L frame lowball so bad I had to share

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Elkins45

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I have a 6" 686-2 w/ Pachmayr grips and no box. It's in great shape and I have a 4473 on it. It's the gun that taught me I don't like the balance of 6" L frames, so I thought I might trade it.

There's a range/gun shop in Crestwood, KY called Open Range. I was in town for a meeting yesterday (Friday the 13th) and happened to have the gun in my trunk. I stopped in the shop after the meeting and noticed they had a used 627 Pro (8 shot) in the case. I thought that might be an interesting new toy so I brought in my gun and asked if they were interested in a trade. The salesman guy takes my gun and says the manager needs to do deals and he will take the gun to her. Off goes my gun into a room behind the counter.

Minutes ticked by as I browsed every gun in the shop a couple more times. It was starting to feel like a bad car buying experience where the salesman tries to hold onto your keys and not let you leave. Finally a young lady emerges from behind the office door holding my gun with a printed sheet with a photo of a 686 and some value/condition guides. She asked me the round count (unknown, since I bought it used), did I have the original grips (no) and if I had the box (no).

The tag on the 627 was $849. The trade offer on my really nice Pre-lock 686 was......are you ready for it?









$150! :mad:

I just said "We won't be doing that, thanks for your time" and walked out.

This is the first time in 30+ years of gun trading that I've actually felt insulted by an offer. Wonder how much it would have been worth with the box and original grips? $175? :p

I've never sworn off a gun shop in my entire life, but I can promise that I will never darken their door again. I just can't imagine giving money to anyone who thinks I'm that stupid.
 
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The LGS I frequent is pretty open about their policy, 70% of what they believe that they will be able to sell the gun for. I would have been offended also. Wow.
 
I have a couple of local gun shops that I frequent often and do all of my buying at. The owners are straight shooters and often give a very reasonable deal, including trades. There are a couple other shops close by that are in the same class as the one you visited. I'll never set foot in them, period.
 
That is a low ball for sure.I remember when not having a box or paperwork did little one way or another concerning price at either end. Now it seems with collectors being Adamant on having the whole package. the packaging seems to make up a fair amount the the guns value. With the price of original wood these days, I can see that as a problem bringing the price down.Sorry it did not work out for you
 
As you know, a 6" 686 is not a very desirable firearm. I have picked up a few for $400 over the past few years that included the original grips. I don't think half of what they will sell it for is unreasonable for a retail outfit.

Their price on the used 627 is stupid high, I bought one more or less new in box for $725 from a local gun shop. Where they expecting you to pony up $700 plus your gun for the 627? That is insulting! I figure your gun plus $350 would have been a fair trade.

They are only trying to run a business, don't get insulted it isn't worth it.

Chris
 
..... I'll offer ya $200.....

Kidding.

That is quite a joke of an offer. I would've had a hard time not laughing all the way out the door. Too bad that's how they do business.


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My LGS will take a gun on consignment for 20% and offers 50%-60% of the expected selling price if they are asked to buy the gun for cash. And they won't buy all guns that they expect will take longer than average to sell. This policy results in some very low offers.
 
This should not come as a surprise. Most LGS's operate the same way. They need to make a buck and they do pretty darn good at pricing "walk in guns" at a low mark.
 
Warren Sear said:
Don't ever get your panties in a bunch over a low-ball offer. It's nothing personal, just business. If you don't like the offer, just say, "no thanks", and keep moving. No need to give them a piece of your mind or boycott them.

I handle rejection well.
Click to expand...

^^This^^

It's because of those "low-ball offers" that we get "steals" from our LGS's that we post here. They're in business trying to turn a buck.
 
*chris* said:
As you know, a 6" 686 is not a very desirable firearm. I have picked up a few for $400 over the past few years that included the original grips. I don't think half of what they will sell it for is unreasonable for a retail outfit.
Chris
Click to expand...

Hmm, things must be very different in MA than PA as every 686, 6 inch I've seen in PA over the past three years has been priced at $ 575 to $850 with the $850 being with box. All have sold quickly.

The $150 trade offer given to the OP is ludicrous. A very well known regional gun shop in Clearfield, PA makes trade offers like that all the time, Amazingly people actually say yes. I'd feel pretty darned silly if I accepted a $150 trade and then came back next week to see the gun for sale at $600.
 
i have a remington xp100 that i was considering selling. i went with me to buy my 15-22...they offered $400 it came home. a few months later i took it to a few other stores...one offered $500 and i considered that...but the other told me they had no interest in it since it is chambered in .221 fireball. then they offered me $100. i told the the kid, you don't have any interest, just tell me that, don't insult me with a lowball offer. unfortunately, they are the only store i can regularly buy ammo at...

steamloco...would that lgs begin with a g and end with rices?
 
*chris* said:
As you know, a 6" 686 is not a very desirable firearm. I have picked up a few for $400 over the past few years that included the original grips. I don't think half of what they will sell it for is unreasonable for a retail outfit.

Their price on the used 627 is stupid high, I bought one more or less new in box for $725 from a local gun shop. Where they expecting you to pony up $700 plus your gun for the 627? That is insulting! I figure your gun plus $350 would have been a fair trade.

They are only trying to run a business, don't get insulted it isn't worth it.

Chris
Click to expand...
That first line cracked me up . Check Gunbroker . Non lock 686's of any barrel length are selling for $550.00 and up . And people are buying them .
 
Gentlemen, with no intention of sounding like a smart ***, why be mad at an offer to buy your gun at a low price? The store did not ask you to come in, you brought the gun to them. Until you have invested in a building, satisfied all local ,state and federal licensing requirements, invested several hundreds of thousands in inventory and hired extra help, accountants, paid all of your insurance requirements, advertising expense and all the other costs of owning your own business then and only then will you know why a business prices their merchandise like they do. I have found the best way to get a good deal is to offer cash,trading guns is best done between friends where both parties know the value of each others property. I am in retail, tho with no connection to the gun industry. I have , however , been buying and trading guns for better than fifty years. Politely tell the gunstore no thanks and never be offended and burn a bridge you may one day want to use and cross over again.
 
I have to agree with Joe Kent's comments. When you have to pay an overhead and the salary of your staff your offers on used firearms will be influenced by the "carrying" costs. Granted that offer of 150 dollars is a bit on the low side but that may have been done to allow some room for dickering. However, as a rule of thumb for any commodity such as a firearm, camera, or guitar you can expect that a dealer will offer about 40-45% of it's retail value. So, the wholesale value of your 686 is about 240 dollars. If you don't like that then don't sell a firearm to a gunshop.
 
My LGS -Atlas Firearms-goes online to Gunbroker to see what the item has sold for, and that average price is what they will offer. I think they are really quite fair, and I try to do all of my business with them. The owner Douglas Funderburke is a great guy.
 
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