Selling a Pistol

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

kingpin008

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
5,435
Location
Howard County, Merry Land
Just a quick question, folks -

I'm going to be selling one of my pistols soon, a Walther P22 (OD Green model) and I cannot for the life of me find the box. I currently keep it in an aftermarket hard case along with my MK III but I can't get rid of that case, as I'd have nothing to tote my Ruger to the range with, lol.

I'm wondering - how important is having the case when selling a gun? If it matters, I'll be selling it at a pawn shop. I know the risks of being ripped off, no need to warn me! How much less should I expect to get without the box?

Also - is it possible to contact Walther and have them send me another box? Or does the box have to be serialed to the gun? (the sticker w/the serial # & model, etc) I can't imagine that's the case, but I thought I'd ask anyhow.

Thanks!
 
You don't need it. Some say it increases the value. It's probably more true for a collectible than a production gun. I keep my boxes, but I wouldn't shy away from a good used gun because there was no box with it.

For a normal production gun like the Walther I wouldn't take any less with or without the box.
 
I expect the pawn shop would care less about the box than any other place. I would suggest looking for a real gun shop that might be willing to take it on consignment.... unless you need the money quick. I suspect that you can't do a personal sale face to face in the state of 'merry land' but am not sure.

I'm sure you can get a replacement box... but doubt you can make up the cost either way... it is nice to get a box with a gun.
 
Thanks for the replies, fellas. I was able to find the box after all. Amazing what a last-ditch dig through the war-zone that is my room will turn up. :p

As far as finding a gun shop to take it on consignment - the shop I frequent won't, because "it's not worth enough to be worth it", so pawning it is about the best bet I have right now. You're correct, Blume - FTF sales are a no-no in MD. I could sell to a private citizen, but I'd still have to go through a FFL and have the State Police run a background check. When it's all said & done, it ends up being more hassle than it's worth, unfortunately.
 
Ugh, that is horrible, best case scenario is the shop will give you about 30% of its market value.
 
Yea, I'm expecting to be taken for a ride.

I like the pistol, but I have to make room in the collection (and in the budget) for some more important purchases and the little guy has to go. It would be nice to not have to rely on a pawn shop, but my choices are limited. How I wish I were living in a state that allowed FTF transfers!
 
I can, but it would likely end up not being very worthwhile for me or the buyer. Look at it like this - a NIB P22 goes for what..$250-$375 depending on where you are in the country.

Mine is used, but in great shape. Probably about 1-2k rounds through it. I'd want to get at least $150 if I could, hopefully a little more. To ship it out of state, I'd need the buyer's FFL to accept transfers from a non-FFL, as pretty much every FFL I've talked to here wants upwards of $50 just for the transfer, let alone the shipping of the pistol to the other FFL.

If I did find a buyer with a FFL who was cool with transfers from non-FFL's, they'd still have to pay shipping, which last time I checked (and I could be wrong on this, it's been awhile and could have changed) will be at least $35.

So, long story short - for the price I could offer it at (let's say it sells for $150 + $35 for shipping, for a total of $185 not including any other local fees on the buyer's end) the buyer could most likely find the same pistol NIB for less than a hundred bucks more at a local shop.

I suppose if I got lucky it's possible, but it seems easier to just sell it locally and take a hit. Now, if that hit is TOO outrageous, I'll roll the dice here and see what comes of it.

Wouldn't be interested in making me an offer, would ya? :D
 
I'd definitely advertise it here. Worst-case scenario, it doesn't sell and all you've got invested is a couple kilobytes of data and some electrons :)

Someone on THR will be willing to give it a good home.
 
Of course, less hassle for you that way. If he offers you thirty bucks, though, tell him where to shove it and give a High Roader the chance :D
 
Im not sure you would even get 150.00 for the used P22:uhoh:. why not just hold on to it, and take some extra time to save up for whatever you were going to buy w/the pawn money from the sale of the P22. Selling to the pawn shop should probably only be done if you are desperate for the money and have no other options (IMHO)..
 
I've found that selling the box of a non-collectible handgun separately on ebay is the most financially astute option.
 
Don Lu - You're probably right as far as what they'd offer me. Thankfully I talked to a friend last night who had expressed interest in the gun previously, and he's gonna buy it from me after Christmas. So, I might still only get half of what I paid, but at least I know it's going to a proper home now. The problem with holding onto it, is that I have other guns that I want to focus on right now, and with my money situation, I just can't justify having it sitting there not being used. Thus, sell it and get what I can for it.

Xavier - I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I'm glad I found the box for this one, if I hadn't I wouldn't have tried to sell it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top