Two Little Old Ladies and a S&W 37 Airweight

[M&P777]

While I "stood guard" at the gun check-in table at today's gun show (looking for a deal on a .22 pistol), 2 little old ladies, looking altogether like twins, appeared with a little card board box. Inside were 3 boxes of .38 Special ammo and a leather holster. Inside the holster was a nickeled S&W Model 37 Airweight snubnose in pristine condition.

When a young "Turk" in line saw the beauty, he said, "I'll give you $200 for it right now." The little old lady who was the owner said she'd think it over. After they got through the gun-check line, I approached them & asked if they were looking to sell their revolver. They said yes. Upon examining the piece, I suggested they could get a lot more than the young fellow in line had offered - maybe on the order of $400 or more.

The owner explained the gun had been her husband's, that he had died & that she had no idea where to begin or how to sell the gun. "We've never been to one of these things." She asked me to direct her to somebody who could tell how much the revolver was worth. I showed her to a displayer who deals in nice pieces like she had.

A few minutes later I saw the elderly twin(?) sisters exiting the show without the gun. I asked them if they got a better price than the one offered to them at the entrance. The widow answered in the affirmative, saying that she got $450 for the gun and ammo.

I have no idea what a nickeled Model 37 is worth, but at least she wasn't robbed by the young man in line. As she walked away, she said, "This has been a real education." I felt sorry for her. I hope she got a decent price for the gun.

You never know what glorious things can come out of those little cardboard boxes. And please forum members, don't take advantage of naive sellers. That could be somebody's grandmother.

 

[P&R Fan]

You, Sir, are a Gentleman. There's not that many of us left.

 

[Babalooie]

Good job! I'm sure that money meant a lot to those ladies.

 

[tom turner]

I'll bet her husband is looking down tonight, smiling at what you did. Thanks for taking care of someone's special bride from years ago!

Tom

 

[2fingers]

Well Done Sir!

 

[Bat Guano]

You did right. I know of a similar case of a widow with a decent Victory Model who had it priced for $100 quite a few years back. The collector, a friend of her husbands, thought differently, and disagreed. He stated that it was worth more--$125 in those days--and paid that for it.

It's not just about money.

 

[29aholic]

I had a similar thing happen years ago at the gun shop I managed. Two old sisters (I mean OLD) came in with an old top break Smith in the normal rough condition. The gun had been their father's and hadn't been shot for 30-40 years that they could remember. I almost didn't have the heart to tell them that it really wasn't worth a whole lot. What they DID have that was worth something was 10 boxes of unopened Rem UMC 38 S&W ammo loaded with Dupont Blackpowder with the seals still in place. I informed them each box of ammo was worth more than the gun. They were more than greatful for the info as they had been around and the other shops were less than truthful. You know they gave me one of those boxes of ammo.

 

[Brian41]

You did the right thing M&P and good for you.

I had similar happen some years back when I did some work in a widow's home. She showed me a nice collection of guns her husband owned and wanted to sell them cheap to me. There was a Wetherbee and other nice ones in the rack.
I told her honestly I didn't have much money and they were worth a good sum. I directed her to an honest dealer and suggested she'd get a fair price from them.
I would have loved to own some of those guns but couldn't do it. I hope she got a fair price afterall.

 

[sipowicz]

You did the right thing and I would have informed them also..but you can't fault someone at a gun show looking for a deal starting low...little old ladies or not, it is the seller's responsibility to know what they have...everyone should do a little research before selling anything.

 

[Babalooie]

Sip, you raise a good point. When I was collecting coins, there was a saying,"Buy the book first." We had an opposite situation. A guy came into the shop to sell his father's Walther PPK, made in Germany with a 1965 date. He swore up and down that it was worth $1600 and wouldn't budge. We offered to sell it for him on Gunbroker as a consignment. The gun sold for around $700.

Many gun buyers will ask the seller how much they want for their gun. In a situation like that, the lines blur a bit.

Is it immoral to pay a person their asking price?

Sometimes, people will bad mouth a dealer for paying too little for a gun. Then, they'll turn around and brag when they get a "bargain." Double standard?

 

[BlindJustice]

M&P777 - Well done sir!

Randall M

 

[ar15ed]

i am proud of you for steering the ladies in the right direction! i am sure this happens occasionally, but what i usually run into is a person who is unfamiliar with the gun/market, and wants some wildly unbelievably high price for a gun that looks like it has been dragged along behind a truck for a couple of days!

i saw a young couple at a gun show a few months ago, and the guy was carrying an old black clamshell s&w box. i was pretty excited to see it, and after talking to them a few minutes, they showed me an old break-top that had been reblued. it had been polished to the extent that there wasn't a sharp edge or a marking even left on it! then, it had been blued with the old bright, chrome-looking blue. it was scary looking, to say the least! but the old box was very cool! they wanted $500 for it! i would have maybe considered giving $50 for the gun, and would have probably given $75 for the box. i just told them thay had a neat old gun, and wandered off!