3953 Current Value & Production Numbers?

[HarrishMasher]

What does an excellent condition 3953 currently sell for? The non-TSW model. I just won one on Gunbroker for $386. The dealer is local, so I will pick it up Monday or Tuesday, and avoid shipping and transfer fee! But will of course pay tax. So $405 out the door. Is that about average?

Any idea on production numbers for the 3953?

 

[629shooter]

You did fine. A non-TSW was sold at one of my favorite shops for $465 not too long ago. I can't help with the production numbers but, I'm quite sure they made a lot more 3913s.

 

[caleb4387]

One for 375 here and I couldn't get it

 

[TTSH]

What does an excellent condition 3953 currently sell for? The non-TSW model. I just won one on Gunbroker for $386. The dealer is local, so I will pick it up Monday or Tuesday, and avoid shipping and transfer fee! But will of course pay tax. So $405 out the door. Is that about average?

I'd pay $400 all day long for a Model 3953 in excellent condition.

 

[kaveman]

That's a very nice pistol and a good price. I'm the one who came in at the last few minutes and bumped you up but I was having computer problems and got locked out at the end and couldn't continue. I almost never let one of these go without a $400 bid(and I expect another $40-50 in shipping and transfer). This one was as nice as any I've seen,......you got a great deal in my opinion.

A very nice 3953TSW sold a few hours before with a couple of hundred in accessories/spare mags and that was the deal of the day. Being broke stinks.

 

[TTSH]

Being broke stinks.

Hey, that is my line!!!

 

[HarrishMasher]

That's a very nice pistol and a good price. I'm the one who came in at the last few minutes and bumped you up but I was having computer problems and got locked out at the end and couldn't continue. I almost never let one of these go without a $400 bid(and I expect another $40-50 in shipping and transfer). This one was as nice as any I've seen,......you got a great deal in my opinion.

A very nice 3953TSW sold a few hours before with a couple of hundred in accessories/spare mags and that was the deal of the day. Being broke stinks.

Yeah I was watching that one too. If it was an IWB holster I would have considered it. But the one I bpought was right down the road and seemed like a good deal and I will grab it tomorrow.

 

[brentb636]

If you can get a nice 39xx under $400, you've got a deal, I think. I've paid more than that for all 4 of mine, but managed to the the 4513TSW and CS45 for under $400 . How you figure ?

 

[wingsfan]

I've experienced getting a great deal on one gun and overpaying for another. It's the circle of life, gun style. Kind of like finding and losing golf balls on the course. It all evens out in the end. Enjoy your find.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I have to disagree on the value. The S&W DAO trigger system is not so popular, at least here in my area. Such guns are not easy to sell. I have around $330.00 in mine and seriously doubt I could get $300.00 out of it. It is my idea of the perfect CCW. I would love to have another, but not for more than I gave for the first one.

 

[brentb636]

I have to disagree on the value. The S&W DAO trigger system is not so popular, at least here in my area. Such guns are not easy to sell. I have around $330.00 in mine and seriously doubt I could get $300.00 out of it. It is my idea of the perfect CCW. I would love to have another, but not for more than I gave for the first one.

I think if you let it sit on Gunbroker, you'd get over $425 for it. Selling locally is not the way to optimize the cash for a gun. Some guns go for crazy prices on GB, for no reason that I can see.

 

[mauser9]

I think if you let it sit on Gunbroker, you'd get over $425 for it. Selling locally is not the way to optimize the cash for a gun. Some guns go for crazy prices on GB, for no reason that I can see.

Agree on the Gunbroker prices. Have been amazed at the prices being paid. Been checking on prices on the S&W CS series and have seen $700 or close to it for ones in decent or mint shape. that is one model I am glad I grabbed.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I am not so fond of auction sites. I prefer to sell face to face so I know that a buyer either leaves or leaves satisfied.

 

[flagman1776]

I paid 375 otd for a 6946... w/ 2 mags... I could not get that back out of it locally. I should have beat the dealer up more. I like the grip feel but not so much the DAO. Still it is functional.
If I was back in uniform... with a full size double stack as primary... this would be a great bug in a horizontal holster under a short patrol jacket.

 

[TTSH]

What does an excellent condition 3953 currently sell for?

