Is selling a good rifle with a good scope generally bad business?

bushmaster1313

bushmaster1313

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
6,850
Reaction score
17,155
Location
PRNJ
On GB I bought a good rifle with a good scope (a Leupold 10X M8) that I took off and sold for $200. I was left with a $750 rifle at a net price of $650.

It got me thinking that it is probably bad business to sell a good rifle with a good scope. A good scope is easily sold online on eBay,etc., but the people looking at your rifle probably don't care about the scope.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Are you separating the rifle and scope and selling both separate?

I prefer my brand and model of scopes on all my rifles.
 
BigBill said:
Are you separating the rifle and scope and selling both separate?

I prefer my brand and model of scopes on all my rifles.
Click to expand...

No

I wanted the rifle and the scope was a tag along.
But it got me thinking that if I ever go to sell a rifle I will offer the scope separately.
 
YES, A BAD IDEA IMO.

I believe most people do care what scope is on the rifle they intend to buy, they just believe an 800$ scope should be thrown in with a 300$ rifle. That's why many (me included) use a rifle sale as an opportunity to unload unwanted scopes. When your scope costs more than the rifle, it would be foolish to sell them together, UNLESS you can get what they are worth separetly.
 
For me, it would be in this order: caliber, stock material, rifle. If the rifle had open sights, I would think a scope would be a bonus. If rifle was meant to be scoped (no sights), I would pay attention to brand, power, etc. and if it had no scope, I would question why.
 
I've bought an outfit cheap enough to keep the decent scope and sell the rifle for what I had in the whole thing. Free Scope!
Yes, scopes don't get the resale value in private deals, much less a trade in to dealer.
I keep good glass now.
 
IMHO, it is bad practice to sell good scopes with good rifles. I always separate them and sell separately. I too have found that scopes sell very well over fleabay. I sell my rifles via gunshows or GBer.
 
I'd give some thought to the desirability of any Leupold scope. Their warranty is unsurpassed (emphasis added):

With the Leupold Gold Ring Full Lifetime Guarantee, if your Leupold product doesn’t perform as promised, we will repair or replace it for free, whether you are the original owner or not—forever (excludes electronic components). You don’t need proof of ownership. Or a warranty card. And there’s no time limit. We do this because we believe in superior quality and craftsmanship, and we’re confident your Leupold won’t let you down. That’s the power of our company, and we stand behind our work.
Click to expand...
In my opinion a Leupold scope would certainly add to the value of any sale package but if I liked it and it suited my needs, I'd keep the scope & sell the rifle.
 
bushmaster1313 said:
On GB I bought a good rifle with a good scope (a Leupold 10X M8) that I took off and sold for $200. I was left with a $750 rifle at a net price of $650.

It got me thinking that it is probably bad business to sell a good rifle with a good scope. A good scope is easily sold online on eBay,etc., but the people looking at your rifle probably don't care about the scope.
Click to expand...

I would call that a fair assessment. A similar, but less expensive, analogy is selling a nice handgun with an expensive holster. Your holster doesn't add much, if anything, to the value of the deal to me.
 
I prefer a peep sight on some of my rifles, like my Marlin .357. So buying a gun like that with a scope on it would not make sense to me, and if I did bid on one I would certainly not offer the full or near full value of the scope in addition to the value of the rifle. I would not pay much at all for an unwanted used scope, even a quality one.

Plus I have several scopes in my stock and like what I have.

I would think people who buy a rifle are looking for the rifle first and foremost, and if it has a scope that is fine, but they are not looking for a scope with a rifle attached.

So I would separate the two to sell them. In fact when I sold my Ruger Super Red Hawk in .44 Magnum I removed the Leopold pistol scope and sold them separately. I would do the same with any expensive scope, but not with a really inexpensive scope.
 
^^^
I have a 1949 Model Winchester Model 70.
But with one caveat
For about $75 I found a period correct Weaver. When I eventually liquidate my collection, this scope will go with the gun.
 
Can't see any point in basically throwing a good

optic away on a rifle sale. Seems like there's always

a junker scope laying around.
 
No question in my mind that a good rifle and a good scope will bring more if sold separately rather than together. I have always done that. But I'd sell a cheap rifle and scope together.
 
When I bought my .270 online I looked for the package deal with a cheap scope. To me the mount and rings were more important than that scope because I had a scope I already wanted to use.

When it arrived the cheap scope was bent anyway, not removed before shipping/bad packaging. I straightened it out and gave it to a friends grand kids to play with.

Selling a set up would all depends upon if i liked the scope and or wanted the hasle of selling two items and not one complete.
 
What BillBond said. Usually selling a rifle with scope basically amounts to giving away the scope, in my experience. I've bought more than one rifle that seemed to come with a "free" scope. :)
 
I'm unfamiliar with the M8, unless that is the Mark 8 rifle scope from Leupold? The Mark 8 sells for thousands of dollars; the 8x Mark 8 is $3700. What is the M8?
 
DR505 said:
I'm unfamiliar with the M8, unless that is the Mark 8 rifle scope from Leupold? The Mark 8 sells for thousands of dollars; the 8x Mark 8 is $3700. What is the M8?
Click to expand...

The M8 was Leupold's fixed magnification scope before the FX.
Strong solid scope but with the relatively older coating on the lens.
 
When people bring a rifle into the store to sell or trade we don't allow any additional just because it has a scope on it. The guy wanting to sell us the rifle may be unhappy with the way it shoots (maybe the scope or mount is at fault?). Even if it's a high end scope like a Leupold we just aren't going to allow anything over the cost of the rifle. So often the first question out of a potential buyers mouth is "how much without the scope?" Even if you're selling privately you are likely to get the same reaction. Sell the scope separately if you're selling, you will do better in most cases.

Really, the only exception might be collectible older rifles when fitted with a scope of the same era or original military sniper rifles still fitted with the correct scope. Collectible guns are a whole other ball game. Modern guns, don't expect to get the value of the scope to add anything to the value of the gun.
 
Scopes are like holsters or slings. Kinda personal taste.

You're selling a wonderful pistol, and it comes with a cross-draw holster. I don't carry cross-draw. Why would I pay extra for the holster.

Beautiful rifle, and it's got one of them biiiig "cobra" slings on it, and I only use the military double-hook, why would I pay extra for the sling.

Might be a great scope, but it's a four-power and I prefer a 1.5 to 5 variable. Or it's a duplex crosshair, and I like the German post. I'm not gonna want to pay extra for that.

And if you won't come down from that "gotta get something for the holster/sling/scope", then the sale won't happen.

So yeah, sell 'em separately.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jebus35745
  • Locked
Sold ALL SOLD THANKS Scope Sale
Replies
10
Views
2K
silverstateS&W
S
ddeanjohnson
another round of PRICE REDUCTIONS on grips, sights, scope rings, etc.
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
T
Vintage Rifle Scopes
2 3
Replies
57
Views
11K
muddocktor
muddocktor
chief38
THE BEST 22LR RIFLE I HAVE EVER SHOT IN MY LIFE!
2 3 4
Replies
74
Views
10K
AJ
AJ
Krogen
  • Locked
SOLD Leupold 6.5-20x50 LRP Scope - $700 Shipped
Replies
6
Views
1K
Krogen
Krogen

Latest posts

Back
Top