I Can't Afford My Passion!!! RANT!

[Grayfox]

I've been buying S&Ws for close to 40 years now. On the positive side, many of the guns I bought years ago are now worth 2, 3 and for a select few, even 4 times what I paid for them.
But also bear in mind that I paid top dollar for those guns back then. S&Ws were expensive even then. So its never been cheap to build a nice collection. More often than not, it was necessary to sell one in order to buy one.
The only real difference between what I paid back then and what they're worth now has been the passage of time and the changing value of the dollar.
I'm fortunate enough to have most of the guns I want. My current wish list is relatively short. However, I have had to concede the fact that at today's prices, I'll likely never get those last few on my list.
That's just the way it is.

 

[JH64]

Have to wonder if this trend will continue? I have seen allot of collectibles hit highs and eventually go back in price. I have been collecting S&W revolvers mostly Bangor Punta guns for a while now and half tempted to sell now. But I could never bring myself to doing that. Bought my first gun in 1985 and even through tough times where i had other interests I never sold a one.

 

[rags]

Hey Bob, I'm just trying to be happy with what I already have. The problem is it don't help much when I see one I'd really like to have but don't have the scratch or I'm not willing to pay the price.
I thought about selling body parts but with this worn body that would probably only get me high point money.

My online honey hole he's selling s&w revolvers as fast as he lists them.

I'm very humble to have the few I have.

I know Bob i've seen the same thing here.
Maybe arjay has the right idea !!!
I've not been in this game long but just in the past
5-6 years i have noticed the price of (Nice older
S&W's and Colts) are thru the roof.
My small LGS used to get in some nice guns and would
price them fairly. Now they hardly ever turn up there
and when they do they have crazy price tags on them.
I'm glad i have a few to enjoy.

Chuck

I have enough to quench my thirst for sure. I get real satisfaction out of my collection. I just can't get over the fact that Boxed Model 19 2 1/2" guns are going for $500 more than the 27-2 5" inchers, w/Presentation Cases, that I've drug out of there!

 

[pharmer]

I've been buying S&Ws for close to 40 years now. However, I have had to concede the fact that at today's prices, I'll likely never get those last few on my list.

35 years for me. I accumulated many on my 01 FFL as trade ins in the 80's and 90's. Then the AWB in '94 caused me to divest revolvers and buy any double stack 9mm that could be had. Regaining sanity after the "windfall" I slowly started rebuying S&W's at reasonable prices. Granted the "$99 take-your-pick" Model 10's and $300 nickel Pythons (yes, I passed on it) were long gone but there was still abundance of nice examples. As these disappeared into collections, casual and serious, prices have skyrocketed. Today a "bargain" is measured not in price but "how bad do you want it." Joe

 

[old bear]

Bob, I never could afford my passion
As for classic Smith and Wesson revolvers, well from time to time a fair (not great) deal falls into my lap, and that is one of the things that makes our crazy hobby/addiction so much fun.

 

[TTSH]

If I stopped and thought real hard about what this expensive hobby has cost me and is still costing me, I'd probably do what the good wife says and take up bird watching instead.

I am a realist. I have a budget. I know my limitations. We have our family rules about what I can buy and what I can't without prior approval. I respect and obey the family rules.

Unfortunately, the budget and the rules pretty much rule out buying any decent condition pre-IL S&W revolvers. They just cost too much money. So 3rd Gens have been my main thing for the last several years. Thank God you can still find a really nice, privately-owned, used-but-not-abused 3rd Gen for under $500, shipping, transfer and/or sales tax included.

But as my 3rd Gen collection reaches maturity and a practical slowing down point, the call of older, pre-IL S&W revolvers is beckoning me again. I don't yet know what I'm going to do about that. I can only sell so much of my old, tired, watered-down blood and still continue to function.

So, for now, I'll just continue my drooling over what I can't afford and I'll try a little harder to enjoy and be satisfied with what I already own. It's not exactly a small collection. But there is so much more that I'd still love to put into it before I take that long dirt nap.

 

[gwpercle]

And twenty years from now those high prices will seem so cheap !
I remember my Daddy, in the mid 50's giving a guy $3.00 for an 1851 Navy Colt, nobody wanted those old things , then !

 

[loeman]

Exact same story in my other collecting world. Insane prices for the best along with a plethora of fakes and restorations. And another problem is that newbies are few and far between due to high prices and unscrupulous dealers/sellers. The shows and auctions are beginning to look like old-timers conventions, with me being one of them.

