Guns lose value

[one eye joe]

I'm all for good deals! Although I actually love the fact that glock does not offer any crazy low deal to sell a new glock 19 for 350. This keeps the value of the gun on resale relatively high. S&W? 239 for a shield, really? I think that's about the price of a Keltec P11! Considering I paid a little over 400 for mine really tears me up. Not that it's a collector piece or anything but it really makes me think twice about buying another S&W! Just set a fair price and stick with it! Obviously over priced when I bought it. Just makes me feel a little sketchy on the price of all your guns. You just devalued your own product!

PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE SHOPPED AROUND MORE, BEFORE YOU MADE YOUR PURCHASE ? ? ?

IN MY AREA, THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF LGS, THAT WILL VARY ON THE PRICE OF A NEW GUN. NATURALLY, I DO BUSINESS WITH THE ONE THAT CONSISTENTLY HAS THE LOWEST PRICE IN THE AREA. HE SELLS AT A SMALL % ABOVE WHAT HE PAYS THE DISTRIBUTOR, AND WILL DO THE MATH BEFORE YOUR EYES. I FIND THAT EVEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE LGS, IN MY AREA, SELLS AT BELOW MSRP.....

INSTEAD OF FEELING "SKETCHY ON THE PRICE" OF ALL S&W GUNS, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU AVOID MAKING ANY FUTURE PURCHASES FROM THE SOURCE THAT SOLD YOU YOUR GUN, AT WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE AN EXORBITANT PRICE.......

 

[kody1234]

s&w store

There was a S&W store in Myrtle Beach in 2001, don't know when it closed.

I remember buying a tee shirt there.

 

[JohnSW]

Could S&W be clearing out current Shields in anticipation of a new M2.0 version?

 

[TTSH]

In a bubble pack at your local Costco!
These bargain basement prices on Shields have tempted me. But then I just go down to the gun safe and caress my no rail 3953TSW and the moment passes.

Oh, go ahead!!! Rub it in even more!!!

 

[TTSH]

Haven't lost any money on my pre-lock Smith revolvers.

Nor have I... except for the two I foolishly sold 35 years ago.

 

[BC38]

Simple supply and demand. A year ago the Shields were flying off the shelves as fast as they could make them. They announced making the one millionth unit sometime mid-year last year. So they had production in high gear - mainly in anticipation of more restrictions on purchase of firearms being enacted in the near future. And people were buying them right and left at the higher price.

Fast-forward to today and sales have slowed way down since November - when the media's predictions about the election didn't come true. That means that S&W ended up with a large inventory that now isn't moving nearly so fast. They can't afford to sit on millions of dollars of inventory any more - that isn't how business works these days. So the only solution is to clear that inventory out ASAP - at drastically reduced prices (and reduced profits) - even if it means no profit - to just break-even.

The alternative is to sit on that inventory, and lay off a bunch of the production folks until it all sells. Meanwhile, if they borrowed the money to produce most of that inventory (which they most likely did) they will be paying finance charges on the debt until sales allow them to pay it off.

So yeah, they are selling them off quick and cheap right now. It is a normal consequence of the current market. People who paid more when the prices were high didn't get shafted. They just paid the premium that was being commanded by a commodity that was in high demand. Just like when a new model of a great car hits the market in limited numbers. People will pay full MSRP - or even more - just to get one. They aren't getting shafted, they are paying extra to get what they want NOW instead of waiting for supply to catch up to demand. Their choice.

 

[OLDSTER]

Gun values

Guns, stocks, bonds, real estate, whatever. My investment philosophy is "sure-fire" and absolutely works. I guarantee it !! BUY HIGH AND SELL LOW

 

[GaryS]

I could have said my rail 3913TSW, you know.

On a more serious note. The gun market has expanded tremendously over the past several years. We don't need to discuss why, suffice it to say that more people the need to own guns.

Many of those new owners are not "gun people" as most of the members here are. They plan to own one, maybe two guns, not the collections that many here have.

They are looking for guns that are inexpensive (relatively) to buy, easy to maintain, and that will spend most of their lives sitting in a safe, drawer, automobile console (!) or wherever. To them, guns are just another household appliance more or less. That's why S&W and other manufacturers are making and selling so many cheaper polymer framed guns.

Although I don't think she will, I'd love for my daughter to buy and carry a firearm. A Shield would be the type of gun that would be good for her even though she did enjoy shooting my 6906 a few years ago.

Oh, go ahead!!! Rub it in even more!!!

 

[TTSH]

Simple supply and demand.

I'll respectively submit that it is something more than just that this time around. Perhaps you, Bam and others are right about S&W doing an over-the-top build-up of resources and inventory in anticipation of a very different election result... but it also has to do with how insanely inexpensive it is to build plastic guns these days compared to what the market was and still is willing to pay for them. It's like printing money for S&W even at these new crazy low prices.

 

[cadmike]

Current production guns are no different than any other current production item. If you were looking to buy a shield as an investment you made a very poor choice. You can't walk into a store and buy a $10 steak and hope to sell it for $12 the next day. Now it's a used steak and people always want fresh. Plus now that same steak is on sale for $8 fresh.

