They're coming out of the woodwork!

[David LaPell]

Ok, stopped by a local gunshop today, and sitting on the shelf was a 6-inch K-22 in a solid 95% with the original grips and a nice old grip adaptor. Not Smith and not-Tyler but another company I cannot recall. This thing is like glass, the bore is exceptional. $300-. I asked why so cheap, the original owner is dying, needs the money to plan for his funeral. The serial number is K 75xxx of anyone wants to check the age. I mean this thing is clean and I have a hard time not trading something right now for that gun.

 

[VM]

Late 40's gun - probably half price of value. It'll be sold by the end of the day tomorrow.

 

[GF]

"...the original owner is dying, needs the money to plan for his funeral."

Man, that's hard. We just keep these revolvers for a few years, then on to the next guy.

It's like land. Do you really "own" it?

GF

 

[mikepriwer]

There is something wrong with either the gun or the gun shop. If
its what you say, why didn't the gun shop give the guy the $300 he
wants, and offer it for $600, which is probably closer to what it
ought to be worth.

Mike Priwer

 

[Three44s]

NO we don't own them ...... we are but care takers ..... some better at it and some worse!

Three 44s

 

[hsguy]

There is something wrong with either the gun or the gun shop. If
its what you say, why didn't the gun shop give the guy the $300 he
wants, and offer it for $600, which is probably closer to what it
ought to be worth.

Mike Priwer

Mike, perhaps the owner put it on consignment there and that is what he thinks it is worth. Perhaps I am a sucker but if I wanted it I would offer to give the owner more for the gun considering his circumstances. No good comes from taking advantage of people.

 

[David LaPell]

Well, I called the shop and told them to put it on hold for me until I can get some money for a deposit.

 

[ColdBlueSteel]

Sometimes we do get lucky.

 

[Rugskipper]

If it were me, I'd snatch up that beauty at the asking price, find out who the owner is, and send another $100 bill to him anonymously. Still a good price, he keeps his pride, and my conscience would be satisfied. JM2cents

 

[steamloco76]

If it were me, I'd snatch up that beauty at the asking price, find out who the owner is, and send another $100 bill to him anonymously. Still a good price, he keeps his pride, and my conscience would be satisfied. JM2cents

Plus one on your plan of action.

You can feel good about helping a fellow human being and know you still purchased that Smith for $200 or more under market value.

steamloco76

 

[mikepriwer]

John

Anybody, including the gun shop, always has the opportunity to pay
more than the asking price - for anything. It can be for any reason,
humanitarian or other.

If its being consigned with a $300 tag, the shop could have taken
your cue, offered him $400, and asked $500 or $600 for it. After all,
at the end of the day, they are people, just like you and I.

What I was getting at was a bit different. Something seems wrong
about the story, and in particular its with either the guns owner,
the gun itself, or the gun shop.

I just can't imagine selling a gun at half price, to pay for my own
funeral. Maybe that is what is going on, but I know for sure that I
would not be doing that.

Maybe there is something about the gun, real or imagined, that
the owner knows, and figures that at a low enough price, he is not
obligated to answer any questions.

Whats with this gun shop ? Gun shops are suppossed to know
something about the value of a gun - otherwise how do they stay
in business ? I wonder what else they are selling at half price !

I just don't get it !

Regards, Mike Priwer

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I have to agree with Mike Priwer.

Something doesn't sound right. The gun shop could easily sell it for more, and if the original owner is a friend of theirs and they are trying to help, why not sell it for what it is worth, and take less commision?
I am wondering if it has been re-blued, or is a mix and match parts gun possibly?

 

[white cloud]

i don't know about all of this. i do know i would not sell my k22 for $600.

 

[hsguy]

John

Anybody, including the gun shop, always has the opportunity to pay
more than the asking price - for anything. It can be for any reason,
humanitarian or other.

If its being consigned with a $300 tag, the shop could have taken
your cue, offered him $400, and asked $500 or $600 for it. After all,
at the end of the day, they are people, just like you and I.

What I was getting at was a bit different. Something seems wrong
about the story, and in particular its with either the guns owner,
the gun itself, or the gun shop.

I just can't imagine selling a gun at half price, to pay for my own
funeral. Maybe that is what is going on, but I know for sure that I
would not be doing that.

Maybe there is something about the gun, real or imagined, that
the owner knows, and figures that at a low enough price, he is not
obligated to answer any questions.

Whats with this gun shop ? Gun shops are suppossed to know
something about the value of a gun - otherwise how do they stay
in business ? I wonder what else they are selling at half price !

I just don't get it !

Regards, Mike Priwer

Mike, I completely understood your point and you may well be right. The gun store should know the value of the gun but we read here constantly about members getting great deals on guns in stores had not known the true value of. It is possible the seller needs money quickly and has no time to wait for a sale if the gun is priced properly.

Working for a large gun seller I buy many guns every year for the business and have seen similar situations many times when the sellers' needed money at once. I always give a fair price and have on several occasions given the seller more than he asked because I knew the item was worth more and we could sell it at a decent profit. We don't do consignment sales but I would bet the seller may have set a low price to get his money quickly if the gun turns out to have no problems.


