May I say what most of us already know?

[crofoot629]

SP, what most of us already know is these "what's it worth" threads really bug you.

What none of us know is why you respond in them.

Emory

 

[cooperduper]

Easy enough to ignore.

I hope this forum never stops entertaining questions on value. Even from folks with whatever large number of posts who "should" know whatever some others think they ought to know about firearms or prices. Maybe all their posts are in reloading or the lounge or another era of firearm category. Maybe they are just trying to start a conversation and be part of the group, as we are encouraged to do when we get a flag that says we haven't posted in such and such an amount of time. (Not everyone can or wants to sit in front of a plastic box all day. Instead we actually go outside and shoot the guns we own or enjoy some other interest.)

There are many of us who know about some things and not about others and are just asking an honest question. Maybe we got a good deal on a firearm and want to have an idea what the piece is really worth so we can tell our wife and when we get smacked by a garbage truck some "helpful" expert won't convince her it's worth whatever he is willing to pay and not a dime more.

It's a shame when the first reply to someone's debut post is not "welcome". It's a shame when ANYONE is made to think they don't know enough about something to be worthwhile.

If I'm not into a certain kind of post, they're easy enough to ignore.

 

[rdf009]

I agree that a gun is worth whatever you paid for it, but the gun market is constantly changing.....what if someone wants to know what a gun they bought 40 years ago is worth? If I bought a new Colt Python in the 60's for $200 (or whatever they cost back then) and I kept it in the original box for all those years without firing it, should I sell the gun for $200 today since that's what I originally paid for it? Heck, if I sold it on the internet for $200 I bet I could even get the buyer to kick in a little extra for shipping!

My point is that I see nothing wrong with people asking the value of their guns. And any advice they receive should be taken as an OPINION, and not as a guarantee of value. And (usually) people who follow the gun market on any sort of a regular basis should be able to give a pretty close range of what the guns are selling for.....not EXACT, but close.

And with the popularity of gunbroker and other auction sites, and the relative ease of buying guns from out of state and picking them up at your local dealer, I don't think that location is nearly as big of a factor as it used to be. Maybe it's a factor for local sales, but certainly not if you're willing and able to ship. And I don't care if you're in Ohio, California, Minnesota, Alaska, or sitting on top of the North Pole...... a NIB 1960's Python is worth a little more than $200 . But how would the original owner's little old widow know this....unless she asked?

Not trying to brag or blow smoke by saying this, but as a professional auctioneer and appraiser who appraises and/or sells five hundred to a thousand guns per year, I can GUARANTEE that there is a need and a demand for people to know what their guns are worth before they sell them. And I would invite anyone wanting to know the value of his/her gun(s) to give me a call instead of inquiring about it on this forum. I will gladly appraise them for you (for $10 per gun).

 

[feralmerril]

I am more concerned on what price to ask when I want to sell. I post here a lot, yet I am way behind the curve on prices as I havent bought but 3 or 4 guns in the last almost 20 years! I have to me, a fine collection of guns, and am just starting to play with the idea of selling some of them but am not current on prices on many of them.

 

[LeMans]

I disagree with the OP. Valuation threads provide data points with regards to recent transactions for a certain type of firearm and in this respect even one happening after the fact constitutes a valuable input to people trying to estimate the price range a gun falls in. When you go to an auction an estimated range of the value of the item is often provided by an expert. Thanks to the knowledge of the members of this forum these threads is the closest thing to an expert opinion one can get.

 

[Art Doc]

crofoot629- The value posts don't bug me. I sometimes offer an opinion (which often draws criticism) but most times I just wonder how useful or accurate the responses are. Sometimes I marvel at what somebody would pay for a particular gun.

The nickel K22 in point. A decent, original K22 will usually go for around $600 +/- from what I see. When someone says he will pay $500 for refinished one (changing the original finish which I see as a bit worse than simply refinishing) I wonder. I'd rather spend the extra C note and get a nicer one. If I am willing to accept a severely compromised gun I expect a dramatically reduced price. Apparently this is a minority opinion.

Like I said, everyone is free to do as he pleases. Doesn't matter what I think or if I understand the logic.

 

[kbm6893]

To an EDUCATED buyer, a gun is worth what you are willing to pay, but to a new shooter, there are TOO many people out there looking to scam and THAT is what this forum is for. My father in law is looking for a house gun and he was extremely enamored of my model 10-6 made in 1976. He asked where he could get one and I showed him the auction sites where he could get one. he said "I'd rather buy new". So is a S&W Model 10 "Classic" which is selling for $650 worth that? Hell no. My model 10 was bought for $350. Educated gun buyers can spot a good deal, but too many sellers prey on the ignorant.

 

[sqhead]

i feel that if someone is looking for a value on a gun they should give all the info they can ie: location,model/dash,box,tools papers,barrel lenght,best guess at condition,caliber,lock,no-lock and any important info,did oliver north own it? etc........then and only then can i give you a really good value of the gun,which would be close but still an opinion.

 

[Model19man]

It is always fun to speculate with someone else's money. And advice here is free, right? I don't see a problem.

 

[merl67]

I have a pretty good example of how value can be off based on what someone paid that someone was me. A few years ago I went to a local gun auction lots of nice stuff there and lots of gun collectors there too I was going around looking at a the guns when I saw a ratty looking shadow box frame with a gun with no finish remaining lots of pits it also had a box of UMC dogbone ammo with it. I looked at it didn't know what it was because you couldn't open the box but I liked it anyway marked my bid sheet and waited for the auction to start. When it finally came up I had decided I wouldn't go any higher than $300.00. Well me and one other person was bidding on it I wound up with that gun for $290.00 out the door now at the time I bought it it was only worth $300.00 to me but the value went way up when I Realized What I had just bought to date the highest offer cash money has been $1300.00 and I turned that down now I will admit this is not the norm. Oh and that gun is not a Smith & Wesson I have shown it on another forum if anyone is interested PM me and I will tell You the link.

