Why did I try

[Bob R]

Locally there was a Nickle Model 37 (snub) for sale. It looks NIB, and has everything that came in the box with it. I posted a pricing question here and got what I figured to be a couple of good answers, they were in line with what I thought the price should be. I also told him the SCSW value of the gun as ANIB

Well, here is the reply I got after a PM to the guy to let him know what the going market is.

I appreciate the info, but it's not priced above book out of ignorance. Blue Book is a guide; if it were a catalog, there are a lot of things in there I would order. Pretty much everything around here is priced 125% to 150% of book. Have you been to a gun show lately? ouch!

I guess from now on I will mind my own business and let people sit on overpriced guns (to me, not him) for as long as they want.

He said he had an offer for 550 dollars but wasn't taking it. I would have considered that a great offer and snapped it up.

From now on I mind my own business.

At least he seemed happy when I dated it for him.

bob

 

[writerinmo]

It's difficult to deal with people who are selling items that they really don't seem to want to sell. His statement about gun shows seems to be accurate though, I didn't go to any this year, I found everything I was looking for through my online shops, but my friends who went all came home empty handed from all the big shows around the St. Louis area. I just keep cruising the internet and eventually find what I am looking for, it seems.

 

[hoppes-no9]

Bob, what kind of response were you hoping for? His answer was polite and his opinion was different than yours. It's his gun, his time and effort, and only he can decide how badly he wants to sell it (or not). Not sure what outcome you were expecting.

 

[feralmerril]

Dont sweat it bob. I am going on 70. I traded hot and heavy back in the 60s through 80s. Not so much since I retired. I know I am behind the times with prices, personnaly I wouldnt have the guts to ask that much. The fact remains that anybody can as anything they want to, and you/I can lowball also. Thats what sets the market. About 4 or 5 years ago the only time I ever bought a gun off the net, I bought a model 36 in 3" from some pawn shop in michigan I think on GB. The gun was advertised just as in excellent shape. I paid 3 or $350s. I got the gun, it was as NIB with all tools & paperwork. I doubt anyone ever fired it, no line etc. They must be out there.

 

[jlrhiner]

I see that all the time. What it's worth to me and what it's worth them is totally different. I saw on another website an advertisement for a pair of .44 cal. tuff strips new in their package for $14.99. You can buy them new for about $9.00.

 

[Bob R]

I guess there is a happy medium somewhere to be had. What a seller wants , what a buyer will pay and what it is actually worth in the real world.

I understand he can ask whatever he wants, but I would like to see people try to stay entrenched in reality. I can also offer what I feel is my fair price. After that it is often a matter of negotiation.

The site is a local one and a portion of the guns seem overpriced, at least to me anad a few others. You will often find a used Glock for 50 dollars less than a new one would be. They often try to justify it by saying there is no sales tax, or the gun won't be papered to you.

It just seems to me that some sellers don't look at the real market when pricing, so I thought I would help....guess I was wrong.

bob

 

[Rugskipper]

A number of years ago, I was walking the Tulsa show with a couple of friends, and saw a Mk IV Series 70 Gold Cup done nicely in a Nitex finish marked as a stainless and priced accordingly. I mentioned to my friend that it must be quite a collectors item, since series 70's were never produced in stainless. I must have said it loudly enough for the seller to hear, because he absolutely exploded. Made quite a scene, and for a moment I thought he was going to come over the table at me.

Learned my lesson. Right or wrong, I keep my opinions to myself and smile and just keep on walking. I treat internet dealers pretty much the same way. They don't pay to list, so what do they care if they are overpriced. They can wait forever for a sucker to come along.......as long as their wife brings home her paycheck and makes the truck payment, of course.

 

[NFrameFred]

A number of years ago, I was walking the Tulsa show with a couple of friends, and saw a Mk IV Series 70 Gold Cup done nicely in a Nitex finish marked as a stainless and priced accordingly. I mentioned to my friend that it must be quite a collectors item, since series 70's were never produced in stainless. I must have said it loudly enough for the seller to hear, because he absolutely exploded. Made quite a scene, and for a moment I thought he was going to come over the table at me.

My favorite was the table where the guy had a big sign on a Colt trumpeting it's "Electrolux" finish - guess it must have sucked

The "market" is whatever someone will pay. The auction sites are full of very optimistic folks that apparently don't have to sell anything. It used to be that a lot of folks would price their wares a bit high as a starting point for a negotiation. The last election and ensuing panic convinced a bunch of them that they could ask whatever they want and the market was determined by the asking price and many aren't inclined (yet) to come off of that.

