Gun show rant, early Model 10

[00Buck2]

Went to a gun show today, and paid my $6 expecting to see the same old stock when I caught a glimps of a short 2" model 10.

I asked to look at it and it was a 5 digit serial on the butt and back side of extractor. It also had correct diamond magnas and MODEL 10 stamped on the yoke. In very nice condition with little wear on the end of the barrel.

I asked the dealer what he wanted? "$400". Being the tight %^& that I am I offer $375. He says "no", a man with a neighboring table saw my interest and talks to the dealer that owns it, they are friends. I walk out to my car and review my SCSW and confirm its a 1952 edit 1957.

I return to the table and its gone, I ask the dealer if it was sold and he says "no, my buddy stuck it in his pocket" I tell the dealer if he wanted to sell it I would give him the $400. He calls his buddy over and the buddy says "not for sale"

I walk around the gun show kicking my butt for not giving him the $400. I then run into a fellow SW forum member and he tells me that he knows the dealer and he will go and ask about the pistol. He tells the dealer that I am willing to pay his asking price. The dealer refers him to the neighbor/buddy. The buddy told him he saw the amount of interest in the pistol so he removed it from his friends table. Said he was going to keep the pistol to take it to the 1500 show in Indy and ask more for it.

I approch the neighbor/buddy later and told him I would give him $425 even though, I was originally was told $400. He tells me "I never priced the pistol to you" I said no you didn't but the guy who owned it did. He then told me it's not for sale and he was going to put it in his collection. He also told me he was just offered $450 for it and turned it down.

Help me out and tell me that I didn't miss out on a good deal, If you price a gun and have it on a table why not sell it? I only wanted it because of the short barrel and being an early model. Was it worth a lot more?

Sorry for the rant but I just had to vent!!!!!

 

[crsides]

If it had Model 10 stamped on the yoke, it could not have been a 1952 gun. The model numbers were not authorized until 1957 and it took even longer to get them thru production.

Was it a 4 screw or 3 screw gun?

Sermon: If you see a nice old smith you want as badly as you wanted this one, and for a decent price, pay the man and go home happy. I don't think the dealers did anything wrong. Not very nice, but not wrong.

Hope you get a chance at another soon.

Charlie

 

[-db-]

I agree with Charlie. I hate to say it, but I think you blew a decent deal on this one (assuming the gun was legitimate and not questionable as to the serial and model-marking not corroborating- perhaps you misread it?). $400 for a nice older 2" K-frame isn't bad, especially in this current crazy market. You should have grabbed it.

 

[highpower3006]

I have a question. How could it be a 1952 gun and say Mod 10 stamped on the yoke? They order to start identifying them by model numbers didn't come down until 1957 or so. The serial number chart I have says that the fixed sight K frame serial numbers started with C1 in 1948 and went to number C233,999 by the end of 1952. I would think that the five digit numbers would have been used up 1950 or so at that rate. This is way too early for the gun to be model marked.

I feel your pain though, I have let things slip through my fingers for over a couple of bucks in the past. Now I just ask myself if I want it bad enough for a few dollars to make that much of a difference.

 

[P&R Fan]

C223999 was the first number for 1952. You say it's a 5 digit number. Probably started with a D. That would put it in 1968 or 1969.

Don't worry, another one will show up.
Jim

 

[00Buck2]

Sorry my error it was a 1957, 4 screw thats what threw me off I thought a 1957/58 would be a 5 screw. but im still learning

 

[El Biblioitecario]

If there had been a gunshow in the spaghetti western, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Eli Wallach's character Tuco would have said, "You gonna buy, buy, don't just stand there talking about it."

For those who aren't as fast on the draw/wallet as Tuco, I offer El Bibliotecarios Rule Numero Uno--There are always more guns to buy than dinero to buy them with--just be patient and wait for your next querida to show up on the table.

 

[gunnut44]

For a older K frame snub 400 is a deal in good condition. Once you hand it back or set it down it's a free game, I wouldn't let 25 bucks get in the way. Keep your eyes peeled another will come along.

 

[00Buck2]

When he told me that he was offered $450 I told him I would give him $450 if the stocks numbered to the gun. He said "no" I'm afraid I just educated him.

 

[00Buck2]

I also saw a model 53 come walking through, he wanted $750. Original grips in 90% without any inserts. I passed it up, but kept thinking about it. Met a buddy 1 hr later and he bought it for $750. I guess Im just to tight.