 

[bettis1]

It's too difficult to make a blanket statement about evaluating a gun from someone else's description.

As an example, this morning I received an email from a friend who had just seen a M10 in a pawn shop that was priced at $699. Since the last used M10 that I bought was a police trade in and I paid $200 for it only a couple of years ago, it wasn't one that I would have any interest in. So the gun in question was $200-300 more than I would have paid if it was in excellent condition.

But it turns out that this was a M10 in .357 Mag that was made for the NYSP as a predecessor of the M13. I have no idea what a collector of police guns would be willing to pay for it. It might be worth the extra premium for a specialist who needed it.

Bob

 

[blujax01]

To an EDUCATED buyer, a gun is worth what you are willing to pay, but to a new shooter, there are TOO many people out there looking to scam and THAT is what this forum is for. My father in law is looking for a house gun and he was extremely enamored of my model 10-6 made in 1976. He asked where he could get one and I showed him the auction sites where he could get one. he said "I'd rather buy new". So is a S&W Model 10 "Classic" which is selling for $650 worth that? Hell no. My model 10 was bought for $350. Educated gun buyers can spot a good deal, but too many sellers prey on the ignorant.

Is he uneducated or does he think paying a premium for a new gun has that much added value? He now knows how much a used gun sells for so he is no longer uneducated. He is willing to pay the upcharge for a new gun so he is not ignorant.

Your father has conducted his due diligence and has determined the value of owning a new M10. It is exactly $650 and to him it is worth exactly that. No one on the planet can argue that fact.

 

[Big45]

I agree with all the above, sooo many variables.. from location to location,, and what is the current hot item to have... but my fav line to make us giggle in the gun shop.. is when some poor soul walks in and says,,,, But I seens one on Gunbroker for a million dollars. when wanting to sell there s ,even though wholesale is 400.00 on a new one... sad faces..

 

[beagleye]

Anything but useless!

So, the requests for the value on guns are fairly useless exercises... especially if one is asking about a gun one has already purchased (which happens all the time). My suggestion is, if you just bought it, it's worth exactly what you paid for it and it doesn't matter who may or may not agree with you. It was YOUR decision to make. Asking "Did I get a good deal?" may make more sense. But again, does the buyer really care if others think it was a good deal? The buyer was obviously comfortable with the price, and that is all that counts.

That's my thinking, anyway.

I have posted that sort of question on at least a few occasions and gotten some FANTASTIC information in response, information that was literally from experts(!) regarding the fine grain details of various important features of prospective (or already purchased) guns. I think the "value" post are anything but useless and I myself have benefited from them on many occasions.

And I certain scan other peoples value posts to pick up on interesting details that might be revealed.

Plus, it's a forum for crying out loud.

 

[410bore]

If it wasnt for the "what's it worth?", "how did i do?", and "did i pay too much?" threads, what would we be talking about? The way I see it, the whole purpose of this forum is to aid and assist in the PURSUIT of Smith & Wesson's. People come here for knowledge and to share their collections and their recent "scores".

Price is always going to be a variable and i'm sure when guys ask what something is worth they dont expect everyone to agree 100%. An acceptable price range is all they are asking for.

Afterall, this is a forum and broad ranges of topic discussion should be accepted. But, lately there has been several threads asking the same round-about question...."Why do we have threads that talk about this/that?" followed by long drawn out paragraphs about why these topics/discussions/questions are useless.......Pretty soon somone will start a thread with this title, "Why do we have threads that talk about how meaningless other threads are?"

 

[dwpmusic]

I haven't read every post in this thread but I read a number of them. I'd just like to add something that a very wise man told me years ago. Anything, be it a gun or whatever, is worth exactly what somebody will give you for it. I think the reverse of that is also true. If you pay XXXX amount of $$$$$ for a particular gun, it must have been worth it to you. That's the way I look at it and never look back. You're not going to take any of your money with you when you leave this world anyway.

 

[Muley Gil]

"5 inch barrels don't come on model 10's."

Really? Well, I guess the ones that I've owned, shot, and handled were either 4 inchers that got streched or 6 inchers that shrunk.

 

[zelda]

Muley--l just picked up a LNIB 'Smith&Wesson Barrel Stretcher' at a yard sale. lt has all the dies. 2''-4''.. 4''-5''.. 5''-6''.. lt says it will do BOTH nickel or blue.. lt is for Model 10 pin barrels. l only paid $14.37

Can you PLEASE tell me how much its worth ??

z

 

[Goony]

The collectors tend to be snobs and will not pay anything other than $200 apparently for anything less than a 99% gun with box, papers, letter, tools, and a piece of Roy Jink's hair. And have no problem telling sellers that their firearm is worth no more than what they are willing to pay for it.

That's a very unfair characterization. The collectors I have known, especially within the SWCA, are on the whole extremely scrupulous. Keep in mind that they share their expertise here gratis. They're under no obligation to do so. It's unfortunate that they occasionally have to tell someone their prized, rare "collectible" isn't on account of refinishing, alterations, and so forth. But that also comes with being forthright and honest.

 

[Crabtree]

I find many of the "value" threads to be educational....often providing insight in areas of collecting that I have no experience or prior interest in. I also appreciate when someone discloses the end result of their value quest with a purchase or pass.

And since this website is about collecting S&W's (which would seem to be in large part about actually purchasing S&W's) I suspect you will continue to see many threads regarding values.

I like to ask my circle of "gun" friends - What's your buy price and what's your sale price?

I guess ultimately I just don't understand being critical of someone trying to educate themselves.

So what's appropriate forum fodder?