Tough times for folks like us who were born with the "collecting gene" but have limited bank accounts.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

You know what I do when I can't afford the revolvers I want? I move on to knives! There are so many pretty ones out there and a lot of better deals.

 

[BigBill]

You know what I do when I can't afford the revolvers I want? I move on to knives! There are so many pretty ones out there and a lot of better deals.

I reload. Or clean and lube guns. Or slow down, regroup and go slow. I see some of my wants from $900 and up. No biggie just have to save more $$

 

[HoleCarder]

To be without some of the things we want is an indispensable part of happiness.

 

[rags]

To be without some of the things we want is an indispensable part of happiness.

Now you went and injected some very profound words of wisdom to the thread! That's not fair!

 

[chud333]

Hey Bob, I'm just trying to be happy with what I already have. The problem is it don't help much when I see one I'd really like to have but don't have the scratch or I'm not willing to pay the price.
I thought about selling body parts but with this worn body that would probably only get me high point money.

I hear ya' on this brother.

Way i feel some days i might only bring a Raven .25

The better guns are out there. Sometimes the gun you been
looking for has a way of turning up when you least expect.
And usually, (with me) when my pockets are empty.

I still see an occasional "deal" at a small gun show (25-35)
tables.
Keep up the Good Hunt. That's the fun for me these days.

Chuck

 

[Zebadiah]

It sounds as though a re-think of your collection may be in order - sell or trade some you have (the ones that made the largest value gains, or you no longer want?) for others you want. Of course, current values are high, but who knows where the top of the market will be? Or was?

Been there, done that. The major problem with that theory is once you've gotten rid of some of your collection, those are going to be even higher priced by the time you discovered you screwed up deleting them from your possession. Unless you really just don't care about some you have already, keep what you got, and add others as you are fiscally able.

 

[Zebadiah]

I've been buying S&Ws for close to 40 years now. On the positive side, many of the guns I bought years ago are now worth 2, 3 and for a select few, even 4 times what I paid for them.
But also bear in mind that I paid top dollar for those guns back then. S&Ws were expensive even then. So its never been cheap to build a nice collection. More often than not, it was necessary to sell one in order to buy one.
The only real difference between what I paid back then and what they're worth now has been the passage of time and the changing value of the dollar.
I'm fortunate enough to have most of the guns I want. My current wish list is relatively short. However, I have had to concede the fact that at today's prices, I'll likely never get those last few on my list.
That's just the way it is.

Because of a major change in their gun laws, the last time I went to serve in Germany I had to dispose my collection of 55 firearms. I was truly shocked to find the prices of the five Pythons I sold had tripled in value--Smith & Wessons not so much.

 

[Zebadiah]

Marry a wife who enjoys revolvers. I married such aa wonderful woman. She passed away 3 yrs ago. I am still discovering guns that she did not tell me about. It's like living in a candy store.

I'm so sorry for your loss. A wonderful woman warms your heart and makes life worth living.

 

[Stan O]

Same boat

I too can no longer afford older Smiths and Colts. I've given up even looking as prices are insane. I'll just be thankful for what I have.

 

[boykinlp]

Found out I can't afford my passion anymore! I've just realized that most of the S&W Models I've collected over the years, are being priced anywhere from 50% more to over 200+% more than I ever paid!

I feel your pain! I have been in your same boat for a while now. BTW, the boat is getting really crowded!! When I got priced out of the gun market, I went to holsters. When I got priced out of the holster market, I went to grips. Well..........

Somebody mentioned Pythons earlier. Did you see the auction for: Pair of Wilkerson 3" Python STS & BSTS NIB that ended last week? The bids reached $100,000 and did not even meet the reserve!!!

 

[rags]

I feel your pain! I have been in your same boat for a while now. BTW, the boat is getting really crowded!! When I got priced out of the gun market, I went to holsters. When I got priced out of the holster market, I went to grips. Well..........

Somebody mentioned Pythons earlier. Did you see the auction for: Pair of Wilkerson 3" Python STS & BSTS NIB that ended last week? The bids reached $100,000 and did not even meet the reserve!!!

 

[Grayfox]

Just to put it in perspective, those "cheap" S&Ws of the 70s & 80s were generally the equivalent of two or three weeks pay for many of us. Sometimes a whole month or more.
The advantage we had then was that they were regular catalog items and you could take the time to save up or lay-away the gun you wanted. Once you had the money, the gun would be available.
If you want one today, you have to have money in hand and be ready to jump when the one you want just happens to pop up. That's a big difference.