Sell to local Cabelas or privately online? Smith & Wesson "Twelve Revolvers"

Sell to local Cabelas or privately online? Smith & Wesson "Twelve Revolvers"

I recently inherited a huge collection from my father including "The Twelve Revolvers" collectors edition, stowed safely in a temperature controlled safe for the past 25 years. I'm interested in selling 8-10 guns from this collection (357 Magnums, 22 long rifle CTG, 44 special CTG, 44 magnum, 45 colt, 44 Magnum double action and a couple more, all complete with a factory box numbered to the gun, cleaning tools and all paperwork including drawing from manufacturer showing all features, all guns are marked #124 of 500 and are unfired

If I sell these guns privately in Virginia would vaguntrader be my best resource?

OR

Would I be better off bringing this to a local Cabelas or a high end gun range for them to resell?

(I also have about 40-60 rifles/shotguns and 30ish handguns, mainly in great condition, some antiques and military issue.)

First, what are they? List pics here. Ask for fair values, and sell them in the want to sell forum. Cabelas will give you 25 cents on the the dollar. Take your time, and do your research. Work with the people on this forum.

Your father did not collect these overnight, and I would not recommend you try to get rid of them in a day

If you sell them to a dealer, you'll get burned.
But, if you find a dealer who will do FFL to FFL shipping, you're set. Just list them online, make a fair deal, and ship them out safely and legally.
Good pictures and accurate descriptions are key aspects to a successful transaction for buyer and seller.

If you're reasonable with pricing you should have no trouble selling them quickly, and come out way ahead than had you sold to a dealer.

Jim

+1 for finding a dealer who will do FFL to FFL shipping as selling to a dealer will hammer your price down and vaguntrader is good for common stuff, but most folks on there don’t spring for higher end stuff (in my experience).

Forget Cabela's because they will not give you more than an insult for a price. Yeah .25 on the dollar is what they might offer you and then they sell it for top retail value. They make out like a bandit and you are left with the bones.
You could take them to a local gun retailer and have him sell them on consignment. Be careful he doesn't charge a 30% selling fee. Mine only charges 10% of selling price. The dealer and I agree on a selling price and go from there. I had a Wilson Combat I tried maybe 2 months to sell with not even any tire kickers. My LGS sold it in 2 days to a customer that buys high end quality guns. Using an LGS they handle all of the sale and you just get the money minus the sales commission. As many guns that you have I would check with your local LGS and see if he is interested in selling on consignment for you.

Like was said above you can find present values on each gun and possibly list them here. Before you list a gun for sale or with an LGS on consignment know the going value of the gun so you don't cheat yourself. You can check GB or GunsAmerica to see what they are selling for and if there is a market for them now.

I have sold several guns on Armslist.com that were sold fairly quick and all face to face cash deals. I always have the buyer sign an eligibility form just like any LGS requires.

Mary, I was going to link you to a few previous threads on this forum regarding this set, but I saw that you had posted on one of them, so I see that you have found them. There doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for this particular set. I saw that you sold one of them for $1,000, so you seem to have found at least one buyer.

I agree with all the above regarding Cabela's. They will only offer you a very small percentage of what the guns are worth.

Remember that any tools and matching boxes add value to each gun, some folks throw away the boxes....Yikes!!

LGS (Local Gun Store) consignment as noted above is a good way to go, if you have one that you can trust. As noted, make sure to be clear about selling price and sellers fee at the beginning.

Hope you do well in your endeavor.

Best Regards, Les

Hi Mary:

Welcome to the Forum. My condolences on the loss of your father. I will echo the advice from others here - don't sell your collection to a dealer whether it's Cabelas or a pawnshop. My experience has been that at best, many dealers follow a 3/2 philosophy - buy your item at a third of its value/sell at half (or more) of its actual value.

I think Narragansett has a good idea of how to approach this. Many Forum members will be happy to offer their opinions of what the different firearms should sell for. It would be a simple matter to then build a simple spreadsheet and list all estimates provided and derive the average sales price as a guide.

Best of luck to you in your endeavor.

Regards,

Dave

Selling to a gun shop or pawn shop and you will get 25% to not more than 40% of what they are worth.



