Where to look for used guns?

[Axxe55]

Yeah, but that's how estate liquidators find business. Most of them have a gun guy on speed dial but if you have a relationship with one, they can be a source.

Estate sales, not so much. Typically the guns will be sold before the public sale happens.

As an aside, not always but all too often, they go to the liquidators cousin for a too-low price. Cousin then hands them back to the liquidator for a small fee and the liquidator can take their time maximizing return while cutting the widow out of any profit.

Sad but I've seen it.

i have never seen it personally but have read numerous stories of them lowballing a widow over guns and many other types of items!

 

[benenglish]

I don't think I could stoop that low.

Sometimes it's helpful.

My mom and sis went to a garage sale that turned out to be two daughters selling off their deceased parent's stuff. They actually arrived the day after the garage sale because someone had given the sisters a phone number to get rid of old Barbie stuff.

Sis carefully explained to them that the two dolls were generally collectible but had condition issues and she could only offer $400. They took the cash and my mom and sis could hear them inside the house, whooping it up and celebrating. It was a fair offer.

Sis did some work on the dolls and flipped them a week later for, IIRC, $800.

It was a good deal for everyone involved. The dolls would have gone in the trash otherwise.

 

[zackmars]

Y’all hush.
That genuine post ‘64 Winchester 94 was used by my Grandpappy when he fought the Comanche with Custer!
Besides, the 1/8” of rust on it is patina with character.

I believe you mean "light oxidation"

 

[Txdweeb]

I’ve had fair luck at local estate sales a pawn shops. I usually get my stuff off guntrader or my 2 friends who impulse buy an i trade with them something of mine I got off guntrader it’s a vicious cycle.

 

[benenglish]

i have never seen it personally but have read numerous stories of them lowballing a widow over guns and many other types of items!

As much as it pains me to say it, even that rip-off scenario is preferable to the widow taking her late husband's Luger to a buyback event from some local political entity. The last picture I saw of a buyback, there was a picture of all the pistols they "got off the streets."

The garbage pistols were far away from the camera but right up front was a nice-looking Luger. My heart sank.

To the OP, if you live somewhere the police won't hassle you, there have been some great deals taking place a half-block from where a gun buyback is going down.

 

[CavCop]

Depends on what I am looking for. But some places deal in set firearms and networking for set firearm can work. I know people, and they know people. Some have huge collections or know people with set collections. Closing the deal depends on the value agreed upon or what you might have to trade.

I can go to a local gun store where I am known and say I am looking for a set thing. They know people with set things. We can then meet up if the other person agrees.

If I ever get rich and get into class 3 stuff, I know a few friends I will hit up…

 

[Glenn B]

Went to the gun show in Conway, AR. A guy waiting on line near me asked the guy in front of us what he wanted for a pistol he had in a case. The guy asked $350, the other guy offered $300, the guy with the pistol accepted immediately. Less than 5 minutes later, I saw the guy who bought that pistol sell it for a very nice $100 profit to a dealer. I saw another guy buy 1,200 rds. of crated 7.62x39mm steel cased ammo for, about half of what it usually sells for nowadays, he paid $300.00 for the 1,200 rds. That was one of the best ammo deals I have seen in awhile. He bought the ammo from a show attendee (not one of the dealers) who was walking around with a cart full of ammo he was trying to sell.

Me I sold a revolver, did not buy a thing, (corrected to say the following) and yes I did buy something - three 1911 mags marked Colt; although, I am 99.9% certain they are knockoffs being they were 3 or $25.00. As for the revolver, the dealer who bought it paid me $25.00 less than I wanted but that was okay by me, I needed the money. I am going back tomorrow and am going to watch the line. That should be a much better form of line watch than the line watch I used to do in the Border Patrol.

I don't know why folks keep bitching & moaning that you can not find good deals at a gun show. Maybe you cannot find them from a dealer at his table but you certainly can sometimes find them from attendees who bring guns & ammo with them to sell at the shows and you do not even have to pay the entry fee if you wait next to the line outside.

