If you were going to sell off some guns in your collection....

When my husband passed away he had already sold some of his guns to friends. I knew which 2 he wanted to go to his son (family guns)
The rest he told me to sell, but to offer the shotguns first to his hunting buddies so most sold that way. But he did tell me to never sell the old Ruger Blackhawk and I take it out and shoot it every once in a while.

Between my son and grandson they will be very happy with what I have.

And my daughter gets my jewelry! Not sure who gets the better deal.
 
Have a Jeff Cooper GSP from 1986 that has been back and forth between the sell/keep column so much that it's getting frequent flyer mileage. Just can't decide. I always think if I sell it, will I find another if I get the hots to buy one again.
 
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As I knock on the door of 80 I have been disposing gradually parts of my collection. Due to the current situation, it has been an excellent time to do so, some of the prices reached were jaw dropping. I did clear all my antiques, and many pre-war. Anything I had no longer any interest in. I have sold off about 60% of my collection.

The main reason is my children are all between 800 and 2000 miles away, they don't have much interest in them, and I don't want my wife to have to deal with them. I still have plenty to shoot and enjoy and actually just bought another two weeks ago.
 
I'm gettin' older and have had some health issues the last couple of years. I've begun to ponder this same question myself. I've been collecting guns for over 40 years and rarely sell one. Honestly, the pile is gettin' outta hand. :rolleyes:
I have planned for my sons to deal with my collection when I'm gone. I keep excellent records of what it is, what I paid and what its currently worth. I've told them repeatedly that when I'm gone, pick a few for yourselves and sell the rest. They need the money a lot more than the guns.
However, my two hard heads have repeatedly told me that they plan to keep 'em all and sell none. Nice sentiment, but just ain't practical in today's world.
Add that while many of these guns are worth a great deal more than I paid for them, they are mostly niche pieces and you need to know where to sell them for the best prices. Many would be very difficult to sell locally, but would go fast and high in the right market.
So lately, I too have been considering thinning the herd. Those I like and shoot most stay. Ditto for my sons favorites.
First to go will be the ones I rarely shoot and fit that narrow market profile. The ones that would be hardest for a novice to dispose of at a fair price. I can at least save my sons that headache. ;)
After that I suppose it'll just be a case by case basis. How often do I shoot it and just how much do I really like it? :confused:
 
vt_shooter said:
85% of value from a dealer isn't going to happen. 50% maybe, unless we're taking about Purdeys and stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Silly answer. OK, let me give you an example....

I have a Parker shotgun that cost $27 used back before they were considerd a good thing. Book value now is (in my estimate) $1400. I say she should get 85% ($1200). You say she should get $600. $600 - $27. OMG, heck of a profit.

And another... I have an unfired Finn model 39 that I paid $39 for from Century Arms. Current value estimate is $900. I say she should sell for $750. You say she will get screwed and only get $450. OK, $450 - $39. Another massive profit.

Regardless, she or I really don't care. She will get a lot of money and I will be dead.

End of story. She made a windfall and the dealer made out as well. All are happy.

I bought guns to be happy. I didn't buy them to save money.
 
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It looks like many of us are in that same boat.
I have shot handguns my whole life and never had a need for a centerfire long gun as I don't hunt, but now that I have arthritis a rifle is much easier on my joints. It seems like I sell two and buy one so I'm getting there, plus these long guns should be much easier for my wife to deal with later on.
 
When unemployment forced me to sell a lot of guns and ammunition, I took the stuff I was selling to a local auction house that had a specialty for selling firearms and related items. I knew their operation and realized there was no way I could compete with them as far as marketing what I intended to sell.

The decision as to what to sell was in large measure based on what I felt I could replace at a reasonable cost and availability. I would usually sell associated items like spare magazines with them. Happily this caused my to keep my Colt Python and Finnish Lahti. If all of the guns of a particular caliber were sold, I sold all of the ammunition for it too (this was back in 2009). A few things I ended up not bothering to replace because of changes in interests.

I spent a lot of time writing my will and I thought about the interests of intended beneficiaries. One friend is a World War II buff and I was with her when she bought her own M-1 Garand. So I'll be leaving her my World War II items. Yes, it takes time to do this but it helps to make sure what you own ends up in a good home.
 
The hardest thing to get a handle on is that except for paying taxes it does not matter how much you paid. All that matters is what is it worth to you now (including monetary and sentimental value) and how much money can you get for it.
 
Mine will be a private piggy bank for the things I want to do in retirement. So for example, I decide in retirement to go on a Mule Deer hunt in Nebraska, sell off a couple to offset some of the cost and off I go.

Head to the Dakotas to pheasant hunt for a couple of weeks. sell one to offset some of the cost and off I go.

I am 59 now and plan to retire in the next 4-5 years unless I get RIF'd first.

In ten years they will all be gone.
 
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I'm just trying not to buy any more. In the last 5 years I have bought 5 and sold 3. Need to get to "net negative." Easier said than done. I certainly care not about "stuff" after I'm gone. I am a simple man (that means no money) so nothing to fight over. Joe
 
The disease just won't stop!

*If you were going to sell off some guns in your collection....

2 years ago at age 72, I began selling off some specialty/competition guns that I thought might be hard to find the right buyers for. Then the duplicates! I had 14, 1911's and 14, K, L and N frames! I sold the Colts and an M41 and then began giving some to my son and SIL.

But then came an M60 for my wife, a S&W-JM 625 and a really nice M18-4!

So the score is -10 and + 3!

I suppose once you get the "disease" it just won't stop!

Smiles,
 
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I would usually think "How hard would it be to replace?" but since I live in Kalifornistan and am not overly fond of anything on our "not too unsafe" roster... pretty much all of 'em would be "very hard to impossible" to replace. :(
 
GypsmJim makes a very valid point. What is the goal here? Maximum profit or simply reduce inventory?
Some of you may recall that several years ago I dealt with my late friends collection for his wife. She simply wanted to get rid of them. My goal was to make sure she didn't loose any money.
Fortunately my friend kept very good records. I knew exactly what he had paid for most of them. He was heavily into mil-surps. I found that he was buying Mosins, SKSs and such back when you could get them for less than $100. I sold most of his guns for far more than he paid, yet far enough below current market for a quick sale. We took 103 guns to a gun show and came home with 11. Yet i was still able to more than triple his original investment for her.
Its important to specify your goals. ;)
 
As I've gotten older I have reduced the number of my accumulation. A few years ago I got rid of those I either didn't shoot or that I had no real emotional attachment to. I had no regrets when all was said and done.

Now I'm thinking about a second reduction, where if I don't shoot it I don't need it, period. This round will be a little tougher as there are a couple unfired guns in the mix as well as some I just like but never use, but the more I think about it the more at peace I am with the idea.

I'm thinking of getting down to maybe ten hand guns, almost all S&W, that I've owned from between one to almost fifty years. Maybe I'm at the point in life where quantity becomes secondary to quality/utility.
 
This is something I want to discuss with my two sons in law this weekend when I see them. Health issues have dramatically reduced my shooting time. I would be open to thinning my collection. I already gave each of my daughters two guns. For me, each gun I ever bought was an obsession at the time. Each of my guns has an index card with all pertinent info plus what I feel would be a fair price for. Wy wife will have little to no involvement in disposing of them.
 
I'm currently dumping some foreign milsurp stuff that just takes up room. People are paying crazy prices right now. Seems like a good time to make some room for stuff I actually like.
 
I spent too many years building my collection, and downsized quite a lot after a heart attack. For what's left, I refuse to even think about it. Someone else's problem one day.
 
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