Again, all of yall's input has been greatly appreciated!
 
Bubbles said:
Since the current owner is still alive, it would be good to start the inventory now as hopefully he could tell you if there is any history on those guns, either as family heirlooms or as collectibles.
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That really makes sense!!!!
 
None of the above. Most would be OK for a few guns, but a large collection would take forever to sell.

Call an outfit like Rock Island Auctions, 1-800-238-8022 or www.rockislandauction.com. They will come in, inventory everything, pack the stuff up, give you a receipt, and take it off your hands. When the items sell, the heir (or whoever the family designates) gets the money. The complete sell-off may take a while, but the money will come in pretty steadily and the family won't have to be trying to sell individual pieces.

The only concern might be NFA items (machineguns, silencers, etc.) which the executor has to take custody of an apply to BATFE to have them transferred to the heir(s).

Of course, more money can be made doing gun show sales or individual sales, but no one wants to be tied up for years trying to sell a couple of thousand guns.

Jim
 
Jim K said:
None of the above. Most would be OK for a few guns, but a large collection would take forever to sell.

Call an outfit like Rock Island Auctions, 1-800-238-8022 or www.rockislandauction.com.

.......

Of course, more money can be made doing gun show sales or individual sales, but no one wants to be tied up for years trying to sell a couple of thousand guns.

Jim
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This approach would make a lot of sense if there were indeed a couple of thousand guns, but the OP indicated that it's more like 250.

Still, your point is well made that selling the guns individually will take a certain amount of work in preparing the gun for sale, inventorying, taking photos, administering the auction, answering questions, packing and shipping. Somebody is going to have to do all this and while it might not be a full time job, it will certainly be a full time hobby for a while. The amount of work involved should not be underestimated.
 
Anybody suggesting a gunshow, good luck. Realize the man has 250 pieces.He's going to need a bigger space and more than just himself to deal with it all.

The gunbroker option is probably the least resource intensive operation. Throw them up in small batches and don't over-saturate your own market by posting several of the same item.

Finally, consider posting them here in the buy/sell/trade section? You have automatic locked in eyeballs interested in your stuff without fees or percentage beyond those of an FFL, some of these people who are and FFL.
 
You might try craigslist to sell the entire lot as-is to one re-seller. You won't get premium prices but at least the he/she will bare the burden of all that time and labor. My guess is, if you do your homework, you might get 70-80 percent of their value vs. selling them one at a time. That's as good or better than you'd fare if an auction house picks them all up and auctions them for you. If I sold on craigslist, especially a large lot of firearms, I wouldn't allow more than two people to come at a time and I'd have family and/or friends over to help if a buyer makes trouble.
 
How about local gun stores? If you determine the approximate value of the collection then a local shop (or shops) might be interested in buying the lot or substantial portions.

Short of online transactions you won't get a retail price with any of the third-party options. Everyone will offer you a wholesale price.

I was also going to suggest posting on THR and other gun boards and thought it funny that it took a bunch of posts before Panzercat made the suggestion.

Got any CZs? :)
 
As many others have suggested, I would sell every single item piece by piece on Gunbroker. I don't sell on GB but I do make a large percentage of my income selling on eBay. 250 items divided by 52 weeks in a year... list five guns a week for a year. At first this will take you most of a day, one day a week. After a month you'll be able to pick up a gun, research it on the net, and do a nice listing in 15 minutes. The more you sell, the easier it gets! Set appropriate reserves or starting bids but let the market determine the sale price. If your opening bids are fair market value chances are nobody is going to bid. I would never set an opening or reserve higher than 75% of market value on any auction item, no matter what it is. Most antiques and collectibles I sell start at 50% of market value or less. Doing it this way I "win some" and "lose some" but end up with market value on average. The stuff that sells a bit too cheap is made up for by the guys that get into a 'bidding war' on something else. Dumb as it sounds, the key is to have the items actually sell, and sell in a timely manner.

If possible talk to the collector to find out if he's got a system for paperwork or history on his guns. If he doesn't have anything super rare that needs to be with it's paperwork to prove value I would not even bother with an inventory. That's just a whole bunch of handling weapons and moving stuff around for no good reason, and a lot of work that you don't really need to do. When it's time to start selling walk into the room, grab the first one, research it on the interweb, and list it on GB. Repeat.

I don't know if there are listing and sales tracking apps for GB like there are for eBay but if there are use them! Even if you have to pay a monthly fee for the 'premium' whatever listing app it will be worth the investment in time saved and headaches averted. Other than taking pics, writing descriptions, and packing stuff to ship my system is 95% automated. I probably average fifteen minutes total for each item I sell. Repeat items listed with the Turbo Lister app are more like five minutes total.
 
Mr.510 said:
If he doesn't have anything super rare that needs to be with it's paperwork to prove value I would not even bother with an inventory. That's just a whole bunch of handling weapons and moving stuff around for no good reason, and a lot of work that you don't really need to do. When it's time to start selling walk into the room, grab the first one, research it on the interweb, and list it on GB. Repeat.
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He's not selling his guns, he's going to be selling someone else's guns. Being able to show exactly where each and every gun went and for how much will avoid a bunch of hassle down the line. It's a must. Not doing it is begging for trouble.
 
I have seen auctioneers charge as little as 10% commission for guns. (I have also seen auctioneers charge as much as 30%+ for items.) For me, 30% is too much, especially for a volume of this size. 10% on the other hand is reasonable when you consider auction prices are often inflated. An auction with this many guns should attract a LOT of buyers. More buyers = more inflated prices. Its as simple as asking the auctioneer what he charges. Auctioneers can and do negotiate on their fees. Most auctioneers should be well aware of what kind of positive attention these guns can draw. Consignment is another positive action with the right consignor. I would never trust anyone other than an FFL to sell my guns if I were you. I dont see gun shows as a good option, for several reasons, at least with the circumstances you have described.
 
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For what it is worth I believe an online auction site is the best compromise.
One that comes to mind is Gunrunner. They seem to get good prices on
guns and I believe they get what the gun is worth. Remember anything is
only worth what somebody will pay you for it. On the internet you get the
most people that are actual potential buyers looking at it. The auction
houses do all the listing, pictures and more important they are responsible
for all the shipping and paperwork. When they are sold they are sold nobody
coming back at you and claiming you cheated them and causing a hassle.
There is no connection between you and the buyer at all. For that many
guns I believe the peace of mind is worth what the auction charges. And
remember you are doing the family a favor by helping them out to dispose
of something they do not want to deal with.
I have no connection to any gun auctions but have bought and sold thru
them and have been satisfied with the results.
 
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