I got my first S&W revolver a while back for $101.00 brand new. Which I made the mistake of selling. As the years went by I drifted away from handguns, and got wrapped up in trap shooting. A worse disease than collecting handguns.

However, now I find myself wanting to purchase a few nice older pieces to shoot and put in the safe to pass down. Basically, I need stationary targets now.

I did buy from this site S&W) a beautiful model 10-5 for a reasonable price. In my searching I have come across the auction/ dealer sites. that IMO want outrageous amounts of money for what they have, and do not even respond to you about offers or requests for information. The word arrogance comes to mind.

Is it just me, or are these dealers way over inflating the price of used guns? Is there a way to deal with them??

A lot of them are priced too high once you add shipping and FFL fees,just have to keep looking

Or my favorite: you work out a decent deal and they try and fleece you on shipping to recoup some of their loss. I had a guy swear up and down that he could only ship red label FedEx to an FFL, for about $70 shipping, then the item shows up in a USPS priority mail box for $20 in shipping. I learnt from that one!

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Well, 35.00 seems to be a standard shipping charge, and my transfer agent wants 35.00. The guy down the road wants 100.00/ transaction. I do no business with him. But on the other hand you pay no sales tax, so that at least squares it with the shipping. For me in RI 70.00 would be break even with a 7% sales tax on a 1000.00 gun

I found a guy locally that will ship outgoing USPS priority for $20 for handguns. And he only charges $15 for a transfer. During the months of March and December, he only charges $10. He calls it March Madness and December to Remember

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I agreee. The gurus on here seem to able to find pristine, in box 19-3s for under $500.

Online or in the wild? I don’t see any for under $750 if they are in nice condition.

Lots of guys will jump on the first gun of the model they seek and not even consider that many thousands of most every model were made. I see guys looking for validation of a good deal on LEO trade in’s that are being offered for many times the original cost and trade in price. Hang tight and look local, pawn shops and talk to friends. There are good deals out there but your not going to find them on the internet.

I don't by from the online outfits. I do buy a few from this forum.
If it's a reasonable deal I buy it, knowing the chances of getting
a gun that is over rated is slim. I get my best buys from local
individuals who are not collectors. You even get the original grips
on most of them.

The dealers got 'em.

You want 'em.

The dealers seemingly
have prices too high.

You seemingly won't pay
such prices.

End of story.

High-condition examples of pre-lock S&W revolvers tend to bring premium money, especially when the original box, tools and paperwork are included.

As a buyer, only you can decide if the asking price is fair.

I have paid plenty for some of my pre-lock guns, but I'm only interested in high-condition, original S&Ws. I don't expect these guns to come cheap, though sometimes you will find a bargain if you're patient enough.

But I won't pay stupid-money for them, either.
I decide what a particular gun is worth to me, and take it from there.

I've seen some beautiful guns with ridiculous asking prices. I just laugh and move on.

I've already posted a rather flippant
observation on this subject but I'll
go further.

The OP, Narragansett, said he's looking
for a few good old guns to shoot and put
away for his heirs.

That's the problem. He, like me and so
many others, want more than one. I know
I have way too many Model 15s but I love
them.

But because of me, I've helped drive up the
prices, especially for really good specimens.

Look at the threads on this forum and if one
fellow or lady posts about this or that model,
others will immediately post pictures showing
multiple ownership. I hate them because I
want those guns and they have too many.

Let us face it, a finite number of guns from the
days gone by exist and the market is still strong
for them.

So! So! Stop buying multiple Smiths! Be satisfied
with just one example of something or maybe just
one model and not multiple different models.

And then! And then! And then, more will be
available for me at cheaper prices.

I will buy anything, but I don't buy everything.

Flawless logic. I will flood the market with my 6. Expect prices to drop at least 20%

The number of buyers is into the thousands.

Why, if just the members of the S&W collectors
association were to dump the thousands of guns
its members hold, the buyers market would improve.

I'm not suggesting they do. Or.......