 

[John Sam Rayburn]

Estate sales, not so much. Typically the guns will be sold before the public sale happens.

I also had no luck with Estate Sale Auctions listed in the newspaper by local Auction Companies.

My experience has been that any guns which do make it to the public auction go for approximately 170% of what I could find them for elsewhere.

I speculate the exciting nature of the live auction causes this.

 

[Axxe55]

<>

Years back, I knew a car guy in Houston who followed-up on obits. Often the deceased leaves an un-needed auto or truck. Or, sufficient cash for the heir to buy themself a new car.

Guy would just call & leave a message: ’’Sorry for your recent loss. If you have a vehicle you need to sell, or to trade for something newer, I can be reached @ 000-000-0000.’’

He got quite a few responses, and did a lot of business.

I often wonder if one could find guns that way, too ?

leVieux

.

that;s just sleazy and inconsiderate!

 

[benenglish]

I also had no luck with Estate Sale Auctions listed in the newspaper by local Auction Companies.

My experience has been that any guns which do make it to the public auction go for approximately 170% of what I could find them for elsewhere.

I speculate the exciting nature of the live auction causes this.

I have yet to attend a small, local auction sale of any kind, estate or otherwise, where firearms didn't sell for way too much money.

Unless the auction is huge and people get distracted, that is. I have seen a half-dozen good buys sneak in when the auctioneer is trying to push hundreds of lots in a single day.

I never count on that kind of luck so in-person auctions for a few firearms mixed into other stuff, like an estate auction, are pretty much never worth attending. There are too many people there who don't know guns but they see some 100-year-old pistol and get it in their mind that it's an overlooked treasure. Then they bid way too much.

Sometimes it's actually sad to witness that happening.

 

[benenglish]

About half of my older models were found at pawn shops. However, if original box lock and papers are important, most Pawns won’t have them. My Browning Hi-Power is the only Pawn shop find that had the complete kit. All others were fire arm only

I've seen cases where having the original box, papers, box insert, gun wrap, etc., all in pristine condition, prompted a pawn shop to just about double the price they offered.

 

[olddirtygerm]

I was hoping to get lucky at a neighborhood garage sale this weekend. Other than seeing a cheap looking safe there was nothing

 

[Moonpie]

Most garage sales don’t produce.
You can always ask.
Family connections are typically a dead end. Cousin Methbilly either stole MeeMaw’s scattergun or convinced her that that Single Shot .410 is worth a zillion dollars.
Why that thar Rohm revolver done kilt at least 200 yankee soljers!

 

[Glenn B]

Well, this is a long reply but it does go to explain in detail why I know auctions can be a good place to find excellent prices on guns if you do what it takes.

Besides gun shows being avoided by many, now I see folks saying auctions pretty much don't allow for good deals on guns. Since 2012, my first live gun auction (my post cancer self-therapy was a 305 mile trip -each way to a gun auction) I have gotten many excellent deals on guns at live, and as of late in online, gun auctions. Sure, plenty of the items at firearms auctions go for way too much but the truth is if you know what you are doing and have some semblance of self control, you can usually get at least one or two at a decent price. The things are: sitting through an auction that runs for 10 or 11 hours can be grueling, the number of items offered at a large firearms auction can be amazingly huge, the need to do your homework (or fieldwork so to speak by going to the preview) as to the condition & value of each on which you want to bid is paramount and the ability not to get yourself into a bidding war by setting your limits is just as important. I have seen brand new guns auctioned off for over 25% above the price you'd pay if bought online from a reputable dealer and that includes when you pay for shipping and an FFL. Then again, I've gotten some new & used that were way below what I'd have to pay elsewhere even when the buyer's premium, tax (if any), shipping (if any) and FFL when shipped are all added on. Now that does not happen every auction but it happens that I make out well enough to have attended live or bid in online auctions over 60 such auctions from one specific auction company since 2012. I have bought at least one firearm, usually more in at least 90% of those auctions. Some of my high bids were great deals, others were close to the average selling price (but those were on guns I wanted and did not find elsewhere) and a few - sad to say - were ones on which over bid, again just because I wanted that gun. Those on which overbid were in the very small minority of those I bid on in total. Sure plenty of folks at those same auctions overbid; I attribute that to the bidding war frenzy into which they let themselves fall, the state laws in which they live (for instance in the Hessney Auction Co.'s auctions in upstate NY, folks often over bid way too much on ammo and my guess s they do not want to order for less online because it has to ship to an FFL). Many folks often do not think to figure in the buyer's premium, either they forget about it or are just not paying enough attention to figure how much it adds to the end price. If you do it right though, you can do well.

