Went to the pawn shop today they had a 908 in good condition not excelent asking 395 whats a good price?

LGS has a 908 for $399, one mag. It has been there for 3-4 months without a price drop. I can only give it a good condition and there is no box, etc. I am shying away from heavily used econos with plastic parts, but that is just me, perhaps.

I think that the $400-range is a bit much, I'd only pay that for an excellent+ condition (or 908S). A good condition 908 I would value at around $325-$350, tops.

There are two of them right now at one of my favorite local shops, both with box and two magazines. One is $349.95 and the other is $329.95. I have no idea on condition as I have not seen them. Last January, they had one for $399.95 in truly pristine "as-new" condition but I don't think there was a box. Shortly after, they had an average used condition 908 for $349.95.

As much as I am not a blued 3rd Gen guy, I was highly tempted to pick-up that pristine perfect 908 for $399.95 (+Tax)... but life is full of compromises when you are this old and poor. I let it slip away.

The point is that condition means a lot. Personally, I think it means even more on a blued 3rd Gen (vs. SS) and especially on a "value series" blued one where the blued finish isn't so hot to begin with.

Just one old man's opinion. I was far too spoiled many years ago by the outstanding blued finishes S&W put on their revolvers and some of their early pistols.

Seems like I keep seeing 908's priced at or above 3913 levels,.........or at least higher than I'd pay for a 3913. To me a value series' only 'value' is in its inexpensiveness. Lacking that, it holds no value for me. I could care less about whether Smith was unable to sell the things in volume or not and they are thus 'rare' or uncommon. They're rare or uncommon because people didn't want them when they were cheaper than other Smith options.

Not saying they're not decent guns. I just don't understand some of the pricing. I suppose an LGS just puts it out on the shelf with a price on it and watches it sell(or not). What I really don't understand is some of the advertising verbiage I've seen where you're extolled to spend $525 on this cheap version in order to avoid wear and tear on your nice $400 3913.

They're $200-250 pistols to me,.................probably why I don't have one. I thought I had one until I learned that the 915 really isn't part of the series and even that one was a $220 pistol.

Another perspective...

I just paid $485 (total of cost+shipping+transfer fee) for a very nice condition (as-new in box with everything plus a holster) Model 908S. That's somewhat more than my average out-of-pocket cost for a used 9mm 3rd Gen (~$425 w/Tax), but it was worth it to me.

I'll admit that I am a sucker for the clean, no-nonsense, CS-like look of the 908S and the fact that it is a lot newer than most of my other 3rd Gens. Being right handed, I also prefer the non-ambi safety as on the 3913LS and NL.

This is simply what S&W made and sold toward the very end and, of course, because of that it's on the MA EOPS list too (so I could import it and can sell/transfer later via dealer, if so desired). I have multiple 3913's and 6906's in the accumulation, but the 908S still topped my Want List until very recently when I snagged this one.

Yes, there are a couple plastic parts that I will probably replace at some point, but that doesn't bother me at all.

I *get* that most people would likely prefer to pay a little less for a used 3913 than a little more for a slightly newer and less used 908S. But it is more than the relative availability and age of the two guns for me. Simply stated: I fell in love with the 908S at a show a little over a year ago but couldn't quite justify or afford the high asking price at the time. But finally, a chance to scratch that itch came up the other day... and I took it!

No regrets at all over the higher price.

You like clean, no nonsense? Try a 3953. Why didn't you buy this one? I did,

http://smith-wessonforum.com/guns-sa...now-500-a.html



Right here on this site and in MA. I actually thought of you when I 'pulled the trigger' and felt really bad about it, but criminy,..........it sat unsold for a month! $500 is a tic more than I like to pay for a 3953, but it is a nice one. And it has a hundred dollars worth of extra mags. And it has a hundred dollar+ sight upgrade. And it has I don't know how much worth of holster and grips. And it shipped for free. And the seller has been great to work with. All up I think I got the pistol for +/-$250. Wow, instead of being the most I've spent on a 3953 I guess it's the LEAST I've spent on a 3953,.........and it'll be my best one.

I can understand your Mass limitations and pricing situation and a 908S would be appealing even to me(don't particularly like TDA but if I have to have it I would prefer the single-side safety(and decock only even better)). I just can't see the justification for the $500+ price tags out in 'free America'. Also, other than the sights, the plastic in the 900 guns doesn't bother me as much as the loss of the locking lug on the barrel. Maybe no reason for feeling that way, but it's a different gun without that imho.

