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Old 02-17-2012, 04:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M29since14 View Post
It's called market-value and it is indisputable.

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.......................................... Don't see the current situation as anything really new - just accelerated by the electronic media, which we all enjoy. That same media has generally accelerated virtually everything it comes in contact with - both in good and not-so-good ways.
The net has changed values- both up and down. Human attrition also changes the market- usually down.

Guns are pushed upward by the net because of increased interest. More pre-war and classic revolvers are available because the orig owners have aged beyond their need for them or died. However, interest seems to have increased more than the increased availability, so competition for acquisition pushes prices steadily upward.

In the 80's, I dealt in rare and out-of-print books about guns and hunting. Many desirable books never had large printings or multiple printings, so some brought high prices when you could even find one. A good example is Neal & Jinks. I sold copies in the 80's in pristine condition for $450-550 for either edition! Now, a very clean copy can usually be had for $125-200.
Only 3000 of each edition were printed as I recall.
Two things have set that lower market value:
1> Reprints. Even after the reprint of the 90's, I continued to sell nice orig's for the same prices to advanced collectors who did not want reprints, but the market was undeniably smaller. The buyers who only wanted the data went for the $50 reprints.
2> The net. It is undeniable that the net has made orig's easy to find on almost any given day, pushing values down. It is also undeniable that some people will not even pay $50 for the new reprint when they can login here on any given day and have a question answered or a gun dated or valued within 45 minutes of asking!
"I don't need to KNOW anything, I just need to know WHO does!"

Bottom line-
we always get back to supply and demand. The supply of orig Neal & Jinks books is higher than anytime since the release, and the demand is lower.

The supply of collectible guns may be higher, but the demand has grown more.
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Regards,
Lee Jarrett
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