Blame it all on site like gunbroker and the fools that buy there at inflated prices.
One needs to look no further than the Guns For Sale on this site to witness overpricing.
I to miss the days when you could walk into a local shop and find a very nice firearm that you could get out the door at a very attractive price. That was usually because it was a firearm that appealed to a limited market and took a long time to sell.
Guns that are just sitting on the rack or shelf are just tying up money. Consequently, back in the day, LGS owners would sell those slow moving firearms at a steeply discounted price to turn them back into money when the "right" buyer hadn't shown up after 6 months or so. Those sales were below the potential market value, but that potential depended on finding the right, highly motivated buyer.
The internet has permanently changed things. It allows local gun shops and private owners to actually reach those highly motivated buyers, and it allows those highly motivated buyers to actually find the firearms they are looking for.
What that means is that those firearms can actually sell at their true market value.
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Some folks, like yourself, feel those buyers are paying too much, and claim it is over the market value. But the fact that they sell at those prices, and do so everyday supports the that the market value really is what people are willing to pay.
I've also noted that folks who think that the prices are over market value usually tend to regard prices as being too high and thus rarely buy firearms.
I used to be that way, but I adjusted to the new reality. firearms will appreciate, so you never pay too much, you just buy a little too soon.
For example, I paid $550 once for a 9422 XTR in like new condition at a time people insisted they were not worth more than $450-$500 tops. But try finding a similar rifle today for that same $550 price or anything close to it, and understand I've only owned it about 5 or 6 years.
