Looking to sell my FAL... what's the market like?

[Miami_JBT]

Paid $800 for it and now bored of it... looking to invest into a new AR build.





It's a Imbel receiver built with an Imbel part's kit. Have 8 20rd mags and 1 30rd mag. Also the original handguards. It's simply sitting in my safe and bored with it. Don't even know what to ask for it if I sell it. Also not sure if I should trade it.

 

[silicosys4]

I put the value as it sits at right about what you paid for it, $750-$900. If it were a DSA instead of a home-built kit, I'd go higher, but its better than a Century gun depending on who built it, and the mags add value.

 

[avs11054]

Look on gunbroker at auctions that have ended with a winning bidder. Thatll give you your best idea of what it is worth.

 

[7.62 Nato]

Who built it ?

 

[Miami_JBT]

A fellow officer that I worked with in a previous agency. He wad a huge FAL fan and had close to twenty rifles. He got the Imbel receiver through Century Arms and the Imbel kit through Sarco. He went through a divorce and sold off his collection to pay bills, child support etc...

I bought it from him to help out. He wad hitting bottom. He had some nice early import FALs from FN in his collection and he loved building them.

 

[Robert]

Maybe see if he wants to buy it back for what you paid. Repaying a loan so to speak.

 

[Jackal]

I have had a few Fals and none have exactly inspired me to like them. They are just a very clunky rifle.

 

[Willie Sutton]

FAL's are great, being a collector of the darned things (G series, original Belgians, original Austrailans, etc.)

Being a "classic", It's worth less with that tacti-cool forend than it would be with a basic slim FAL forend, just for what that advice is worth. Reinstall the basic FAL one and that rifle will be more desirable to most buyers. It's a shooter, without much (read that any) "collectors" value, so sell it for what you can get for it. What you paid would be very fair.

Imbel receivers are good, and with a matched (by manufacturer) parts set... it's likely a very good rifle. If you were close, I'd consider it myself as an example of a license-built metric.


Willie

.

 

[M1key]

Looks clean. Imbels are desirable even if a parts build.

Ask $1200 for all of it.

M

 

[JShirley]

If you were local, I'd offer to trade for my AR15, straight up. (I have another receiver waiting to be built up, and another upper.)

John

 

[Miami_JBT]

Maybe see if he wants to buy it back for what you paid. Repaying a loan so to speak

I did... he doesn't want it anymore.

 

[Ditch-Tiger]

To bad you didn't want to sell a couple of months ago...

 

[jmorris]

Look on gunbroker at auctions that have ended with a winning bidder. Thatll give you your best idea of what it is worth.

IMO gunbroker is just like eBay, they give you a better idea of what one person will pay for something rather than value.

Kind of like the $120 p mags a few months ago that are worth about $12.

 

[bozzman3]

If its a quality build easy $1200.Its better then a lot of DSAs.All FALs are built from kits!!

 

[M1key]

All FALs are built from kits!!

Not true

Austrian Steyr Stg-58s, Belgium G series, and (I believe) Argentine FALs were imported in factory new condition or original condition (sans FA sear/selector), and were not parts-kits guns.

The pre-ban SAR-48 Imbel FAL is also factory original new manufacture. I recently sold one for about 2 grand.



M

 

[goon]

On what planet is a home built FAL better than a DSA?

Sadly, the OP waited too long to sell this FAL. Four months ago I'd have asked $2,000. It's too much to ask, but I'd have asked it and sold it to whoever got the closest during the paranoia.
But now... I'd put an order in for a DSA before I'd buy a home built one of unknown quality. If you wanted to sell it to me, you'd have to price it for what it is - which is apparently a good running used FAL on an Imbel reciever. Not bad, but not a DSA.
Just saying.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Austrian Steyr Stg-58s, Belgium G series, and (I believe) Argentine FALs were imported in factory new condition or original condition (sans FA sear/selector), and were not parts-kits guns.


You should do a bit of study on this. I believe that you will find that the only "factory" made rifles imported from Europe were Belgian ones, manufactured by FN, in either the 1960's era G series (with sear cut, and now a listed exempt machine gun) or those imported by Browning and later importers (sans sear cut). Non-FN manufacture rifles are in either the "license built" category (Imbel, etc.,) or "assembled from surplus parts (anything assembled on a receiver here in the USA, no matter where the receiver itself was manufactured).

License built rifles were imported from Australia (Lithgow Arsenal, inch pattern, which are VERY rare), and Brazil (Imbel) which are far less rare.

AFAIK, all others are "parts guns". A GOOD parts gun is a good parts gun. One built using Imbel parts and put onto an Imbel receiver should be a very high quality example. DSA rifles are parts guns. Good ones, but... not out of FN or any of the production facilities working under FN license. There is no magic to them.


FN FAL: "The Free Worlds Right Arm"



Willie

.

 

[M1key]

Steyr-built StG58s were also imported from Austria in semi-auto configuration as new factory rifles.

I have owned all of the ones I mentioned over the past 35 years, except the Argy. Currently own DSAs and a CAI (a good shooter, BTW).

"Right arm of the free world."

M

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

I'd say that these days it's only worth about $250. I'll be nice, though, and give you $400.

 

[silicosys4]

Just as comparison, I paid $650 for pretty much the same gun a year ago, a decently built imbel receiver and parts kit FAL.

 

[HankC]

I sold my Imbel receivered FAL 4 yrs ago for about $800. Now it should sell around 1K. I still have a FAL on Century receiver and I would not let it go unless I could get $900+. FAL is a great rifle.