First time I visited this shop, they had a 3913LS in VVG condition but not ANIB. One mag.
What's it worth, they're asking a bit over 6 bills.

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Sure you did

If it is cost that that is #1 on your decision tree, you will never find happiness. A few dollars more spent on something you desire, amortized over the life of ownership, turns out to be pennies per year. Are you willing to sacrifice several years waiting for a "deal" to pass your way? IMHO, it's just not worth the wait. Enjoy today for we never know what tomorrow will bring.

And yes, a 3913LS is easily worth $600+/-.

I'm not sure if I'm qualified to give you advice on anything S&W but since you asked...

I think any VG or VVG 3913 of any configuration falls between $500 and $600. There are other variables that effect value but IMHO that's a good ballpark figure. Very nice perhaps a bit more.

Having said that the 3913's aren't getting cheaper. A local listing lasted less than a day at $550 for a standard model.

Ahhh! Another proponent of the infamous "Bam formula"! Works great if you have lots of "good years" left... works not-so-great if you don't.

I still don't understand the attraction of "LS" models felt by some dudes (not that there is anything wrong with that), but I would much prefer a "NL" model or a no-rail "TSW" model when it comes to my 3913's.

Anyway, it's hard to say for certain without seeing the gun, but I'm thinking that a VVG "LS" with one magazine and no box is a little bit high at $600. But I know that's going against the grain so I'll sit down and clam up.

Seems high to me, but everything does these days. Any chance to talk him into the five-range? For a gun with one mag and no box that would seem like plenty to me.

LS or NL... who cares? I'm sure your sense of masculinity can handle it. Good luck haggling a little.

Just went out to play.
I already have an early non rail 3913TSW, though probably not of TTSH quality, but close.
Maybe next time I'm shopping for a new car I'll offer 25% more cause life is short.

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Sure you did

Checked again.
I was informed it had another mag and the "lady" pouch/bag/thingy also.

I can give the bag to the missus, she can add that to "her collection"

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Sure you did

Danggit! There goes some of your wigglin' room.

Good luck anyway.

It all depends on how many of those "good years" you have left. Too bad for me... I am almost out of them.

BTW, my wife has a nice purse she doesn't use anymore. She was going to donate it... but if you need something to carry that new "LS" around in, let me know.

My recent benchmark is the ANIB pre rail 3953TSW that I bought about a month or so ago. Box, paperwork, two mags, and of course the gun. $600.00 + tax as part of an estate liquidation through a FFL.

It was high, but factoring in the scarcity, unlikelihood of seeing another one (especially in MA), and of course the encouragement of the members here , I bought it and haven't looked back.

Prices on what I'd call specialty variations of the 3913 are going up, while prices on regular variations seem to be falling off.

Just remember, the time to buy a gun that you want is when you see it for sale. Another may not come along.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I would say $600 is at the high end for a VVG NL with 2 magazines.....I value the LS slightly lower ....... of course I've already got mine.

That price would be too high in my local market......

I'd give a premium for LGSs cus you get to check it out..........course I've not seen one locally in a few years.

I bought my 3914 LS for carry purposes, not for any collector value. Like you, I personally would prefer the NL, but in this case, you have to squint to see the etching on the slide, so I'm not too self-conscious.
I always figure that if she's out and pointed at someone, that more than likely will not be the time someone chooses to make fun of it!

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Because of the metric system?

I was waiting for you to pop in.

No worries Pete. I'm just teasing, of course. I blew my one and only chance at an LS/NL last year and I don't see ever obtaining/owning one now. GaryS is the premium 3rd Gen gun guy around here... I am Mister "Plain Jane" and Mister "Economy Model" by comparison.

Unless I win the lottery someday, that's not going to change... so I tease you high-end folks. But just like your LS, my "Plain Jane" & "Economy Models" have that same effect on the bad guys.

Speaking of money when we talk $ with cars its thousands & in guns it's $100 or so maybe more but in both instances it is something we want. Maybe the percentage is comparable I don't know.

My "Plain Jane" 3913 has it all over the Ladysmith in the looks department- believe me! If it didn't come with four mags (for 3 bills, mind you), I probably woulda passed.

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Because of the metric system?

Well, I feel that way too, but I am clearly in the minority. Most members of Team 3rd Gen that I'm aware of would take an LS/NL over a basic Model 3913 any day of the week.

I'd own one just for the sake of completeness of my collection, but finding one around here lately is just about impossible.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...... I find the NL's lines just a bit sexier than a "Plan Jane" 3913.........but as we all know those "Plain Jane's" can really surprise you......."when the time is right".

I've always been surprised that..... Bond...James Bond.... wasn't issued a 3913/14 NL with Hogue grips in the early 90s ....... replacing that terribly under powered Walther in .32acp.........


With a PC Shorty 9 stashed in the glove box of the Austin Martin..............

LMAO.....would you take a slightly used pair of pink Chuck Taylors in 14M as partial trade on that purse?

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Sure you did

You bet!!!

OK, going out tomorrow PRIORITY.

