doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fine gun store pricing question

Don't overthink this. You are not dating, you are just buying a piece of stuff. Evaluate it, make an offer, be prepared to negotiate a little. If you make an offer, be ready to buy at that price. And do be ready to politely walk away.

Make your offer. Be polite and have money in hand to back up your offer. You'd be suprised how many people are rude if their offer is declined or worse yet who can't complete the deal because they don't have the money. If my offer is declined I thank them for their time and move on. Sometimes you can leave your contact information and get a later call back with a counter offer. But don't waste your or their time. Everyone hates tire kickers but not so much people who make legit offers, even if low.

Problem is you think you know the guns value, to you, not the seller. You don't know how much they have in the gun, what their margin needs to be or even if it's a consignment gun with an owner expecting much more than it's worth. Many high end sellers are just selling a gun on consignment so they can wait years to get their price. Top condition guns are almost window dressing for their websites.

Thanks everyone! Y'all pretty much confirmed what I guessed, its nice to get other opinions though! If I make an offer, I will certainly be ready to buy it at that price. Of course he only listed it this week, which naturally makes him less likely to negotiate, buts it's worth a shot!

I would post a link to get your opinion as to if it's over priced since you guys know a ton more about guns then I do, but if it's not exactly in line with my advice post from a few days ago, I won't be drummed out of the forum would I? Lol... it's a bit higher then the budget I listed before

I think many dealers are willing to negotiate.

Claycrusher, looking back over the years I can think of few times I've regretted paying above "market" for a gun I really wanted. Seems the desirable ones are few and far between. My biggest regrets are those I passed on due to a few dollars difference in opinion. And sometimes I've let others opinions influence me too much. If you like it go for it. Write any overage from "market" off to your fun account.

PS: Nine times out of ten when you ask anyone about value they'll answer with a lowball price, one that they would like to steal it at.

I agree if it is something truly special to you it may be worth paying above market value. That said be careful about letting emotion take you too far down the road. Be a hard judge of unique and don't go much ( say 10 or 15%) above actual value. I hate to admit it that in all my gun purchases (more than 50) i can only say i have made money on a gun on a few. Look upon what you pay versus what you sell it for as gun rental.

Deciding what the "market value" is and has always been interesting to discover. To me, market value is what the item SELLS for not what the seller has priced it. Are you willing to pay real "market" value? The famous BlueBook prices are a mystery to me since I never have and never will pay those ridiculous prices but that could just be me. Places like this where BUYERS gather and share info are a boon since there is at least a modest amount of realism here.

tho why you clots continue to buy those junk Limey guns remains a mystery.

have another day

Dr.WtS

I have some of those same regrets on passing up a gun because I thought it was too high. Most of those would now be worth more and I would have had the gun I wanted. I have some guns I have more money invested in work than they're probably worth. I don't care, I couldn't find guns like that on the market.

This is one of them. I probably have $6K in it. 1926 NID 3E, 26", factory SST, ejector, restocked in a straight grip BTFE to fit me and recolored. Not much original about it. Still one of my favorites to hunt or shoot clays with. I probably would have a hard time getting $4k for it.

If the gun is one you really want and meets your criteria/expectations, I would likely pay a bit over what I thought was market price. If it is to be a long term acquistion, the extra value you paid will quickly be forgotten everytime you take it out. What won't be forgotten is the little voice in the back of your mind saying "geeze, I should have bought that gun".

The fair market value is whatever a willing seller and a willing buyer decide the price is to make the deal. Therefore, whatever you decide to pay, if accepted by the seller, is the fair market value.