Cosmo-
Thanks for your advice, I appreciate that you're willing to take time to make intelligent responses.
I think your collecting goals are different from mine. It sounds like you collect rifles the way some people collect stamps or coins or antique furniture. There are books that tell how rare each one is, how much it is worth, etc, etc... and those books determine the "collectibility" of each item.
Me, I collect (maybe "accumulate" is a more appropriate term) EXAMPLES of things I like. I like these examples to be as nice as possible, so I buy the best condition I can find, and then do what I can to make it the best it can be. I'm always amused watching the "antiques roadshow" program on PBS where you see a genuine Blumentaller coffee table from the 18th century with fine inlaid woodwork and the appraiser says "if it hadn't been refinished, it would be worth twice as much... " but that only matters if you're going to SELL it, doesn't it? I know if it's going to sit in my living room, it had better look presentable because I don't have a spare house to keep all the furniture that is valuable (to a collector) but looks like it came from a yard sale. I don't buy things, especially guns, with the idea of selling them. It's just not the way I do things.
SIGH I don't know why the MINTY M48 seems to elude me so. I kept hearing that Mitchell's was overpriced, so I LOOKED for more than 2 years. As the most recent example I thought I found one place (kyimports.com) who were ALMOST as expensive at Mitchell's and called JUST THIS MORNING - "nope sorry, all out, yeah, I know it's still up on the web page... sorry". AAARRRRGH!!! Finally broke down and called Mitchell's, I'm done waiting and doing all this looking. I think most folks are hanging on to them and NOT selling. Maybe there are a lot of Gun stores in your neck of the woods, but they're not so common here, and most of them want to sell $3000 engraved shotguns nowdays. The few that seem to handle milsurps are really bottom-of-the-barrel variety, as in, you can really believe they were used in the trenches because some of the mud is still in there. Probably makes them more "collectible". Gun shows... don't get me started, they're as pricy as Mitchell's OR WORSE.
Maybe I will get ripped off and learn a much needed lesson. Maybe I will get a virtually pristine M48 and be a delighted customer. I'll know which in about a week. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for your advice, I appreciate that you're willing to take time to make intelligent responses.
I think your collecting goals are different from mine. It sounds like you collect rifles the way some people collect stamps or coins or antique furniture. There are books that tell how rare each one is, how much it is worth, etc, etc... and those books determine the "collectibility" of each item.
Me, I collect (maybe "accumulate" is a more appropriate term) EXAMPLES of things I like. I like these examples to be as nice as possible, so I buy the best condition I can find, and then do what I can to make it the best it can be. I'm always amused watching the "antiques roadshow" program on PBS where you see a genuine Blumentaller coffee table from the 18th century with fine inlaid woodwork and the appraiser says "if it hadn't been refinished, it would be worth twice as much... " but that only matters if you're going to SELL it, doesn't it? I know if it's going to sit in my living room, it had better look presentable because I don't have a spare house to keep all the furniture that is valuable (to a collector) but looks like it came from a yard sale. I don't buy things, especially guns, with the idea of selling them. It's just not the way I do things.
SIGH I don't know why the MINTY M48 seems to elude me so. I kept hearing that Mitchell's was overpriced, so I LOOKED for more than 2 years. As the most recent example I thought I found one place (kyimports.com) who were ALMOST as expensive at Mitchell's and called JUST THIS MORNING - "nope sorry, all out, yeah, I know it's still up on the web page... sorry". AAARRRRGH!!! Finally broke down and called Mitchell's, I'm done waiting and doing all this looking. I think most folks are hanging on to them and NOT selling. Maybe there are a lot of Gun stores in your neck of the woods, but they're not so common here, and most of them want to sell $3000 engraved shotguns nowdays. The few that seem to handle milsurps are really bottom-of-the-barrel variety, as in, you can really believe they were used in the trenches because some of the mud is still in there. Probably makes them more "collectible". Gun shows... don't get me started, they're as pricy as Mitchell's OR WORSE.
Maybe I will get ripped off and learn a much needed lesson. Maybe I will get a virtually pristine M48 and be a delighted customer. I'll know which in about a week. I'll let you know how it goes.