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Sure you did

Now, there you go again with your James Bond fantasy. The Models 3913/3914 LS/NL didn't appear until 1990 or 1991. At that point, James Bond had already gone through all the Fleming books, 17 movies and 4 actors!

The earliest James Bond movie in which he could have carried at Model 3914NL (your favorite) would have been "Golden Eye" (1995) with Pierce Brosnan as Bond.

Accept it Bam. It's just not happening!

Once again a failure of S&W marketing....... Bond got a full size Walther 99 in Tomorrow never Dies.

If he'd gone to a 39xx ....... Smith would still be making them to..... fill back orders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, at least you're not fantasizing about James Bond using your new plastic gun with the headlight on it... so I guess it could be worse. Much worse!

Personally, I was always surprised that he wasn't issued one of these,



British being the frugal sorts that they are. After all, they seem to be in just about every British WW II movie.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

That's the Scottish blood in them......................

Not specifically LS but this track has the regular and NL versions among the prices contributing to the data:

Smith & Wesson 3913 Pistol in 9x19. Blue Book of Gun Values (37th Edition) indicates between $395 in 95% condition and $550 in 100% condition for this gun. I have 112 recorded prices for this model gun from $225 to $750 over a period of 9 Yrs 5 Mos ending June 3, 2017. The average price as of that date was $496. No refurbs, no refinishes, regular sights. Adjusted to two magazines. All represented as 95% or better. No distinction for import location or engineering revision, if any, no special editions, no distinctions for box, papers, tools. Current or last MSRP is $622. The last 10 prices I have for this model since 4/24/2017 range from $405 to $635 averaging $469

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Bob

5Wire...are you a CPA?

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witty signature goes here

Nope. Just obsessive about pricing firearms I own, used to own, or lust after.

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Bob

Mike, a friend of mine had a LNIB 3913LS, shipping case, "Purse", instruction manual, two magazines ... Basically the whole nine yards. Gun looked unfired other than factory test firing. Asking price was $600. I told him he was too low, that he needed to bump it up to $800 and have room to come down to $700. No sooner than he adjusted the price to $800 someone walked in and peeled off $888 ($800 + 9.75% sales tax + $10.00 TICS) from a wad big enough to choke a horse.


That 3913LS sat on his shelf for less than four hours before disappearing.


Class III

Folks always brag about the deal they got....... or .....having the luck of a blind squirrel.

But it's rare for someone to come here and say I paid "full market value" or I over paid...... or "I'd had one to many single malts when I placed that last bid"

More than once I've paid a "bit" more than I thought I should or wanted too ........ to get a gun.... in the condition I wanted...... because that was the first one I'd seen in a LGS in years.......

Once I even traded a "perfectly minty" 2 1/2 inch 19 and $100 to get a perfectly minty 2 1/2 inch Model 19 that was P&Red! Applying the "BAM Rule" as TTSH calls it ...... having that perfect P&Red 19 will cost me about a Starbuck's coffee a year until I'm 70.


So remember we hear about the "deals and steals"..... which are the exception rather than the rule.

I added three more dots to your dot-aholic style.

I have done the same thing with the same gun, and I am not even a particularly big 2.5-inch 19 man. I suppose a lot of people might say I've wasted a considerable sum on guns in my years. I don't waste much on Starbucks coffee. Hey, we all have our faults!

LOL the dots are used as I'm typing my train of thought..........also easier to read IMHO than some of the run on paragraphs we see folks write.

I can count the Starbucks I've had on one hand.......$5 for coffee...in this Frugal Scot's nightmares !

Actually, it's better known as the infamous "Bam Formula" and it can be a very dangerous thing for you young folks IMHO. I know that I'm very old (too few "good years" left) and that I haven't actually purchased any Starbucks coffee since February 2005, so take that into account. The Bam Formula (or "Rule") is useless to a poor old guy like me. But I also believe it holds hidden dangers when applied too often by you much younger folks.

I don't overpay very often... but when I do, it bothers me for months or years afterwards. Justifying it by assigning a number of theoretical Starbucks coffees to it has never helped me. I still see that big number sitting there in the spreadsheet tally and it drives me nutty. Yes, I do get the very occasional PA-type bargain but it doesn't happen often enough to counter the angst and pain of the over-paid-for guns. Sometimes, I feel I have to sell those poor buys at a loss just to get them off the books.

But mostly I pay somewhere in the middle... a fair price... no great PA bargain, no crazy over-payment either. I'd love to claim a whole lot of super success stories, but the truth is that's pretty rare up here in moonbat MA.

The "BAM Formula"...... was developed to "rationalize" getting a gun I really really wanted.......I don't buy on line so when I come across a gun on my bucket list; I apply the Formula to rationalize overpaying for a gun I haven't seen in a long time/if ever and may never see again in a LGS.

It has been applied sparingly by me over the years....................off the top of my head.....

my "back up" PC Shorty9* (could of settled for a 6904/06 at half the price)
a PC DPA5906 ( cool gun w/decocker and a 00xx serial #)
a truly minty 6" 586-nuttin at twice original MSRP (had no 6" guns at the time)

probably 3 or 4 more over 20 years............

I'm mostly a frugal man or Scottish heritage. Living in the land of Pa Deals and Steals!!!!!