Then there are surprise finds. As for such nice finds at an auction, I have bid on guns that I realized were different for whatever reason and thus might be more valuable and in other cases have just been surprised. I bid $90 on a KDF Voere semi-auto rifle in 22 LR. The buyer's premium at the time was 10% which made it $99.00. The tax was 7.5% making it $106.43. I thought I was getting a fair deal on that rifle at that price but admit I was wrong. Why did I bid on a damaged gun, which others had no interest in, and about which I had very little knowledge? Well the damage was only cosmetic and I love 22s so I bid. I also realized it was made in Germany, a plus as I am of about 50% German ancestry. I also realized the bolt operated very differently than a conventional semi-auto and wondered if it was busted but it did appear to work. I knew 22s were and remain desirable. So, I took a chance but yes, I was very wrong, I did not get a fair deal, I got an out of this world excellent one.

Once I did an extensive internet search for info on it, I found out KDF was the importer not the manufacturer name. I discovered that it fired from an open bolt. I knew guns that did so were desirable.I took it home and stripped the old very dark finish and refinished it. I stripped it and refinished it with tung oil as best I recall. A much lighter more natural and appealing stock color resulted. I put it up for auction in an online auction site. It sold it for $785.00 shipped. Why, because I took the chance on it b eing a good deal when everyone else thought it a clunker even though only the wood finish was faulty. Even if it never sold I would have been happy with my bid on it but as it was I became much more happy when I sold it, so much more to by so many more guns at auction so to speak. As for the buyer, he was happy to get it at that price as they were going for well over a grand with only one original mag and I had not one but two original mags for it (found an extra original, I think on Ebay). That was only around 5 or 6 years ago and many bidders were overpaying then, just not me - I was finding good deals. This is that gun as it appeared at auction:

This is how it looked when I sold it:

Sure prices are up nowadays and so is psychotic bidding by arsehats who get into ridiculous bidding wars. Yet, I think you can still find good deals at auctions today. Lest anyone still think you cannot get good deals at auctions in current times, in April 2023 I had the high bid on a Savage Stevens Model 94C Hammered - 12 Gauge shotgun at $85.00 plus 13% buyer's premium making the subtotal $96.05, add $20 FFL fee and about $20 shipping (it shipped with a pistol and the combined shipping was $40 or so) and the total was about $136.00. It is in very good to fine condition. It was a good to very good deal at today's prices. Saw similar single shot shotguns at a gun show today going for $225 to $300 and they were in poorer condition.

