A friend of mine is considering thinning his herd. At one point he was really enamored of collecting one example of every pistol and revolver in the S&W catalogue for his birth year, 1961. He tells me that that amounts to some 46 individual pieces. I believe they are all NIB.

What's the best way to establish the market value of this collection, either as a lot, or individually? For the record, I have no financial interest in this; I'm just trying to help a friend maximize the value of what was painstakingly acquired over a period of years.

Thanks for your guidance.


Bullseye

My advice would be to sell off the guns individually. Yes, it will be a ton of work to do so but I feel your friend will realize a lot more money by selling the guns that way.If sold as a set he's likely to receive a lot less money.I guess it's a matter of whether he wants quick cash or is patient and willing to sell them one at a time. Just my thoughts--

The best way to establish market value is to go up on Gunbroker and do a search on completed auctions of the gun type you intend to sell.You have to be a member to use the search completed auction function so join if you aren't a member as it's free. Then you will see what they are actually selling for. My local gun dealer does this to determine his pricing on the guns he sells and says that Gunbroker is the best market price indicator.

tagged for interest.

I think the EASIEST thing to do is to sell the whole "shooting match" to me at a very reasonable price.

A piece at a time? Sell 'em on Gunbroker? Your gonna' be so sick of this deal by the end you'll throw them in the lake.
Do you have any idea how many e-mails, "friend-of-a-friend wants a deal" requests and stupid questions a public sale with your name on it brings down on your head?

ANYTIME a real collection goes up for sale an auction house that has experience with gun sales ( 3 or 4 come to mind ) is the only way to go for top dollar and the anonymity you need to keep the tire kickers away.

GF

I also believe that a good reliable auction house that specializes in gun auctions, and has internet bidding capabilities will get you the best price with the lowest amount of headaches. Yes, they will probably charge you around 30%, but they will usually get higher prices to offset the commission. NIB guns will usually bring very god prices among collectors.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Check out Ken Null who was the partner with Jim Supica. Null sold an auction for a friend of mine and did a great job. He was honest and industrious and a good auctioneer.

He does on line auctions.

There is one person I would immediately trust to handle a collection
such as this. Lee Jarrett. Noconeetrader.
Look no further than the OWNER of this forum ,and the man responsible for keeping it running.

The whole deal starts with a good picture of each piece,
and a list with description and condition and serial #.

Fax it to Lee and get his opinion.

There ,,now wasn't that easy?

Allen Frame

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.