(Emphasis added is my own)

So $405 out the door. Is that about average?

It certainly is in my area. I found a Model 3953 with butter-smooth action but a marred frame tagged $325 that I'm sure I could have bought for something under $300... but fixing and refinishing it to an acceptable level would have put the total gun price at just over $500. Trouble is, it would have been, at most, still be a $400 (+/-) gun.

I have to disagree on the value. The S&W DAO trigger system is not so popular, at least here in my area. Such guns are not easy to sell. I have around $330.00 in mine and seriously doubt I could get $300.00 out of it.

An excellent condition Model 3953 (as described by the OP) for anything much under $400 wouldn't last a week in my area. In fact, as soon as I found out about it, it wouldn't make it to the end of the day.

I paid 375 otd for a 6946... w/ 2 mags... I could not get that back out of it locally.

I have never bought (or refused to buy) a gun based on how much I could flip or dump it for locally. If I did, I think I'd lose my mind just pondering the lost fees, shipping and/or sales tax money alone. Even the guns I buy out of simple passing interest (with no long-term collecting desire or appreciation hopes) I expect to dump at some small loss if/when I decide to sell them. IMHO, I just don't think that's the best standard to use for determining a gun's average retail value.

 

[DanP7]

I'd pay up to $500 for one in excellent condition, but most people won't buy a 3953 unless it was dirt cheap. They are not for everyone and will have a limited appeal. Not really a collectors piece or ever will be. But obviously smith isn't making any more of them. They appeal to folks who carry 3913's or similar autos and desire the flatter DAO slide. At the moment I'm trying to trade my Sig P220 for a 3953 or similar.

 

[TTSH]

I'd pay up to $500 for one in excellent condition, but most people won't buy a 3953 unless it was dirt cheap. They are not for everyone and will have a limited appeal. Not really a collectors piece or ever will be. But obviously smith isn't making any more of them. They appeal to folks who carry 3913's or similar autos and desire the flatter DAO slide. At the moment I'm trying to trade my Sig P220 for a 3953 or similar.

They also appeal to curmudgeonly, retired old men like me who don't even carry much anymore. That butter smooth action on the one with the marred aluminum frame (which I eventually passed up for excessive fix-up cost and complexity) just impressed the Hell out of me.

 

[ColbyBruce]

If you find the gun that fits you and works best for you I bet you will carry it constantly. My 3953 or Shield are my two favorites.

 

[TTSH]

At the moment I'm trying to trade my Sig P220 for a 3953 or similar.

Just as an aside, I found the nicest "slightly used" P220 I'd ever seen last week. It was new production in flat black and in "as-new" shape ('cept for a few minor quickie touch-up spots)... but the key thing was factory wood grips that really looked good and made my eyes pop. Tagged price: $650. Probably not negotiable. Story was that someone bought it and just plain didn't like it. It was traded almost immediately for a different gun.

It instantly went on my "If I ever win the PowerBall lottery" list!

If you find the gun that fits you and works best for you I bet you will carry it constantly. My 3953 or Shield are my two favorites.

Not sure if that was responding to me... ... but I'm far too fat, dumb and happy (and old too) out here in suburbia to be bothered carrying when and where the threat level is essentially zero. But don't be fooled. I have plenty of fine choices for those times when I do carry. I would absolutely love to add a really nice example of a 3953 to my 3rd Gen collection/accumulation... but it wouldn't change a thing re: carrying.

 

[Sevens]

Selling locally is not the way to optimize the cash for a gun. Some guns go for crazy prices on Gunbroker, for no reason that I can see.

I mostly, somewhat agree with you on Gunbroker, lol.

I don't buy from GB very often but I watch it like a HAWK and I have for a long time. And I truly believe the reason that so many guns go for high prices on Gunbroker is for a few reasons.

--Huge audience, only takes a few keystrokes to search for something

--Extremely easy buying experience, especially if seller accepts any manner of electronic payment

--Some guys who make a lot of money in their work have MUCH more available money than time, and if someone with few $$$ concerns wants something specific, a hundred or two "more" is no deterrent when they lack the time to hunt for a bargain.

I have seen this again and again on Gunbroker, no doubt about it. But if you are persistent and lucky, you can still snag some great buys. But there is a long trail of broken hearts along the way.