*yes I actually carry a PC Shorty9...have since the mid-90s when no one really thought about them being rare or at least uncommon .....kinda like getting a Reg Magnum is 1938 to carry as a duty gun!!!

I don't drink, smoke or waste money on golf, but do use 93 in the vette.

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Sure you did

Cheer up, the Cons are on the way.

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Sure you did

Sweet! I hope they fit!

I'm guessing that you really weren't "overpaying" in the TTSH definition of the word as much as you were simply paying the going price for certain high-end or particularly desirable guns. I'm also going to guess that you didn't actually have to give up those cups of Starbucks coffee in order to keep your financial ship afloat. Methinks the Bam Formula is more about you giving advice to others (mainly struggling young folks) rather than needing to apply it to yourself and your own rather enviable situation.

Poor old TTSH is torn right now over those Summit CHP 4006TSW pistols as well as a local 5906TSW, both of which are out of my reach until at least September or later. But there is a big difference between the two. The 4006TSW pistols are not over-priced. I just don't have the money for one right now. The 5906TSW *is* over-priced but would still make a fine addition to the TTSH 3rd Gen collection without having to go to the good wife and beg for relief on the new .40 rule.

The CHP 4006TSW would not be about over-paying... but the 5906TSW would. But at my age, the Bam Formula is no help in either case. No amount of unpurchased Starbucks coffee is going to get me to where I'd like to be.

[QUOTE=TTSH;139631558]I'm guessing that you really weren't "overpaying" in the TTSH definition of the word as much as you were simply paying the going price for certain high-end or particularly desirable guns. I'm also going to guess that you didn't actually have to give up those cups of Starbucks coffee in order to keep your financial ship afloat. Methinks the Bam Formula is more about you giving advice to others (mainly struggling young folks) rather than needing to apply it to yourself and your own rather enviable situation.

Probably a grain of truth in there....................

I'm applying it more to guns that are "$50-100 or so" above what I think they are "worth"/should be priced at. On truly "overpriced" guns 20% or more above "my valuation"........ I tend to wait until the seller is ready to move on price to sell.

An exception being the PC guns from the 90s..... for the most part they were priced at about 2X the similar "factory" model...... there you just had to ask; is it worth 2X the money for the PC gun? I was able to buy my first used from a friend....... after shooting the SD-9 .... my conclusion was yes those PC guns were worth the $$$s. Further they were actually ''cheaper" than sending a factory gun out for work........... a ASP/Devel or similar gun was going for $1200-1400 on your 39 in the late 80s.

In the end... the Stocking Dealer I got all my PC guns from..... was lowering the prices because they weren't selling at MSRP. Money sitting on the shelf doesn't make money..... got to turn over inventory to make $$$$$!!! IIRC I was paying maybe $200 more for a PC gun than I would have paid for a new factory gun like the 6906.

Same in the 1930s was a RM worth 2X or more the cost of a 38/40???? That's a question only the Buyer can answer!!!

Oh sure! Now you want one. You could have bought the one I had for sale and it had the niffty bag and everything .

But Noooooo

It was Minty mint!

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Still Running Against the Wind

How bodacious can one be!?

So, did you buy the LS, still up in the air, or by now long forgotten?

Passed on it, looking for a CZ Rami.


Talk about Unicorns.

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Sure you did

I posted this on another thread: "My take is that too many people fail to see the value in customizing their firearms to their specific esthetic and functional satisfaction. When we go out to dinner, a movie, a concert, or on a vacation, what do we have to sell and retrieve in a few years? Absolutely nothing. So why the incessant concern for devaluing a firearm by customizing? Do we expect our enjoyment for free and maybe a profit later on? Just my $.02"

Who has ever seen a hearse towing a bank vault? And if you're of a ripe vintage with single digit years left, why deny yourself if you can afford it? I recently chased a guy to $1300 over a 45 Chiefs Special before I let him have it on GB. Most afficianodos reading this thread will think I'm a lunatic with "more money than sense". Well, just how did I get to that elevation? By being stupid? Dumb luck? I think not..... Life is to be enjoyed since it's a one-way street. Look at Jay Leno's car collection. What are they really worth? They're worth every penny of what he paid simply for the enjoyment factor. As my Dad taught me: "I burn my candle at both ends. It will not last the night. But ahh my foes and ahh my friends, it gives a wondrous light!". Wisdom to live by.

Interesting. I was thinking about a Rami myself but I went for a CZ 75D PCR Compact instead. I bought it on pure faith since I couldn't find one to try (or even hold) before jumping in. Now I'm not so sure I like it. My full-size 75BD is much nicer.

A Rami would complete the CZ trifecta. Maybe next year?

As much as I really like CZ and have more than one, I never cared for the Rami, "she is too squat. "

Now the CZ 75 D PCR compact is really nice!

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Still Running Against the Wind

High, but not out of the ball park for a very good third gen. Does the seller have any wiggle room? I'm a third gen nut and I would pay a premium for a gun I wanted, provided I was acting foolishly.

If you really want that gun, offer $500 and if he comes off any, you've done ok.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"