Placing them in a shop on consignment and you get 70-80% of the sale price.



Selling them directly and you get the full price.

You have received good advice by staying away from Cabelas as they will offer .25 on the dollar and are only authorized up to .40 on the dollar for good stuff. VA gun trader is ok for guns priced to sell but many sellers are from Northern VA and think their guns are made of gold... I would find a dealer that will ship for you, put you guns on Gunbroker and let the auction set the price. Take very good pictures and enjoy the auction experience.

ken158 said:

... put you guns on Gunbroker and let the auction set the price. Take very good pictures and enjoy the auction experience.

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That's probably your best route for receiving top dollar.

As everyone has said , stay away from Cabelas . As was also said , post pics and ask for help with prices . I am pretty sure you will be getting pms about them before your fingers get cold .

Selling in Virginia

Mary, welcome to the S & W Forum. I too am sorry for your loss. Your Dad left you with some treasures it sounds, as well as a burden if you are not really interested in keeping any or all.

It sounds like you have some interest in firearms as you joined as a bronze contributor so we thank you for that donation.

As far as disposing in Virginia, I have resided here for 32 years now, and bought/sold/traded firearms of all sorts, handguns, long guns, Military surplus, etc.

I do have a FFL but it is Class 03 which is curios and relics, meaning I can deal interstate with weapons that are 50 years old at minimum...nothing newer. I use Armslist a lot, because it opens to the whole State. You must be very careful as that site (as well as VA Trader) is chock full of scam artists. If you decide to list one or more, watch all responses and answer none that the responder just registered recently or even same day as your listing. Answer none that are "not registered". Be careful and do not give any private info re your address or anything else. Make sure you insist on a Bill-of-Sale (PM me and I'll send you a copy of the standard BATF BoS that I use.

This does bring up another question. Do have full ownership of all your Dad's firearms, or are you acting as Executrix for the estate? Does anyone else have any possible involvement from the proceeds of you selling the firearms? The reason I ask is simply that by using an approved Bill-of-Sale you, the Seller, are attesting (legally) that you are the legal owner of the firearm listed by serial number, that you have the legal right to sell it, that you are offering no warranty of any kind. In return on the same BoS the buyer is attesting that he/she has the legal right to own the firearm, and that he/she understands there is no warranty on the firearm. Both parties are attesting to the fact that they are in compliance with all laws.

Basically....if a potential buyer balks at your statement in your add that "must be willing to provide valid VA id, and sign a Bill-of-Sale" then run...don't walk from that person.

I have 4 long guns up on the site at this time, I just sold, and I have some out of state offers on the Garand, so it does take some time, and you will need to at least review your offers daily, even though they are a little slow to send notice sometimes. Remember, VA Armslist is a free site, so the website makes no money from you or the buyer, they just bring 2 parties together electronically and from there you are on your own.

I also will tell you to stay away from Cabela's Short Pump. They have actually gotten worse, not better, with the Bass Pro buy-out. The folks there are decent enough, but company policy dictates what they can do and they have no real freedom in buying or selling. Used to be a little (very little) negotiation room on what they were selling...now all gone....which is why the exact same firearms are sitting for a year or more.

If you take your entire collection to one dealer at one time then I believe you'll get the worst offer. You may have $30,000 worth, at "retail", and you may even think that well...$15,000 would be good enough...but in reality, you'll be lucky to get an offer of $5,000.

As far as "local" full 01 FFL's left they have dwindled to only a few left, and none of these brick and mortar stores even want to transfer FFL to FFL. The last remaining LGS in Hanover (the other 2 good guys closed forever last year), you probably know the name, charges $75 (probably now $100) plus Overnight shipping, plus full value insurance which adds about $125 to $150 to your price, plus the buyer has to consider his receiving FFL charges making the whole transaction more than what some want to do. You know the one down in Colonial Heights, and you maybe know the one on Hull Street, but again...a real full time dealer just doesn't want the "hassle" of transferring a firearm from your ownership, onto his BATF required books, transferring it OFF his books, to another, while additionally having to package and ship correctly, etc. and is going to charge you accordingly to make it at least worthwhile while he (or his employee) is handling your gun instead of working the counter and selling what he already has in stock.

