Hi, Rocketman on this forum has a wonderful spread sheet that explains a lot of what your asking. Some may not agree with him, but I've found it to be a valuable tool. You may want to PM him for more info.
Name is a factor when it comes to price. Just a fact of life. Peoples ears pop up when they hear Purdey or H&H, not so much when they hear Hussey. Hussey guns are London Bests, but the price is cheaper due to name. Buy the gun, not the name has always been the watchword, but name does play a very important part, regardless of what some may tell you.
Prices will be affected by the defects you pointed out. Out of proof guns, sleeved bbls, thin walls, replacement bbls, restocking etc won't even get a second look by some. They won't consider them at all. That's fine, each person has to be happy with the gun they are going to buy and shoot. Some folks are just fine with sleeved bbls etc. The prices will also go down because of these defects as they are not orginial. I don't have a problem with sleeved bbls (if done right) nor do I have a problem with bbls that are .025 or so. You can get some deals on them, just do your homework and ask lots of questions. Proof is a BIG factor however. As you may know, it's against the law to sell an out of proof gun in the UK, but not over here. You can get some very good deals on out of proof guns, but at your own risk of course. There have been several threads on this subject as of late on this forum, lots of good info, I'd do a search and read them rather that go into detail here.
As Joe stated, there's a lot of crap out there, but also some good ones. It pays to ask questions and research.
All the best!
Greg
