Saw a Nice Mosin M-44--question

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Lonestar.45

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Who in their right mind would pay $245 for a really beat up M-44? That's exactly what I saw on the Cabela's used rack in Buda today. I couldn't believe it. At first I thought maybe it was a rare version, until I saw the tag, and it was labeled as an M-38, so they obviously don't even know what kind of Mosin it is. This thing was in bad shape, stock beat to heck about 40% of blue remaining.

Now I'm beginning to wonder what they'd offer me for my REAL M-38 in arsenal refinished perfect condition!
 
Sounds like a misprint. I think the tag should have 2 for $45 instead of $245.
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No, you just don't understand the retail concept: Cabelas bought 2 for $45 and are now selling them for $245. That's called capitalism.:rolleyes:

Which is why I don't shop for used guns at Cabelas.:neener: :neener:
 
In the end, it's about what is considered a "value" for the purchaser. Believe it or not, not everyone who buys a gun is a tightwa..., er, "value conscious" gun enthusiast like we here, with our C&R permits, "hookups" with FFL holders and a stack of Shotgun News magazines sitting around to compare prices to.

The whole thing is based in a principle of Market Economics called the "Rule of the Greater Fool". Other names used for it are "buy low, sell high," and the "Law of Supply and Demand". It goes something like this:

"I have this thing that I want to sell for which I paid $xx.xx. I will charge more than I paid for it and thus make a profit, of course. However, as long as I can afford to wait for the right buyer, or to get lucky or for the market to escalate (or any of many other reasons) I can mark it WAY up and bide my time... awaiting a Greater Fool, who is willing to buy it for my price."

Is it obscene profiteering? Some say yes, and were it plywood being sold at thrice the price in advance of a hurricane, I'd agree outright. However, this is a gun, a luxury item, and there are those who pay the overheads and wages and insurance and licensing fees to offer that luxury good and so see it as justified.

Personally, I denounce it as somewhat excessive. But, our opinions matter only little, as someone will very likely come forward to purchase the gun, for whatever reason motivates them. "Value" is seen differently by different people, buyer and seller.

Cabela's is banking on it and probably has data to support their pricing - surely based, in part, on the fact that a Greater Fool has paid the price for like items in the past. So goes Market Economics...
 
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I saw one like that at a Gander Mountain a few years ago, but even worse, it was a shot out Romanian M44.

Sales tag read:

WWII Russian service rifle
$299
7.62x54r



The only thing they got right was the caliber.:rolleyes:
 
They had a "Bubba'd" Mosin at the local Gander Mountain--chopped stock and radically shortened barrel (can't imagine what the muzzle blast was like.) Only $190. It sat on the shelf for over a year.
 
I got my 1946r M44 with a prestine stock, 90% blue and a bayonet for $75. Two matching serial numbers on the whole gun too. Receiver and buttplate match up....sweet!
 
I have a feeling that gun will sit on the shelf for a year or two. But, like they say, there's a sucker born every minute.
 
I sold a boat today for 300% more than I bought it for. I paid X for the boat and he offered me X(3) for it.

The man said, "Well, Ill give you $xxxx.xx for it, whaddaya say?"
I said, "Ok"

Does that make me a rapist or a profiteering scoundrel? Does that make him a sucker or stooge?

None of the above. In this case the market price for that boat was met, as other boats of its type sell for actually a bit more than my sold price of X(3). In truth, I got a great buy in the first place. In case you never learned it this way: "you make your money when you buy and item, not when you sell it."

The buyer offered and recieved what he thought was valued, both in terms of payment and goods received.

The Russky Moisin will likely sell, eventually. Will the buyer be a sucker?
 
OldSchooler, the guy that bought your boat isn't a sucker if he paid market value or less, that's the point. It doesn't matter what kind of profit you turned on it. Now, if he had bought it for 300% more than what others are selling for, then yep, he'd be a sucker. He probably did his research and offered you a fair price of what he's seen others going for.

Same with this Mosin. Mosins in perfect shape are going for $85 - $100. If someone pays $245 for this beat up Mosin, then yep, they'd be a sucker. I wouldn't consider Cabelas a rapist or scoundrel, they put a price on it and somebody paid. Buyer beware. In this day of the internet, if a guy doesn't do his research and gets taken, well, I'd have to say he fits the definition of a sucker.
 
Whenever I'm at Cabelas I always drop by the used-gun racks for a good laugh. Almost blue-less Yugo SKS with cracked stock? $350. Run-of-the-mill, high serial-numbered, beat-up M1903A3? $999. I don't drop much money at that store. Any place who's business model specifically targets ignorance as a primary profit source for a product line doesn't appeal much to me. Yeah, caveat emptor and all that, but their practices just don't sit well with me.
 
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