 

[DCWilson]

It is possible to get hung up on the notion of "fair market value" and never say yes to any gun that may be slightly overpriced. But I figure that when I pay more for a gun than I really wanted to, I am paying the fair market price (as I understand it) plus an additional 10-20% that I consider acquisition insurance. That's the premium I have to pay to insure that I end up acquiring the gun instead of somebody else.

A two-inch Model 10 in good shape will be a $400 gun in almost every state in America. Like others here, I think you could reasonably have said yes at your very first opportunity. Everybody likes to haggle a better deal, but I think we are in an environment right now in which it is possible to haggle oneself right out of the running, in which case not only the gun but also the satisfaction of the deal will be lost.

I think the 53 was priced within reason as well.

My advice to anyone in a crowded situation is this: If you see a need-to-have gun and start talking price, you don't set it down without making a deal at whatever price you have to in order to get it. If the gun is a nice-to-have item, but not necessarily an absolute must for you on the day that you see it, you can be pickier.

Sorry the day didn't go well for you, but when you are swimming with sharks you need to make sure that you take the first bite. At least you still have the money you would have spent on these guns, so you have the chance to play again at the next gun show.

 

[Engineer1911]

S&W Rule #1: You never pay too much for the S&W you really want, you may buy it a little early though.

The $400 price tag today will be the $475 price tag next year. So you just buy early, not too high!

 

[DAinTX]

I never worry about overpaying a bit for something I really want. A few years down the road it's almost always going to look like a good deal...and maybe a great deal. These older Smiths in good condition are only going to get more difficult to find.

 

[k22fan]

Two basic rules of business law from my 7th grade business class that were repeated in a class for a real estate license: 1) rejecting an offer to sell or buy clears the person who made the original offer of any obligations, and 2) a counter offer is a rejection of the original offer.

To illustrate, lets reverse which party changed their mind. Suppose after the table holder's rejection of your counter offer you wondered off, stumbled onto a S&W that excited you even more and spent all your money. Further suppose after you spent your money the table holder reproached you and said he's now ready to accept your $375 offer and demands you buy the model 10. Do you see the problem? At that point what you did with your money is none of the table holder's business just as what he had done with his pistol before you returned is none of your business.

It's possible your reputation for only buying under priced S&Ws combined with your offer made them believe the 10 might be worth more than they thought, but there are other possibilities. It's not true that every one expects to dicker. Some sellers who put out their gun at an attractive price do not want to do business with a would be buyer who insults them with a lower offer. That's happened to me a few times when if I'd just told them I liked their gun and paid the price everyone would have gone home with a smile. Since the last offer you made was $450, this must have been your turn.

Edit to add: After reading mbliss57's reply it sounds like the first possibility is the explanation.

 

[mbliss57]

Matt, sorry you had a rough day. You do have a knack for getting some bargain basement deals. But when you left the table to confer with the SCSW ( I have done this too) every thing about the deal resets. Many times you will return more educated and either make a good deal or realize the price is too high. Once in awhile the odds even out... today the bear got you.
Remember when you bought that pre 29 for about $600.. you got the bear. Or that 547 for $400! You took that dealer to the cleaners. Today it just didn't work out as a smoking deal.
I have learned that sometimes( and I find it an instinct thing) you have to pay the man his price or you are not going home with his gun. If your not willing to gamble a little these things will eat at you.
On a more positive note, you still have $400 and there are a lot of Model 10 snubs out there. Today you left a little wiser.
Mike

 

[Engine49guy]

I wouldnt sweat missing a Model marked 10 snub at $450,
Pre war M&P snubs are rare but post war model marked 10 snubs are fairly common ,
When I began reading the post I was thinking $400 was the going rate and $450 was getting high but I suppose the panic has inflated things a bit.

 

[mbliss57]

I was thinking in general $400 and up is about what you would pay for any snub nose of any caliber with few exceptions. Even j frames are close to $400 and of course certain used ones are more. If you look at it that way in generalities you would not have had to leave the deal for awhile to research. Just a thought.

 

[00Buck2]

Yeah I have come across some good finds. But I had no information about those pistols other than they were different. On both occasions I paid the dealer their asking price and found out later, through the forum, that it was a really good deal.

I was looking for an older 2" 38 that day. I should have just paid the asking price and went home happy. Oh we'll I usally get a good deal when I buy without researching. Now that I have been trying to learn more about different models and variations, I never see the ones Im looking for and when I do I second guess and figure its been, reworked, reblued and such.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Comrad]

Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

 

[Cavaliere]

...and like W.C. Fields said, "Never give a sucker an even break, and never smarten up a chump."

There's a reason they're called "dealers".