Price Check: Beretta 84F .380 + 7 magazines

[rgwalt]

Hi all, I am looking to take a Beretta 84F .380 and 7 magazines in on a trade. It is in very good condition, but has been fired. Not sure of the round count. Blued slide and black polymer grips (not wood). Made in 1990.

I've checked around, and seen prices ranging from $350 to $650. On the higher end, I'm not sure that the guns have actually sold at that price. I've seen examples on gun broker selling for under 300, but these are old service pistols that show quite a bit of wear. Magazines are selling for $40 each new, but are tough to find in stock right now (what isn't though!).

I don't need the gun, but it would be a fun little shooter to have in my collection, and would be great for concealed carry. I need to make sure I'm getting a fair deal on it, in case I need to sell it for the cash at some point. At the same time, I don't want to insult the guy by devaluing his piece too much. He is trying to trade into an item I'm asking $550 cash for. I'm asking for his pistol, magazines, and some money thrown in. The money portion is negotiable.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

 

[hAkron]

I bought an 85fs (single stack version of the 84) for my wife. It was brand new and had the inox silver colored type of finish (maybe its stainless, but it is more likely hard chrome) it was nearly $800. It's a very nice shooting gun. Very accurate. Recoil it's a bit heavy and shooting more than 50 rounds will make the web of my hand sore. Kind of big for carry, but good guns ll the same.
Gun with 2 mags in awesome shape with the box and all paperwork -- $450MAX. Extra mags might add a bit to the value, but not a ton.

 

[hemiram]

I would agree with hAkron, a really nice, excellent condition one with 2 mags for about $450. It would have to be REALLY nice to give more than $400, personally for one.

I bought a VG one with one mag for $290 on GB about 2 years ago. Figure $12-15 or so a pop for each of the mags.

 

[TennJed]

Love mine. It is a work of art. i would pay that in a hearbeat with 7 mags

 

[usp9]

A blue 84f with 2 mags would usually sell for around $400 if in good shape. Less for well carried or lesser condition. Magazines when new are $30 each, less for cheap aftermarket mags. All mags should be 13 rounds and marked Beretta if they are factory issue. This then means that my top price would be $400 + $150, or $550. In the current market, and if all the mags are Beretta, then IMHO, the deal is good or at least close enough to not lose sleep over. Who knows, the high cap mags may one day be worth a fortune.

 

[Beretta M96]

I bought my wife a used blue 85f with one mag for $475. We were both very happy with the purchase and still are. We had been looking for one for years and very rarely found a used one or one under $600. It has a single stack 8rd. mag and the safety is a decocking lever also. Latter I found an 84f for $385. It was rough and must have been older because it didn't have a decocking lever safety. If the one you are looking at is newer and has the decocking feature, I would trade, especially with seven 13rd. mags.

 

[Joe I]

Beretta 80-series safety note

To add a note here, in the Beretta 80 series, the 'F' model is less desirable than the 'FS'. I say this even though I'm a big Beretta fan and own both an 84F and an 85F. 'F' models sell for around $100 less than 'FS' models, and here is why:

Earlier models of the Beretta 80 series such as the plain 84/85, the 84B/85B, the 84BB/85BB, and ALL of the 86 series including the FS, had a non-decocking safety and could be carried cocked-and-locked. The 84F and 85F were the first of the 80-series to have their 1911-style safety lever also be a decocker. The problem with the 'F' series is that when you push the safety up from the off-safe position while the hammer is cocked, it has a definite click where a new shooter or someone with a weak left thumb might think it's on, but it's not. The hammer is not decocked, and if you pull the trigger with a live round in the chamber, the hammer will fall and the pistol will fire. On the 'F' models, you need to give the safety a good, forceful push upward, ignoring that middle click, until the hammer decocks. At this point the safety is on, and the pistol is just as safe as any other pistol with it's safety on. Remember, even though it may seem like there is, there is NO cocked-and-locked safety position on the 'F' model.

To my understanding, Beretta redesigned the safety on the 'FS' versions of the 84 and 85 to eliminate the unintended 'half-on' position of the 'F' versions. There have probably been more than a few ND's by careless individuals who didn't unload their 'F' models, clicked their safety into that pointless middle position, thought they had the safety on, and promptly put holes in things.

So the moral of the story is, there's a good reason for that pesky "Don't rely on the safety", safety rule.

As an aside, this is NOT the same change that was made when the 90-series 'F' models became 'FS' models -- on those pistols, the hammer pin head was enlarged and the slide was milled out to accept the larger head. This was done as a failsafe to prevent full slide separation from the pistol in the event of a Kaboom.

-Joe

 

[rgwalt]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. The trade fell through , but I'm still out there searching for a decent deal or trade for this gun. Would be a good compliment to my 92FS.

 

[Newcatwalt]

Keep looking little grasshopper. When you are ready (done your research and waited patiently) the pistol will appear....