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I noticed there is an older thread from 2013 but out of curiosity who uses Bluebookofgunvalues.com for gun values? I pay the $4 a month for their online subscription and have been fairly happy with it so far. I am curious if anyone else has found a reliable source of gun values. I frequently find myself looking there when I am looking at firearms being sold by individuals and occasionally being blown away by how much more some firearms are listed at as compared to their value on bluebook.
 
I used the Blue book as guide and reference for when a gun was made etc ...
As for placing a value or pricing I :
Hit the gun shows and see what people are buying the gun for.
Also to see just what folks are asking to sell the gun for.
Check a few big internet sellers and see what they are asking.
And the Blue Book.
Plus I've been doing this for awhile and my common sense about a price or value is usually pretty good.
Andy
 
Like Andy said,hit a few gun shows and you start to keep the prices in your head.
The shop I worked at used it for a guide to show some folks their gun isn't worth what they were thinking. But the Blue book puts a lot of S&Ws way low in value so you need some other sources with it.
And gun prices are regional.
 
I would like to buy a new version of the book. I have some from the past and it's a nice reference to keep around. They are full of great information and it's fun to check out the "guesstimated" values of different guns through out the years.
Before all of the internet stuff, the book was one of the very few sources of information and values. Flayderman's is another one that might still be around, but I never found it as interesting as the Blue Book. Now it's very easy to see what most guns are selling for just by checking forums and auction sites.
Early versions of the book had a place for personal firearms records to be written in. My oldest book used to belong to a friend. I don't think any of the guns listed are in possession of either one of us anymore. It's a trip back to the past, but that's a different story.
 
Years ago I used to buy the previous year's book at Powell's. Now I have an online subscription. If I am at a gun show and see something interesting I can look it up on my phone. Like others have said, it is a reference. Just one piece of the puzzle. Every year I think I don't need to re-up, but I always do.

I pretty much ignore asking prices, especially around here. Of late, some asking prices on used guns have gotten just plain silly. I guess people are hoping to find a buyer who doesn't know any better.
 
The book is for reference purposes. Whatever someone is willing to pay, is what it's worth. As with anything.

Bingo, you hit the nail on the head. Now days with the online auctions, prices are reflected by ego's and size of pocket books. Sometimes the ego's are bigger than the wallet and that gets the better of someone. I've had it happen to me when I was selling a rifle on gunbroker. Sold a $350.00 rifle for $650.00. The guys started a bidding war and that's where it ended up. I didn't like it getting up that high and actually felt sorry for the buyer. I've bought books on gun values as well, but the best way to check actual values is to surf the web. See what they are bringing on the open market/online. Be aware that some firearms are hot one week and cold the next. A lot of this is based off of supply and demand too and what the distributors are bringing out and at what prices. Some places like CDNN will throw a monkey wrench in there that lowers prices on older rifles because they have to compete with new rifle prices. There's a lot to watch for and be aware of that the book will not tell you....
 
To have a realistic assessment of a guns true value. Is to access the gun.


Do you know how to check the gun for function? What about damage particular to this gun?
Is the finish original? Old? Do you know how to tell?

Is it in the original configuration? Modified? Or reconfigured like a more valuable version of the same gun? [FAKE?]

What do the marking on the guns tell you?
You could have a shooter. Or a rare $80,000 configuration of the same shooter?

No. Blue books are for people that don't have the learning required to asses a gun.
There a poor excuse. And worth about as much as the opinion of those that use them.

I have even seen people try to swindle others with there interpretation of the ''Blue Book''. :s0002:
You need to know what you have!

I've had people ask 3x what a gun was worth. Just because they saw one like it in the book.
I've also had people ask one third the price of a guns value. Just because they were to lazy to do any research.

To most the value of a gun lies between what a person will take [Low]. And there asking price[High]. o_O
 
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The Standard Catalog of Firearms is a good reference also. The pictures come in handy on occasion trying to identify something unusual.
Probably the best reference for prices is Gunbroker's Sold Listings. That's where you find what someone is really willing to pay. The starting bids or reserves don't mean much. You frequently see starting bids 50% over what the gun is worth and the gun gets relisted for years.
Both The Standard Catalog and The Blue Book have had some prices WAY OUT of line with reality, both high and low. I was looking at a Luger one time. Both books put it at $800 when reality was $2K. Given as much volatility as there is in the gun market I'm surprised they can be as close as they are.
In my opinion the Blue Book grading system is a PITA to work with but the Standard Catalog system has too broad of categories. Accurate condition assessment is probably the most important and most difficult part of establishing a value.
 

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