Best value/pricing Resource

[3puttBuck]

This is my first post and I apologize if this issue has been covered. I tried the search function but came up empty.

I recently inherited a S&W 32-20 Hand Ejector, 4th Change. All serial #s match (928xx) and it is in good condition. (I have asked a few people at local gun stores for the % rating and will base my price on the lower of what they suggest.)

Although I am a shooter (9mm and .45 acp mostly), I am not a collector and thought it made more sense to get this type of gun into the hands of someone who would appreciate it. My question is, generally, what is the best resource for valuing the gun for sale. I have reviewed Fjestad's Blue Book but am not sure if those values tend to be high, low, or pretty close. I have also looked at various listings on gunBroker.com and gunsamerica.com but those don't really tell you what the sale price actually was. I would appreciate any input from the experts on how you value such collectable guns.

I am not looking to sqeeze every dime out of the gun but also don't want to be taken. I would really apprecaite any thoughts on how to price it and how best to locate collectors.

 

[ar15ed]

condition is everything, as far as value goes. is there any way you can post some good detailed pics? i have a pretty nice one a few serial numbers newer than yours. i gave 325 for it a few years ago, and thought it was a great price. i would think it might bring 400 or 425 now, maybe a tad more on a good day.

welcome to the forum!

ed

 

[jtcarm]

Blue book values for S&Ws are notoriously low. I'm not sure they even represent reasonable wholesale prices.
As AR said, condition and originality are everything.

 

[merl67]

I use gunbroker completed sales to gauge price you have to be a registered user to access those. That gives me a pretty good average from both a buyer and sellers perspective but gun prices do vary from region to region hope this helps.

 

[MP1518]

I use gunbroker completed sales to gauge price you have to be a registered user to access those. That gives me a pretty good average from both a buyer and sellers perspective but gun prices do vary from region to region hope this helps.

+1! I use GB completed sales too.

IMHO they show TRUE values.

 

[mikepriwer]

There is some more information you could post, that would help our valuation process.
First - what is your estimate of condition - meaning percentage of original blue
remaining ?

Second - what is the barrel length, measuring from the front face of the cylinder
to the end of the barrel ?

Third - what kind of sights does the gun have ? Fixed or adjustable ?

Mike Priwer

 

[3puttBuck]

I appreciate the input. Ar15, I have tried to attach some pictures to the post. As I am sure you guys have heard before, getting the hang of including pictures is not the easiest thing to do, so there may be nothing there. If there aren't any pictures after I hit "post", I will try again.

Looking over the first three responses reinforces my need to try to get a handle on what the value is. The Fjestad Blue Book for the 4th Change lists the 80% condition's value as $1,100, 70% as $875, and 60% as $625. Those are all well over AR15's cost and it looks like his gun is in that condition range. That is why I was curious if the Blue Book tended to be high.

Again, I really appreciate the guidance.

 

[DCWilson]

Yes, do some research on Gunbroker and other auction sites after you register as a member. There is a lot of info available to you for sales from the last few months. You can even use the unsold guns as yardsticks if they have "started at" prices that never get offered from people who might be interested. The "reserve not met" sale failures also give you some guidance: just check the highest amount bid and you will see where the buyers value the gun, even if the seller doesn't.

You have to be suspicious of the Blue Book, but in my experience it is because they are unreliable on the high side. Their valuations for rarer models are not just optimistic, but preposterous. I'll cite the prewar .22/32 Kit Gun as an example.

My rule of thumb is that any prewar Prewar M&P revolver in either .38 or .32-20 caliber is probably worth at least $300 in working condition if it is not flat-out ugly, and up to $400 if it has some decent finish left. If it is at the 98% or almost new level without having been refinished, you can go several bucks more, but you probably won't break $500 unless it is really special or has its original box and tools. There is a difference between its value as a shooter and its value as a collectible; you have to decide which one you are selling.

Also, there are regional price variations cross the country. A $400 gun in California may be only a $250 gun in a state where gun purchases are easier or the model in question is seen on sale tables more frequently.

 

[3puttBuck]

Mike - your post came in while I was trying to attach some pictures. The 32-20 is nickel with walnut grips, 4" barrel, and fixed sights. The local gun store worker estimated it at 80% but I would list it as 70% to avoid overstating it.

 

[glowe]

Give these instructions from the Forum FAQ a try for posting pictures.

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after it, ensuring that you do not have any spaces before or after the URL of the image. You can insert pictures from your albums (?) in this way too.

 

[mikepriwer]

Thanks for the additional information. I'd like to see the pictures of the gun, so
my comments now are somewhat preliminary.

The gun is about 1921. 4" barrel lengths are desireable. The fixed sights do not
command the kind of price that adjustable sights do. To me, the big question is the
finish. 70% to 80%, for a nickel gun, is almost a no-mans lands. Clearly, its not
95%+, which are the upper end of the price spectrum, and its not 50%-, which makes
it more/less shooter grade.

Nickel finish is more price-sensitive to 70% to 80% than is blue - the missing finish,
depending on where it is, shows up more than on a blue gun. This is why pictures
will be very helpful. On the other hand, nickel is a much more scarce finish than blue.

Another aspect to the valuation question is that there were, in all configurations,
about 140,000 32-20's made . That is a fair number of guns - they are not rare, nor
even scarce. Ammo for these guns is expensive, so most 32-20 shooters hand-load.
Most collectors, but not all, prefer high-condition specimens, because they don't
intend to shoot them. Shooters, on the other hand, are not all that concerned about
condition, and are not going to pay up for a shooter. All of this is why the gun may be
in the no-mans land.

As a guess, without seeing any pictures, I would think the gun is worth $400 to $500.

Mike Priwer

 

[jtcarm]

You have to be suspicious of the Blue Book, but in my experience it is because they are unreliable on the high side. Their valuations for rarer models are not just optimistic, but preposterous. I'll cite the prewar .22/32 Kit Gun as an example

That's interesting. My comment that they're absurdly low is based on post war N frame models, the 624 (standard, not the Lew Horton) in particular.

 

[3puttBuck]

Pictures

Mike-Thank you for the information.

I hope that I have succeeded in attaching a few photos. I am not sure if you can tell from them, but there is not really any nickel that is blemished or missing. However, a worker at a local gun range suggested yesterday that he was 90% sure it had been renickled based upon the lack of defintion to the logo. However, he thought it was very well done (for what that is worth). If that occurred, it would have been before my grandfather got the gun in the late-1940s.

The most visible wear is to the grips and the aging of the trigger and hammer. The range employee, who claimed to be a collector, did comment that the timing was good and the gun was tight so it is in good shooting shape.

My guess is that it falls in that "shooter" range -- looks good but not collector condition.

I do think it is very helpful to know that the Blue Book tends to be high on collectible guns. Thank you DC for that insight. It was my sense that it was too high on the Hand Ejector based upon what I had seen.

Thanks to all.

 

[fthorsby]

My first reaction is, the grips don't match the gun. Which coincides with the theory that the revolver has been refinished. You could always list it here, but gunbroker might be your best bet.