Like gasoline and many other things, they'll never go back to the general levels they were at back in 2006, but sooner or later things will level out. There are always die-hards who paid too much during the panic and will hang to it or insist on skinning someone for an inflated price before letting it go; but most of these will be sold at a slight loss when things get tight or traded in a way that, in the seller's mind, justifies letting it go.

The eventual price creep will catch up just like the guys who paid $1200 for a $400 model 29-2 back in 1972 and wouldn't sell it for less than they paid - as long as they kept it like new with all the extras . . . but it took 30+ years for that happen .

 

[LVSteve]

Well the guy might seen stuff with prices POSTED at 125-150% of "book" value, but did he see them SELL. Carry guns seem to be holding their value better than most in this economy, but I think he is blowing smoke if he thinks everything is going at those high rates. If they are, it's only to suckers.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Bob,

Don't feel bad. My friends and I have nicknamed the practice "fishing." That feller is fishin' for a buyer with more money than sense.

"Fishing" in the worst sense (pricing an item 2x to 4x obtainable market price) is practiced by people that we refer to as "hunchbacks."

("hunchbacks" are the fellers with posteriors on their shoulders, and are most commonly found inside their natural environment such as gun shows, flea markets and armchairs)

I sometimes question the practice of putting something out at a figure several times the amount that they have been selling for...perhaps they think it will influence the market and make their piece go up (especially if it is ratty).

The one fact to remember, and that I have found as a constant- if it isn't a good deal, pass it up because a better one will come along. Just say NO to overpriced or overvalued pieces. I honestly cannot say that I hear that statement very much, if at all from others with my...I mean our affliction! Do buy the best condition economically feasible- a rat will always be a rat. Lastly, never buy a piece thinking it's a "project" or that you can "see it in your mind's eye all fixed up" because it won't ever happen, unless you are in that 1% that does finish a project, and only then get it if the previous project is finished completely. Otherwise, good money is just thrown down the tube into a project that will never be finished, which pride will never allow it to be sold as is and take a loss on to get what monetary value can be salvaged in a lifetime. I know- I've been there.

Sorry for you to hear my pontification, trite hobbyist expressions and personal, internal observations upon reflections of the "hobby."

 

[NFrameFred]

Bob,

Don't feel bad. My friends and I have nicknamed the practice "fishing." That feller is fishin' for a buyer with more money than sense.

"Fishing" in the worst sense (pricing an item 2x to 4x obtainable market price) is practiced by people that we refer to as "hunchbacks."

("hunchbacks" are the fellers with posteriors on their shoulders, and are most commonly found inside their natural environment such as gun shows, flea markets and armchairs)

Very good explanation and description. And the term "hunchbacks" has just been stolen for said application

 

[Onomea]

Bob, I think a lot of good advice here. My take is it's one deal that is not for you. Just another blip along the way.

I really enjoy the chase, so if you want a nickle 37, it's out there for sure and at a price that you will be comfortable with. No worries.

 

[m1gunner]

From what I have seen, most advertisers way over estimate the condition of used guns. Just about every "90%" gun I have looked at was really more like 50%.

So, if someone truly has a piece in superb condition, he is justified in asking whatever he wants for it. They ain't making any more of those oldies, ya know.

As for the "blue book", those books never sold a single gun, nor have they ever bought one, just interesting reading.

 

[Andy Griffith]

As for the "blue book", those books never sold a single gun, nor have they ever bought one, just interesting reading.

I'll tell you something, the publisher sure has made a fortune selling those darn books!

I never buy a new blue book, gun traders guide or anything else, I use the one in the local gun shop, and pick up the next to newest edition for a couple of books at a used book shop.

 

[Evil Dog]

Went to a gun show once where a seller had a $20 bill on the table with a $10 price tag.... was almost 20 minutes before somebody finally took notice bought it !!!

 

[JC Garand]

Went to a gun show once where a seller had a $20 bill on the table with a $10 price tag....

Was it in 50% condition?

Gregg

 

[Rule3]

Like buying a new car or truck. Folks go in there without doing their homework and pay way too much. They think the sticker actual means something. Then there are those additional dealer mark ups and $1000 for pinstripes and floor mats. Then they try to negotiate down from that.

I go in with a printout or two of the dealer cost plus incentives and ask how much above this price will they sell the car. Forget all their dealer add ons. No, "I have to ask my manager crap" They start to double talk and I walk out.