I walked into a pawn shop yesterday and there it was, a S&W Model 4506-1, just what I was looking for to complete my 3rd Gen xx06 flush (9mm, .40S&W, 10mm, and .45ACP).

The 4506 was in decent shape, a few scuff that could be buffed out and equipped with some huge rubber grips (easily replaced), and one magazine. I did not ask about a box. Price tag was $800, yikes!

I ask for the bottom line and I got $750 +8% tax.

I walked out mumbling something like "I would have given $550-$600", but got no response.

How far off am I?

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

Sounds like a Massachusetts-style price to me!

Seriously, with no box and just one magazine and in the condition you describe... even "trapped behind enemy lines" me wouldn't go higher than about $600+Tax. But remember that I'm not nearly as desperate as I once was ever since I scored a nice Model 4506 (No Dash) a while back.

Okay, maybe as much as $650+Tax but I'd know I was getting the BIG ZING from that dealer.

For that price I'd buy one of the great but expensive specimens I see selling on the other sites, with two mags.

p.s., Team 3rd Gen member in good standing Bam-Bam will be by shortly to explain his "Big Bam Theory" and its associated formula... and why you should buy it anyway unless you are hideously old and decrepit like me.

Stay tuned.

Well it's good to know my thinking was not too far off.

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

A 4506-1 in like condition just got listed on a California gun forum for $650, but that's an unusual case as we're as restricted (if not more) as MA is where handgun purchasing laws and our infernal "DOJ safe handgun roster" is concerned.

$750 in a free state seems high, but... with the way Colorado has been seemingly edging towards becoming Californificated, and you never can tell when some surprise anti-gun legislation will be dropped on your head, like the repealed hi-cap magazine ban law was, paying that "premium" now just might be a smart move.

Plus if you plan on continuing to buy S&W's for some time to come, you then get the principle of "dollar cost averaging" coming into play where if you add up what you've paid for all of the guns you have, and then divide the number of guns into that total, you usually will find that the lows and highs of the prices paid for of each gun will offset each other, and the average cost per gun works out to be lower than the highest price paid for any one gun.

Yeah I know... it sounds off the wall, but with 60+ S&W's in my accumulation, I've found it to be true. So, whenever I'm contemplating a purchase that's a bit on the high side and it's something I've been looking for, I usually don't sweat the decision that much and buy while the opportunity is there, because down the road I know I'll either make up the difference on something else or prices will have climbed to where what I paid on something is now considered a bargain.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

I picked up a very clean 4506-1 about a year ago for 400 $. No box, one mag. You do not see them every day, but they are out there.

What are 4506 magazines worth? I have two with yellow followers, and two with orange followers.

I agree with the price levels that the OP has been quoted. All 3rdGens are getting harder to find, & a 4506-1 especially so. By the way, you must be primarily a glock owner, as you seem to refer to S&W 3rdgens by the misnomer Gen3, like a glock owner would.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

As of yesterday my LGS had a 4506. Very clean with rear sight ears/protectors whatever they are called. Don't remember if it came with extra mags. $499. There was also a two 39XX for about $550 or so but I didn't pay much attention to them

Well, I do own some Glocks, but far more S&Ws. Some of us are just not as well versed as others on the correct S&W vernacular. Thank you for pointing this out and I stand corrected on my nomenclature. I will, from this day forward, refer to 3rdGens versus Gen3s.

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

Midway just had them on sale for $25.71.

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

Arik... you need to start buying and selling! You guys on the east coast have some great ole gun stores. Out west, not so much.

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

Not trying to jack this thread but what are your opinions(price) on a very nice 4516? My local gun store has a nice one that has been there for a few months. I stare at it everytime I go in.

I wanna say this is a double edged sword but even that sells it short. Some of us active in this ballgame have our methods and priorities and NO contrary argument need apply. It's fantastic to solicit advice but it has to be advice that meshes with your own process.

For me, simply put: I buy handguns for my personal enjoyment, and for dead sure certain, if I don't do my diligence and pay a price that seems "right" for me, I will enjoy the handgun LESS. And that won't ever go away unless/until the gun goes away.

But it's important to say that my process is strictly my own and I can't expect others to do it the same way.

If someone pays $750-$850 for a 4506, they have just made a real-world VOTE that $750-$850 is a valid 4506 price.

Now that may indeed be the case. But if a 4506 is a $750 handgun in the year 2016, then I shall occupy my (fantastic!) range days with one of my dozen+ other S&W semiautos, because I will (happily!) continue to NOT own a 4506.