Sorry for the long ramble, and you do have a tough decision. If you really want to think about a no hassle (to you) lump sum deal you can always call one of the above noted LGS and they will send someone to your place to view the collection and make an offer, albeit probably a low ball.

If you do have the time and interest to at least take a few cell phone pics and post here on the forum, you will get the best "qualified" value estimate ranges. Another source would be the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th edition, which has value ranges and other valuable tips, available on Amazon.

Finally, there may be some Members on this Forum that are full 01 FFL that may be able to offer additional assistance beyond my 03 C&R limitations for a reasonable fee.

I hope some of this helps you instead of further "discouraging" you, and please feel free to PM me if you have any local questions.

Others have given good suggestions, but having liquidated a large inherited collection, you're in for the long haul with Gunbroker, consignment, and other methods. You will also need a very trustworthy LGS friend. I know a fair amount about firearms, have multiple friends who purchased guns outright from us, only paid 10% on my consigned guns, and between my brother and me, it took a year for about 100 guns. If you don't want to mess with this long term, your best bet is an auction, heavily advertised and in a public place. You have enough guns to make it worthwhile, and at least around here, the prices will be competitive. Arrange the commission in advance, and don't go for the auctioneers first offer. Hold this auction in the bootheel of Missouri, and there will be pickup trucks parked in ditches for miles . . .

MaryMagnum44 said:

I recently inherited a huge collection from my father including "The Twelve Revolvers" collectors edition, stowed safely in a temperature controlled safe for the past 25 years. I'm interested in selling 8-10 guns from this collection (357 Magnums, 22 long rifle CTG, 44 special CTG, 44 magnum, 45 colt, 44 Magnum double action and a couple more, all complete with a factory box numbered to the gun, cleaning tools and all paperwork including drawing from manufacturer showing all features, all guns are marked #124 of 500 and are unfired

If I sell these guns privately in Virginia would vaguntrader be my best resource?

OR

Would I be better off bringing this to a local Cabelas or a high end gun range for them to resell?

(I also have about 40-60 rifles/shotguns and 30ish handguns, mainly in great condition, some antiques and military issue.)

Click to expand...

I also live in Virginia and have used VAGT to buy and sell many firearms without any trouble, my sales adds always state "FTF, proper ID and BOS required". The VAGT website has links to very good BOS forms. Screen your buyers by looking at their VAGT profile.
You are located in the central part of the state so you are convenient to many buyers.
Price them right and you won't have any trouble selling them.

Condolences to you and your family on your loss. I would think the auction route with one of the well respected houses would be the best bet. Average price realized would be be better and they can get you exposure you might not get otherwise. Plus it will all be sold in a short time. You won't have to deal with dozens of trips to the LGS for shipping, won't have to worry about getting paid, etc.....consignment at a local shop could leave you waiting a very long time to collect because thing can sit for months, and if by chance, the local shop has financial issues and goes into bankruptcy or the owner dies, your assets could get locked up in proceedings...

Robert

You might want to consider trusted on-line sellers who participate here, such as David Caroll and John Brewster. I don't know what they charge, but they advertise to the world on Gunbroker and have knowledge of all those who might be interested in your offering. They both have established records of honesty. Good luck.

I would not use local ads or websites. Doing business face to face at your residence bring in a lot of undesirable people. I would recommend the sell on the forum here and use a trusted FFL to ship and transfer every gun. My FFL gives me a discount on multiple transfers and boxes everything up for me and handles all of the paperwork and shipping. I always consider it money well spent!

les.b said:

There doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for this particular set. Best Regards, Les

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I think a lot of us are enthusiastic, we only need the budget!

bob1956 said:

I would not use local ads or websites. Doing business face to face at your residence bring in a lot of undesirable people. I would recommend the sell on the forum here and use a trusted FFL to ship and transfer every gun. My FFL gives me a discount on multiple transfers and boxes everything up for me and handles all of the paperwork and shipping. I always consider it money well spent!

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I NEVER meet at mine or the sellers residence, always at a secure public area in daylight.

Oh, forgot to mention, Cabelas is not all bad. I like the fudge.