Mike, you wondered what else was being sold at half price, apparently the original poster found another underpriced gun at a store. Don't know if it is the same store selling the gun in this thread. http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/176208-sometimes-your-bat-sometimes-your-ball.html

 

[David LaPell]

I can tell you that I looked the gun over twice. The numbers match. If it has been reblued, I can't tell that's for sure. The grips match. Believe me I was on the hunt for an issue on this gun. I could not find an issue. I asked the shop owner who the name of the K-22's owner, and apparently it is a personal issue and the owner does not want to be known. Now I know and have known the gun shop's owner for better than 10 years and he has always treated me very fairly, so I don't question him. One other thing on the price of some of the guns in my area. Where I live, almost no one is buying guns. We have a very high rate of unemployment, almost 25%. There are three places you go to work in my area, which covers several small towns. You either work for the local hospital, which has layed off nearly 100 people over the last few months, the local papermill, which is contantly laying people off and has been since 2002, the few law enforcement jobs, which isn't hiring at all. There is no contruction anymore up here since it was all new housing, and the same houses that were for sale last year are still for sale. Alot of loggers are out of work due to the season and some are just out work period. This is a bad area. There are people just selling guns, and very few are buying them. More often than not, I go into gunshops and see the very same guns over and over again, and more added to it all the time. Keep in mind, we are pretty rural, gas is $3.42 a gallon, cigarettes are $10, and fuel oil and kerosene is at a premium. Alot of businesses have gone under, and the help wanted ads take up a paragraph at best in the Sunday paper. Honestly, this is a buyers market. Believe me, I have sold guns online for a heck of a lot more than I can sell them locally, including the shipping.

 

[mikepriwer]

John

Its entirely possible that the story is legitimate, and the K-22 is
just fine. That may well be the case. My comments were/are strictly
a reflection of how it sounded to me.

David

Just out of curiosity, where abouts are you ?

It may well be that tough times in your area are having a significant
impact on gun prices, particularly if people are having to sell just to
make ends meet. If you've done your due diligence with this piece,
and are satisfied, then buy it.

Regards, Mike Priwer

 

[David LaPell]

I am in the Southern Adirondacks in the Lake George/Glens Falls region, which has been hit hard and continues to be with the climate and just the economy. We lost one gun shop as far as regular business, a nice guy who dealt with older antique guns. We had three paper mills in the area a few years ago, now we have one and it was bought out recently and is hanging by a thread. I used to work for them a few years ago and they have been laying employees off steadily since 2002. Lake George is a tourist town and with the high gas prices a couple years back, well you could drive through during this past summer and the streets were very empty compared to what it used to be. There are alot of real estate businesses locally, quite a few have folded. There is a heavy logging community up here, with two mills gone, and the third buying it's pulp from Canada, the logging industry was smacked around pretty good. Glens Falls is a heavy auto sales, furniture sales, and machine work for the mills. Auto sales here are like the rest of the country, flat. The machine workers don't supply to the mills like they used to. There is a large illegal immigrant population, and they get hired to do the heavy work at the local stone quarries, and during the summer there is alot of foreign workers hired for the summer because the local kids either don't want to work, or just don't like the long hours. I don't imagine this summer being much better. I talked with a friend of mine the other day who is a logger, and has been employed steadlily since the spring (one of the few) and the cost of fuel and expenses is eating into his profits to the point where he is just breaking even, and his truck and equipment is all paid off. I know on my road is a main avenue to one of the ski resortsm and when the wife and I moved there the road was packed during the summer and last winter. Now, you can sit for hours without hearing a car or truck go by. While it is much quieter, it is depressing. On my road there are places that have abandoned houses just like Detroit. I hope that things pick up, but with the prices of everything going up, I am not optimistic.

 

[28Shooter]

Okay, I'll say it - Congratulations on your find and I wish I could find one in my area at even twice the price! Enjoy your new handgun and feel no guilt. The man asked $300 and you paid the shop his price. He wanted a quick sale and that's what he got - to you. I'm so sorry to hear that Lake George and Glens Falls have fallen on such hard times. Beautiful country.

 

[meh92]

Okay, I'll say it - Congratulations on your find and I wish I could find one in my area at even twice the price! Enjoy your new handgun and feel no guilt. The man asked $300 and you paid the shop his price. He wanted a quick sale and that's what he got - to you. I'm so sorry to hear that Lake George and Glens Falls have fallen on such hard times. Beautiful country.

I'm with 28Shooter. Don't feel guilty about stumbling on a good deal! If you were bedside to a dying man and took advantage of him in his vulnerable condition, then shame on you. In this case, you didn't set the price or even low-ball the shop... you offered the asking price. Enjoy your gun guilt free! Of course, there's no law against donating a few dollars to a dying man (and it's a darn fine gesture) but I wouldn't feel compelled to do so.

 

[fortyfiveracp]

I know of a gun owner who knew his cancer was fixing to win. He also was selling his collection at a very low price. For the simple reason he needed the cash now. A low price doesnt have to mean a damaged weapon. Could be a desperate man.