Someone may always bid more than you but in reputable auctions of good size - the one I bid with usually has at least 350 guns and often has many more new & used firearms up for auction, plus ammo, firearms accessories, gun parts, hunting equipment, fishing equipment, archery stuff, taxidermy mounts, and so on. Despite bidding warriors making bids, I still find guns frequently at good prices. I do so firstly by avoiding auctions that charge exorbitant buyers' premiums. The one I use the most has only a 13% buyer's premium. Others charge up to 25%, I believe that is due to greed and nothing more. I research items in which I have an interest as to value relative to condition. I check to see what any may have sold for, over the course of the last year, by searching in an advanced search on GunBroker. I check with the auctioneer to inquire about the condition of the guns in which I have an interest. I set my bid limits while also figuring in the buyer's premium for my bid limit, the tax if any on that, estimated shipping and FFL fee. I bid to my limit and rarely bid over it and if I bid over it I make sure never to exceed the value of the gun, thus I let the other guy have it instead of being an idiot and bidding to much and I move onto the next gun up for bids that I have targeted or to the next auction if no more are left.

The way I do it, is not like the way all too many folks do it who start bidding and just keep bidding with little or no regard to anything but their desire to have the so called winning bid on the gun they want so badly they become an arsehat about it. In reality, as I perceive it, there is no such thing as a winning bid. You are merely buying something at the price you felt was an acceptable high bid. The term winning bid must have been the brain child of a very shrewd auctioneer, it was one heck of a profitable marketing trick because many high bidders seem to actually think they have won something; in actuality all they are doing is paying more than anyone else was willing to pay.

By the way, nothing is being sneaked into the auctions - at least not at ones I attend in person or online but they are usually run by professional auction houses that run large auctions when it comes to their gun auctions. Every item is always on display beforehand; thus everything can be previewed. If you cannot preview items then why would you even attend such an auction let alone place a bid in it. If you suddenly see something that you think was sneaked in then you were either not paying attention, at least at any auctions which I have attended at my favorite auction house or other auction houses, or you were being foolish for attending an auction that did not offer a proper preview.

As for others bidding too much - that is on them - it is their money to bid as they please. Maybe some will think it heartless of me but I do not find that sad at all; in fact, sometimes it is beneficial for the other bidders. If someone bids too much, they probably will find out later and if so, hopefully for them, they will learn from their mistakes. Some of them will not bother to go back to another auction or at least will bid within reason the next time (these last two things being beneficial parts for other bidders). Their bidding too much is no reason for anyone else not to go to a firearms auction though because there often are other good to excellent deals to be had and unless the idiot bidding too high is rich or is truly a fool when it comes to managing money - one overly high bid often wipes out all they would have had to bid on other items and therefore they drop out of any additional bidding on any additional items in any particular auction (also quite beneficial to other bidders). Me - well I admit it readily, I am an auction bidding junkie - but one who bids within his limitations and thus I am fairly often happily the high bidder at a good to excellent bid price.

 

[paknheat]

I usually look in the pawn shops in my area if I’m looking for something in used guns.

Lots of really nice guns for sale here too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[benenglish]

...I know auctions can be a good place to find excellent prices on guns if you do what it takes.

Oddly enough, I agree. There are occasional really good buys; you just have to know what you're doing.

Example? My last big auction report was nearly 10 years ago, with the meat of the report here. It seems to me like we're having the same sort of experience at the same sorts of auctions. I know in the years since then, I've seen things remain much the same.

I just don't think the trouble is worth it for most people.

Note - Online auctions are another matter and I'm not addressing those.

 

[zackmars]

There may be lots of good deals out there, but if it's not a gun I'm interested in, I'll skip right by it.

Or if it's a packed auction and some tards bid up a single shot h&r shotgun to over a grand, i just know the krag sporter up next is going to get to used truck prices

 

[Tnhawk]

I've seen cases where having the original box, papers, box insert, gun wrap, etc., all in pristine condition, prompted a pawn shop to just about double the price they offered.

I've saved the boxes, receipts and manuals for most of my pistols. Sales receipts and manuals were retained for rifles but most of those boxes weren't saved.

 

[RevolverGuy]

Look for French military guns. Never fired, only dropped once.

You mean like these guys carry?

 

[Brmccune]

I own a gun store and it’s just me no overhead so I keep it simple and give and get the best deals if anyone is ever interested. Patriot Sales and Collectibles.