By the way, used glocks are cheap too. I'm seeing used glocks listed in the low 400s just sitting on store shelves. Once the asking price goes below 400 they start to move.

In general, right now I'd say all polymer framed guns are cheap, and the used market is overly saturated with them.

 

[Ranger17]

I dont worry about resale on any of my handguns. With the exception of a '51 Colt Challenger handed down to me, all others (most are SW's along with 1 Buckmark in the mix) were bought with a purpose in mind, from range toy to SD and they all fill their need. All were what i'd consider reasonably priced regardless if on sale or not.

I understand when gun prices drop (even temporarily) that it can affect one's potential resale or value, just not something i'd concern myself with.

 

[Cal44]

I'm wondering if low prices and rebates on Shields are being offered to clear out inventory before a new version is announced.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I'll respectively submit that it is something more than just that this time around. Perhaps you, Bam and others are right about S&W doing an over-the-top build-up of resources and inventory in anticipation of a very different election result... but it also has to do with how insanely inexpensive it is to build plastic guns these days compared to what the market was and still is willing to pay for them. It's like printing money for S&W even at these new crazy low prices.

TTSH you make a good point......even at lower MSRP/wholesale to attract buyers ..... we've had many threads on Tupperware having a greater profit margin than metal guns based on cost of production........


As a WAG; based on the rebates currently being offered that margin is at least $75 greater/gun!

When they clean out excess inventory..... prices may stay low; as folks wait for the next "sale"!

 

[kaveman]

All plastic framed pistols are $200 guns max. Doesn't matter whether they have S&W, Glock, Kel Tec or H&K stamped on the slide. Do you really think plastic and spring wire costs one company 3x what it costs another? The only difference is marketing.

A 'smart' man would sell his used Glock that has magically held its value and trade those beans in on a pair of Shields while the opportunity presents itself. Or possibly, the man who 'overpaid' for a Shield earlier would dollar cost average his way into a bargain by buying another bushel basket full at the reduced price.

 

[Ozark Marine]

Poly small caliber hand guns (380-9mm) make great birthday, Christmas and spur of the moment gifts.
I've been giving a few to the Legion Post 639 to raffle off for the repairs our building needs. New HVAC units ain't cheap.

I hate drinking in a cold in the winter and hot and humid bar in the summer.

 

[TTSH]

Or possibly, the man who 'overpaid' for a Shield earlier would dollar cost average his way into a bargain by buying another bushel basket full at the reduced price.

I tried that very same approach in the stock market. I lost bigtime.

 

[TTSH]

I could have said my rail 3913TSW, you know.

On a more serious note. The gun market has expanded tremendously over the past several years. We don't need to discuss why, suffice it to say that more people the need to own guns.

Many of those new owners are not "gun people" as most of the members here are. They plan to own one, maybe two guns, not the collections that many here have.

They are looking for guns that are inexpensive (relatively) to buy, easy to maintain, and that will spend most of their lives sitting in a safe, drawer, automobile console (!) or wherever. To them, guns are just another household appliance more or less. That's why S&W and other manufacturers are making and selling so many cheaper polymer framed guns.

Although I don't think she will, I'd love for my daughter to buy and carry a firearm. A Shield would be the type of gun that would be good for her even though she did enjoy shooting my 6906 a few years ago.

I still don't buy that new narrative that today's gun buyers are a vastly different breed of simple commodity self-defense appliance buyers, but maybe that's just my advanced age and "behind enemy lines" location talking.

I will, however, add this to the discussion: .40 pistol sales must be in a death spiral of sorts because I'm seeing giveaway prices on all sorts of .40 pistols, modern plastic fantastics and high-quality all-metal pistols (new and used) as well. Just this past week I was stunned on what I could buy for cheap if only I was willing to add more .40's to the arsenal.

But for the same reason they are selling for cheap, I am staying away from them for now. I really like my full-size .40's and I shoot them well... but if the market for them is crashing, I'm not inclined to buy any more.

 

[M29since14]

...It's a crazy world. Enjoy what you have and don't worry about what it's monetary market value may be.

X 1,000!

Of course this applies mainly to users, not collectors. Shields could hardly be considered an investment, or of any interest to collectors.

 

[rwsmith]

I'm not a collector......

I'm a user and resale value means very little to me. Plastic guns are utilitarian, period. Don't buy one if you want to keep it in the safe until the value goes up.

Plastic guns are great for carry (for most of us that don't want to tote around a couple pounds of metal).

Also, a lot of metal guns lose value, too, before they become collector pieces. Which I love because it enables me to buy guns that I would not otherwise be able to afford.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I

Also, a lot of metal guns lose value, too, before they become collector pieces. Which I love because it enables me to buy guns that I would not otherwise be able to afford.

Most of the guns I have I bought were in the sweet spot........ "Used but still in production" (in some form)...........

In Pa. S&W's have always( well at least since 1978) sold new at well under MSRP....... used,......even ANIB or still NIB...... the pricing "starts" at $100 off the price of a new gun.

Also if you liked revolvers or single stack autos.......they were dirt cheap ..... when everyone wanted guns with 15+ 9mm up there butts.

Even 3" 66s and 39xx ..... got nothing on trade; and were resold at give away pricing from the late 80s till well into the 21st century.