Ted, I agree that there are dealers who seem to be able to maintain an inventory of dramatically overpriced guns for a very long period of time. I even see some high priced dealers carting the same guns to multiple gun shows, for multiple years, and often wonder if they ever sell anything. I also wonder just how they make enough money to justify their time and table expenses. But many of those overpriced guns are not doubles.
I suppose they have some preset profit margin they desire, and might have simply bought these guns at inflated prices. I used to spend more time looking at Gunbroker before they managed to make the site slower and less user friendly. I was one of the guys who complained about having to waste time sifting through pages of overpriced guns with large reserves that are relisted for years on end. Naturally, we notice this with doubles because that is a major area of interest for many of us. But the same sucker fishing and endless relisting situation exists with many other types of guns as well.
One thing we can be sure of is that virtually every gun that is listed with no reserve will generate multiple bids, and sell for what is generally a realistic current market price... driven by competitive bidding in a large nationwide internet auction. This is how I advise many people to get a good general idea of what their guns are actually worth.... by comparing the same make, model, and condition, and actual completed sale prices. Sometimes there are other factors that may distort the hammer price, such as poor pictures, a poor seller reputation, or exceedingly high shipping charges. But my observations of vintage American double gun prices are based upon real world completed sales... now versus 10-20 years ago. I still don't see where the sky is falling. But even if I lose my ass in a declining double gun market, I can say I enjoyed owning and shooting my guns a lot more than some stock certificate that also went down the toilet in a recession or corporate bankruptcy.
Truth is, I'm a lot more concerned about losing money due to lower stock prices and much higher taxes if Liberal Democrats get back in power, than I am about my doubles losing value. And Liberal Democrats are a much bigger threat to all of our guns than falling values, rust, oil soaking, or using the wrong hinge pin grease. Let's get real here!
