Please help me understand some prices of guns on this site..

[seattlewingsfan]

Some people just don't know how to run a business, and maybe they aren't trying to. Maybe it's a hobby for that guy and he just doesn't care if he ever sells one. The sales side of my business is what I hate. I love what I do, and I get to know all my customers pretty well. I always end up shorting myself on what I should charge because of it. I am trying hard to change that. If someone gets bent out of shape because I didn't give them a smokin deal on a custom turbo kit, so be it. They aren't much of a friend if they expect me to loose money just so they can afford it. My business is split service/sales. I have realized that on the sales end of it, sometimes I take a loss on something just to get the customer to make that first deal. They are happy, tell friends, it breaks the ice. It always leads to making more in the end. Besides you have to flip inventory or people think your prices are too high even if they aren't...

 

[xtratoy]

I think some people are just trying to get their wife off their back. "Look honey, I'm trying to sell that gun you don't like". They just don't tell her they priced it to make sure it doesn't sell.

 

[raftman]

Thats right. If you go to any gun shop they will always give more in trade vs. selling out right. I see that everywhere. Because if the dealer just buys he does not make as much but if you trade and buy another gun he wins both ways. Pefect sense to me

Yeah, but we're not talking about dealers, we're talking about private individuals that sell in the classifieds here on this site. A dealer can be understood because anything they buy from a customer or accept as a trade, they're going to have to try to sell later and make money on. They can't give full value because they'd have to either price it at full value and thus not make any money; or price it high enough to make a profit, which of course would be well above full value and thus turn away most potential buyers. Same doesn't really hold true for the classifieds here.

This. It always made sense to me. The phrase "Cash talks" comes to mind. I can get ANYTHING I want with cash, as opposed to taking a trade which may still interest me, but not necessarily be exactly what I was looking for.

If the trade isn't what you're looking for, then why accept it all?

 

[Scott]

You are basicly a dealer when you sell your gun and just because your not does not mean you should take a loss? If it is a fair value then it should sell if it is way high just keep on walking like you would if you were in a store. I am not going to take a huge loss because someone cannot afford it and I won't price it what someone thinks it is worth.

Like said many times, somthing is worth what a person is willing to pay. That's why there are some many gun dealers out there because they all have different prices and I will go to the lowest price. It's business whether private or public know matter how you look at it.

 

[NoEcm]

I like that ads that say I paid $400 + $40 sales tax for the gun, put 500 round through it and all I want is $400 and I'll take the loss on the tax. LMAO

 

[cyclesarge]

Yeah, but we're not talking about dealers, we're talking about private individuals that sell in the classifieds here on this site. A dealer can be understood because anything they buy from a customer or accept as a trade, they're going to have to try to sell later and make money on. They can't give full value because they'd have to either price it at full value and thus not make any money; or price it high enough to make a profit, which of course would be well above full value and thus turn away most potential buyers. Same doesn't really hold true for the classifieds here.

I can just about guarantee any seller on here will give you a more favorable trade value than a dealer.

If the trade isn't what you're looking for, then why accept it all?

To better move the gun they are not using. I've taken a couple trades that I didn't want because the buyer was short money to buy the gun I was selling and not much else was happening on the gun I was selling. BUT, the trade gun had to be a good value to me to put up with the extra hassle of having to sell ANOTHER gun.

 

[raftman]

You are basicly a dealer when you sell your gun and just because your not does not mean you should take a loss? If it is a fair value then it should sell if it is way high just keep on walking like you would if you were in a store. I am not going to take a huge loss because someone cannot afford it and I won't price it what someone thinks it is worth.

If it's a trade between private individuals, what should make one person willing to take a loss and the other unwilling to accept any deal that doesn't make a hefty profit? What makes "I want a trade, but I want it to be unfair in my advantage" a reasonable thing to expect between two private individuals? Sure you have every right to price any item you own any way you see fit, but you shouldn't expect anyone to go for it. No one is asking anyone to take a "huge loss," but when one says "$500 cash or $600" they're telling you they think $500 is what they think is a price that would satisfy them, but if you wanna trade, they want more than what they think is a fair price. No thanks! If a private individual is "basically a dealer" but we're talking a trade, aren't they both "basically dealers" then? Is your gun worth more than my gun simply because yours is yours and mine is mine.

 

[KRISSTDI]

I usually sell mine under retail. I mean they are used and not brand new/never fired. I sold a Colt LE6940 for $1100 cash. Bought it new for $1400. I sold one of my other Kriss 45 ACP Carbines for $2000 and paid $2500 for everything then.

Now I am selling another Kriss for $1550 and bought it for $1850.

I am not looking for profit on a used item. I am selling for used fair value sale. What I think they are worth. If they don't sell, they don't sell.

 

[raftman]

I can just about guarantee any seller on here will give you a more favorable trade value than a dealer.

Sure, but more favorable shouldn't still be pretty unfair.

 

[cyclesarge]

Sure, but more favorable shouldn't still be pretty unfair.

If the seller has something the buyer wants, it's probably exactly what the buyer wants. The buyers trade may not be exactly what the seller wants. If you go to a dealer the trade is not what the dealer wants at all, that's why they have such low trade in values, they want CASH. I (probably like most sellers that will take a trade on here) have a "sliding scale" of trade values. If it is something I want I will trade straight up or at a loss. The less I desire an item, the lower the trade value goes. If I place a WANTED ad looking for something specific (gun "X") and state I have gun "Y" and/or gun "Z" for trade I have to accept the seller may or may not desire gun "Y" or gun "Z" and I'll have to make the deal more favorable to the seller.

The one that I saw that I thought was hilarious was an ad for trade where there was no cash option and the seller said he'd ONLY take a trade that was extremely favorable on his end. In other words he was saying "he would only deal with you if he could screw you over". Not surprisingly he got very little response.

 

[Chipperxd]

^what cyclesarge said. sometimes I want to just flat out sell it and I give a cash discount. why? because like it's been said, cash talks. with the cash I can get, what I want, when I want, instead of having to wait for the right trade to come through.

 

[deen_ad]

Exactly! And then people bubblegum about paper work at gun shows. It's because to many ineligible people are buying guns. Even if you do a diligent job, ask for ID and do a bill of sale on a FTF you could still be selling to a ineligible person.

Exactly why I like buying/selling at a WAC show!! They must belong or they can't buy/sell a gun at the show. Not even a private sale can go down if not a member, and it's easy to check for the badge.

I might own multiple guns of the same make/model and cal. One or two might be registered, the others might not be. Just might come in handy some day!! Someone just might show up to confiscate all my guns with a list of the registered ones. They'll just never know if they got them all!

80 MILLION gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!

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The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
South West Washington Arms Collector member

 

[Burt Gummer]

I would buy a gun from a private party if it was in great shape to near a new price not to avoid the paperwork/wait from a dealer, but to get feedback from the previous owner. "It shoots a little high and to the left; it doesn't like XXX ammo", etc.
Plus it is nice to meet other private, responsible gun owners and make friends. Isn't that pretty much what a forum like this is about?

Same reason I would never buy a car from a dealership. New = horrendous depression (not so with a gun I guess). Used = you get to meet the person who has actually driven the car and can give you feedback/impressions of the car/truck.