Buy or Sell - Future Collectibility?

[THE PILGRIM]

Have mostly made money in stocks, bonds and Real Estate.
I also Have bought and sold quite a few guns.
Mostly used the profits to buy more guns.
Never made any money from cars.
Mostly spent money on them.
And I also wish that I had my Shelby 350 back.
British Racing Green with the big white stripe.
Bought it from an Indianapolis Ford Dealer.

 

[Jack Flash]

Enjoyed the posts concerning muscle cars and guns immensely. Yes these muscle cars of today are quicker and handle much better than those of yesteryear but nostalgia means a lot to us more "vintage" guys. Glad to see the Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger back but sure comes at a price.

Well, you HAVE to admit that the older ones were a lot easier to work on!

 

[slight_turn_line_69]

I too am not wealthy, but I have enough money. I don't know whether or not guns will rise in value. I only know that when I take each and every one out to clean them each quarter, I look at them and think, WOW!!! I can't believe I got one of these! So, they make me happy. I do have a few that I think, why did I buy this? I try to sell those. I will keep all the ones I am thrilled to own, even if they aren't the apple of someone else's eye. I've heard it said that some sell their guns, so their heirs won't have to deal with it when they're gone. My feeling is that I've done enough for my heirs. At some point, when maybe I don't or can't feel the way I do now about my guns, my position will change. Until then, I am thrilled to have almost every gun I have.

 

[H Richard]

At the prices all guns are selling for currently, it may be many years before you could sell at a break even or profit. If you don't intend to hold 10-15 years minimum you probably would be better off with your dollars in a CD.

 

[mauser9]

Well, you HAVE to admit that the older ones were a lot easier to work on!

Got that right Jack! Had a 70 Challenger 383 and could do some maintenance myself. Now would not know where to begin. Paid $2400 back in 1972. Dealer accepted a $10 deposit to hold it til the following Monday when I could get to the bank. Sure wish I would have kept rebuilding that one now!

 

[CH4]

If you're smart about it, guns have a much better rate of return than a savings account.

 

[xfarfuldog]

UPDATE: I ended up not taking either revolver to OGCA. Just could not let ago yet. To answer some questions I do not think of my guns as investments. I guess I'm just whining over selling many guns which jumped up in price afterwards.

I do miss my muscle cars. My Camry doesn't hold a candle to my earlier cars. But it doesn't break down either. No muscle or sports cars in my future. I'll have to live vicariously through Dennis Collins and the collector car auctions.

I didn't mean this thread as a solicitation. If I do decide to sell, I will list in the For Sale thread.

 

[GypsmJim]

With recent world events, I contemplated selling some stuff and buying gold. Collectible guns may bring you a few pennies or bucks, but if the fan gets hit, an old worn AK may be worth as much as a a seemingly priceless Registered Magnum.

My research indicates that the most important things today are Land, Food, Shelter, Arms and Ammunition.

(and I DO know what a GTO is. It was my first love. Unfortunately, I never had enough money to buy one. When the govt made GM to dispose of the Pontiac Division it was my saddest day.)

 

[M29since14]

I've always accepted the idea that most guns are not great investments. The types that are, I can't afford. Once I watched an acquaintance of a friend spend $150,000 on a Holland & Holland double rifle. After he left us and it was just my buddy and me, we discussed it. He told me the buyer previously had explained his thinking. Common guns generally are not investments. The market for really special ones may be small, but it was steady and more predictable. He liked to say, for that type of gun, "the ducks are always flying."

In spite of that, it's been my practice not to sell except in three circumstances, viz.: (1) I am mad at it/dissatisfied with it; (2) I need the money to spend on something I'm sure I will enjoy/use more; (3) I have a friend who wants it AND I have a duplicate. At my age, I don't see the need for having two or more of the same thing like I used to. One is usually enough. Usually… (I'm trying to pare them down, little by little.)

And then there is uber-disqualifier #4: If I'm even remotely on the fence, it stays with me.

Since your proposed sale of the revolvers didn't qualify on my three-point plan, and it flatly failed the "on the fence" provision, I think you made a good choice to hold on to them, at least for now. You can always sell. If it was the wrong move, getting them back is a whole lot harder.

 

[Laketime]

UPDATE: I ended up not taking either revolver to OGCA. Just could not let ago yet. To answer some questions I do not think of my guns as investments. I guess I'm just whining over selling many guns which jumped up in price afterwards.

I do miss my muscle cars. My Camry doesn't hold a candle to my earlier cars. But it doesn't break down either. No muscle or sports cars in my future. I'll have to live vicariously through Dennis Collins and the collector car auctions.

I didn't mean this thread as a solicitation. If I do decide to sell, I will list in the For Sale thread.

Just wanted you to know my comments were not directed towards you. It was just a general observation on my part:

 

[Taos4]

I just started collecting firearms a few years ago and so far have acquired some that are fairly rare or scarce. I look at them as investments that bring me joy. When they stop bringing me joy, I will stop collecting them. In my opinion, you are the only one that can decide when and if it's the right time for you to sell as you are the one that will be kicking yourself if you sell and later see that same gun for 4x what you sold it for.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Now is not a good time to be buying guns if future profit is of any concern to you . Most everything is priced way high unless you just get extremely lucky. Keep what you will keep from now on and sell those that you don't see yourself keeping permanently . Take the money they bring and hold on to it until prices get back to something reasonable . Now is a selleers market not a buyers market.

 

[heeter3]

xfarfuldog,I found out the hardway that I always missed what I let go usually not right away but I always missed them.I eventually determined that nothing goes anymore as long as I'm here and that my son and grandsons will have to be the ones to decide on what they keep when I'm gone.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

When we go into a recession or depression. CASH IN HAND is worth more than anything made of metal.......Looks like we're headed that way.

 

[Puller]

When we go into a recession or depression. CASH IN HAND is worth more than anything made of metal.......Looks like we're headed that way.

We've been through financial ups and downs before, but what is so frustrating this time around is that it was unnecessary.

 

[22shtur]

When we go into a recession or depression. CASH IN HAND is worth more than anything made of metal.......Looks like we're headed that way.

My grandfather had a small store with a gas pump (the forerunner to todays mini-marts) in a small town in west Texas from the 1930's to the mid 1960's'. He gave people credit until they could repay him. He was given many guns as collateral, and didn't want anymore because he had too many and people didn't have extra money to buy them.

 

[biku324]

If I sell any of my current firearms it will be only because health won't allow me to shoot them. That can happen, and valuable stuff you can't use is wasteful to keep, and also denies someone else the pleasure of owning & shooting them.

 

[Drm50]

I never buy anything that I can't break even on. Other than heirloom guns I don't mourn selling or trading. I figure I'm luckier than most because at cash out counter, I'll break even.

 

[peterdeb]

Kids nowadays: "What's a GTO?"

Like classic muscle cars, classic S&W revolvers will fade in value as Boomers die off.

I completely agree about revolvers. I think revolver prices are near peak and after a few years, with the changing of the generation, their value will decline along with their popularity and demand.

 

[C3Ranger]

I've never considered buying a firearm as a financial investment. My first purchases were just intended to be tools. As with any tool, I tried to get the best quality ones I could afford at the time. It just happened that over the years they appreciated in value.

Later in life when I could to afford to buy things just because I wanted to rather than needed to, I stuck to the same general philosophy regarding quality. Most of these later purchases have also gained value.

If I eventually decide to sell something and get less than I originally paid for it, that's okay. It was never a financial investment. I'll just consider the difference to be the "rent" paid for the use over time.