WOW!!!!! I'd say you scored bigtime!!!

I saw that nifty 3953 listed long ago, but how was I to know that it was a Massachusetts gun? The listing didn't state any location and the member's info is blank in that regard. I don't, as a general rule, go asking every "no location" member selling a non-EOPS listed gun if he/she happens to live in Massachusetts.

The initial asking price was too high for me anyway... and I never saw the drop down to $500 (my upper spending limit on almost any 3rd Gen). It just wasn't meant to be.

Anyway, don't feel bad at all! You scored bigtime and you should be very pleased. I love the 3953 (only one of two 3rd Gens left on my "short" Want List), but my opportunity will come someday soon, I am sure!

I never saw this one at all. Partially because I only check the guns for sale section here occasionally for the reasons you point out. Why torture myself looking at tasty items I can't have?

I probably would have gone that high for that gun.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

... and have beaten me to it (as usual!).

If it ain't MA-complaint (for FFL transfer) or it ain't a Massachusetts member/seller (as declared in the listing or member profile), what's the heck's the point?

Rant: I still don't understand the secret location thang... for members in their profiles or for gun sellers in their listings. For a forum with lots of strict rules, allowing the listing of a gun for sale without the seller specifying a state just seems kind of odd to me.

I would describe it as counter productive, but I also keep in mind that something like 45 of the states have no silly restrictions on what can be sold or owned.

I have seen many listings where a state or part of a state is mentioned in the ad along with "FTF only".

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Sorry TTSH,.......for some reason I thought the state was listed but I guess I didn't see the MA thing until I'd closed the deal and received payment instructions. I'd never really considered just how restrictive your regs can be. Man, not even being able to LOOK at anything due to the fact that you know you can't buy it anyway,..........that would just kill me. I buy 95% of my guns online without a care in the world. I spent 15yrs as an FFL and got used to just having stuff show up in the mail on a daily basis. After giving up the FFL things cooled down a little bit, but a close friend with an FFL still did all my transfers for free, so I slowed to maybe one new toy a week. After he retired his license I applied for my own C&R but I don't use that very much(my interests are mostly semi-modern).

Now transfers cost me $20 a pop but I'm still running two or three per month.

So online shopping is a breeze for me which is a good thing. It's a 50 mile round trip to the only worthwhile LGS for me. A 'close' gunshow is an hour away and I'm not exactly centered in a hotbed of S&W activity. I've never purchased a Smith from a gunshop and I can only think of a couple I've found at shows(and I hit every show I can). It does at least sound like you MA guys have a lot more local opportunities. Still, I wouldn't trade places with you for anything.

Getting back on topic, I'd like to adjust my pricing estimates a bit. I suppose that a 908 or 909 would seem reasonable to me at closer to $300 and an "S" maybe $50 higher. It's the double-stack 910 that seems over-priced at more than $250. There are just too many other 3rd Gens available at good prices. I'm looking at a decent,...not great,...condition 3914 for $300 with free shipping(no box/no magazine), but have so many of the compact DAO versions I doubt I'd ever even shoot it.

Couldn't agree more on the item location thing. I spent a couple of years shopping online for a bulldozer and excavator and you'd be amazed how many people take the opportunity to put something stupid in the 'location' field like "state of confusion",....as if shipping a 30 ton piece of equipment across the country is of no concern.

So what is a GOOD PRICE

It is a $300 gun and maybe $325 if you HAVE TO HAVE IT. They are good guns because they are based on the 3913 which is a great gun. But these guns have been orphaned by S&W and there is somewhat less availability of holsters for the value line series. So the negatives exist. A $400 3913 is a better value than a $300 model 908.

Bill

The range I've seen locally (MA) for a blued 908 (not a 908S) is $299 for seriously "used & abused" to a high of $399 for "as-new" condition. I'd put the typical price for average used condition at $349 in my area. There are two for sale in my area as we speak; one for $349 and one for $329.

I guess a "GOOD PRICE" would beat the numbers above, all dependent (100%) on condition.

I bought my 908 for $389 in 1999, new-in-box (plus sales tax and reg fees).