Would you overpay for a rare weapon?

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I've found that if you've not been able to find something you sorely wanted for years and you don't jump when the opportunity arises you'll face years of regret.
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This says it pretty well for me. I don't frequently have "irrational" wants, but when I do, and don't buy said item, I face years of kicking myself for it later. Ask me about the time I heard that a friend wanted to sell a Beretta Billenium for $1200 and I thought it was too high....:banghead:
 
How can you overpay if the exchange was voluntary? You don’t have to buy guns and if you do, it means that you valued that gun more than you did whatever amount of cash the seller was asking. True price gouging can only happen when the seller has an absolute monopoly, and a monopoly cannot last long in a free market without state enforcement.
 
How can you overpay if the exchange was voluntary? You don’t have to buy guns and if you do, it means that you valued that gun more than you did whatever amount of cash the seller was asking. Price gouging can only happen when the seller has an absolute monopoly on necessities like food, water, shelter or medicine. A true monopoly cannot last long in a free market without state enforcement. Collectable guns are nice but you do not have to have them like you do clothes and medicine.
 
I look at it as maybe paying next month's or next year's price, so I don't haggle too much. With dealers, I frequently ask for (and get) a free box of ammo with it, although nowadays with 20 instead of 50-rd boxes for the same price 50-rds went for "last year," that ain't that big of a deal anymore.

I actually underpaid for a rifle I'd been wanting for decades, a Remington Sportmaster with a good bore. It was a duplicate of the first powder-actuated gun I ever shot. Lots of $entimental value there, even though I've only actually taken it to the range a few times. From what I can tell from the iron sight groups, I really ought to put a scope on it.

Terry, 230RN
 
I have come across a few items that I could afford but just didn't inspire me quite enough to pull the trigger.

"Rare" is a relative term. When I didn't inquire about a 4 inch Colt King Cobra in a consignment case the collector value on them was low. That's one I went BACK to buy and it was gone. Had I known I could have 'put a deposit' on it... oh well.

If you really want it bad enough, find a way to buy it.

I looked high and low for a Magnum Carry and when I found one I couldn't belive my luck.
 
I've done it. Afterward, I sometimes feel "taken" (by my own folly, I guess), but mostly I tend to forget the premium I paid and feel fortunate to have something unusual that I'd really wanted. Now, I seem to have quite a few unusual (maybe even rare) items in the gun cabinet, which is nice. I've also seen that some of the items I "overpaid" for now have values that have long eclipsed their purchase price. As I once heard a milsurp collector say, "You can never overpay, but you might buy too early." Think about it. :)
 
Mine are all for the purpose of protection, so if I had a niche I wanted to fill, I would jump when I had that opportunity.

I have, when going into a purchase with a specific model in mind, used large chains (which charge more) over smaller chains because I know the smaller chain will require more effort on my part (including an extra drive down and a deposit) in order to order the weapon of choice.
 
Say there is a rare gun you have wanted for a long time. (think years) You finally found one available at a steep price.
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My thoughts at this point is there is nothing to say. We can talk in vague terms or you can, but we have no idea what your definition of overpay is and what kind of a firearm are you talking about. For that matter, I own rare or certainly low production guns... but you should define "rare".

There may be a market value but with truly rare guns, it is difficult to establish a market price.
 
Have done it many times.....years ago I hesitated over a $1300 collectible rifle, time went by and the prices kept rising, $2000....$3000......$4000. Finally found one for $3900 and jumped on it.....its now worth in excess of $6000. I've never forgotten that lesson....
 
Nope, unless, of course, it is a revolver, or a nice rifle, or even a nice autoloading handgun as long as it isn't in production any more, or some antique firearm that I really wanted, or a really nice shotgun, or an NFA thingy, or a war relic, or if it held some sort of sentimental value, etc...
 
I overpaid for a 1918 Colt 1911 with its holster, original pistol belt and magazines. It's in 90% condition and I love it.
 
Won an auction on a SIG P210 from 1952 a month or so ago. Still waiting on the import from Switzerland. More than I have ever paid for any gun, but I was born in '52, the gun is near mint, and I have not seen another one like it for sale, auction, gun show, etc. I'm excited, and still have a month or more to wait.
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I really don't understand why Sig does not re-tool and make a new P210. If they made it true to the original they could charge a premium price and get it.
 
They retooled, made a slightly different one, and STILL have a hefty pricetag on it. I agree, though; I do not know why they had to change it. For 50% more, I be getting the real deal, and a 60 year old gem to boot. Too much? We'll see.......
 
I damn near shelled out 3500$ for a .357 Mateba Unica 6. If the gun fund had been a bit more replenished than it was I would have gone for it, too. Luckily my better angels prevailed...still don't feel "proud" for walking away, though :eek:

That gun is my "first favorite" and "most beloved" firearm; a quirky design always picked on by the popular kids ;). One day the planets will align and I'll go for it (and probably have to end up paying double :()

TCB
 
"Fair market value" would matter to me if I was buying the gun to resell later. I usually buy guns to shoot, so if it's available and I want specifically THAT GUN, I don't mind overpaying (within reason of course. I wouldn't pay more than $200-300 over what I consider to be the fair price).
 
My thoughts at this point is there is nothing to say. We can talk in vague terms or you can, but we have no idea what your definition of overpay is and what kind of a firearm are you talking about. For that matter, I own rare or certainly low production guns... but you should define "rare".
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being vague leaves the competition in the dark. :)

Only a small handful were ever imported and of course they haven't been in production for decades. Definitely not some run of the mill modern production "special"...
 
Depends on the gun. If I found a mint condition S&W 547, I'd pay a couple of thousand for it. Current market is around $1,100. It has to be mint, however. Why? 'Cause I once had one and was stupid enough to get rid of it.
 
I suppose I do it all the time. I'm not a serious "collector" but I know what I like. I don't have to have a "need" for it. I'm not buying a gun because I "need" a gun anymore. I just have to want it.

I like Smith & Wesson revolvers, especially those from the late 60's to the early 80's maybe. I like them in the box, with as much of the "stuff" that came with them as I can find. They don't have to be unfired, but it's nice.

Those don't turn up every day. I expect to pay more for them. I ask myself, "When was the last time I saw one like this for less?" The answer is usually, "A long time ago." The next question is "When do you think you might find another one, as nice, for less?" The answer is usually, "never." I also know that if I don't want it RIGHT NOW, there will be a guy along before long who will want it.

Thank goodness for layaway.
 
Cajun and I are about the same in our approach. I have paid more than market value certainly a few times, but I can't remember really being unhappy about it afterwards.

Anyone who has been buying over the years will tell you that there are a few that you really seldom EVER see, and those are the ones you need to bear down on in terms of price and buy it when it comes available.

Tarosean, good luck to you. Hope you settle on a price or bid an acceptable price and you get your "rare" gun to add to your collection. The last one that I was crazy trying to buy at auction shot up a few thousand dollars above my highest practical bid (+$1000) and I ended up dropping out. It ended up selling for much higher. To this day, even at the price being double what many considered market at the time, it was a bargain because I know that particular gun, it's market interest, and I believe I have a good handle of its long term collector value. But it got above my ability to pay for it without mortgaging my home or cashing in a 401K investment.
 
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