I see them as $500 guns if in good condition and with both mags. I factor the pluses (like how reliable and great they are) with the negatives (no more support and parts) and determine what I am willing to pay.

Collectors are willing to pay collector pricing, which is great for sellers, but I'm not a collector.

....as a potential buyer the only valid question is "what's it worth to you?"

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witty signature goes here

For what it's worth I just bought a 4516-1 for $495 with 3 mags

If ammo was free I'd agree with you. If I want to buy a gun that I'm going to put 1000's of rounds through (and spend major money at a range to do that) then the cost of using the gun is going to easily offset any minor "over payment" I might make. Now, if I just want a wall hanger/safe queen then price is important. If I owned my own range and loaded my own ammo, yeah, price comes back into play.

If I'm spending $50/week on ammo and range fees then I won't get too excited about paying an extra $50-100 on a gun that I really want to take with me to the range. I don't want to spend months looking for the "best deal", I want to be shooting!

Yep, that works also. For you. Doesn't work for me. Away from my log at the moment but I loaded over 15k of ammo in 2015 and an extra hundred or two dollars? THAT'S component bullets. Keeps me and my handguns smiling from ear to ear.

An extra hundo on a PC gun or a sweetheart Model 52? I can swing that. A hundred beyond my price on a 4506 that they made a gujillion of? Yeah. I'll be leaving that for the next guy.

Sorry, but that's right up there with " ... you didn't pay too much, you bought too early ..."

Paying above market does nothing but set a new high water mark in the marketplace for used guns and increase the cost for everyone going forward.

I just don't get all the scoffing.

If I want a particular gun, and I am willing to pay a reasonable (to me) price for it, and I shop around instead of trying to snag the first available example, then who is anyone to say I paid too much for it, if their perceived value of the gun is different than mine?

As far as the "this sets the bar higher for everyone else," so what? The alternative is for me to deny myself that gun, just so "everyone else" can benefit? Come on.

IMHO, guns are purchases for pleasure in most cases. (If they are for a need such as self-defense, then there are hundreds of options out there at the price point desired.) So really, all this talk bemoaning the soaring prices of some models is, to me, nothing more than bellyaching. The market rules, as it should.

To the OP's point: if $750 is more than you think the gun is worth, then voting with your feet is the right move. I daresay you can find a good 4506 in the $500 to $600 range if you are willing to shop for a while. And if not, then the market is saying these are more valuable than you are willing to pay.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

"Dollar cost averaging" is how I justify a lot of my purchases. First I pay too much... and almost immediately thereafter, I find the exact same gun for a fraction of what I just paid... so I buy that one too to bring down my average cost.

Are you saying that's the wrong way to go?

And here I thought I was saving money... on average, of course.

Yep. And the next one you want will also cost you more, too.

This may sound a bit strange but I did not get a good feeling from that particular 4506-1. Usually when I purchase or bid on something I get a good feeling about that particular firearm. I did not get it with this one. When I walked out I actually felt good that I didn't purchase it and could continue my search. Go figure!

Most, but not all, of my S&Ws have been purchase from folks on this forum. I have yet to get one that I did not like. I'll just continue watching the forum for a nice 4506-1. Hopefully I will not get distracted with a nice 3913 or some other 3rd Gen Smith that just blows my socks off!

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Vietnam Veteran, 68-69

Good move. Always go with your gut.

You live in a generally free state. You can import easily. There is no need for you to ever be held hostage to a local deal.

Not really. If you use this thread as an example. .....whether or not the OP buys that gun for that price in Trinadad CO has no effect on the guns for sale locally in my state. If that was the case you guys should all be paying what I pay cause I see some of these prices and can't help but think "ripoff" but it has yet to work that way

From what I can tell, you live in an unusually low price area within an already low price state. Most of the rest of us aren't nearly so fortunate. Most of us can only dream of the prices you are paying.

You are 100% right that actual selling prices in Colorado and Pennsylvania won't have much, if anything, to do with each other. I think what Al is talking about are strictly local effects.

With respect to 3rd Gens specifically, my loony little moonbat state seems to be very sensitive to local price trends. In fact, I swear that my own buying alone at a couple in-state dealers has influenced their pricing on other 3rd Gen pistols. That's probably a sign that I was buying too many.

It's never that simple, of course... but it sure can appear that way at times. Demand in Massachusetts is still very high for nice, clean 3rd Gens. You should still buy what you want, but it does seem to help if you make clear that you are very price sensitive and willing to walk away from unfairly steep prices.